Packaging firm CCL Industries' Q2 profit drops 19% to $11.9M

CCL Industries Inc., a specialist in packaging and labelling for consumer products, says its second-quarter profit dropped 19 per cent to $11.9 million amid lower sales revenue and a weak performance by the plastics division.

Earnings for the quarter ended June 30 amounted to 37 cents a share and compared with $14.7 million or 46 cents per share a year earlier, Toronto-based CCL reported Friday.

Sales declined three per cent to $377.4 million.

"We are disappointed with our performance in the second quarter," CEO Donald Lang said in a release.

"As we had expected, we continue to be affected by unfavourable currency exchange. At the same time, our personal care and pharmaceutical customers have not generally created the type of growth in sales volumes that we had planned, except in specific markets and products."

Lang said the plastic packaging operation "is running at slightly below break-even due to operational issues and lower volumes." He said Geoffrey Martin, president of the label division, has been assigned "to turn around" the plastic business.