Tetra Pak reports growth despite difficult year

Despite a difficult year, Tetra Pak has posted net sales of €10.9 billion, up 1.7% from 2013. The company saw strong growth in capital equipment and technical sales, offsetting a disappointing year for packaging material.

“Against the backdrop of a tough year, with slower packaging material growth than originally expected, we saw clear evidence that our business strategy is working,” said Tetra Pak President and CEO Dennis Jönsson.

“Capital Equipment sales reached almost €2 billion and Technical Sales topped €1 billion for the first time in the company’s history. Our processing business closed the year with a record high order backlog, up 20% compared with the end of 2013. And we saw a significant increase in sales of our advanced packing formats: 7.1 billion more packs reached the shelves in 2014 than in 2013, offering customers optimal functionality and differentiation.”

The company’s Packaging Solutions business posted net sales of €9.4 billion, 0.9% higher than in 2013. Packaging material volumes reached 180 billion packs, slightly ahead of the 178 billion packs sold in 2013, while Capital Equipment saw revenues rise 6.4% year-on-year and Technical Sales increased by nearly 11%.

Almost 30% of the company’s Technical Sales now come from service contracts, as customers increasingly recognise the value of proactive maintenance, stable performance and predictable costs.

Tetra Pak’s Processing Solutions business saw particularly strong demand in the milk powder and cheese processing sectors. Net sales increased by almost 7% year-on-year, driven by double-digit improvements in South Asia, East Asia, Oceania and Greater China.

The company also released a range of new processing and packaging products in 2014 which were designed to support customers’ sustainable growth ambitions.

“2015 will undoubtedly be another demanding year, but we are confident that our strategic direction will continue to strengthen our market position and bring us further success in both Packaging and Processing,” said Jönsson.

“Our focus, as always, will be on creating customer value, through continuous innovation and by helping to ensure customers are well placed to capitalise on the many opportunities we see on their horizons.”