Swiss flexible packaging producer Aluflexpack (Reinach; www.aluflexpack.com) posted growth in the first half of 2021, with net sales rising 9.5% to EUR 126.5m. Organically, turnover rose 5.5% when excluding Polish packaging manufacturer Top-System (Tarnowo Podgórne; www.top-system.pl/en), which the company acquired in September 2020 (see Plasteurope.com of 23.11.2020). Adjusted EBITDA in the first six months of the year improved 23.5% to EUR 21.4m, the company said.

Growth received a boost from good business development in specific markets: compared to the first half of 2020, sales for coffee rose 29%, those for tea grew 22%, and sales for confectioneries and pet food increased 14%.

On the other hand, demand for pharmaceutical packaging suffered from pandemic-related measures such as strict hygiene rules and movement restrictions, which together led to a significant decline in colds, fever infections and other illnesses not connected to Covid-19. For Aluflexpack, this resulted in a 19% sales decline in the pharmaceuticals market versus the first half of 2020.

In examining the current market environment, the management team confirmed its outlook for this year as announced in March 2021 and said it anticipates net sales of between EUR 260m and EUR 270m, with EBITDA before non-recurring effects expected at EUR 40m - EUR 43m.

Additionally, Johannes Steurer, group CFO since 2012, was appointed CEO by the board of directors and is set to start the job on 1 January 2022. He succeeds Igor Arbanas, who is slated to leave the company at the end of the year after nearly a decade at the helm. Lukas Kothbauer, who joined Aluflexpack in 2018 and ran the investor relations and M&A departments, is to become CFO on 1 January 2022, the company said.