Executive SummaryAmcor is a major packaging company that has expanded its global business through various acquisitions worldwide. The strategy adopted by the company is in line with the vision of the company to gain competitive edge over its competitors. Besides being in the packaging industry, it has diversified into other market segments in order to avoid being tied down in one segment. After a series of acquisitions, Amcor has decided to consolidate its position so as to improve its financial viability. This can be owed to the fact that the Australian dollar appreciated against US and Euro currencies. As a result the profits have reduced and no further expansion is possible. The expans ...view middle of the document...
The evaluation of financial ratios in comparison with the industry averages helps in understanding whether the company risks insolvency. Ultimately it is to be analyzed whether Amcor would maintain its position as the global leader.2.0 Amcor - Company BackgroundAmcor is one of the five largest packaging companies in the world based in Australia. The company has a wide range of business activities ranging from plastic, fibre, metal and glass-packaging products, PET containers, plastic and metal closures, along with packaging-related services. The company is the leading packaging company in Australia and New Zealand by ranking number one or two as supplier in every market segment of its participation. It's the global leader in the PET bottle industry and the number one packaging company in Europe. In its tobacco cartons business in Europe and Asia, it's ranked second and in the US market its one of the largest packaging distributors.(Hill, 2004)The company is active in various market segments. The global product mix of Amcor is depicted in Fig. 1.Fig. 1: Amcor's Global Product MixSource: http://www.amcor.com.au/default.aspx?id=23.0 Expansion & Diversification StrategyAmcor's vision to build the company to be the global leader in the packaging industry, with keeping focus on ensuring high returns and consistent earnings growth for shareholders, has lead it to take some important strategies with growth objectives as the core element. The focus is on those market segments with greatest volume growth, product differentiation and higher value. The company has been committed to overseas expansion with the key objective to deliver consistent earnings growth and furthermore, not to depend one economy or segment. Due to this strategic planning, the company is resilient to difficult economic conditions. Another added advantage has been to develop global relationships with Amcor's key customers through geographic diversification. This underlines the fact that Amcor's earnings are no longer tied to the fortunes of one economy. The profits from overseas operations are utilized in further expansion or debt reduction in the country of operation itself.3.1 Risk & Return FactorAmcor has been expanding its operations overseas through various acquisitions. But there always lies the risk/return factor in investing offshore. A proper evaluation focuses on whether the investment opportunity is in line with the company's strategy and returns are ensured. The bottom-line in these investments in key market segments is to ensure higher than average industry growth, creation of value-added products & services that differentiates Amcor's standing in the market and that it obtains leading market positions. In order to ensure the success in its investments, the company invests significantly in pre acquisition planning.3.2 Acquisition, Expansion and Diversification of AmcorAmcor has been undertaking the strategy of acquiring businesses, expanding geographically ...
