Swiss company Aluflexpack (Reinach; www.aluflexpack.com) can look back with satisfaction at its performance in the first half-year, with the manufacturer of flexible packaging solutions increasing its turnover by 30.2% to EUR 164.8 mn. Excluding the effect of the acquisition of the recently acquired Turkish converter Teko (Corlu; www.teko.com.tr), organic sales growth still amounted to 27%. The company said that especially the pharmaceutical consumer market had developed at an above-average rate.

The Swiss-Croatian packaging group announced adjusted EBITDA of EUR 24.3 mn for the first half-year compared with EUR 21.4 mn for the first half of the previous year. The decline in the EBITDA margin of 16.9% to 14.7% was attributable to increased costs for energy, transport, and packaging.

In April 2022, Aluflexpack acquired an 80% share in Turkish company Teko, which produces flexible plastics/aluminium packaging for the dairy and beverage industries, and had most recently posted sales of around EUR 16 mn with 120 employees. The acquisition was a further step in the company’s expansion strategy, said CEO Johannes Steurer, who moved this year from his previous position as CFO to take over as head of the group (see Plasteurope.com of 02.09.2021). With this acquisition, Aluflexpack wants to expand its market position in Turkey and in the neighbouring countries.

Related: Aluflexpack’s expansion plans for Croatian plants are on track

Alongside publishing the half-year figures, Aluflexpack increased its forecast for the year as a whole. Assuming stable energy supplies, the group anticipates sales of between EUR 320 mn and EUR 350 mn, after previously forecasting sales of between EUR 310 mn and EUR 330 mn. Looking further ahead, the company expects sales to increase organically by 2025 to as much as EUR 450-500 mn.

Aluflexpack produces flexible packaging solutions for coffee and tea, pharmaceuticals, animal feedstuffs, sweets, and dairy products, and, in addition to its production sites in Switzerland, France, Turkey, and Poland, also has four production facilities in Croatia. At the Croatian plant in Drnis, the capacities for processing aluminium foil are to be doubled this year, although no concrete figures have been given.

Group-wide, the company employs 1,342 people, with a majority of the shares held by Montana Tech Components industry group, owned by Austrian entrepreneur Michael Tojner.