First-half revenues up 26% at DS Smith

It was good news for packaging and office products group DS Smith which has reported a 26% rise in revenues from continuing operations in the first half ended 31 October.

After a full six-month contribution from Otor, a French firm which it acquired last year, revenues rose from £822.2m to £1,034.5m.

Excluding the impact of acquisitions and currency, revenue was still up by 11%, leading to pre-tax profits of £42.8m, a 20% rise compared to £35.6m for the same period a year ago.

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Group chief executive Miles Roberts said: "We remain confident in the trading outlook for the remainder of this financial year, due to our resilient, growing customer base, despite the uncertain macro-economic environment.

"The actions that we are taking to develop the packaging business and to drive efficiency improvements, will position the group well in the more challenging trading environment. Our continuing investment in the packaging business underpins our confidence that the group will continue to develop positively in the medium term."

The firm has increased the interim dividend was increased from 2p to 2.8p.

Cash at the end of the period fell to £47.7m, compared to £98.7m at the same date a year ago.

NR