REG-Smurfit Kappa Group PLC Trading Statement

Smurfit KappaAnnouncement

02/11/2022 07:00

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Trading Statement

 

Smurfit Kappa Group plc (‘SKG’, 'Smurfit Kappa' or ‘the Group’) today
announced a trading update for the 9 months to 30 September 2022.

First Nine Months Overview:
 €m                                         YTD             YTD             Change      
                                            
2022           
2021                       
 Revenue                                    €    9,724      €    7,287      33    %     
 EBITDA                                     €    1,767      €    1,235      43    %     
 EBITDA Margin                                   18.2   %        17.0   %               
 Operating Profit before Exceptional Items  €    1,258      €    772        63    %     
 Profit before Income Tax                   €    1,141      €    645        77    %     
 Basic EPS (cent)                                333.4           177.8      88    %     
 Pre-exceptional Basic EPS (cent)                333.4           188.4      77    %     
 Free Cash Flow                             €    309        €    297        4     %     
 Return on Capital Employed                      20.6   %        15.6   %               
                                                                                        
 Net Debt                                   €    3,028      €    2,589      17    %     
 Net Debt to EBITDA (LTM)                   1.4x            1.6x                        


Key points:


 * Revenue growth of 33% to €9,724 million

 * EBITDA growth of 43% to €1,767 million with an EBITDA margin of 18.2%

 * Net Debt to EBITDA ratio below 1.4x

 * ROCE of 20.6%

 * Ongoing capital investment to support customers and to optimise SKG’s system

Tony Smurfit, Group CEO, commented:

“SKG has delivered a very strong performance in the first nine months with
revenue growth of 33%, EBITDA of €1,767 million and an EBITDA margin of
18.2%. We continue to drive improvement across all areas of our business,
consistent with the delivery of our strategy, providing the most innovative
and sustainable packaging through our integrated business model, ensuring
security of supply to our over 65,000 customers.

“Significant cost inflation is being recovered in corrugated box pricing as
anticipated. Against strong comparisons, corrugated box volumes were flat for
the first nine months.

“The investments we have made over the last number of years are making the
Group ever more efficient with a customer-led focus on quality, innovation and
sustainability. With SKG's scale and geographic reach across 36 countries,
together with the many specialist businesses within the Group, there remain
many opportunities for growth.

“Our results reflect the steps we have taken and the quality of the Smurfit
Kappa business. We expect to deliver EBITDA of approximately €2.3 billion
for the full year 2022.”

About Smurfit Kappa

Smurfit Kappa, a FTSE 100 company, is one of the leading providers of
paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with approximately 48,000
employees in over 350 production sites across 36 countries and with revenue of
€10.1 billion in 2021. We are located in 23 countries in Europe, and 13 in
the Americas. We are the only large-scale pan-regional player in Latin
America. Our products, which are 100% renewable and produced sustainably,
improve the environmental footprint of our customers.

With our proactive team, we relentlessly use our extensive experience and
expertise, supported by our scale, to open up opportunities for our customers.
We collaborate with forward-thinking customers by sharing superior product
knowledge, market understanding and insights in packaging trends to ensure
business success in their markets. We have an unrivalled portfolio of
paper-based packaging solutions, which is constantly updated with our
market-leading innovations.

This is enhanced through the benefits of our integration, with optimal paper
design, logistics, timeliness of service, and our packaging plants sourcing
most of their raw materials from our own paper mills.

We have a proud tradition of supporting social, environmental and community
initiatives in the countries where we operate. Through these projects we
support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on where we believe we
have the greatest impact.

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Forward Looking Statements

This Announcement contains certain statements that are forward-looking.
Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on
historical facts, but rather on current expectations of the Group about future
events, and involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and
depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Although the Group
believes that current expectations and assumptions with respect to these
forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these
expectations will prove to be correct. There are a number of factors that
could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements should therefore be construed in the light of such factors. You are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date made. Other than in accordance with legal or
regulatory obligations, the Group is not under any obligation, and expressly
disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The forward-looking statements in this document do not constitute reports or
statements published in compliance with any of Regulations 6 to 8 of the
Transparency (Directive 2004/109/EC) Regulations 2007.
 Contacts                                                                                                                          
 Ciarán Potts                                          Melanie Farrell                                                             
 
                                                     
                                                                           
 Smurfit Kappa                                         FTI Consulting                                                              
 
                                                     
                                                                           
 T: +353 1 202 71 27                                   T: +353 86 401 5250                                                         
 
                                                     
                                                                           
 E: ir@smurfitkappa.com (mailto:ir@smurfitkappa.com)   E: smurfitkappa@fticonsulting.com (mailto:smurfitkappa@fticonsulting.com)   


 



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