Smurfit Kappa sees cardboard box demand recover as WestRock merger on track for July

Smurfit Kappa said demand for its cardboard boxes grew in the first quarter, as the industry recovers from a brief downturn and the company presses ahead with its plans to merge with US rival WestRock to form a paper packaging giant with about $35 billion of annual sales.

It marks a turnaround from a difficult market in 2023, when group volumes declined by 3.5 per cent, even if demand had started to grow again in the fourth quarter. The wider industry had been hit from late 2022 by a drop in consumer spending on durable goods – a hangover from a spike in spending during the pandemic on everything from TVs to patio furniture, as well as concerns about inflation.

The last few months have seen the sector increase prices of certain containerboard products – which are used to make cardboard boxes and had plunged by more than 35 per cent from late 2022, according to analysts. The expectation is that this will lead to increases in the price of boxes – the final product – within three to six months, they say.

“Our integration planning with WestRock is progressing well and as expected,” Mr Smurfit said. “We remain on-track to complete the transaction in early July.”

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