Paper merchant Spicers- formally known as Paperlinx- has returned to profitability following heavy loss stemming from underperforming European operations, delivering a 49 per cent jump in net income.

Spicers managed to log a statuary profit of $6.3m for the half year, a significant improvement on last year’s $90m loss which was blamed on the collapse of its European ventures.

The paper, packaging and signage group’s revenue took a downturn falling 3.1 per cent to $202m from last year’s $209m. The dip in earnings was attributed to ‘ongoing structural decline’ in the commercial print segment.

In light of its failure to penetrate the European market, Spicers says it is now ‘focused exclusively’ on Australia, New Zealand and Asia, and chief executive Andy Preece says centralised efforts in ANZA are the driving factor for the return to profit.

“With the Spicers businesses now exclusively focused in the ANZA region, the first six months of trading reveals a profitable platform from which to execute our well-defined diversification strategies,” says Preece.

[Related: Spicers European collapse]

Spicers described its Australian division as having a ‘challenging first half’ after sales revenue took a seven per cent dive and struggled to churn profit from the commercial print arm.

Also commenting on the results, chairman Robert Kaye, says, “This first half result represents a fresh beginning for the Spicers Limited business and a solid start to the journey.”

The company says its plans for the 2016 full year include driving growth through ‘appropriate acquisitions’ and to continue offsetting loss from failed overseas operations.

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