Despite consistently low growth recently, the world's largest packaging companies will appreciate in value from 2002, according to an Ernst & Young report. The beginnings of these increases follow investors reevaluating old economy stocks, which the company claims are less cyclical in nature. Improved cash flow has also been influenced by strategies aimed at debt restructuring a and improvement of working capital in the largest companies including International Paper, Rexam and Alcoa. Innovation and niche marketing have increased profit trends in the smaller companies, which posted the highest overall profit margins in both 1998 and 2000, with 8% and 9.5% respectively. The global packaging industry has grown by an average rate of 3.9% per year between 1993-2000, with the leading companies nearing growth of 10%.
