For the fiscal year ending 30 September, French plastics processor and automotive supplier Plastiques du Val de Loire (Plastivaloire, Langeais; www.groupe-plastivaloire.com) has reported record turnover of EUR 834 mn, an increase of 18.5% from the previous year.

The company said it has exceeded the EUR 800 mn mark for the first time and beat the forecast of EUR 810-830 mn made at the beginning of the year.

The fourth quarter had a noticeable dampening effect with growth of only 3.3%, the company said, which compared to the very strong quarter of the previous year. Otherwise, the European automotive industry in particular was said to have made an impressive comeback as a customer, with the largest Plastivaloire segment recording above-average growth compared to the smaller industrial sector and also a certain gap to the performance of the American business.

Related: EU new car registrations rise over 9% in September, sales jump nearly 17% in Q1-Q3

The company is scheduled to announce details of the results on 18 December. However, the Langeais-based supplier said it is already anticipating a “slightly better” EBITDA margin in the second half of the financial year following a 7.9% result in the first six months. This would indicate EBITDA of around EUR 66 mn for the entire year. 

Despite the expected improvement, the company is still below past margin levels, which have been 12% and more.