Intertape Polymer shows progress but reports losses in Q1 2010

Montreal-based packaging supplier Intertape Polymer Group (IPG) reported a loss of $5.8 million for the first quarter if 2010 even as its sales rose nearly 25 per cent.

Sales were $173.1 million, up 24.5 per cent from $139.1 a year ago, the company said in a news release. Sales for the most recent quarter were up 7.7 per cent from $160.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.

“Intertape’s sales increased markedly during the first quarter, a result of the continued traction of our new high-margin products, as well as from generally improved market conditions,” said IPG chairman Eric E. Baker.

The company’s Engineered Coated Products division posted an improvement in sales volume despite weakness in the construction and building markets.

That market seems to be slowly improving, said Melbourne Yull, the company’s executive director.

“We are encouraged by recent data on U.S. housing starts and building permits, which signal the start of a recovery in the construction and building industry,” Yull said. “Our first quarter results set the stage for an improving 2010.”

Holding down the company’s profitability is “high raw material costs and an industry environment that has inhibited our pricing ability,” Baker said.

IPG employs approximately 2,000 people in operations at 16 sites, including 13 manufacturing plans in North America and one in Europe.