Britain's Rexam, the world's biggest drinks can maker, posted a 19-per cent jump in underlying first-half profit this morning, at the top end of analyst expectations, buoyed by the acquisition of Brazil's Latasa.
Rexam, which also makes packaging for beauty products such as lipstick casings and mascara wands, said its underlying profit before tax for the half-year to June 30th, before retirement benefit costs, was £150 million sterling ($271 million).
Analysts had, on average, expected Rexam to report underlying pretax profit of around £147 million.
Earnings per share for the period came in at 18.7 pence, against a forecast from analysts of 18.4 pence. The firm said it was benefiting from a combination of acquisitions, price increases and cost savings which helped to offset rising raw material costs and foreign exchange fluctuations.
Rexam's share price fell more than 10 per cent over the summer amid worries about rising raw material costs, to hit a 7-month low at 399 pence last week, but has recovered in recent sessions after a flurry of upbeat broker notes.
Rexam said it was confident 2004 would be a successful year.