Essentra H1 results drag shares down

Plastic and fibre products producer Essentra (LON:ESNT) has seen its share price fall by 3.73% to 405.70p (as of 12:50 BST) after its revenues dropped by 1% for the six months ended 30th June. This was due to disposals and closures, and management said that revenues were up by 1.3% on a like-for-like basis.

Chief executive Paul Forman commented: “At our FY 2018 results, I stated my confidence that 2018 represented an inflection point for our business and that we had restored Essentra to a position where future revenue and profit growth can be sustained. With each of Components, Packaging and Filters showing improvement in this respect in HY 2019 – combined with further improvement in our key operational and people metrics – this belief has strengthened.

“We have also made significant progress in simplifying the Essentra Group, with the sale of Pipe Protection Technologies, Extrusion, Speciality Tapes and Card Solutions in the year to date. Further to these disposals, we will absorb Tear Tapes and Industrial Supply into the Filters and Components divisions respectively which – given the complementary end-markets served – will not only provide each of these two businesses with a strong platform for future successful growth, but also allow us to dissolve the Specialist Components division. At the same time, we have reallocated the disposal proceeds into two value-creating acquisitions in areas where we have identified we have real strategic strength, while also reinforcing our balance sheet“.