ILP will report a profit when it announces interim results in October, the managing director of the Leixlip-based packaging company said yesterday.

Mr Paul Burke was speaking after the company announced that discussions with a suitor which could have led to a takeover of ILP had been terminated. Discussions with the foreign packaging company resumed in July following preliminary talks last December.

Mr Burke said that an increase in efficiency and in turnover had led to the turnaround from last year when pre-tax losses of £668,000 were made. This followed a profit of over £1 million in 1996.