Mondi pulled its plans to merge with DS Smith in April 2024 after International Paper stepped in with a rival bid.

The €13m in written-off costs was included in operating special items last year, which totalled €149m and included a €74m charge for impairment of assets, and €40m in restructuring costs.

Mondi is now in the process of acquiring Schumacher Packaging’s Western Europe operations in a €634m deal expected to complete in H1 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

Transaction costs of €5m are included in the results, with total costs expected to be €10m-plus.

Group revenue nudged up 1% at €7.4bn, while underlying EBIT (excluding forestry fair value gain) was flat at €1.04bn.

At its divisions, Flexible Packaging sales were up 3% at €3.96bn but EBITDA margins were down from 16.5% to 14.1%.

Corrugated Packaging sales slipped by 1% to €2.25bn with margins improving from 13.6% to 14.6%.

Uncoated Fine Paper sales rose 2% to €1.32bn, but EBITDA margins fell to 15% from 22.4%.

King said the group had “demonstrated resilience through the year in the face of ongoing difficult trading conditions”, including soft demand and pricing challenges.

The group started up five major capacity expansion projects on time and within budget. It also closed two paper bag plants, its Bulgarian paper mill following a fire, and a paper machine at the Neusiedler mill in Austria.

King commented: “As we move into 2025, while significant macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties remain, we are currently seeing improving order books across our packaging businesses and are implementing price increases across our range of packaging paper grades.

“With our culture of continuous improvement, we are focused on managing costs and driving productivity, alongside ramping up our new capacity expansion projects.”

He also noted that demand for sustainable products is providing many opportunities for the business, and was “a key driver of our growth”.