Overseas strength boosts Bunzl

30th Aug 2011 07:07

Outsourcing and distribution group Bunzl posted a rise in pre-tax profits in the half year to 30 June as a strong performance overseas helped offset weakness in Britain and Ireland.Pre-tax profits climbed to £112.1m from £100m over the same period the previous year on revenues that were up to £2.44bn from £2.35bn. The interim dividend is upped to 8.05p from 7.15p.The rise in revenues "was driven by strong organic growth in North America, Continental Europe and the Rest of the World together with the effect of recent acquisitions, partly offset by lower sales in UK & Ireland," the company said.Bunzl also reported that it has sold its vending business to Autobar, a market leader in the sector. The vending sector has proved to be more capital intensive than other businesses, with volumes challenged by the rise of high street coffee shops, Bunzl said, adding that the disposal will give rise to a loss of about £55m.However, the company has announced two acquisitions, of Majestic Products, which will extend its Netherlands operations into the personal protection equipment and safety sectors and Netpak, a Canadian business specialising in the supply of packaging and equipment for food and non-food products.---RG