Jefferson Smurfit Group said its 29.4 per cent owned associated company Smurfit-Stone suffered from the downturn in the US economy at the start of this year but expects the first quarter to have been the trough for demand.
Smurfit-Stone reported net income per share of $0.02 for the first quarter, including a pretax restructuring charge relating to facility closures. In the first quarter of the previous year the company earned $12 million, or $0.05 per diluted share.
Sales for the quarter were $1.9 billion compared to $2.2 billion in the first quarter of 2001.
Mr Patrick Moore, president and chief executive officer, said the primary factors affecting quarterly profits were persistent weakness in demand for packaging, the continuing impact of container board mill downtime and modest packaging price erosion.
"Reflecting the difficult economic environment at the start of the quarter, North American shipments of the company's two main packaging products, corrugated containers and folding cartons, declined compared to both fourth quarter and year-ago levels," the company said.
Commenting on the outlook, Mr Moore said, "We expect that the quarter was the trough from a demand standpoint, and we have begun to see some signs of a seasonal upturn."
AFP