Consumables

Mondi Group: Trading Statement

Thursday 26. July 2012 - As part of the dual listed company structure, Mondi Limited and Mondi plc (together 'Mondi Group') notify both the JSE Limited and the London Stock Exchange of matters required to be disclosed under the Listings Requirements of the JSE and/or the Disclosure and Transparency and Listing Rules of the United Kingdom Listing Authority.

In terms of paragraph 3.4(b) of the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited, companies are required to publish a trading statement as soon as they become reasonably certain that the financial results for the period to be reported on next will differ by at least 20% from those of the previous corresponding period.
Mondi is currently finalising its results for the half year ended 30 June 2012, which will be released on 7 August 2012. As announced in Mondi’s Interim Management Statement released on 3 May 2012, the Group’s underlying operating profit in the first quarter 2012 of EUR120 million was below that of the comparable prior year period of EUR179 million. It can now be confirmed that the underlying operating profit for the second quarter of 2012 is expected to be higher than that of the first quarter, but below that achieved in the comparable prior year period (EUR175 million). As such, underlying operating profit for the half year ended 30 June 2012 is expected to be lower than that of the comparable prior year period.
Accordingly, Mondi advises that it expects earnings per share (‘EPS’) for the half year ended 30 June 2012 to be within the ranges shown below:
basic underlying earnings per share (euro cents) 28 to 33 (2011 38.2)
basic earnings per share (combined operations) (euro cents) 29 to 34 (2011 41.6)
basic headline earnings per share (euro cents) 28 to 33 (2011 39.4)
Mondi has disclosed basic underlying EPS, which is defined as basic EPS excluding the impact of special items, as the directors believe this provides a useful additional measure of the Group’s underlying performance. Mondi has disclosed basic EPS (combined operations) which comprises the total operations of the Group including the discontinued operation in 2011 and the effect of special items. The disclosure of basic headline EPS is required under the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited and has been calculated in accordance with Circular 3/2009 as issued by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The above information has neither been reviewed nor audited by Mondi’s auditors.