Earnings up at IPL Plastics as costs fall and acquisitions boost figures

Plastics manufacturer IPL said earnings rose almost 33 per cent to $27.2 million (€31.8 million) in the third quarter as costs fell and its acquisition of Belgium’s Loomans made a positive contribution.

The company, which has its corporate headquarters in Dublin and Montreal, said net income for the three-month period was up 54 per cent to $7.4 million on the back of improved operational performance, while the strengthening US dollar contributed to a decline in revenue of 6.3 per cent to $158.5 million. The company said other factors, such as the reduction in resin prices and a delay in the resumption of automotive bin manufacturing in the Returnable Packaging Solutions (RPS) division, also hit revenue.

The Loomans acquisition, price increases and volume growth in North America’s consumer packaging solutions helped lift revenue.

Net debt at the end of September fell to $319.5 million from $342.9 million on June 30th, 2019.

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New contract wins

"Our focus throughout 2019 has been to improve free-cash-flow generation while rebuilding margins and enhancing operational performance. The Q3 2019 performance reflects delivery of those objectives with a strong earnings performance on lower revenue," said chief executive Alan Walsh.

“Revenue growth is expected to recover in 2020, underpinned by recent new contract wins, benefits from the investment in our large format packaging and environmental sales team and business optimisation measures and a more diversified RPS division with a recovery in agricultural bin volumes, a broader automotive bin product offering and additional opportunities within the MacroTrac segment.”