Tetra Pak FY09 Net Sales Increase To EUR8.95bn

Tetra Pak has reported net sales of EUR8.95bn in 2009, up 1.2% compared to the prior year. Packaging solutions reached EUR8bn in net sales in 2009, an increase of 1.8% over prior year while sales of processing solutions declined 3.8% in comparable terms to EUR917m during this period.

The company said that the double-digit growth in South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Sub-Sahara Africa drove the rise in Packaging solutions’ sales, while East Europe and Central Asia were the most affected by the economic downturn, experiencing a 12.2% decline in net packaging sales year-over-year.

Though buoyed by a strong order backlog, sales of processing solutions were impacted by the difficult environment for capital equipment, Tetra Pak said. Overall, group sales strengthened in the fourth quarter of 2009, increasing by 5.7% from the year-ago quarter.

In 2209, the company continued its planned investment in new plant and equipment around the world, inaugurating its new packaging material plant in Hohhot, Northern China, which operates completely on power from renewable resources. The EUR60m plant brings total investment in the country to EUR250m, with a total capacity of approximately 50 billion packs a year in its four Chinese plants.

Dennis Jonsson, president and CEO of Tetra Pak said: “While we are encouraged by strong growth in the last quarter, we expect 2010 to be another challenging year, with continued uncertainty about the speed of the economic recovery.

“We remain focused on keeping our costs down and driving quality and operational efficiency to deliver value-driven solutions to our customers. We will continue to invest in innovative technologies and products as well as plant infrastructure to meet the changing needs of the market.”

To meet demand for foods such as soups, sauces, dressings and beverage products Tetra Pak has acquired the assets of Scanima Mixer Division from Denmark-based Scanima , a partner in the mixing solutions and spiral solutions – freezers, chillers, proofers and steamers in the last year.

In addition, the company has entered into an agreement with Braskem,a Brazilian petrochemical company, to purchase limited volumes of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) derived from a renewable feedstock.

Tetra Pak has launched four processing solutions in 2009 and also launched the Tetra Brik Edge, a packaging solution for chilled liquid dairy products.

The company delivered an additional 351 packaging machines, 1,699 processing units and 1,113 pieces of distribution equipment in 2009. It operates 16 technical training centres, 41 technical service centres and 11 research and development facilities around the world.