Page 1

PRESS RELEASE 28 July : Smurfit Kappa Group plc ( ' SKG ' or ' the Group ' ) today announced results for the half year ending 30 June 2021 . 2021 Half Year | Key Financial Performance Measures € m H1 2021 H1 Change 2020 Revenue € 4,679 € 4,203 11 % EBITDA 1 € 781 € 735 6 % EBITDA Margin 16.7 % 17.5 % Operating Profit before Exceptional Items 1 € 477 € 450 6 % Profit before Income Tax € 413 € 383 8 % Basic EPS ( cent ) 119.9 116.9 3 % Pre - exceptional Basic EPS ( cent ) 1 119.9 116.9 3 % Free Cash Flow 1 € 117 € 238 ( 51 % ) Return on Capital Employed 1 14.8 % 14.8 % Net Debt 1 € 2,549 € 3,257 Net Debt to EBITDA ( LTM ) 1 1.6x 2.1x Key Points : Revenue growth of 11 % EBITDA of € 781 million with an EBITDA margin of 16.7 % Corrugated growth of over 10 % and over 9 % versus 2020 and 2019 respectively Accelerating investment plans to meet customer needs and capitalise on growth Agreement to acquire 600,000 tonne recycled containerboard mill Strong and progressive corrugated price recovery offsetting significant input cost increases • Interim dividend increased by 5 % to 29.3 cent per share Performance Review and Outlook Tony Smurfit , Group CEO , commented : " I am pleased to report a strong first half performance with revenue growth of 11 % , EBITDA of € 781 million and an EBITDA margin of 16.7 % . Growth in corrugated was over 10 % against the same period in 2020 and over 9 % on 2019 and we continue to see strong demand for our core products . " As a result of our past and current capital investments in our integrated business model , we have , for the most part , been able to fulfil our customers ' needs during this period of exceptionally strong demand . It has also been a period of significant input cost pressures which we have and will continue to recover through corrugated price increases . " Against this backdrop our European business delivered a strong performance with EBITDA of € 591 million and an EBITDA margin of 16.2 % . Our Americas business equally delivered a strong performance with EBITDA of € 211 million and an EBITDA margin of 20.4 % . These performances reflect the benefits of our 1 Additional information in relation to these Alternative Performance Measures ( ' APMs ' ) is set out in Supplementary Financial Information on pages 30 to 36 . smurfitkappa.com Smurfit Kappa 2021 Half Year Results | Page 1 of 36