Mondi Earnings Fall In Line With Expectations After Value of Egyptian Pound Declines

By Najat Kantouar

Mondi said earnings declined in line with expectations in the first quarter, hurt by the devaluation of the Egyptian pound.

The FTSE 100 paper-and-packaging company said Friday that for the three months ended March 31, underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell to 214 million euros ($229.5 million) from EUR351 million for the same period a year earlier.

The company took a one-off EUR32 million hit from the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, it said.

In the first quarter, market conditions continued to improve, with stronger order books driving sales volumes up from the previous quarter.

During the quarter, Mondi paid a special dividend of EUR1.60 a share to shareholders, returning the net proceeds received from the sale of all the group's Russian assets.

The special dividend was accompanied by a share consolidation, with shareholders receiving 10 new ordinary shares for every 11 existing ordinary shares held, it said.

"We remain well-positioned to benefit from this growing demand with our strong operational leverage, broad product offering and organic growth investment projects, which remain on track and on budget," Chief Executive Officer Andrew King said.

Write to Najat Kantouar at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-03-24 0246ET