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Record half year profits for DS Smith

Packaging group DS Smith, which has two sites in the Black Country, enjoyed a 31 per cent surge in pre-tax profits for the six month to the end of October.

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DS Smith has a major recycl;ing depot at Rose Hill Industrial Estate, Willenhall

The profits were up to a record £213 million on revenue of £3.18 billion, which was up four per cent from a year before.

Group chief executive Miles Roberts said: "Our leadership in e-commerce and sustainable packaging solutions has enabled us to perform well despite a difficult macro environment and volatility in paper pricing. The continued growth in margin and strong pricing discipline has been particularly pleasing as we deepen our relationships with fast moving consumer goods customers and grow market share.

"We continue to capitalise on the strong long-term growth drivers of fibre-based packaging, with our industry-leading innovation driving differentiation in the market. Assuming current macro-economic conditions prevail, we anticipate an acceleration of volume growth in the second half of the year which, together with the resilience of our business model, supports our expectation of further growth in the year."

DS Smith has a packaging site at Langley House in Summit Crescent, Smethwick, and a paper and plastics recycling depot at Rose Hill Industrial Estate, Willenhall, where at least 10 new jobs are being created after planners approved proposals to allow it to operate for 24-hours.

Building work involves the installation of a second weighbridge, changes to the car park layout and a new vehicle barrier for employee and customer cars.

DS Smith’s global operation involves sites in 37 countries employing a total of 28,500 people.

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