Smurfit Kappa Reported Strongest Ever Annual Profits in 2018

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Smurfit Kappa reported record profits in 2018, registering significant growth across all segments and regions. The company reported its strongest ever yearly results in 2018.

Smurfit Kappa reported an EBITDA of €1,545 million during the year with an EBITDA margin of 17.3%. Rising volume growth and continued recovery in input costs resulted in 7% surge in European business revenue. The EBITDA reported notable jump by 33% to total €1,267 million during the year. The EBITDA margin too was up from 14.9% in 2017 to 18.3% in 2018. Box volumes reported a growth of 2% over the previous year.

The group reported certain key acquisitions during the year, which contributed to the growth. It acquired Reparenco in the Netherlands during July last year. It announced acquisition of the FHB containerboard mill and the Avala Ada corrugated plant in Serbia during Q4 ’18. Also, it completed acquisitions of two corrugated plants and an erecting centre in France towards the end of 2018.

The Americas segment EBITDA saw a rise of 2% year-on-year in 2018 to €317 million. The region’s EBITDA margin too was up from 14.4% in 2017 to 15.7% in 2018. Nearly 85% of the Americas earnings were delivered by Colombia, Mexico and the U.S. The Brazilian business continued to perform in line with expectations.

Tony Smurfit, Group CEO attributed the company’s 2018 performance to the transformation of recent years, which has delivered superior results. The exemplary results in 2018, exceeding all key measures, will create the platform for success in 2019 and beyond, he added.