Earnings at the Ergis group (Warsaw / Poland; www.ergis.eu) came under pressure again in 2018. Provisional figures show that EBITDA fell 18% to PLN 46.1m (EUR 10.7m), while the net result was down by around a third at PLN 14.05m. At the same time, sales increased 3.5% to PLN 776m.

The increase in raw material costs, in particular, caused problems for the company, since it was only able to adjust its own sales prices after a certain time lag. Ergis points out that in the course of 2018, purchasing costs increased by 20.7% for PET flakes and by 17.2% for virgin PET. Other negative factors included start-up problems with a new line for PET films and laminates at its German site in Berlin as well as increased labour costs.

The company's operating result for its rigid films business fell to almost zero after reaching just under PLN 9m in 2017. Its PET tape activities, by contrast, achieved the EBITDA targets, while the flexible PVC film and printed food packaging segments fell just short. For 2019, Ergis CEO Tadeusz Nowicki aims to improve the company's profitability, which decreased in 2017 – see Plasteurope.com of 30.01.2018. A new stretch film plant to be installed at its Polish site in Oława in the first half of 2019 and smoothly-running production at its PET film plant in Berlin / Germany should contribute to an increase in profits.