Bunzl plc (LON:BNZL) have told the market that 2019 was a positive period for the firm, seeing a rise in revenues across the year.
The firm alluded to tough market conditions, and wider political turbulence in their update – however it seems that Bunzl have worked through this to produce a steady set of results.
Across 2019, Bunzl reported that revenue had jumped 2.7% £9.33 billion from £9.08 billion in 2018 – this drove an increase in pretax profit by 6.7% from £424.8 million to £453.3 million.
North American businesses was particularly strong for Bunzl – where revenues climbed 3.7% to £5.47 billion.
Within their Continental Europe sector, revenues also rose 1.8% to £1.83 billion. Notably, in the Rest of the World, revenue rose by 5.6% to £781.6 million.
Commenting on today’s results, Frank van Zanten, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Against the background of mixed macroeconomic and market conditions which prevailed during 2019 across the countries and sectors in which we operate, I am pleased to report that Bunzl has produced another resilient performance with an increase in operating margin. It is particularly good to see continued strong cash conversion and free cash flow growth.
Looking forward, although we continue to see challenging trading conditions in many of our markets, our strong competitive position, diversified and resilient businesses and ability to consolidate our fragmented markets further should lead to improved growth at constant exchange rates principally due to the impact of the good level of recent acquisition activity. Bunzl has a strong balance sheet with significant financial capacity and acquisitions remain a key element of our strategy. The acquisition pipeline is promising and a number of discussions are ongoing.”
Optimism pays off for Bunzl
In December, Bunzl gave shareholders an optimistic forecast to meet targets within a tough market.
Bunzl expected revenue for 2019 to rise by 2% with revenue at constant rates rising by 1%. Underlying revenue, London-based Bunzl noted, is set to be flat on 2018.
The firm saw a dip in its underlying revenue back in October, within its third quarter update and the firm alluded to economic conditions being a constraint on trading globally.
Shareholders remained optimistic however, as the firm did announce the acquisition of Fire Rescue Safety Australia, which distributes specialist fire safety and personal protection equipment.
From their initial forecasts, Bunzl have done well to pull a steady set of results for 2018.
Shareholders will hope that this good form can be built upon across 2020.
Shares in Bunzl trade at 1,974p (+1.31%). 24/2/20 11:36BST.
