James Cropper profit rises as Paper & Packaging division revenue grows

James Cropper PLC on Wednesday reported higher profit and revenue for the first half, driven by growth in its Paper & Packaging division, which benefited from seasonal trends and a one-off inventory build.

The Cumbria, England-based paper and packaging designer and manufacturer said pretax profit for the six months ended September 26 was £5.0 million, up from £2.7 million a year ago.

Revenue was £61.2 million, up 18% from £51.8 million, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation more than doubled to £7.8 million from £4.1 million.

By division, Paper & Packaging revenue increased 29% to £42.2 million from £32.8 million, while it swung to an adjusted Ebitda of £3.9 million from a loss of £700,000.

James Cropper said growth was driven by seasonality and a one-off inventory build.

In a conversation with Alliance News, Chief Executive Officer David Stirling said growth in the division was "ahead of what we expected".

He noted one customer in particular who "picked up some more business downstream, and there's a bit of seasonality in there, there's a bit of them putting stock into some of the channels, but that's benefited us in the first half."

"Our Paper & Packaging business has made excellent progress towards its goal of sustainable profitability, with improved operational efficiency complemented by successful business development activity that has delivered a number of new customer wins over the last 12 months," said Stirling.

Advanced Materials revenue was £19.0 million, unchanged from a year ago, as growth in established markets was offset by an expected decline in Hydrogen Coatings revenue following a strong performance a year ago.

James Cropper declared an interim dividend of 5.0 pence per share, compared with no dividend a year ago.

Since the period end, James Cropper said trading has remained in line with expectations.

Looking ahead, the company expects full-year revenue growth in the mid-single digits. It reiterated its full-year adjusted Ebitda guidance of £10.3 million to £11.3 million, as updated in October.

Revenue in financial 2026 amounted to £102.9 million, while its adjusted Ebitda was £8.9 million.

"Paper & Packaging during the remainder of financial 2027 is expected to return to more normal seasonally adjusted levels to deliver high-single-digit full-year revenue growth and a mid-single-digit adjusted Ebitda margin," it said.

For Advanced Materials, Stirling said: "We are targeting underlying double-digit revenue growth in the Advanced Materials business, as we continue to deepen customer relationships and develop opportunities across both established and nascent markets."

James Cropper shares were down 0.7% to 834.40 pence on Wednesday morning.

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