Smurfit Kappa: Price hikes over for now

Packaging company Smurfit Kappa says it does not expect to raise prices any further this year and might be able to unwind some of the recent rapid increases it has pushed onto its customers.

According to a Reuters report, the prices charged were 35 percent to 40 percent higher compared with two years ago at the end of June, and the Dublin-based company said Wednesday it had increased prices by another 2percent to 3 percent in the third quarter.

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Smurfit Kappa CEO Tony Smurfit said the cycle might be over for now following a recent decline in the price of recovered paper, spot gas prices and an abatement in other costs like distribution and logistics.

“The question is will some of that be given back to the market and I think the reality is you would expect some of it is going to be given back to the market,” Smurfit said during an analyst call.

In its most recent trade update, Smurfit Kappa, whose customers include Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Nestle, said it expects its core profit this year to increase by 33 percent to 2.3 billion euros ($2.3 billion) despite a 3 percent decrease in volumes in the third quarter credited to high inflation, war in Ukraine and shifting consumer demand.

However, the company says demand so far in the fourth quarter is at similar levels to the third.

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