Print stocks outperform All Ords

Publicly listed print companies experienced a stellar year in 2015/16, significantly outperforming the All Ordinaries share price index.

The ASX closed on June 30 with All Ordinaries seeing a 4.9 per cent drop compared to the start of the financial year.

In comparison the average share price for Amcor, Opus, Spicers and PMP combined jumped 10.7 per cent during the same period.

All print giants performed well individually, by the end of the 2015 financial year the standout performer was Opus, whose share price soared 19.44 per cent.

The Amcor share price saw a solid increase of 8.74 per cent, while Spicers saw a 13.04 per cent increase over the 12 months as it recovered from its disastrous European adventure. The country’s biggest printer PMP also bucked the downward trend, albeit with a modest gain of 1.8 per cent, which still put it 6.7 per cent of the All Ords.

However not all the companies sailed smoothly during the year, packaging giant Amcor saw financial setbacks in June revealing that it will face a US$350m impairment brought on by poor economic conditions in Venezuela.

PMP also saw profits crash during the first half of the 2015 financial year, which was attributed to a $2m bad debt owed by collapsed electronics retailer Dick Smith

The print giant’s profit plummeted 58.8 per cent from $4.3m to $1.8m and its sales dropped 8.6 per cent from $427m to $390m.

Making a big comeback this financial year was Spicers which bounced back in the first half with a statutory profit after tax of $6.3m compared to a statutory loss of $90.8m for the prior corresponding period (pcp).

The return to profitability is welcome news for the company after it suffered massive losses of $300m during the pcp, stemming from its floundering European operations. 

 

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