Plastic Omnium (PO, Levallois / France; www.plasticomnium.com) has revealed that the company’s ongoing “PO 2009” restructuring scheme, which it says is a response to the downturn in the North American automotive sector, will result in 1,200 job losses. Around 80% of the cuts are to be made in France, with auto supply workers bearing the brunt. Plants in Canada (Inergy) and Brazil also will be affected.

The scheme is designed to achieve cost efficiencies of EUR 50m annually from 2009, with savings to total some EUR 25-30m in 2008. At the end of June, just over half of the measures had been implemented, CEO and family shareholder Laurent Burelle said in presenting figures for the first half year. Restructuring is due to be wrapped up by the end of September and may result in earnings improvement as early as the second half of 2008.

In the first half year, PO posted sales of EUR 1.45 bn, an increase of around 14% against the 2007 period. Operating profit before special items declined slightly, to EUR 50m from EUR 48m a year earlier. Burelle pointed to restructuring charges of EUR 22m booked in the first half to explain the plunge in year-on-year net profit to EUR 2.5m from EUR 30m.

The good performance of the French company’s urban systems (rubbish containers) business segment, which accounts for 18% of sales following the 2007 acquisition of refuse containers producer Sulo Environmental Technology (Herford / Germany; www.sulo.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 01.08.2007 – confirms the “quality of the strategic acquisitions carried out in 2007 and their ability to improve the company’s financial performance,” said Burelle. The segment’s return on sales nearly doubled in H1 2008 against the 2007 period to 4.5% and further improvement is expected in the second half.