RPC says the 5% price increase imposed at the beginning of the year was vital for the company’s continued growth and expansion.
The increase was necessary, RPC chief executive Ron Marsh says, to cover ”substantial and unrelenting increases" in input costs for the rigid plastics packaging group.
”Over the past 12 months, as well as fast-rising polymer costs, the prices of nearly every component of our cost structure have also risen. We therefore have to take immediate steps to recover these.
”We have already implemented very tight cost controls across our business, but it is impossible for us to absorb these latest price increases. Our margins have contracted to a level that we can no longer tolerate."
Marsh adds that the price rises were essential if the company was to offer security of supply to its customers.
The news came as RPC confirmed it had completed the acquisition of the Moirans en Montagne blow moulding company MOB in France, whose factories manufacture containers up to 30 litres, including a range of UN-approved containers.
Marsh says the acquisition, which cost around £1m, and the latest half-year results demonstrated that the company was able to deliver a modest profit improvement, despite the difficult trading conditions. Profits rose to £18.7m from £18.4m on sales that were up 6.9% to £329.7m.
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