Strong Canadian dollar cuts into CCL sales and earnings

Sales reported for the first quarter by Toronto-based CCL Industries Inc. were down slightly compared with last year, but would have been up 5% were it not for the effect of a stonger Canadian dollar and the divestiture of a line of plastic closures. Sales for the first three months of 2003 were $426.8 million compared with $427.8 in 2002.
CCL provides plastic and aluminum packaging and innovative product labeling for the consumer products industry. The company calculates that the value of the U.S. dollar has dropped 5% compared with the first quarter of 2002. Over 60% of CCL’s sales originate in the U.S., so this drop has had a significant impact on reported sales and earnings.
Donald Lang, president and CEO, said: "the strong consumer demand experienced throughout 2002 in North America continued to benefit our first quarter of 2003 and the company’s order bank in North America remains generally strong through the second quarter. Unfortunately, the economic slowdown in Europe that became evident in the last half of 2002 continues to affect both the contribution from, and the outlook of, the U.K. and German custom manufacturing operations."
CCL employs 7000 people and operates 35 production facilities in North and Central America, and Europe.