Apr 03, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Finnish packaging company Huhtamaki Oyj expects its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in the 1Q 2009 to be well over the Euro 20 million in the corresponding period in 2008, as the company informed Lesprom Network. The company said the start of the year had been characterized by uncertainty, which has dampened sales, but due to good cost containment and better operational control the EBIT will be higher than in the first three months last year, the company added. "Full year sales outlook remains uncertain and pressure on margins is expected to increase during the course of the year," Huhtamaki said in a statement. Huhtamaki is a global consumer and specialty packaging company with a good position in smooth and rough molded fiber products, release films, flexible packaging, foodservice paper cups and other products based on paper forming technology. The company posted net sales of Euro 2.3 billion in 2008.