On 6 March, the UK group BTR Plc announced its preliminary results for the year ending 31 December 1996.
According to the BTR statement, 1996 group sales totalled UK 8.413 billion compared to UK 7.55…
On 6 March, the UK group BTR Plc announced its preliminary results for the year ending 31 December 1996. According to the BTR statement, 1996 group sales totalled UK 8.413 billion compared to UK 7.556 billion in 1995. Profit before tax was down to UK 1.3 billion from a 1995 figure of UK 1.5 billion. Earnings per share, fully diluted, were 21.7p in 1996, down from 24.9p in 1995. According to BTR, the reduction in earnings reflects disposals and other corporate exceptional items. The proposed final dividend is 5.6p per ordinary share. In the Packaging & Materials division, sales rose 7% to UK 1.483 billion (1995: UK 1.392 billion). BTR“s report claimed the Group“s glass packaging operations in Australasia bettered their 1995 results following strong international demand for Australian wine along with good beer sales. A dispute at BTR“s Spotswood glass factory in Australia was resolved but affected production for a period of time. The performance of UK glass operations also improved on 1995 and the Chinese glass joint ventures showed good increases in volume and profitability. The report also said that new capacity had been commissioned at the Guangdong glass packaging plant in China and that a third furnace would be built in Indonesia in 1997. The Group“s PET and plastics operations in the US and Europe were reported to have improved despite the decline in PET resin prices. In the period to date, BTR pointed out that new joint ventures had been formed in China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.