Earnings release
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Open the future Smurfit Kappa PRESS RELEASE 3 November : Smurfit Kappa Group plc ( ' SKG ' , ' Smurfit Kappa ' or ' the Group ' ) today announced a trading update for the 9 months to 30 September 2021 . First Nine Months Overview : • • • Revenue growth year - on - year of 15 % to € 7,287 million EBITDA growth year - on - year of 10 % to € 1,235 million with a margin of 17 % Third quarter EBITDA growth year - on - year of 16 % to € 454 million • Issued € 1 billion in bonds under our Green Finance Framework Tony Smurfit , Group CEO , commented : " I am pleased to report a strong first nine months for the Group with corrugated growth of 9 % in Europe and 11 % in the Americas versus 2020. Our integrated paper and corrugated system is effectively sold out and I am very proud of our people who are ensuring that customers , for the most part , are supplied securely and efficiently despite many supply chain disruptions . Materially higher input costs , principally , but not limited to , recovered fibre and energy are being progressively recovered through corrugated price increases . " To meet growing customer demand , in the first nine months of the year , we approved approximately € 600 million in projects across the Group . In our corrugated business , we have approved 48 new converting machines and six new corrugators across Europe and the Americas . I am delighted to report that we completed the acquisition of the Verzuolo mill in early October bringing 600,000 tonnes of paper into our integrated system . In addition , we also approved two major paper projects in Germany and Mexico , ensuring future security of supply to our over 65,000 customers . This continued investment will ensure that Smurfit Kappa remains best placed to satisfy our customers ' needs with the most innovative and sustainable packaging solutions . " Reflecting our continuing focus on sustainability was the recent launch of our Green Finance Framework and issuance of green bonds of € 500 million with a coupon of 0.5 % and € 500 million with a coupon of 1.0 % , with 8 and 12 year maturities respectively . Setting up this framework is a further significant step in our sustainability strategy , embedding sustainability into our capital structure alongside our sustainability linked Revolving Credit Facility . " SKG continues to deliver against all performance metrics with EBITDA for the nine months of € 1,235 million and a margin of 17 % . This shows the continuing strength of our integrated business model ; the benefits of geographic diversity ; and the quality and dedication of the SKG team . We expect to deliver significant EBITDA growth for the full year in line with current market expectations . With the many growth opportunities and the significant ongoing investment in our business , we are excited about our future prospects . " smurfitkappa.com Smurfit Kappa 2021 First Nine Months Trading Update I Page 1 of 2