| From timesonline.co.uk: Leslie Van de Walle knows all about oil: before joining Rexam as chief executive, he ran the retail business of Royal Dutch Shell.
That has not stopped shares in the packaging group falling by more than a quarter since May amid fears that surging oil prices will take their toll of full-year profits – especially at Rexam’s recently enlarged plastics business, where oil-based resins are the biggest raw material.
But as yesterday’s first-half figures show, the company – which has been routinely wrongfooted by commodity costs in the past – appears to be coping well with higher energy prices. Pass-through contracts mean that 80 per cent of the cost increase in resins – on which Rexam spent £170 million in the first half – has been borne by customers. Further, last year’s $1.8 billion (£908 million) acquisition of the plastics division of Owens-Illinois has given Rexam increased purchasing power......Full Article Source |