Polish plastics packaging company Ergis Group (Warsaw; www.ergis.eu) achieved a 9.6% rise in its EBITDA last year at nearly PLN 60m (EUR 14m) after sales increased 3.1% to a record PLN 696m, thanks to its stretch film product "nanoERGIS". Operating result was PLN 35.4m and matched the same 17% growth rate in 2015.

Sales in the largest product segment – Industrial Packaging – were 4.2% higher year-on-year, led by a nanoERGIS sales increase of 26% and a 22% jump in PET tapes. Sales for the PVC soft films segment grew 13.3%, driven by an increase in the sale of insulating and decorating films. The Printed Packaging segment posted a 7.2% growth in sales. Successful restructuring activities to integrate the production of multilayer rigid packaging film and PET mono film into one manufacturing plant in Berlin / Germany also contributed positively to group results.

Income on gross profit and net profit levels rose 12.1% to PLN 30m and 15.7% to PLN 24m, respectively, because Ergis no longer had an accounting writedown of PLN 45.8m booked in 2015 for the merger of two German companies – Schimanski and MKF-Folien – acquired in 2007 (see PIEweb of 16.02.2016).

As announced earlier, Ergis is building another production line for nanoERGIS in Oława / Poland. It is due to be launched in the second half of 2017. It said it believes that the packaging products segment is experiencing a "dynamic" growth and will focus on further developing this business.

Tadeusz Nowicki, management board president, said: “I believe that the preliminary results for 2016 are very good. This could be achieved through continued growth in the sale of our most innovative product, that is the nanoERGIS film, and the growth in the sale of PET tapes and PVC soft films. The outcome of the restructuring process carried out in Germany in 2015 also exerted a positive influence on the results."