Peter Oswald, MM CEO: “As expected, the MM Group recorded a restrained start to the year in the 1st quarter of 2023 in the MM Board & Paper division against the background of the slow reduction of high inventories at customers and dampened demand due to inflation. In addition to the planned investment-related downtimes in the Frohnleiten and Neuss cardboard plants, considerable market-related downtimes were necessary. In the MM Packaging division, demand tended to be weaker in the first few months, but was still resilient overall. The significant growth of MM Packaging compared to the 1st quarter of the previous year results primarily from the inclusion of last year’s acquisitions in the area of pharmaceutical packaging, Essentra Packaging and Eson Pac.
As a result of the persistently weaker demand and the implementation of major investments in our cardboard plants Frohnleiten, Neuss and Kolicevo in the first three quarters, a decline in volume and earnings is foreseeable in the Board & Paper Division, as already indicated for 2023. At MM Packaging, the focus is primarily on the integration of the Ex-Essentra Packaging business with cost optimization and structural adjustments.
Accordingly, 2023 will be a year of transition for MM Board & Paper on the one hand and a year of integration for MM Packaging on the other. If profitability was above the trend line in 2022, it is expected to be below it in 2023.”
The consolidated sales of the Group increased by EUR 61.7 million or 5.8% to EUR 1,122.1 million (Q1 2022: EUR 1,060.4 million). This growth is mainly due to the acquisition of the MM Packaging division.
At EUR 61.6 million, the operating result was EUR 49.5 million below the comparative figure for the previous year (Q1 2022: EUR 111.1 million). This decline is mainly due to downtimes in the MM Board & Paper division due to market and remodeling and restructuring expenses of EUR 15.5 million in the packaging division. The Group’s operating margin was therefore 5.5% (Q1 2022: 10.5%).
details at: https://www.mm.group/newsroom/presseaussendungen/ergebnisse-zum-1-quartal-2023/