DS Smith
Revenue £3.8bn Dividends 11.4p
When everything is going as well as it is for DS Smith, one is entitled to wonder how it can go wrong. The answer is not immediately obvious. The company is in the unusual position of being able to outperform in a corrugated packaging market that is fairly low growth, with plenty of opportunity to raise revenues and profits by further acquisitions.
Another was announced yesterday, the second in Spain, bringing to five the number of businesses bought since the start of the last financial year. The company can comfortably spend another £1 billion on in-fill acquisitions in Europe. The latest deal brings its market share to 16 per cent; there is not much to buy in eastern Europe,