July 30, 2024 - Smurfit Westrock plc (NYSE: SW, LSE: SWR) today announced the financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 of Smurfit Kappa Group plc.
Due to the timing of the completion of the combination of Smurfit Kappa Group plc and WestRock Company, results for the combined company of Smurfit Westrock will be reported from the third quarter 2024.
Key points:
- Net Sales of approx. $3.0 billion
- Net Income of $132 million
- Adjusted EBITDA1 of $480 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA Margin1 of 16.2%
- Higher recovered fiber costs in the process of being recovered
- Previously announced quarterly dividend of $0.3025 per ordinary share
- Smurfit Westrock listed on the NYSE and included in S&P 500
- Smurfit Westrock credit rating of BBB/BBB/Baa2 from S&P, Fitch and Moody’s respectively
Tony Smurfit, President and CEO, commented:
“I am pleased to report a strong set of results, and continued delivery of quality and service for our customers. This has been driven by our performance led culture, together with the continuing benefits of our prior year capital allocation decisions. These results were also achieved against a backdrop of significantly higher recovered fiber costs and lower corrugated box prices. We expect these increased costs will be recovered through increased box pricing with the customary time lag.
“Smurfit Kappa’s corrugated volume growth was 3.1% in the second quarter with 3.5% growth in Europe and 1.5% in the Americas year-on-year. On a shipments per day basis, volume growth was 1.1% for the Group, with growth of 1.4% and 0.1% in Europe and the Americas respectively. Demand in Southern and Eastern Europe remained robust while German demand remained soft. In the Americas, demand was generally good, with the exception of Argentina.
“After the quarter end, on July 5, we completed our transaction with WestRock. On July 8, Smurfit Westrock listed on the NYSE and was included in the S&P 500. While we don’t underestimate the amount of hard work ahead of us, there is tremendous energy and enthusiasm to ensure a successful future for Smurfit
Source: Smurfit Westrock
