The future of Tupperware Brands, best known for its plastic jars, is highly uncertain. “There is substantial doubt whether the company will be able to continue,” said the kitchen products producer itself when publishing its quarterly results. The stock loses more than 40 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Tupperware has a branch in Aalst.
Tupperware was still one of the winners during the corona pandemic, as more people ate at home and so sales of kitchen supplies such as cling pots and cooking sets peaked. Efforts to replace the familiar Tupperware parties at people’s homes with online gatherings paid off.
But in the meantime, the tide has completely turned. Turnover in the third quarter amounted to 302.8 million dollars (converted 306.7 million euros), a fifth less than a year earlier. Continuing operations were also loss-making.
The company says its volatile earnings and tightening covenants with the banks “raise substantial doubts about its ability to proceed,” Tupperware said. It continues to negotiate a solution with the banks, but “it is not certain that those efforts will be successful”.
Tupperware had $103 million in cash at the end of the quarter, while debt is over $700 million.
LIFE STORY. Rosa Mortelmans, founder of cosmetics company Mylène, died at the age of 86: “When she was almost ready to retire, she started a parquet factory in Poland” (+)
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