Bunzl PLC on Monday hailed ‘another excellent year’ in 2022, as it announced two further acquisitions.
The London-based distribution services company said annual revenue rose 17% year-on-year to £12.04 billion from £10.29 billion. Pretax profit increased 12% to £634.6 million from £568.7 million.
Bunzl increased its dividend by 10% to 62.7 pence from 57.0p.
‘We have made further strategic progress, increasing the percentage of digital customer orders, and further supporting customers with the transition towards products that are better suited to the circular economy,’ said Chief Executive Officer Frank van Zanten.
The company left guidance for 2023 unchanged from its December trading statement. Back then, it said it expects a ‘resilient’ adjusted operating profit, with its operating margin ‘slightly higher than historical levels’.
Separately, Bunzl said it has agreed to acquire Arbeitsschutz-Express GmbH, a German distributor of workwear and person protection equipment, and completed the acquisition of Capital Paper Products Ltd, a Canadian packaging company. Both acquisitions are for undisclosed sums. Bunzl added that Arbeitsschutz-Express generated a revenue of €41 million in 2022, while Capital Paper had a revenue of C$26 million, around £16 million in 2021.
Bunzl shares were 2.3% higher at 3,082.00 pence each in London on Monday morning.
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