Statement re Notification of Italian Competitio...

Statement re Notification of Italian Competition Authority Decision

Smurfit Kappa Group PLC

 

6 August 2019

Notification of Italian Competition Authority Decision

Smurfit Kappa Group plc (“Smurfit Kappa”, “SKG” or the “Group”) confirms that one of its subsidiaries, Smurfit Kappa Italia, S.p.A. (“SKI”), has been notified today of a decision from the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) regarding proceedings initiated in early 2017 in respect of a market-wide investigation in Italy against approximately 50 companies (including the largest participants in the market). SKI fully co-operated with the investigation. The ICA has notified these 50 companies (including SKI) that they have been found to have engaged in anti-competitive practices in Italy and the ICA has levied a fine of €124 million on SKI. This cost will be taken as an exceptional charge in the current year.

SKG is very disappointed with the decision of the ICA on many levels and will vigorously appeal this decision on both administrative and substantive grounds. This process will take a number of years. SKG is committed to the highest standards of conduct in its business and will not tolerate any actions that are inconsistent with its values.

Enquiries:

Smurfit Kappa Garrett Quinn (Investor Relations)	Tel: [phone] Â
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K Capital (Public relations adviser) Mark Kenny Â	Tel: [phone]

About Smurfit Kappa

Smurfit Kappa, a FTSE 100 company, is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with around 46,000 employees in approximately 350 production sites across 35 countries with revenue of €8.9 billion in 2018. We are located in 23 countries in Europe, and 12 in the Americas. We are the only large-scale pan‑regional player in Latin America.

With our pro-active team, we relentlessly use our extensive experience and expertise, supported by our scale, to open up opportunities for our customers. We collaborate with forward-thinking customers by sharing superior product knowledge, market understanding and insights in packaging trends to ensure business success in their markets. We have an unrivalled portfolio of paper-packaging solutions, which is constantly updated with our market-leading innovations. This is enhanced through the benefits of our integration, with optimal paper design, logistics, timeliness of service, and our packaging plants sourcing most of their raw materials from our own paper mills.

Our products, which are 100% renewable and produced sustainably, improve the environmental footprint of our customers.

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190806005457/en/