Bunzl hungry for more acquisitions

Bunzl, the international distribution and outsourcing group, saw its North America and Rest of the World divisions lead the way in the first half of the year.

Headline profit before tax in the six months ended June 30th rose 9%, or 10% at constant exchange rates, to £151.7m from £138.8m the year before. Reported profit before tax rose 8% to £121.2m from £112.1m a year earlier.

Revenue rose 7% to £2,612.2m from £2,442.0m the year before, with organic growth of 4%.

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Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) jumped 9% to 33.7p from 31.0p in the first half of 2011, while statutory EPS improved 6% to 26.5p from 24.9p.

The interim dividend has been hiked by 9% to 8.80p from 8.05p.

"Looking forward, we believe that Bunzl's strong competitive position and resilient customer sectors, together with opportunities to consolidate further our markets as we expect to complete more acquisitions later this year, should enable the group to show continued good growth and development," said Michael Roney, Chief Executive of Bunzl.

JH