Reuters: Hot Stocks: DS Smith expects full-year profit per share at top end of estimates

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DS Smith expects full-year profit per share at top end of estimates Apr 24th 2013, 08:24 April 24 | Wed Apr 24, 2013 4:24am EDT April 24 (Reuters) - Packaging company DS Smith said it expects earnings per share for the full year to be at the higher end of market expectations as the company continues to grow volumes and delivers better savings from its SCA acquisition. The stock rose as much as 6.4 percent on Wednesday, making it on of the top percentage gainers on the FTSE 250 Midcap Index . It was trading at 227.9 pence at 0821 GMT. DS Smith acquired SCA for 1.6 billion euros ($2.08 billion)in June to expand its footprint across northern Europe and the Nordic area, where its consumer goods customers such as Proctor & Gamble Co, Nestle SA, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever Plc operate. The company said in October that it would save more from the acquisition than earlier thought, targeting 100 million euros in savings after three full years of ownership. Chief Executive Miles Roberts told Reuters on Wednesday that DS Smith was outperforming that target and expected savings of about 40 million euros this year, up from the 25 million euros it estimated earlier. The company said it expects revenue for the year ending April 30 to nearly double to 3.7 billion pounds ($5.7 billion)from a year ago. It also expects full-year operating profit to be in line with estimates. Analysts expect the company to earn between 15 pence and 16.90 pence per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. "DS Smith has achieved considerable growth in earnings during FY13, despite end markets that might best be described as variable," JPMorgan Cazenove analysts said in a note. "Synergies from the acquisition of SCA Packaging have been achieved faster than expected, which in our opinion, may ultimately result in further upgrades to overall synergy guidance." ($1 = 0.7683 euros) ($1 = 0.6542 British pounds) (Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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