Huhtamäki Oyj’s Results January 1–December 31, 2020: Solid performance despite COVID-19 pandemic

Q4 2020 in brief
• Net sales decreased 7% to EUR 813 million (EUR 875 million)
• Adjusted EBIT was EUR 73 million (EUR 75 million); reported EBIT was EUR 48 million (EUR 72 million)
• Adjusted EPS was EUR 0.48 (EUR 0.48); reported EPS was EUR 0.30 (EUR 0.46)
• Comparable net sales growth was -2% at Group level and -7% in emerging markets
• The impact of currency movements was EUR -52 million on the Group’s net sales and EUR -5 million on EBIT

Q1-Q4 2020 in brief
• Net sales decreased 3% to EUR 3,302 million (EUR 3,399 million)
• Adjusted EBIT was EUR 302 million (EUR 293 million); reported EBIT was EUR 265 million (EUR 286 million)
• Adjusted EPS was EUR 1.95 (EUR 1.88) reported EPS was EUR 1.69 (EUR 1.82)
• Comparable net sales growth was -2% at Group level and -6% in emerging markets
• The impact of currency movements was EUR -89 million on the Group’s net sales and EUR -8 million on EBIT
• Capital expenditure was EUR 223 million (EUR 204 million)
• Free cash flow was EUR 207 million (EUR 226 million)
• The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 0.92 (0.89) per share

Charles Héaulmé, President and CEO:
“The year 2020 was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the crisis our primary focus has been to safeguard the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees and to ensure business continuity under these exceptional circumstances. Despite the challenging operational environment, with COVID-19 impact on markets across the world, we delivered a solid performance overall. This reflects the resilience of our diversified portfolio and the ability of our company to manage challenging conditions.

Pandemic-driven restrictions and lockdowns had a negative impact on demand for food on-the-go products globally, but conversely drove higher consumption of food on-the-shelf products. The decline of in-restaurant dining was partly compensated by the fast-growing food delivery and take-away channels. In particular, our foodservice business was impacted negatively, whilst increased in-home consumption supported growth in consumer goods. In North America, in-home dining further boosted the underlying growth of the retail tableware products. In our Flexible Packaging segment, overall demand remained good across most markets. However, pandemic-driven supply chain disruptions did impact the demand and the ability to serve the market, particularly in India and Middle East during in the second quarter of the year. Demand in the Fiber Packaging segment remained strong throughout the year, mainly driven by high demand for egg packaging and continued plastic substitution.

Our net sales amounted to EUR 3.3 billion for the full year. Comparable net sales growth was -2% during the fourth quarter. In 2020, our profitability was supported by a favorable sales mix, beneficial cost environment and continued focus on operational efficiency. The adjusted EBIT margin increased by 0.5 p.p. to 9.0% in the fourth quarter and to 9.1% for the full year. During 2020, the company focused on preparing for a post-COVID-19 world, including actions to improve competitiveness and investments in expansion and automation. Our balance sheet remains strong and we are well placed to invest in future growth through both organic investments and acquisitions.

The year 2020 was also the opportunity for us to celebrate Huhtamaki’s 100th anniversary. The celebrations were held in November with a series of virtual stakeholder events during “Founder’s week”. We introduced our new 2030 strategy and laid out high sustainability ambitions for this decade. Our focus is on creating value by delivering growth, improving competitiveness, developing talent while embedding sustainability in everything we do. Our ambition is to be the first choice in sustainable food packaging solutions. We have raised our external engagement through sustainability thought leadership initiatives and the deployment of local activities contributing to lowering the carbon footprint of our operations, such as increasing our use of renewable energy.”
details at: https://www.huhtamaki.com/en/media/media/stock-exchange-release/2021/huhtamaki-oyjs-results-january-1december-31-2020-solid-performance-despite-covid-19-pandemic-/

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