Bunzl profits rise to £155m as group continues expansion
The city of London. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire - Credit: PA
Business supplies firm and outsourcer Bunzl has notched up a rise in profits for the first half of the year and announced a trio of acquisitions.
Pre-tax profits rose 6% to £155.6m in the period, driven by a strong performance in continental Europe. Revenues were up 10% to £3.4bn.
The group added that it has bagged two businesses in Canada - cleaning products firms Plus II Sanitation Supplies and Apex Sanitation Products, and Silwell Kft, a disposable food service company in Hungary.
Bunzl chief executive Frank van Zanten, who took up the role in April, said: 'Going forward, we will focus on further expansion of the group, continuing our investments in IT and digital projects and intensifying the sharing of best practice across our businesses globally.'
However, revenue and profits dipped in the UK and Ireland, with the firm flagging a 'weaker performance'.
On Brexit, Bunzl said that while it is 'difficult to give a firm view as to the probable impact of the recent referendum result in the UK', it does not expect the impact on its business to be significant.
More than 85% of its business is based outside the UK.
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Bunzl hiked its interim dividend by 11% to 13p per share.
