Insider Media Limited

RPC Group's £204m acquisition of Dutch brand Superfos has attributed to an increase in sales of nearly £100m, the company said this morning. Northamptonshire-based RPC Group, which supplies plastic packaging for brands including Nescafe, Heinz and Dulux, said operating profit had increased by a record 36 per cent in its year-end results this morning.

The acquisition is expected to bring in up to £25m of additional revenue for the company in three years' time.

RPC Group revealed its results for the year to 31 March this morning.

Sales soared by £99.3m to £819.2m, which the company attributed to a 9 per cent growth on a like-for-like basis.

RPC Group also said its £204m purchase of Superfos in February this year had helped the increase, as it includes the Dutch brand's £37.5m turnover in its total sales from the acquisition date.

Adjusted operating profit improved by 36 per cent to a record £55.8m, while net profit jumped 94 per cent to £25.6m.

Over the 12-month period, net debt increased to £178.7m, with £115.5m additional debt having been assumed to fund the Superfos acquisition, said the company.

Jamie Pike, chairman of RPC Group, said that cost and revenue synergies from the acquisition were likely to be between £15m to £25m per year from the third full year after acquisition. At least £5m is anticipated to be realised in 2011/12, he added.

Pike said it was "very pleasing" to report another record performance ahead of market expectations.

He said: "The RPC 2010 programme was successfully concluded thereby ensuring that the group has the earnings capacity to deliver an average ROCE of at least 15 per cent across the economic cycle. The Superfos acquisition will enhance profitability with the integration progressing well.

"The group is well positioned to deliver on its growth strategy. In light of the group's financial performance and prospects, the board is proposing to increase the final dividend per share to 8.1p, implying a full year increase of 37 per cent."