Smurfit Kappa earnings growth driven by sustainable products demand

Smurfit Kappa on Wednesday said increased demand for sustainable products helped it to achieve revenue and earnings growth during the first three quarters of the year.

The paper-based packaging manufacturer said all its key metrics were at, or ahead of, its stated targets as it returned revenue of €6.85bn in the nine-month period ended 30 September, 3% above the same period last year.

Meanwhile, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased 11% to €1.26bn and EBITDA margin rose from 16.9% to 18.3% as corrugated pricing remained in line with Smurfit's expectations.

The paper-based packaging manufacturer said that while it had faced some challenges during the period, it was ideally positioned to take advantage of a "mega trend" for increased demand for sustainable packaging solutions.

This growth followed a 4% increase in the FTSE 100-listed company's European corrugated box volumes.

Meanwhile, organic volume growth in the US was approximately 2%, with continued EBITDA margin also enjoying a year-on-year improvement in the region.

Chief executive Tony Smurfit said: "While there have been, and continue to be, obvious macro-economic and political challenges, SKG's very strong performance against this backdrop shows, once again, the quality of our business and the benefits of our geographic diversity."

At 0920 GMT, the shares were up 1.7% at 2,586p.