Rexam, the global consumer packaging company has announced statement for the period from 1 July 2013 stating an increase in overall global volumes in beverage cans up by 3% in Q3.
Improved volume growth in Western Europe over the summer was partially offset by weakness in Russia and a difficult trading environment in Egypt and Turkey. In North America, the expected contractual gains drove our strong performance. In South America, good growth in specialty cans was offset by continued weakness in standard cans and we are rapidly adapting our manufacturing footprint to meet this changing market dynamic.
The process to divest the Healthcare business is progressing according to plan.
Looking into next year, while we anticipate some volume growth, we will have to contend with the difficult macroeconomic backdrop in Europe, the impact of a maturing specialty can market in North America and foreign exchange translation headwinds.
Graham Chipchase, Rexam's Chief Executive said:
"Overall performance was in line with our plans. Volumes in North America were strong, and better summer weather helped trading in Western Europe, although there has been continued weakness in Russia. We continue to expect our full year performance to show improvement over 2012.
We will continue with our strategy of optimising cash, managing costs and driving return on capital employed. Our ROCE target remains 15%, and we are committed to maintaining returns around that level as we take advantage of the opportunities to grow the business."
