The best way of judging the quality of a business and management team is when the going gets tough.
On this score, Mpac Group - a ‘One Stop Shop’ for all things high-speed packaging and factory automation – is definitely one of the winners.
You see despite soft global manufacturing PMIs in 2025 due to uncertainty caused by the US trade tariffs, the group nonetheless posted in line results with turnover and adjusted PBT coming in at £170m (+39%) and £13.5m (+28.5%) respectively. Ending Dec’25 with net debt of £47.7m (comfortably within banking covenants) and a stable £92m backlog (£91.7m Jun’25), after enjoying a 25% jump in H2 order intake vs H1 supported by an improved product offering from past acquisitions (re CSi palletising, Boston Conveyor & Automation and SIGA Vision).
Encouragingly too, Mpac Group has a strong and broad-based sales pipeline, which helps underpin FY’26 targets, with net debt also set to decline in 2026 (Panmure Liberum Est of £40m by Dec, equivalent to 2.1x EBITDA).
CEO Adam Holland commenting: "The Group has delivered full year performance in line with market expectations, against the backdrop of macro-economic uncertainty, which led to customers deferring expenditure. We took decisive actions to reduce operating costs in the light of these near-term challenges. While we are mindful of the ongoing uncertainty in end markets, we have a strong and broad-based opportunity pipeline with clear order intake targets. Combined with a relentless focus on cost and cash management (eg site consolidation) we expect this will allow the Group to make further progress in 2026.''
Lastly wrt valuation, hashtag#MPAC (at 331p) trades on compelling EV/EBITDA & PE multiples of 6.25x & 9.0x. Based on Panmure Liberum’s FY26 estimates for sales, EBITDA, PBT & EPS of £172m, £23.6m, £15m and 36.8p respectively – with a 550p target price.
Watch out for FY’25 results on 21st April 2026.
Disclosure: Mpac Group is a Vox Markets client.