Bunzl secures two acquisitions

BUNZL bought two more companies today, continuing an acquisition drive that helped pre-tax profit rise by a better-than-expected 12 per cent in the first half.

The group, which distributes consumable products to businesses, said it had agreed to buy Mexican safety products supplier Espomega and Britain’s TFS, which provides point-of-sale materials.

The two deals take Bunzl’s spending on acquisitions to £203m ($316m) so far this year, and it said it had a promising pipeline of opportunities for the rest of the year. It spent a total £272m in 2012.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Acquisitions helped the group post pre-tax profit of £167.6m for the six months to the end of June, on revenue up 13 per cent to £2.96bn, resulting in adjusted earnings per share of 27.8 pence.

Analysts were expecting the group to report pre-tax profit of £163.4m, according to a company-supplied consensus of 13 brokers.

Related topics: