Smurfit Kappa Group's revenue in the first half was Euro 4,049 million compared to Euro 3,996 million reported in the first half of 2015, as the company said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
Driven by quarter-on-quarter growth in 2016, EBITDA increased by 8% in the first half, to Euro 593 million from Euro 551 million in 2015, with an underlying move of 9% as the negative impact of currencies was offset in part by the positive impact of net acquisitions.
Operating profit before exceptional items in the first half of 2016 was Euro 390 million compared to Euro 348 million for the same period in 2015, an increase of 12%.
The Group reported an income tax expense of Euro 97 million for the first half of 2016 compared to Euro 73 million for the same period in 2015.
Tony Smurfit, Group CEO, commented: “We are pleased to deliver a strong first half result with EBITDA growth of 8% to Euro 593 million. This result reflects the strength of our team; our portfolio of geographically diverse operations; and, our integrated business model delivering a strong ROCE of 15.4%.
“In Europe, we have delivered an improved earnings performance in the first half, with organic box volume growth of 2% and a relatively stable pricing environment in local currency terms. This result has been achieved despite higher than expected OCC costs, while negatively impacting our margin in the short-term, should provide a solid underpin to containerboard pricing and, in turn, box prices.”
Smurfit Kappa is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world.
