Business

Plantic Technologies, the Australian manufacturer of biopolymers for packaging, is considering building a biopolymer plant in Europe.

In the Financial Times today (7 May), Plantic chief executive Brendan Morris said capacity in Europe would eliminate sea freight, which accounts for 12% of sales costs in Europe.

A Plantic spokesman said Eastern Europe was being considered as a location for the plant, along with a number of options, to reduce transportation costs.

Plantic last week extended its agreement with DuPont to market its plastic packaging made from renewable resources in Japan.

The firm said Japan was a "key market" for biodegradable plastics and should provide a "strong platform" for growth.

The firm's share price rose by 4% to 69.5p this morning.

Plantic reported a loss of A$10.26m (£4.8m) on sales of A$1.5m in its full-year results to 31 December 2007, but said its financial position remained strong, with a year-end cash position of A$38m.

Nomura Code, the firm's analyst, has predicted that Plantic will move into profit in 2010.

Product development agreements have also been signed with National Starch to provide Plantic with high-amylose cornstarch, the raw material for its materials, and with US packaging company Bemis to develop flexible packaging films and to supply products for sale into the US market.

UK customers for Plantic's products include Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's.

Plantic launched HP1, a new high-performance biodegradable packaging sheet, at last month's Interpack in Düsseldorf.