Statement re redemption of €500 million 7.25%...

Statement re redemption of €500 million 7.25% Senior Notes due 2017

Smurfit Kappa Group PLC

Smurfit Kappa announces redemption of €500 million 7.25% Senior Notes due 2017

Significant reduction in interest costs and immediately earnings accretive

SKG.I SKG.L

Dublin, London, 3 October, 2013: Smurfit Kappa Group plc (“SKG” or the “Group”) announces that one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Smurfit Kappa Acquisitions, intends to redeem its €500 million 7.25% Senior Notes due 2017. The redemption will be funded from existing credit facilities together with approximately €220 million from the Group’s existing cash resources.

The Group expects cash interest savings from the redemption will be approximately €30 million per annum and the transaction will be immediately earnings accretive with an annualised increase in EPS of approximately 11 cent. There will be a one-off exceptional cost of approximately €26 million arising from the redemption premium and the accelerated amortisation of unamortised deferred debt issue costs related to the notes being redeemed.

Ian Curley, Smurfit Kappa Group CFO, commented: “This transaction is a further significant step in reducing our funding costs following the transition of SKG’s debt portfolio to an unsecured corporate profile. The redemption further lowers SKG’s overall cost of capital, materially reduces debt servicing costs and enhances earnings and free cash flow.

The strength of our free cash flow generation allows us to fund a significant portion of the redemption from existing cash resources. Following the transaction, the Group continues to maintain strong liquidity in the form of cash and undrawn committed credit facilities.”

About Smurfit Kappa

Smurfit Kappa is one of the leading producers of paper-based packaging in the world, with around 41,000 employees in approximately 350 production sites across 32 countries and with sales revenue of €7.3 billion in 2012.

Innovation, service and pro-activity towards customers, using sustainable resources, is our primary focus. This focus is enhanced through us being an integrated producer, with our packaging plants sourcing the major part of their raw materials from our own paper mills. We are the European leader in paper-based packaging, operating in 21 countries selling products including corrugated, containerboard, bag-in-box, solidboard and solidboard packaging. We have a growing base in Eastern Europe in many of these product areas. We also have a key position in other product/market segments including graphicboard, MG paper and sack paper.

We are the only large scale pan regional player in the Americas, operating in 11 countries in total in North, Central and South America.

Forward Looking Statements

Some statements in this announcement are forward-looking. They represent expectations for the Group’s business, and involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events. The Group believes that current expectations and assumptions with respect to these forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which are in some cases beyond the Group’s control, actual results or performance may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

ENDS

Seamus Murphy Smurfit Kappa Group   Tel: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]

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