Profit for the 1Q was Euro 43 million. EBIT improved to Euro 58 million.
Jukka Moisio, CEO, said: "We had a good start to the year. Comparable growth improved to 6% and trading conditions for our businesses were relatively stable across markets. Volume growth was solid in many markets, while prices for plastic resins continued on a low level moderating our comparable growth through lower selling prices, especially in the Flexible Packaging segment.
“Our profitability improved driven by North America and Flexible Packaging segments. Higher profitability combined with efficient capital management helped us to improve both the return on investment (ROI) and return on equity (ROE). Free cash flow was clearly positive despite normalized organic growth investments and seasonal inventory build-up before the summer months.”
Huhtamaki is a global specialist in packaging for food and drink.