In the fourth quarter, ending December 31, 2010, the company reported sales of $530.8m, up seven percent on the $495.6m posted the previous year.
Increased demand from the cosmetics market aided the Beauty and Home segment to post strong sales.
Aptar CEO Peter Pfeiffer said: “We were up against a difficult comparison to our record fourth quarter of 2009 results but we surpassed those results on the strength of our broad product portfolio and the diversity of markets we serve.”
“Our Beauty & Home segment posted strong sales in the quarter particularly due to increased demand from the fragrance/ cosmetic market,” he added.
Personal care dip for closures segment
Whilst sales and profits in the Beauty & Home and Pharma segments drove fourth quarter earnings, decreased demand, particularly from the personal care market, saw the Closures business take a dip, despite an improved demand from the food/beverage market.
Net sales in the fourth quarter for the Beauty & Home segment reached $278,566, nine percent up on the previous year’s sales of $255,435.
For the year, this business segment brought in $1,072,538, more than half of total net sales for the company, up 16.5 percent up on 2009.
“This proved to be an exceptional year for our company especially after following one of the most challenging years in our history. Throughout 2009, we took steps to reduce costs without jeopardizing key capacity and we were well positioned coming into 2010 to meet the recovery in demand, particularly from our Beauty & Home and Closures customers,” explained Pfeiffer.
Year-to-date sales increased 13 percent to $2.1bn from $1.8bn a year ago. Operating income also increased to a record $268m, up 35 percent from $198.4m a year ago.
Expected growth in 2011
The global dispensing company is confident that its strategically aligned businesses will continue to grow in 2011. Following growth in 2010, it anticipates its segments will reflect more normalized growth rates going forward.
“Our strategy is to continue to probe deeper into our markets to tap under served sectors, to get even closer to our customers and help them grow their brands, and to better understand the needs of end consumers in order to provide them with the world’s most innovative dispensing solutions,” said Pfeiffer.
“As we look to the first quarter of 2011, we expect diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $.60 to $.65 per share compared to $.56 per share reported last year,” he added