Orora’s net profit after tax (NPAT) for the six month period ended 31 December will be up 7.6% on the same period last year, driven by return on investments in the Australasian Fibre Packaging and Beverage businesses, as well as improved manufacturing efficiency.
The company’s NPAT for the half year stood at $113,7 million, with Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) of $175 million, up 5.9% on the prior corresponding period.
Earnings per share (EPS) was 9.4 cents per share, up 6.8% on the same period last year.
Orora’s CEO and Managing Director, Mr Nigel Garrard said the company’s performance was ‘in line with expectations’ given the challenging economic and market conditions across its core trading regions.
“The Australasian Fibre Packaging and Beverage businesses have continued to demonstrate their quality and resilience, with benefits from recent organic growth and innovation investments, combined with an ongoing focus on improving manufacturing and operating efficiency, helping the businesses to offset input cost pressures and deliver profit growth,” Mr Garrard noted.
“In Australasia, further capital was invested in the ongoing asset refresh program in Fibre as well as a number of other customer driven initiatives and warehouse expansions at the Glass site in Gawler.
“The two state-of-the-art digital printers located in Australia and North America were successfully commissioned in the period and are delivering enhanced speed, quality and flexibility to customers.”
The company’s net debt at 31 December was $872 million, up from $667M at June 2018 and $657M at pcp, with the increase reflecting the acquisitions of Bronco Packaging and Pollock Packaging in North America.
Orora said approximately $215 million was invested in acquisitions, organic capital projects and innovation during this period.
“Orora has continued to execute its stated strategy of disciplined return driven allocation of growth capital, with the acquisition of Bronco and Pollock,” Mr Garrard continued.
“These acquisitions expand Orora’s exposure to the large and growing Texas market and increase the capability and scale of the business.”
