The Mayr-Melnhof Group was able to close the 2020 financial year with a solid volume and cash flow development despite the challenging framework conditions. The concentration of the business portfolio on cardboard and cardboard packaging for everyday goods enabled a certain degree of resilience.
While the sales revenues almost reached the level of the previous year, the earnings figures were, as expected, below the previous year due to one-off effects mainly from adjustments necessary for market and structural reasons. This burdened the 2020 operating result by EUR 64.0 million, with a large part being attributable to impairments of short-term and long-term assets as well as personnel expenses.
In its ongoing business, the cartonboard division benefited in particular from advantageous raw material and energy costs. The packaging division showed itself to be solid, primarily due to the overall good volume development.
Growth through efficiency and innovation in sustainable cardboard and fiber-based packaging solutions are the strategic focus of the MM Group. The recently concluded agreements to acquire Kotkamills, Finland, and Kwidzyn, Poland, in the virgin fiber board area and the intensified investment program 2021-2022 in locations with cost advantages are transformative milestones on this path with attractive potential.
The Group’s consolidated sales reached EUR 2,528.4 million and were therefore close to the previous year’s level (2019: EUR 2,544.4 million). A volume-related increase in sales in the packaging division was offset by a price-related decrease in the cartonboard division.
EBITDA increased by 2.4% or EUR 9.3 million to EUR 398.9 million (2019: EUR 389.6 million), the EBITDA margin to 15.8% (2019: 15.3%) ). At EUR 231.4 million, the operating result was 9.4% or EUR 23.9 million below the previous year (2019: EUR 255.3 million).
Financial income of EUR 1.7 million (2019: EUR 1.4 million) was offset by financial expenses of EUR -7.9 million (2019: EUR -8.4 million). The “other financial result – net” changed to EUR -3.2 million (2019: EUR 2.8 million), primarily due to changes in the foreign currency result.
At EUR 222.1 million, earnings before taxes were therefore 11.6% below the previous year (2019: EUR 251.1 million). Income taxes amounted to EUR 59.8 million (2019: EUR 60.9 million), resulting in an effective Group tax rate of 27.0% (2019: 24.3%).
The annual surplus amounted to EUR 162.2 million (2019: EUR 190.2 million).
details at: https://www.mayr-melnhof.com/newsroom/presseaussendungen/konzernergebnis-2020/