Mayr-Melnhof reports good results for 2010

The Mayr-Melnhof Group enjoyed a successful 2010 as a result of the pick-up in European business and the group’s continued expansion into new markets.  Both volume and profit saw significant growth and the share dividend was raised from Euro 1.7 in 2009 to Euro 1.95.
 
Group sales increased by 11% (Euro 177m) owing to increased volume and higher board prices.  Operating profit was up 8.3% (Euro 12.4m) on last year as a result of better profit in cartonboard production.  Overall operating margin dropped slightly to 9.1% (9.4% in 2009), but the return on capital employed rose to 18.9% (16.9% in 2009).  The annual profit for the Mayr-Melnhof Group increased by 13.3 % to Euro 110.4m

2010 saw a recovery in the demand for carton packaging as the supply chain was refilled.  This caused a short-term scarcity in cartonboard, exaggerated by numerous closures within the sector.  This allowed MM Karton to operate close to full capacity at 98% (88% in 2009), with an average order backlog of approximately 170,000 tons

Strong demand saw prices for recovered paper and pulp increase and establish a new high in the third quarter.  Chemicals and logistics also witnessed price rises but full capacity utilization and scarce availability allowed the company to implement price rises to show an improved margin.

Board production rose to almost 1.6m tons, up 5.3% on 2009, and this was reflected in a similar increase in sales volume.  Sales value, however, rose by 14.8% to Euro 880m, of which 68% came from Western Europe, 20% from Eastern Europe, and the remainder elsewhere.  Profit rose by 26.4 % to Euro 65.1m.

The newly created MMP Tehran facility, and the acquisition of Marinetti SA in Chile, continued MM growth in new markets.  These allowed overall tonnage processed to rise from 630,000 tons to 675,000 tons, an increase of 7.1% over 2009.