DS Smith Posts Higher H1 Profit

DS Smith PLC DITHF reported a 45% rise in its first half pretax profit and lifted its interim dividend. DS Smith's pretax profit for the period surged to 123 million pounds ($192.62 million), compared to GBP85 million, in the year-earlier period. Its revenue fell 5% to GBP1.97 billion. In the UK sales slipped 3% to £465 million, while sales declined to £481 million. Adjusted operating profit climbed 10% to £176 million, while EPS for continuing operations before amortisation and exceptional items jumped 15% to 12.9 pence. The company increased its interim dividend to 3.7 pence per share. At 31 October 2014, net debt was £694 million. “We are pleased with performance in the first half of this financial year. We have continued to make good progress with our customers, benefitting from our differentiated commercial offering, and this has translated into strong financial performance, with a particularly good progression on margins and returns as well as excellent cash flow generation. We continue to actively manage our business portfolio and are excited by the opportunities for the Group,” Miles Roberts, Group Chief Executive said.