Brambles Reaffirms Fiscal Year Forecasts Amid Surging Demand, Customer Wins

   By Stuart Condie 
 

SYDNEY--Brambles Ltd. reaffirmed its fiscal 2021 revenue and profit forecasts after high demand in North America and new customer wins in Europe helped the pallet supplier lift sales revenue by 8.0% across the first nine months of the financial year.

The Australia-listed firm, which reports its financial results in U.S. dollars, on Thursday said continuing-operations sales revenue for July 1-March 31 was $3.79 billion, compared with $3.51 billion for the same period in fiscal 2020.

Its CHEP Americas unit lifted revenue by 6.0% to $1.91 billion on record demand from existing customers and inventory stockpiling in the U.S.

Inventory stockpiling due to the Covid pandemic and Brexit added to new customer wins in Central and Eastern Europe to help lift CHEP Europe, Middle East and Africa sales revenue by 9.0% to $1.50 billion. CHEP Asia-Pacific sales revenue rose 18% to $383.3 million.

Brambles said it expects pallet demand to ease in the fourth quarter and continued to anticipate full-year sales revenue growth of between 4.0% and 6.0%, when stripping out the effect of currency moves.

It sees underlying profit growth of between 5.0% and 7.0% and a dividend payout ratio between 45% and 60%.

It said will continue its share buyback through fiscal 2021.

Write to Stuart Condie at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 21, 2021 19:18 ET (23:18 GMT)

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