Improved profit and turnover in a challenging market for salmon box maker.
Packaging giant BEWi posted on Wednesday morning an EBIT of EUR 10.6 million, up from EUR 5.6 million euros in the same quarter of 2019. Turnover came to EUR 122.1 million, up 13.7 per-cent from the third quarter of last year.
“The third quarter has been an eventful quarter for our company. We acquired the Norwegian packaging and insulation company BDH Holding AS, divested properties in Denmark and the shares of our Norwegian holding company, BEWi ASA, were successfully admitted to trading on the Norwegian trading facility Euronext Growth. Also, today we announced our intention to apply for a listing of our shares at Oslo Børs,” said BEWi CEO Christian Bekken.
Its facilities are primarily known for making polystyrene fish boxes.
- Read more: Packaging giant BEWI aiming for Oslo-listing
Uncertainty
“The Covid-19 pandemic continues creating uncertainty and impacting our everyday lives. As the level of impact on our operations varies across segments and markets, our integrated and diversified business model has again proven resilient. Despite challenging market conditions, we are delivering growth and improved margins, and we have been fortunate to maintain nearly full production at our facilities,” continued Bekken.
“Our circular activities remain a high priority and we stay committed to reaching our annual recycling target of 60,000 tonnes, securing full circularity. We recently commenced operations of our new recycling facility in Portugal and we expect to start operations in Denmark during the fourth quarter. At the same time, our sustainability work embraces far more than our Circular division. To further improve our work, we have strengthened our organisation with Camilla L. Bjerkli (PhD) as our Director of Sustainability.
“During the third quarter, the raw material prices increased, impacting the results of our RAW segment positively, although prices are still at low levels. Our insulation business is growing year over year. Volumes have been stable in the Nordics, but decreased in the Benelux region, although a positive development was noted towards the end of the quarter. Both our downstream segments. Packaging & Components and Insulation continue to benefit from the favourable raw material prices,” Bekken continued.
Financial flexibility
“In August, we announced the acquisition of the Norwegian packaging and insulation provider BEWi Drift Holding AS (BDH), in line with our strategy for growth and diversification. BDH is an important contributor to the growth in our Packaging & Components segment since the third quarter last year. The integration of BDH is progressing as planned and the group targets synergies of EUR 2.3-4.5 million per year. The segment also delivered a satisfying improvement in profitability” he said.
“Our divestment of certain properties in Denmark this quarter, and our recently announced intention to divest properties in the Netherlands, supports our long term growth strategy by releasing capital and increasing our financial flexibility,” added the CEO.
In August, the company had its first day of trading on the Merkur Market in Oslo.
On Wednesday, BEWi launched its intention to transfer its shares to a full listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange in December.
