July 31 (SeeNews) - Romanian plastic products manufacturer TeraPlast Group [BSE:TRP] said on Tuesday its first-half net profit rose by 33% on the year to 10.52 million lei ($2.7 million/2.3 million euro), mainly due to the acquisition of new businesses in 2017.
TeraPlast's turnover more than doubled year-on-year to 338 million lei in the six months through June, the group said in a press release.
Historically, TeraPlast generates about 40% of its annual business in the first half of the year due to the seasonal nature of the industry.
"The results of this half-year confirm we had the right strategy with the three major acquisitions we made in 2017: TeraSteel factory in Serbia, the Wetterbest business and the Politub activity. These represented a diversification of our portfolio, have brought value added and will contribute significantly to the mid-term development of our business, our goal of doubling last year’s turnover standing as proof," TeraPlast Group financial manager Ioana Birta said.
During the second half of the year TeraPlast would focus on improving its business and increasing the margin, mainly on the metal tile roofing segments and water, gas and sewage systems, Birta added.
In January, TeraPlast took control of local roof tiles producer Depaco by increasing its stake in the company to 67% and said it targeted 100% ownership.
In October last year, TeraPlast opened its TeraSteel sandwich panels factory in Serbia, and received the approval of Romania's anti-trust regulator for the takeover of plastic products manufacturer Politub.
The sandwich panel segment generated a 112 million lei turnover during January-June, a 74% increase on the like period last year, while EBITDA increased by 58%. The group's plastics division recorded a 145 million lei income during the first half of the year, up by an annual 35%.
Earlier this month, TeraPlast said it expects sales of polyethylene pipes to rise by 50% in 2018, exceeding six million metres.
TeraPlast shares traded 4.59% higher at 0.3870 lei on the BVB as of 1010 CET on Tuesday.
(1 euro=4.6248 lei)