Smurfit Kappa 'entirely refutes' Venezuelan government's accusations

Irish corrugated packaging group Smurfit Kappa said on Thursday that following two days of inspection by the Venezuelan government at its subsidiary there, a number of allegations have been made which the company "entirely refutes".

The group, which has operated in Venezuela since 1986, said the allegations - which it did not elaborate on - "were without merit". It reiterated that its Venezuelan subsidiary made up less than 1% of the group's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the first six months of 2018 and said it will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Earlier this week, the Venezuelan government said it had temporarily occupied Smurfit's subsidiary, claiming that it had abused its dominant position in the market place.

The government's price control agency, Sundde, said Smurfit's Carabobo site has impacted national producers with its prices and ordered immediate adjustments for all its products.

At 1440 BST, the shares were up 0.3% to 3,234p.