Group revenue at packaging group Mondi dropped to €3.5 billion in the first half of its financial year, from €3.8 billion in 2019, due to lower average selling prices across its key pulp and paper grades and the challenges brought by COVID-19.
The company’s underlying EBITDA amounted to €738 million with a margin of 21.4%, down from €894 million in the first half of 2019.
Profit before tax for the first six months amounted to €466, down from €632 million in the same period last year.
'Decisive Action'
Mondi Group chief executive officer, Andrew King, described the company’s performance as “robust” and added, “We took decisive action in the early stages of the pandemic, moving quickly to safeguard our people, support our communities and protect the profitability, liquidity and cash flow of the business while seeking to ensure we are well placed to benefit when the recovery comes.”
The company has decided to pay a dividend of €29.75 per share, revising its previous decision in April to suspend the final dividend for 2019.
Outlook
The company remains cautious about the heightened macro-economic uncertainties around the pandemic going into the second half of 2020.
King added, “We are confident that the group will continue to demonstrate its resilience in the event of a prolonged macro-economic downturn while remaining well-positioned when the recovery takes place.
“This is underpinned by the Group's integrated high-quality, cost-advantaged asset base, culture of continuous improvement, portfolio of sustainable packaging solutions and the strategic flexibility offered by our strong cash generation and financial position.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
