IPL Plastics suffers €2.3m loss from stock market launch costs

Listing on the stock market left IPL Plastics – formerly One51 – with a €2.3 million loss for the three months to the end of June, figures released on Tuesday show.

IPL raised $191.7 million Canadian (€123 million) from its flotation on the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 28th.

The company said the cost of the initial public offering and refinancing its debt left it with a loss of $2.6 million US (€2.3 million) in the second three months of the year. That compares with a $10.9 million profit during the same period in 2017.

IPL, which makes everything from yogurt cartons to wheelie bins, said revenues in the second quarter grew 35 per cent to $178.3 million from $132.3 million in the three months to June 30th last year.

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Earnings rose 10 per cent to $22.8 million from $20.8 million. Second-quarter earnings per share fell 26 per cent to 20 cent from 27 cent during the same period last year.

IPL also refinanced $494.3 million in debt during the second quarter with a syndicate of lenders led by Bank of Ireland in the Republic and National Bank Financial in Canada.

The group noted that increased raw material, transport and labour costs hit its results in the second quarter. IPL is attempting to pass the extra expense on to customers but expects margins to remain under pressure for the rest of 2018.

However, the manufacturer said that, as prices of a key raw material, resin, stabilise, profit should return to normal.

Significant step

IPL lost $1.2 million in the first six months of 2018 against a $9.7 million profit during the same period last year. First-half earnings rose almost 14 per cent to $40 million from $35.4 million. Earnings per share fell 14 per cent to 35 cent from 41 cent.

Chief executive Alan Walsh said that offering its shares for sale on the Toronto Stock Exchange was a significant step in IPL's development. He added that the group believed it was "well positioned" to become a leading packaging manufacturer.

Irish shareholders who remained with the company when it floated received new class B shares in IPL Plastics in return for their old stock. They must wait until December 28th, six months after the stock market launch, before the class B shares convert and can be traded, as is normal in Canada.

IPL shares were down 6.5 per cent at $11.84 Canadian in Toronto at about 1.30pm Irish time. The company trades in US dollars but is quoted in the Canadian currency.