The Australian packaging company Amcor reports record profit after tax before significant items of $634.9 million, which was up 11.3%.
In announcing the result, Amcor’s Managing Director and CEO, Mr Ken MacKenzie said: “The full year result represented a record underlying profit, record returns and a record dividend for the company.
“Profit before significant items increased 11.3% to $634.9 million, returns increased from 14.1% to 15.9% and the dividend increased 5.7% to 37 cents per share. During the year the company also completed a $150 million share buy-back.
“To achieve an 11.3% increase in underlying earnings was an outstanding effort by our co-workers, given subdued economic conditions and a $35 million adverse impact on reported earnings due to the appreciation of the Australian dollar.
“Operating cash flow for the year was $643.7 million. This was an outstanding result and underpins our ability to continue to grow shareholder value.
“More than 85% of the business is in the defensive food, beverage, healthcare and tobacco packaging segments. A clear highlight of the year was that these markets have again proven to have very stable demand in difficult economic conditions.
“This strong performance is particularly pleasing given that economic conditions are likely to remain subdued in the developed markets.”
