Smurfit Kappa Group plc (LON:SKG) has announced a trading update for the 3 months to 31 March 2023.
| 2023 First Quarter | Key Financial Performance Measures | |||||
| €m | Q1 2023 | Q1 2022 | Change | ||
| Revenue | €2,995 | €3,024 | (1%) | ||
| EBITDA | €579 | €514 | 13% | ||
| EBITDA Margin | 19.3% | 17.0% | |||
| Operating Profit before Exceptional Items | €412 | €352 | 17% | ||
| Profit before Income Tax | €339 | €317 | 7% | ||
| Basic EPS (cent) | 93.8 | 89.2 | 5% | ||
| Pre-exceptional Basic EPS (cent) | 106.7 | 89.2 | 20% | ||
| Free Cash Flow | €48 | (€49) | 198% | ||
| Return on Capital Employed | 21.6% | 16.8% | |||
| Net Debt | €2,938 | €2,995 | (2%) | ||
| Net Debt to EBITDA (LTM) | 1.2x | 1.6x |
First Quarter Overview:
- EBITDA growth of 13% to €579 million with an EBITDA margin of 19.3%
- ROCE of 21.6%
- Net Debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.2x
- Finalised exit from Russian business
Tony Smurfit, Group CEO, commented:
“Smurfit Kappa is reporting another strong performance for the first quarter with EBITDA of €579 million, an EBITDA margin of 19.3%, a ROCE of 21.6% and a net debt to EBITDA of 1.2x. This performance reflects the continuing benefits of our integrated model, the effectiveness of our capital spend, our constant focus on innovation for customers and our geographic footprint.
“Together with the commitment and dedication of our people and our performance-led culture, these attributes have enabled us to continue to deliver in an environment where volumes were lower than the previous year.
“As anticipated, first quarter demand was broadly in line with the fourth quarter of 2022. We expect the demand environment to improve as the year progresses and SKG is well placed across our geographies to take advantage of this.
“As stated at our full year results, Smurfit Kappa has never been better positioned to continue to develop and take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves either through organic investments or acquisitions.”
