Nampak surges to fresh record

Shares in Nampak surged to a new high on Thursday (6 September 2012) after the packaging group said it had identified potential opportunities in west Africa‚ particularly Nigeria for its beverage cans business.

This forms part of the company's broader growth strategy of generating at least 25% of its revenue from the rest of Africa by 2017.

Africa trading profits represented 15% of the total group in the six months ended March 2012. The bulk of its trading profits from were from SA.

"We have set ourselves a target of between three and five years to execute our plans in the West Africa region. This will be in the form of acquisitions and greenfields‚" said Graham Hayward from Nampak investor relations.

The company said last month it planned to build on the success of its "mini Nampak" model in Zambia‚ which included a wide range of packaging goods and services.

"The market appreciated the positive tone on the company's growth prospects‚ which included a scope to grow its business in Africa‚" said one analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.