Mondi revenue soars

Johannesburg - Paper maker Mondi reported a 49% rise in full-year profit on Thursday, buoyed by recovering demand and said it would hike its dividend.

Mondi, which is also listed in London, said headline EPS totalled 69.9 euro cents in the year to end-December, compared with 47 euro cents a year earlier.

Mondi, mainly involved in the manufacture of packaging paper, said its underlying operating profit was up 36% to €622m.

The global paper industry is slowly recovering for a slump triggered by weak demand and overcapacity and exacerbated by the economic crisis. Capacity reductions across the industry have helped lift prices.

Mondi, with operations across 31 countries, has been targeting fast-growing markets in eastern Europe and is seen as a safer bet than some of its western European rivals which battle with high-cost assets.

The company earlier this month offered $374m to buy out the remaining 34% in Polish unit Mondi Swiecie it does not already own.

The company said that order books have improved in recent weeks and prices have stabilised, meaning it expected some recovery from price declines.

Mondi declared a full-year dividend of 26 euro cents per share, a 30% increase.

Mondi’s rival Irish packaging group Smurfit Kappa also reported a rise in earnings earlier this month.

Its other rivals include Stora Enso and DS Smith.

Shares of Mondi were up 1% at 07:40 GMT, outperforming a 0.22% increase in the Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index.