In an update published this morning (23 November) and covering trading for the period from 1 January to 31 October 2023, the Glasgow-headquartered packaging company said its year-to-date revenue was 2% below the same period last year, with weaker volumes and lower pricing impacting most sectors.

But these impacts are being offset by improved new business performance, effective management of pricing and costs, and the completion of three acquisitions, all of which are performing well, the company added.

These included protective packaging companies B&D in September, Gottlieb Packaging Materials in April, and Suttons Performance Packaging in March.

The company said good progress is being made in Europe, with a strong contribution from PackMann, which was acquired in 2022, and continuing organic growth.

The company’s net bank funds at 31 October 2023 were £3.7m. On 30 June 2023 it had a net bank debt of £3.3m.

Aleen Gulvanessian, chair of Macfarlane Group, said: “In challenging conditions, the performance of the group this year has demonstrated the resilience of our business model and the benefit of effective management actions.

“The board does not expect trading conditions to substantially improve in the near term and the management team will continue to execute actions to maintain the group’s progress.”

Macfarlane Group employs over 1,000 people at 39 sites, predominantly in the UK, as well as in Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands.

The company’s share price was down by 1.82% on yesterday’s close to 108p at the time of writing just before lunchtime today (52-week high: 121p, low: 98.38p).