Amcor shareholders will benefit from the tumbling Australian dollar despite the packaging company's first-half profit falling 18.8 per cent to $US267.6 million.
Amcor lifted its interim dividend by half a US cent to 21.5 US cents, but the plunging Australian dollar - which fell about 10 per cent against the greenback in 2018 - means local shareholders will receive 29.78 Australian cents.
That's an increase of 13.8 per cent on the prior corresponding period.
First-half sales revenue ticked up 1.1 per cent to $4.55 billion but net profit fell 18.8 per cent to $US267.6 million ($A376.91 million), largely due to higher costs in the United States, and refinancing expenses.
"Amcor had a good first half year with earnings growth in line with our expectations and balanced across the flexibles and rigids packaging segments," Amcor chief executive Ron Delia said in a statement.
The results were in line with Amcor's expectations, while the company reiterated that its scheduled takeover of American rival Bemis has been pushed back to the second quarter of 2019 following the partial US government shutdown.
The all-stock deal was initially expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.
At 11:18 AEDT, Amcor shares were 0.94 per cent higher at $14.43.
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