At the meeting today (10 May), chairman Stuart Paterson will tell shareholders of the Glasgow-headquartered packaging giant that the business has made a solid start to 2022, with first quarter sales and profits from continuing operations ahead of the same period in 2021.

Packaging Distribution sales grew by 16%, with recovery of supplier driven price increases and the benefit of the acquisition of Carters Packaging (Cornwall) in March 2021.

The company’s sales to industrial and hospitality sectors in 2022 have continued to recover, offset by weaker sales to e-commerce retail customers compared to the strong demand seen in the same period in 2021.

Manufacturing Operations grew sales by 93%, due to the benefit from the acquisition of GWP Holdings in February 2021 and a strong performance from Design and Manufacture, which mainly serves industrial markets.

The group is expecting weaker sales in the e-commerce retail sector to continue for the remainder of the year, offset by recovery in the industrial and hospitality sectors and the benefit of new business wins. It said it will continue to manage inflationary pressures in input prices and operating costs, mainly labour, energy, and transport.

Its expectations for the full year are unchanged.

At the AGM, Paterson will say: “We have consistently demonstrated our ability to address the challenges in the market and we are confident that the effectiveness of our strategy, the quality of our people and the resilience of our business model will ensure 2022 will be another year of growth for Macfarlane.”

Macfarlane Group’s share price stood at 116.3p at the time of writing, down 3.08% on yesterday’s close but up slightly from its late-morning position since the release of the trading update just after midday.