May 6: Despite sales that slipped in the first quarter by 3.6 percent, metal and plastics food container and closure manufacturer Silgan upped its profits by 31 percent to US$27.7 million.
The decline in quarterly sales to $655m was attributed mostly to lower selling prices in its plastics container business, said the Connecticut-based company. Sales of plastics containers were down 18 percent to $141m.
In contrast, sales of metal food containers were up by 5.8 percent to $371m, mostly due to the pass through of higher metal costs.
