British business supplies distributor Bunzl Plc said it expected revenues in 2023 to be slightly higher, banking on the acquisitions it made this year and strong demand for its cheaper and high-margin products amid soaring inflation.
Businesses across the UK are looking to cut costs as they battle a rise in prices for everything from fuel to packaging materials due to supply-chain disruptions and the Ukraine conflict.
The company, which supplies food packaging, latex gloves, work wear and stationery to businesses, said it expected revenue to increase by 17% for the year ending 31 December, compared with £10.23 billion (€11.7 billion) a year earlier.
The FTSE 100 firm, which had benefited from demand for COVID-related products during the height of the pandemic, added that it expected adjusted operating margin for the year to be slightly ahead of prior guidance.
Bunzl, which agreed to sell its UK healthcare division to Dutch health care company Mediq on Tuesday, said it continued to see macroeconomic uncertainties.
'Strength And Resilience'
Frank van Zanten, chief executive officer of Bunzl, commeted, “Bunzl’s performance over the year has continued to demonstrate the strength and resilience of the Bunzl business model. Our teams have successfully navigated the inflationary environment and supply chain disruption experienced this year to ensure customers have reliably received the essential products they need.
“Furthermore, we have continued to deliver on key strategic objectives, including supporting customers with innovative products that are better suited to a circular economy and have had our ambitious carbon emission reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). In addition, we have committed more than £280 million (€319 million) of spend to acquisitions over the year, with our pipeline remaining active and supported by our strong balance sheet.”
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM – your source for the latest supply chain news. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
