DS Smith Limited
Registered name: DS SMITH LIMITED
Part of International Paper Company groupDS Smith Limited made £6.1bn revenue and a £139m loss in the year to 30 Apr 2025.
DS Smith Limited’s revenue fell 11% to £6.1bn in the year to 30 Apr 2025, with a loss of £139m and 27,654 employees. The company is classified under “activities of head offices” and is based in London; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- London, London
- Age
- 48 yrs · since 1978
- Type
- Private Limited Company
Pass-through vehicle. This looks like a holding, staffing or umbrella company. Its revenue and profit may largely pass through to or from other entities, so the figures may not reflect a standalone operating business. It is excluded from our opportunity lists.
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 2023 | 30 Apr 2024 | 30 Apr 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | |||
| Revenue (turnover) | £8.2bn | £6.8bn | £6.1bn |
| Cost of sales | −£7.4bn | −£6.1bn | −£6bn |
| Operating profit | £733m | £603m | £24m |
| Profit before tax | £661m | £502m | −£110m |
| Profit after tax | £492m | £383m | −£139m |
| Profit (best available) | £492m | £383m | −£139m |
| Employees (average) | 30,168 | 29,495 | 27,654 |
| Ratios | |||
| Profit margin | 6% | 5.6% | −2.3% |
| Revenue per employee | £273k | £231k | £219k |
| Profit per employee | £16.3k | £13k | −£5k |
| Growth (year on year) | |||
| Revenue growth | — | ▼17% | ▼11.3% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼22.1% | ▼136.3% |
| Headcount growth | — | ▼2.2% | ▼6.2% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | |||
| Net assets | — | — | — |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Sep 2024 | Accounts · bulk data Dec 2025 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- −2.3%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- —
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £219k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- −£5k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- —
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- —
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- —
- 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
- —
- Now —
- Cash at bank
- —
- Now —
- Headcount
- ▼6%
- Now 27,654
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Ownership chain
- International Paper Company (registered outside the UK register)ultimate parent75–100%
- International Paper UK Holdings Limited75–100%
- DS Smith Limitedthis company
Bands show the share of ownership each company holds in the one below it.
Subsidiaries (2)
- DS Smith Finco LimitedRev. — · Profit −£270k
- DS Smith Holdings LimitedRev. — · Profit −£43.2m
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Sources
Latest figures from accounts for the year to 30 Apr 2025 (profit −£139m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Dec 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.