DS Smith FY10 Pretax Profit Soars To GBP55M; FY11 Starts Well

24th Jun 2010 07:21

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Packaging company DS Smith PLC (SMDS.LN) Thursday reported more than double fiscal year pretax profit as costs and spending fell, and said trading in the current fiscal year has started well. The company said sales volumes are increasing due to the wider recovery in market conditions. For the year ended April 30, DS Smith, which makes packaging for food and drink and boxes for televisions and fridges, posted pretax profit of GBP55 million, compared with GBP16.8 million a year earlier. The company was hit by GBP13.3 million of charges in fiscal 2010 but this was down from the GBP55.7 million a year earlier. Its capital expenditure also fell to GBP52.6 million from GBP87.4 million in fiscal 2009. Revenue fell to GBP2.07 billion from GBP2.1 billion, and the company said strong cash flow generation helped it narrow net debt by GBP52 million to GBP239.5 million. DS Smith increased its full-year dividend 4.5% to 3.1 pence a share, taking the total for the year to 4.6 pence--up from 4.4 pence a year earlier. -By Rachael Gormley, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9308; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 02:21 ET (06:21 GMT)