August proved to be a spectacular month for shareholders of global packaging giant Amcor Limited (ASX: AMC), its shares have skyrocketed more than 15% to $11.50 since dipping below the $10 level.
The rally has come as a result of Amcor's strong half-year results, which were released a fortnight ago. The company reported a 24.6% increase in profit after tax to $737 million, a 24.7% appreciation in earnings per share (EPS) to 61.1 cents and an annual dividend of 43 cents, putting it on a generous yield of 3.7%, albeit unfranked.
Since its demerger with Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) in FY13, Amcor has made a number of strategic international acquisitions which should also help bolster growth for the years to come – particularly in regions of fast economic growth like Latin America and Asia. As a perfect example, it recently announced the acquisition of Indonesian flexible packaging business Bella Prima Packaging which it expects will solidify its position in the market and help deepen relationships with key customers.
Although the shares are no longer as cheap as they were last month, Amcor still presents as a solid buy for investors wanting to strengthen their portfolio. As it stands, the company boasts a market capitalisation of $13.8 billion and is trading on a P/E ratio of 15, which is slightly below the P/E of the average S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) company.