Proactive Investors - Mondi (LON:MNDI), the spurned bidder for rival paper group DS Smith, said prices are picking up after weakness at the start of the year.
Paper volumes were up on the previous three months and though prices were down they are now recovering the FTSE 100 group said in a trading update.
Mondi was outbid by US group International Paper for DS Smith last month and decided not to enter a bidding war for its UK rival.
In its statement today, Mondi made no mention of the bid but said underlying profit [EBITDA] for the quarter was down but in line with expectations at €214 million (Q4 2023: €260 million), which included a one-off €32 million loss from the devaluation of the Egyptian pound.
Corrugated Packaging containerboard sales volumes were higher than the previous quarter while corrugated solutions delivered a stable performance, said the statement.
Flexible Packaging saw good sales volume growth largely offset by lower average selling prices.
Uncoated Fine Paper benefited from price increases implemented in the quarter, but, a lower forestry fair value gain impacted comparative performance.
Andrew King, chief executive, said: "Market demand has continued to improve in the first quarter of the year, with stronger order books leading to higher sales volumes across our range of paper grades.
“While we entered the year with lower selling prices compared to the prior year, improvements in demand have supported our initiatives to increase selling prices across the business.”