(Reuters) -British packaging firm Mondi posted a near 17% fall in first-half pretax profit on Thursday, citing a challenging macroeconomic environment that it warned would persist in the second half of the year.
While Mondi has been banking on price hikes to bolster its performance, sticky input costs and cautious consumer sentiment have weighed on margins, especially as its customers navigate trade uncertainties due to tariffs.
Shares of the London-listed company which makes packaging and paper solutions that are sustainable by design were down around 6% at 1,100 pence by 0728 GMT.
Mondi said it expects limited direct impact from tariffs, with just 2-3% of revenue tied to U.S. exports, but remains cautious about broader effects on trade flows, consumer sentiment, and supply chains.
“Looking ahead, ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties look set to continue impacting trading conditions into the second half of the year,” CEO Andrew King said in a statement.
Mondi reported pre-tax profit of 247 million euros ($282.59 million) in the first half of the year, compared with 296 million euros reported a year earlier.
($1 = 0.8740 euros)
(Reporting by Ankita Bora and Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
