RPC Group, Europe's leading producer of rigid plastic packaging, has reported a record year for sales and profit.
But with the good news of £20.1 million (€31m) pre-tax profit on sales of £374.8 million for the year ended 31 March came a warning that raw material costs are "again increasingly significantly".
"In the short term we have no alternative to passing these higher costs on to our customers," said chief executive Ron Marsh. Marsh is confident that RPC can grow in key product areas like convenience food, personal care and food service.
"Provided there is some attenuation in polymer prices as the months pass, we anticipate further progress in the current year," he added.
Based in the UK, the RPC Group manufactures and sells rigid plastic packaging for a variety of product groups which include the food and beverage industries. The group manufactures its products through blow and injection moulding and thermoforming. Recently it acquired Wiko Group with three factories in Central and South Germany along with sales offices in Philadelphia in the US and Leicester in the UK.