INTERVIEW: RPC Group Sees Earnings Boost From Polymer Price

By Jason Douglas Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Plastic packaging maker RPC Group PLC (RPC.LN) Wednesday said it could get a fillip to earnings during the remainder of 2010 from a fall in polymer prices. Polymer is RPC's key raw material and prices recently rose to an all-time high due to supply disruptions, RPC Chief Executive Ron Marsh told Dow Jones Newswires. RPC passes those higher costs on to its customers by hiking prices. But polymer prices are falling in the U.S. and the Far East and Marsh said RPC expects Europe to follow suit. "A lot of people would predict reductions, which would certainly give us a windfall benefit," Marsh said. Polymer is becoming "a buyer's market" as new capacity is coming on stream, Marsh said. -By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; jason.douglas@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 16, 2010 04:24 ET (08:24 GMT)