Latest news with #SmurfitKappa
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Smurfit Westrock to Gain From Asset Optimization Amid Cost Woes
Smurfit Westrock Plc SW is gaining from its focus on asset optimization and business improvement initiatives. The company has been undergoing significant transformation since 2023, wherein it has closed underperforming facilities, divested non-core assets and streamlined operations to drive efficiency and cost savings. These efforts are expected to position the company for long-term growth and SW is facing headwinds from merger-related costs, and higher freight and chemicals costs. These are likely to persist and impact its margins in the coming quarters. Labor shortages and supply-chain issues are other woes. Combined Potential to Enhance Growth: Smurfit Westrock was formed by the merger of two major paper and packaging industry players, Smurfit Kappa and WestRock, on July 5, is set to deliver the combined potential of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock. Smurfit WestRock has an unmatched geographic reach spanning 42 countries. Given this scale, and equipped with both WestRock's and Smurfit Kappa's highly complementary portfolios and innovative sustainability capabilities, the merged entity is likely to be the global 'Go-To' packaging partner for companies and customers across the company boasts a well-invested asset base with numerous opportunities identified across its operations. In the first quarter of 2025, Smurfit Westrock made investments in containerboard, corrugated and consumer systems across three regions. Smurfit Westrock expanded its Bag-in-Box offering in Spain and the United States, upgrading mill systems in several countries for efficiency, capacity and environmental improvements, and implementing state-of-the-art converting equipment to reduce costs and enhance innovative Westrock is already seeing the initial results of the actions taken. After the first quarter of 2024, SW affirmed its $400-million synergy target for the first year of on Asset Optimization: The company is focused on comprehensive asset optimization and business improvement initiatives. In sync with that, Smurfit Westrock closed underperforming facilities, including 32 packaging facilities, closed three mills and divested four mills since the start of 2023. In the first quarter of 2025, SW closed four mills with a capacity reduction of approximately 600 Westrock also optimized its packaging footprint through significant restructuring actions, including plant closures in Portland, Oregon and Chicago, IL, alongside consultations at two German plants. These moves are expected to drive operational efficiencies, yield cost savings and enhance resource allocation for the company by focusing on core facilities. This is likely to position SW for long-term growth and for Packaging Solutions: Smurfit WestRock will gain from the growing demand for sustainable, fiber-based packaging solutions. Its consumer business remains robust, with growth in beverage, healthcare, and retail and food. SW's overall packaging business is gaining from strong demand, and the implementation of containerboard and boxboard price company also stands to gain from strong growth in e-commerce activities that continue to support demand for packaging solutions. SW is focused on developing sustainable packaging solutions for its customers to help them reduce their environmental footprint. Smurfit Westrock will benefit from solid demand for corrugated packaging, containerboard, food and beverage consumer packaging, and industrial preference for environmentally friendly biodegradable packaging materials is witnessing a steady rise globally, courtesy of customers' increasing awareness of environmental issues. According to Statista, global e-commerce revenues are expected to reach $4.32 trillion in 2025, and witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.02% between 2025 and 2029. In the first quarter of 2025, Smurfit WestRock's cost of sales soared 173.9% year over year. Its selling, general and administrative costs also increased. The company recorded transaction and integration-related costs of $395 million associated with the collaboration in 2024. The merger-related costs are expected to be worrisome for SW in the upcoming quarters and disrupt the free cash flow Westrock continues to face higher freight, wage and chemical costs. This will continue to impact its margins. Meanwhile, labor shortages and supply-chain issues have been disrupting production and impacting shipments to customers. This situation is anticipated to persist and impair SW's ability to meet the high demand. Moreover, the unfavorable impacts of currency translations are expected to hurt its EBITDA performance. Shares of the company have declined 14.8% in the past six months compared with the industry's 8% fall. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Smurfit Westrock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, SSR Mining Inc. SSRM and Idaho Strategic Resources IDR. Carpenter Technology currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), whereas SSR Mining and Idaho Strategic Resources carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks Technology has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS's 2025 earnings is pegged at $7.20 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 51.9%. Carpenter Technology shares have skyrocketed 111% in the last Mining has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 58.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SSRM's 2025 earnings is pegged at $1.14 per share, implying year-over-year growth of 307%. SSR Mining's stock has soared 88.6% in the last Strategic has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Idaho Strategic's 2025 earnings is pegged at 78 cents per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 16.4%. IDR shares have jumped 24.5% in the last year. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Silver Standard Resources Inc. (SSRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (IDR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Smurfit Westrock PLC (SW) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Smurfit Westrock shutdowns to affect 650 employees at 4 facilities
This story was originally published on Packaging Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Packaging Dive newsletter. Smurfit Westrock announced a series of upcoming production line and facility closures late Wednesday, ahead of its first-quarter 2025 earnings release. The company will close its coated recycled board mill in St. Paul, Minnesota, and stop production at its containerboard mill in Forney, Texas. The specialty coating facility at Forney will not be affected. Smurfit Westrock also initiated talks with local work councils in Germany about closing two converting facilities there. A WARN notice dated April 30 in Minnesota states that layoffs there will happen on or shortly after June 30. The company estimates the U.S. closures will reduce its containerboard and CRB production capacity by more than 500,000 tons. Together, the U.S. and Germany closures are expected to affect approximately 650 employees. The company says it will provide employees with severance and support such as career transition assistance and relocation opportunities, where possible. 'While closing facilities is never an easy decision, it is based on a realistic expectation of current and future capacity needs, operating costs and an unrelenting focus on improving our business,' CEO Tony Smurfit said in a statement. 'We are very grateful for the significant contributions made by the teams at these locations over the years and we will do all we can to support them throughout this process.' The company expects it will incur $99 million in pre-tax charges from these closures, according to a Wednesday securities filing. That breaks down to approximately $42 million for severance payments to former employees and $57 million for other restructuring costs. Most of the charges, $226 million worth, are expected to be realized in the second quarter, while the remaining $61 million is expected to be recognized during the rest of this year and into 2026. Since Smurfit Kappa completed its acquisition of WestRock in July 2024, company executives have repeatedly discussed streamlining efforts to evaluate legacy business units and assets for footprint optimization. The company has announced numerous facility closures in recent months, including a corrugated products plant in Portland, Oregon, where a phased shutdown will begin in June. Earlier this year, Smurfit Westrock also announced it would close a container plant in Bridgeview, Illinois, with layoffs slated for March. In October 2024, Tony Smurfit said on an earnings call that Smurfit Westrock had recently eliminated 800 positions amid other cost-cutting measures, and in February he gave an update that streamlining had resulted in more than 1,000 people already departing the company or doing so soon. Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information from a Minnesota WARN notice. Recommended Reading Smurfit Westrock to close corrugated plant in Oregon Sign in to access your portfolio
RTÉ News
01-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Smurfit Westrock's US orders steadying after rocky six weeks
US order books at the world's largest cardboard box maker Smurfit Westrock are steadying after "a lot of weakness" in March and early April amid falling consumer confidence, the company's chief executive Tony Smurfit said today. Smurfit said the Ireland-headquartered company was "seeing a lot of nervousness" among its customers that span the household goods, food and pharmaceutical sectors in relation to tariffs but that it had not yet translated into "any material issue". He made the comments after the packaging giant reported first quarter core profit of $1.25 billion, in line with its guidance, and forecast a 6% to 11% rise in full year earnings to between $5 billion and $5.2 billion. "We did see a lot of weakness in March and the first two weeks of April. It seems to be steadying itself, our order books are getting better in the second half of April than they were in the six weeks prior to that. That gives us some encouragement," Tony Smurfit told an analyst call when asked about the US market. Smurfit Westrock expected some recovery in the second half of the year but not the kind of bounceback some competitors were talking about that would require a level of consumer confidence that is not currently seen in surveys, he added. Smurfit said the European market was a bit better and that while demand may not be strong, it is "reasonable" and on an improving trend. While it largely sells to customers within each of the 40 countries in which it operates, Smurfit said it has adjusted its US/Canada supply chains in response to tariffs to cut out the previous large amount of cross border trade. Smurfit Westrock was formed when Smurfit Kappa, the largest paper packaging producer in Europe, completed its $11 billion acquisition of US rival WestRock last July. Tony Smurfit said today's results were driven by good results across all three segments, with notable progress in North America, and is significantly ahead of the combined result for the previous year. "I am especially pleased with how well the combination has come together, with strong operational and cultural integration taking place across all three regions," he said. "Coupled with our geographic footprint and our unrivalled portfolio of innovative and sustainable packaging solutions, we have a customer-focused and performance-driven team that is delivering for all stakeholders," he said. Mr Smurfit said the company's synergy programme is on track to deliver $400m, with about $350m in the current year. "We believe there is substantial opportunity to continue to structurally improve the business through a sharper commercial and operational focus, at least equal to our synergy target," he said. He also sai the company continues to actively optimise its asset base and recently announced the closure of over 500,000 tons of paper capacity in North America. "We are also closing two converting facilities in our North American region and have initiated consultations to close two of our converting facilities in EMEA & APAC," he stated. Smurfit WestRock shares had fallen by 6.7% this quarter and lost 22% so far this year.
Irish Examiner
01-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Smurfit Westrock posts 'strong' first quarter after merger
Smurfit Westrock has posted a 'strong first quarter performance' for the newly merged packaging company with adjusted earnings before deductions of $1.25bn (€1.05bn). In July last year, packaging giant Smurfit Kappa completed its merger with US packaging firm WestRock in a deal reportedly worth $11.2bn. The deal will create a packaging company that provides everything from corrugated storage boxes to beer carriers and e-commerce shipping materials. During the first three months of its latest financial year, the company reported net sales of $7.66bn with net income of $382m. This resulted in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.25bn. The company is estimating full year adjusted EBITDA of between $5bn and $5.2bn. Tony Smurfit, president and chief executive of Smurfit Westrock, said he was 'pleased to report a strong first quarter performance' which was 'in line with our stated guidance'. 'This performance was driven by good results across all three segments, with notable progress in North America, and is significantly ahead of the combined result for the prior year,' he said. The company announced that its board has approved a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share which will be payable on June 18. The company recently announced the closure of 500,000 tons of paper production capacity in North America and it is also closing two converting facilities in the region. It has also initiated consultations to close two of their converting facilities in Europe, Middle East, and Asian region as well as the Asia-Pacific region. 'To consolidate our leadership position and better support our customers, we have constructed two state-of-the-art converting plants in Washington and Wisconsin and are completing a new Bag-in-Box facility in South Carolina in our North American region,' Mr Smurfit said. 'Comparable investments in EMEA & APAC, in high-performing converting equipment, will reduce our cost base and strengthen our overall footprint in the region while in Latin America.' Read More Smurfit Westrock reports €307m net income in 2024
Irish Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Smurfit Westrock sales rise in first quarter to $7.6bn
Dublin-based Smurfit Westrock said net sales for the first quarter of the year rose to $7.66 billion (€6.7 billion), following its merger last year that saw it create one of the largest packaging groups in the world. Announcing its financial results for the first quarter of the year ended March 31st, 2025, the packaging giant said net income was $382 million, with a margin of 5 per cent. Adjusted earnings before interest, trade, depreciation and amortisation was $1.25 billion. Operating profit was $553 million, with pretax profit at $390 million for the quarter. Last July Smurfit Kappa merged with Atlanta-based cardboard box-making rival Westrock, and moved its listing to the US. The move effectively doubled the company in size, with more than $30 billion of annual revenues. READ MORE Chief executive Tony Smurfit said the first quarter performance was strong and in line with stated guidance. 'This performance was driven by good results across all three segments, with notable progress in North America, and is significantly ahead of the combined result for the prior year,' he said. 'I am especially pleased with how well the combination has come together, with strong operational and cultural integration taking place across all three regions. Coupled with our geographic footprint and our unrivalled portfolio of innovative and sustainable packaging solutions, we have a customer-focused and performance-driven team that is delivering for all stakeholders.' Smurfit said its synergy programme was on track to deliver $400 million as planned, with approximately $350 million in the current year. The company recently announced the closure of over 500,000 tons of paper capacity in North America, and said it would close two converting facilities in its North American region, with consultations to close two of its converting facilities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. 'To consolidate our leadership position and better support our customers, we have constructed two state-of-the-art converting plants in Washington and Wisconsin and are completing a new Bag-in-Box facility in South Carolina in our North American region,' Mr Smurfit said. 'Comparable investments in EMEA & APAC, in high-performing converting equipment, will reduce our cost base and strengthen our overall footprint in the region while in Latin America, we continue to invest in cost takeout and growth projects, for example, the biomass boiler in Colombia which is nearing completion.' The company said it expected to incur additional economic downtime in the second quarter costing approximately $100 million over the first quarter, before the impact of the closures took hold. 'While the demand outlook is uncertain, we expect second quarter adjusted Ebitda to be approximately $1.2 billion and our current estimate for a full year adjusted Ebitda is between $5 billion and $5.2 billion,' Mr Smurfit said. The board has approved a quarterly dividend of $0.4308 per share on its ordinary shares, payable on June 18th.
