Packaging group Smurfit Kappa has reported pre-tax profits of €85m for the three months to the end of September, up from €63m in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue rose by 10% to just under €1.9 billion, while operating profits climbed by 13% to €162m. The group's net debt was reduced by 6% from a year earlier to €2.9 billion.
The group said growth was achieved despite currency movements which cost it €30m.
Smurfit Kappa CEO Gary McGann said box demand continued to grow in the third quarter, though at a slower pace than in the first half, while there was some downward pressure on paper prices in Europe.
The group stuck to its full-year forecasts for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and its target to cut net debt to €2.85 billion by the end of the year.
For the first nine months of 2011, revenue was 12% ahead at €5.5 billion. Pre-tax profits were €221m, compared with €54m a year earlier.
