Fourth-quarter profits improve at Mondi

Paper and packaging group Mondi has set out its earnings guidance for the 2012 full year, saying that its bottom line performance improved in the fourth quarter.

Ahead of the company's full-year results announcement on February 21st, the company said that underlying operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2012 is expected to be above the €135m reported in the third quarter and the €132m registered in the fourth quarter of 2011.

However, the full-year 2012 underlying operating profit is still expected to be below the €622m achieved in 2011.

Meanwhile, the company is to take a special item charge of €92m in 2012, well above the €53m realised the year before, mainly due to the previously announced loss on the October disposal of Aylesford Newsprint, as well as restructuring and asset impairment costs in the industrial bags sector of Fibre Packaging.

Mondi expects basic underlying earnings per share (EPS) in 2012 to be between 67 and 71 euro cents, broadly in line with 68.1 cents the year before.

However, basic EPS is expected to fall from 66.1 cents to 48-52 cents.

Shares were down 1.27% at 779p in early trading on Tuesday.