Consumables

Mondi: Full year results for the year ended 31 December 2010

Monday 21. February 2011 - As part of the dual listed company structure, Mondi Limited and Mondi plc (together 'Mondi Group') notify both the JSE Limited and the London Stock Exchange of matters required to be disclosed under the JSE Listings Requirements and/or the Disclosure and Transparency and Listing Rules of the United Kingdom Listing Authority.

? Significant improvement in financial performance
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underlying operating profit up 73%; underlying earnings per share up 151%; and return on capital employed up by 4.7 percentage points to 12.3%.
? Achieved production records at 6 out of the 8 largest paper mills. ? Modernisation of Russian pulp and paper mill successfully completed and running to plan. ? Continued strong cash management, with net debt down to €1.36 billion. ? Proposed full year dividend of 20.0 euro cents per share, up 111%.
David Hathorn, Mondi Group chief executive, said:
“The 2010 financial year saw a much improved financial performance from the Mondi Group. After the turmoil of 2008 and early 2009 created by the global financial crisis, the recovery noted in late 2009 continued into 2010. Pleasingly, this translated into a much improved return on capital employed (ROCE), increasing to 12.3% for the year. Mondi’s strong performance confirms the validity of our strategy and reflects the commitment of all our employees. Given the strong financial performance and good cash generation, we are pleased to recommend an increase in the full-year dividend to 20.0 euro cents per share.
“Demand growth over the past 18 months has been very encouraging, with volumes in most grades and geographic regions back at satisfactory levels. In 2011, further demand growth is expected, albeit at more modest rates. Recent industry capacity adjustments have also resulted in generally stronger fundamentals. Taken together, this has led to a positive pricing environment. The general economic recovery also brings cost pressures. We are confident that the Group’s integrated low cost position, focus on performance, and the contribution from the major investments made through the down cycle position the business well for the future.”