Smith to cut back paper manufacturing

Reporting half year revenue up 15.3% at £1.2 billion and pre-tax profit 17.5% ahead at £40.2 million, the company said a new appraisal programme was being rolled out along with an employee survey "to strengthen the alignment of interests" between the company and its workers. Senior management had been strengthened and now had an element of their pay linked to profits. Smith reinforced its intention to create a more focused business aspiring to be the leading supplier of recycled packaging for consumer goods in Europe. To achieve this it intends to expand the recycling business that is integral to recycled packaging and reduce exposure to paper manufacturing as it streamlined operations. Group chief executive Miles Roberts said the half year results reflected strong volume and revenue growth in the recycled packaging business, driven by a revised strategic focus on customer service, innovation, quality and reducing the environmental impact of its product. He went on: "The review of business strategy has confirmed the exciting growth potential from focusing our efforts on delivering retail-ready, recycled packaging which helps build sales and reduce costs for our FMCG customers. We have identified attractive opportunities within the UK and France and also see very significant potential in the faster growing FMCG markets in Central and Eastern Europe."