Smurfit Kappa sees growth in tough year

Smurfit Kappa shares rose nearly 2% yesterday on the back of the Dublin-based paper and packaging group reporting a 9% rise in full-year profits.

The increased profit, to €654m, came despite a challenging fourth quarter, which saw profits drop 19% year on year. Revenues for the full year rose 1% to nearly €8.2bn, while EBITDA of over €1.2bn marked a new high for the group.

A 20% increase in final dividend, to 57.6c per share, was also announced.