UK's Mpac Group warns on profit as tariffs hit orders

(Reuters) -Britain's Mpac Group warned of lower-than-expected annual results on Tuesday as U.S. tariffs weigh on orders, sending its shares tumbling, and said it was speeding up restructuring of its operations in the United States.

The packaging automation firm, which got nearly half of its 2024 revenue from its Americas segment, said it would consolidate its Cleveland facility with its Boston site and reduce capacity at the Mississauga facility in Canada.

"During the later part of the first half of 2025 we have seen the impact of U.S. trade tariffs, falling consumer confidence, and growing economic uncertainty," CEO Adam Holland said.

Holland added that the weak customer confidence and deferred investments had hurt annual forecasts and spiked the company's debt levels, which Mpac aims to reduce by cutting costs and re-negotiating customer-supplier terms.

Mpac said it expects full-year revenue and profit to fall significantly short of previous expectations.

It sees its closing order book at June 30 at about 90 million pounds ($124 million), versus 118.5 million pounds at the end of 2024.

Mpac shares plunged 33.7% to 285 pence in early trade. They have lost nearly half their value this year.

Uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy continues to undermine consumer confidence globally. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that countries could be notified of sharply higher tariffs as a July 9 deadline approaches despite good-faith negotiations.

Jefferies cut its 2025 adjusted pre-tax profit forecast for Mpac by 25% and 2026 expectations by 32%.

Separately, Mpac Group said it had secured a 249 million-pound bulk annuity deal with British insurer Aviva, covering liabilities of its UK pension scheme.

($1 = 0.7265 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Himani Sarkar)