Business

Nampak, the South African packaging multinational, has appointed a former senior executive now working in the fishing industry as its new chief executive.

Andrew Marshall, is currently chief executive of Oceana Group, a listed fishing group, but prior to that role headed up Nampak’s PET bottle and flexible plastics divisions.

He will take on the top job at the South African packaging giant next March, replacing current chief executive John Bortolan, who is retiring. Marshall told Packaging News that the role would represent a huge challenge.

Marshall has spent 10 years as chief executive at Oceana Group, which runs fishing vessels and supplies canned, frozen and fresh fish and several related products. Like Nampak, the firm is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Prior to joining Oceana, Marshall is understood to have held senior positions at Nampak and other South African firms including materials and components manufacturer Kaymac and plastics packaging group Gundle.

John Bortolan has led Nampak since 2003 and in 2007 carried out a strategic review in which he decided not to sell off the group’s European businesses.

News of Marshall's appointment came as Nampak posted a 51.6% drop in pre-tax profits for the year ended 30 September.

Turnover was up 8.5% to 18.5bn rand (£1.17bn), but pre-tax profit more than halved to 698m rand (£44.7m).

Nampak said that the turnover increase had been mainly due to rising input costs, while the drop in profit was blamed on one-off costs and problems in its Nigerian and Zimbabwean businesses.