8 Oct 2018 16:30
8 October 2018
RPC Group Plc
Trading Statement
RPC Group Plc ("RPC" or "Group"), a leading global plastic products design and engineering company, today issues a trading statement relating to the period 1 April 2018 to 30 September 2018 ("first half" or "period"), ahead of its first half results announcement due to be published on 28 November 2018.
H1 trading performance
Revenues generated by continuing operations in the first half of the year are £1.9bn, ahead of the corresponding period last year, including organic growth of c3%.
The Group's margins and operating profitability levels generated by continuing operations (before and after adjusting items) remain in line with management expectations. Polymer price changes remain subject to pass-through mechanisms albeit after a time lag and these have resulted in a headwind for the period.
The Group's financial position remains strong, with good cash flow development in the first half, and it has significant headroom under its debt facilities.
Portfolio management
The previously-announced disposal of the Letica Foodservice Business to Graphic Packaging International has now been completed. Progress is also being made in the disposal of the other businesses identified as non-core.
The acquisition of PLASgran Limited was completed in August with the Group's customer proposition benefiting from having an in-house supplier of both rigid and flexible recycled materials as these are increasingly sought after by customers.
For further information:
RPC Group Plc | +44 (0)1933 410064 | FTI Consulting | +44 (0)20 3727 1340 |
Pim Vervaat, Chief Executive | Richard Mountain | ||
Simon Kesterton, Group Finance Director | Nick Hasell | ||
About RPC Group:
RPC is a leading plastic products design and engineering company for packaging and selected non-packaging markets, with over 32 innovation centres and 191 operations in over 34 countries, and employs more than 24,000 people. The Group develops and manufactures a diverse range of products for a wide variety of customers, including many household names, and enjoys strong market positions in many of the end-markets it serves and the geographical areas in which it operates. It uses a wide range of polymer conversion technologies in both rigid and flexible plastics manufacture, and is now one of the largest plastic converters in Europe, combining the development of innovative packaging and technical solutions for its customers with good levels of service and support.
For further information please visit: www.rpc-group.com
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Rule 26.1 disclosure
In accordance with Rule 26.1 of The City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, a copy of this announcement will be available at https://www.rpc-group.com, by no later than 12 noon (London time) on 9 October 2018. The content of the website referred to in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.