Chicago-based packaging group Coveris Holdings saw its sales rise slightly in 2014, reporting net sales of $2.8 billion compared to $2.79 billion in 2013.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for 2014 was $322 million, up 17 percent from the prior year, which was $274 million.
Gary Masse, president and CEO said: “Implementation of the Coveris Business System delivered significant savings throughout the year and strategically positioned our business units for growth in key end markets. We have established 2015 as the year of executing our strategy. The Coveris Business System, introduced in 2014, provides the tools and processes to drive manufacturing best practices around commercial excellence, operational excellence, talent and leadership, and acquisition integration.”
The company made several acquisitions in 2014, including KubeTech Custom Molding, St. Neot's Packaging and Learoyd Packaging Holdings Ltd.
Coveris, which is divided into two segments — Flexible and Rigid — said its Flexible segment had pro forma net sales of $2.03 billion for 2014, which is up 2.5 percent from the prior year.
The company states that this increase is mainly due to favorable currency rates as well as favorable volumes, particularly in the North America salt and seasonal seed bag business as well as in the U.K. labels business.
Meanwhile Coveris' Rigid segment had annual net sales of $773 million for the year, which is down 4 percent from 2013. The company attributes this to continued economic challenges and intense competition in Europe for rigid products, particularly in Southern Europe.