Global packaging company Amcor says it is set to deliver another year of strong earnings growth in the 2017 financial year despite a six percent fall in half-year profit.
"We're still well placed in the current environment, and more importantly, we feel like we've got good growth embedded in our business for the medium to longer term,” says Amcor’s MD & CEO Ron Delia.
Amcor reported a 6.2% fall in net profit to $US286.6 million ($A373.1 million) for the six months to December 31, 2016, which included a $US25 million pre-tax hit to its rigid plastics operations in Venezuela, where economic conditions have deteriorated. Excluding Venezuela, Amcor's profit after tax was up 3.8 per cent to $US308.6 million ($A401.7 million).
“Amcor has delivered a solid half year result and the full year expectation for growth in profit after tax remains unchanged,” says Delia. “Our business remains very well placed for the current global environment and for the long term.
“The result illustrates the defensiveness and resilience of our unique global packaging business and our strategy. Earnings growth was balanced across the Flexibles and Rigid Plastics segments, and came from both organic sources and recently acquired businesses.
“In the last seven months we invested in the large scale Alusa and Sonoco acquisitions as well as in the Flexibles restructuring initiatives. Relative to the 2016 financial year, these investments will underpin more than US$150 million of PBIT growth over the next three years, in addition to organic growth and further M&A.”