Packaging firm Macfarlane increases profits

Despite flat sales, the company has improved margins and increased profits

Glasgow packaging firm Macfarlane has reported a 65% increase in its half-year pre-tax profits to £1.5m.

However the company said that sales growth was "hard to generate" due to reduced demand and price deflation.

The group's pension deficit has been reduced by £3.2m to £17.3m, despite falling bond yields.

Macfarlane which has its headquarter in Glasgow, employs 700 people at 22 sites, mainly in the UK and Ireland.

The company's new chairman Graeme Bissett, said the reduction in the pension deficit was part of an ongoing objective "to achieve a fair balance between the interests of Macfarlane shareholders and the members of the pension scheme".

He warned of the outlook for the rest of the year.

He said: "Demand conditions in the UK remain weak and it would be unwise to presume that general economic conditions will improve in the foreseeable future."