“We are proud of our results for the Group in 2023 with full year EBITDA of €2,080 million, an EBITDA margin of 18.5% and a ROCE exceeding our goal,” says Tony Smurfit, Group CEO.
“We are proud of our results, which are the second highest in our 90 year history, and which show the outstanding work of our people and their commitment to delivering the most creative and eco-friendly packaging solutions for our customers. The results also prove the ongoing value of SKG’s long-term and highly efficient capital programmes.”
“The industry faced a challenging demand environment in 2023, mainly due to inventory reduction and a slowdown in some sectors, especially durable goods. However, we witnessed a strong growth in one area, which is the rising demand for sustainable packaging solutions. Despite a 3.5% decrease in full year volumes for the Group, we experienced a gradual recovery in demand throughout the year, with a positive turnaround in the fourth quarter.”
“Our culture of performance excellence continues to propel our industry leading performance, with our people embodying our values of Loyalty, Integrity, Respect and Safety at work. We have an unwavering focus on quality and delivery for our customers. This, together with an unmatched offering across our 36 countries and our distinctive industry applications, gives us a formidable edge.”
Key points:
- Revenue of €11.3 billion
- EBITDA of €2,080 million and an EBITDA margin of 18.5%
- Return on capital employed of 17.1%
- Free cash flow of €628 million
- Net Debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.4x
- Announced combination with WestRock to create a global leader in sustainable packaging
- Final dividend increased by 10% to 118.4 cent per share
“As we have stated before, our prudent capital allocation programme has been a key factor of our success. In 2023, we invested more than €1 billion, which along with previous years’ expenditure, creates a solid foundation for future growth and delivery. Moreover, with the broad geographic and product variety that SKG possesses, we keep finding opportunities for growth and expansion. For instance, we are growing our Bag-in-Box business in various geographic regions and have expanded into Morocco with a new state of the art corrugated facility.”
“In SKG we have always been at the forefront of ensuring we provide the most innovative and sustainable packaging for our customers as well as setting ambitious sustainability targets for ourselves. We will shortly release our 17th Sustainable Development Report, illustrating progress towards our 2030 targets. The Group continued to be recognised in 2023 for its leading sustainability credentials. Moreover in 2023, we received numerous awards across multiple categories, best illustrated by our 12 most recent WorldStar awards for innovation, significantly in excess of our peers.“
“We revealed in September that we agreed to merge with WestRock and create Smurfit WestRock. Since that announcement, we have learned more about the WestRock organisation, its people, and its sites. As we gained more insight into the WestRock business, we became more enthusiastic about the opportunities this merger offers.”
“Our 2023 results once again show Smurfit Kappa Group’s established ability to perform well in any market situation. Despite the inevitable difficulties in the macro environment, we are optimistic and enthusiastic about the upcoming year. In line with the ongoing trust in the strength, quality and performance of the Smurfit Kappa business, the Board is proposing a 10% rise in the final dividend to 118.4 cent per share.”
Full report (PDF) – HERE and HERE
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