Tony Smurfit, chief executive of Smurfit WestRock: 'we don’t underestimate the amount of hard work ahead of us'. Photograph: Alan Betson
However, the company said there were signs that a recovery in demand from a downturn last year is gaining momentum, with the volume of corrugated boxes sold increasing 3.1 per cent in the second quarter, driven by 3.5 per cent growth in Europe. Volumes increased by a more modest 1.5 per cent in the Americas.
Smurfit Kappa, Ireland’s first multinational group, effectively doubled in size on July 5th as the takeover of WestRock created the world’s largest paper packaging group with more than $30 billion of annual revenues. Legacy Smurfit Kappa shareholders started off with 50.2 per cent of the enlarged business.