MACFARLANE Group has reported a 3% drop in revenue to £280.7 million in its preliminary results for 2023. Adjusted pre-tax profit is up 10% from £23.5 million to £25.8 million.
Group pre-tax profits increased 2% to £20.3 million after charging £1.5 million for deferred contingent consideration related to the acquisition of PackMann, which the firm revealed delivered a ‘stronger operating performance than previously anticipated’.
Basic and diluted earnings per share were 9.44p per share (2022: 9.89p per share) and 9.34p per share (2022: 9.78p per share) respectively, which Macfarlane attributed largely to the higher tax rate of 23.5% in 2023.
Packaging distribution revenue over the year decreased by 6% to £244.9 million. Macfarlane said ‘weak’ demand from customers in the UK and Ireland and sales price deflation were ‘partially offset’ by a stronger new business performance, good sales momentum in Europe, and the benefits of the acquisitions of PackMann and Gottlieb Packaging Materials.
Gross margins increased from 32.1% to 35.7%. Adjusted operating profit increased by 6% to £21 million, while operating profit decreased by 3% to £16.5 million.
The group’s manufacturing operations delivered revenue growth of 16% to £35.8 million. Adjusted operating profit in manufacturing increased by 27% to £6.6 million and operating profit is up 26% to £5.6 million.
The chair’s statement highlighted the ‘resilience’ of the firm’s business model and revealed that ‘good progress’ has been made against Macfarlane’s ESG objectives.
Macfarlane expects the year ahead to remain ‘challenging’ due to uncertainty over customer demand, however the business is confident it will continue to make progress through ‘strong new business momentum, a well-developed pipeline of potential acquisitions, the continued effective management of input prices and operational efficiencies’.
