James Cropper trading ahead of expectations, shares surge

(Sharecast News) - Paper and packaging group James Cropper said on Wednesday that its performance in the 18 weeks ended 2 August was "slightly ahead of expectations in both divisions". James Cropper said it had made "good progress" in the execution of its updated strategy, with disciplined cash management in line with its recently stated capital allocation policy.

The AIM-listed firm also said it had benefitted from £1.2m net receipts from the sale of non-core assets, with net debt of £10.3m as at 2 August, down from £12.9m at 29 March and £5m lower than at the same time a year earlier.

James Cropper stated that it was confident in the performance of the group for the FY ending 31 March 2026, with the group targeting "significant growth" in adjusted underlying earnings against FY25.

It also said the rollout of its revised strategy was proceeding as planned, with expectations of improved mid-term prospects of both its Advanced Materials and Paper & Packaging units.

Chief executive David Stirling said: "I am pleased we are making progress on our three key objectives: sales growth in Advanced Materials, improving profitability in Paper & Packaging and disciplined cash management to embed leverage below 2x EBITDA. The business is becoming more agile and streamlined to deliver our objectives, which will create long-term value for shareholders as we make progress against our recently introduced strategy."

As of 0955 BST, James Cropper shares had surged 17.08% to 281p.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com