DS Smith Packaging Limited
Registered name: DS SMITH PACKAGING LIMITED
Part of International Paper Company groupDS Smith Packaging Limited made £687m revenue and £18.8m profit in the year to 30 Apr 2024.
DS Smith Packaging Limited’s revenue fell 10% to £687m in the year to 30 Apr 2024, with £18.8m profit and 3,314 employees. The company is classified under “manufacture of other paper and paperboard containers” and is based in London; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- London, London
- Age
- 67 yrs · since 1959
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Part of a group. The filing indicates this company sits within a group structure, so its results may depend on intra-group trading and it may be hard to replicate independently.
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 30 Apr 2022 | 30 Apr 2023 | 30 Apr 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | |||
| Revenue (turnover) | £698m | £762m | £687m |
| Cost of sales | £568m | £608m | £490m |
| Gross profit | £130m | £153m | £197m |
| Operating profit | −£21.2m | −£12.1m | £29.9m |
| Profit before tax | −£22.7m | −£18.7m | £27.4m |
| Profit after tax | −£28.5m | −£24.1m | £18.8m |
| Profit (best available) | −£28.5m | −£24.1m | £18.8m |
| Staff costs | £159m | £174m | £175m |
| Employees (average) | 3,401 | 3,357 | 3,314 |
| Ratios | |||
| Profit margin | −4.1% | −3.2% | 2.7% |
| Gross margin | 18.6% | 20.1% | 28.7% |
| Revenue per employee | £205k | £227k | £207k |
| Profit per employee | −£8.4k | −£7.2k | £5.7k |
| Growth (year on year) | |||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲9.2% | ▼9.8% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▼1.3% | ▼1.3% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | |||
| Cash at bank | £3.2m | £14.7m | £15.6m |
| Net assets | £53.2m | £12.3m | £29.3m |
| Fixed assets | £344m | £317m | £411m |
| Current assets | £154m | £211m | £149m |
| Debtors | £67.3m | £77.6m | £70.5m |
| Deferred income | £24.4m | £28.2m | £23.3m |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Apr 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Apr 2024 | FullAccounts · bulk data Jan 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 2.7%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 28.7%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £207k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £5.7k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- 59.8%
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- 3.4%
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- 10.3%
- Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.
Balance-sheet signals
Year-on-year changes in filed balance-sheet items. They can hint at momentum (or investment) but are not revenue or profit and must not be read as such.
- Net assets
- ▲139%
- Now £29.3m
- Cash at bank
- ▲6%
- Now £15.6m
- Headcount
- ▼1%
- Now 3,314
- Deferred income
- ▼18%
- Now £23.3m
- Fixed assets
- ▲30%
- Now £411m
Deferred income is reported together with accruals in this filing (“accruals and deferred income”), so it is an approximate signal only.
Group structure
Ownership chain
- International Paper Company (registered outside the UK register)ultimate parent75–100%
- International Paper UK Holdings Limited75–100%
- DS Smith Limited75–100%
- DS Smith Holdings Limited75–100%
- DS Smith (UK) Limited75–100%
- DS Smith Packaging Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (2)
- Multigraphics Holdings LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Sovereign Case Packaging LimitedFigures not disclosed
Sister companies (1)
- Priory Packaging LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Sources
Latest figures from FullAccounts for the year to 30 Apr 2024 (profit £18.8m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Jan 2025. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.