Filtrona well positioned for further growth

Speciality plastic, fibre and foam products supplier Filtrona said it is well positioned to deliver growth for the full year as it reported a 24 per cent increase in half year revenue.

Revenue at constant FX grew to £324.8m for the half year ended 30 June 2012 from £268.6m the same time a year earlier. Like for like revenue increased 9% after progress at all its major divisions.

Pre-tax profit rose to £40.8m from £37.8m in the same period last year. Adjusted operating profit rose 26% while adjusted operating margin grew 30bps to 16.7%.

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"Given this performance, Filtrona remains well-positioned to deliver further balanced growth in 2012," said chief executive Colin Day.

Net debt rose to £183m from £145m previously, after the £36m acquisition spend on Lymtech Scientific, Jae Yong and Securit.

Filtrona raised its first-half dividend by 18% to 3.9p per share.

As at June 30, the group's gross pension liability was £27.1m, up from £12.7m a year earlier.

CJ