ESPOO, Finland – Huhtamäki Oyj reported on February 9, 2023, full-year results for 2022 showing a strong performance in a volatile environment. In Q4 net sales increased 10% to EUR 1,104 million (EUR 999 million). The adjusted EBIT was EUR 93 million (EUR 82 million); reported EBIT was EUR 78 million (EUR 84 million). Adjusted EPS was EUR 0.65 (EUR 0.54); reported EPS was EUR 0.54 (EUR 0.56).
Comparable net sales growth at Group level was 9% and 6% in emerging markets. The impact of currency movements on the Group’s net sales was EUR 46 million and EUR 5 million on EBIT.
In the 12 months ending December 31, 2022, net sales increased 25% to EUR 4,479 million (EUR 3,575 million). Adjusted EBIT was EUR 395 million (EUR 315 million); reported EBIT was EUR 405 million (EUR 296 million). Adjusted EPS was EUR 2.49 (EUR 2.07); reported EPS was EUR 2.65 (EUR 1.91). Comparable net sales growth at Group level was 15 % and 16% in emerging markets.
The impact of currency movements on the Group’s net sales was EUR 234 million and EUR 22 million on EBIT. Capital expenditure was EUR 318 million (EUR 259 million). Free cash flow was EUR 11 million (EUR -26 million). he Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 1.00 (0.94) per share.
The President and CEO of Huhtamäki Oyj Charles Héaulmé stated
“We continued to successfully execute the Huhtamaki 2030 growth strategy and despite facing a challenging operational environment, delivered a strong performance in 2022. Complexity, volatility, and uncertainty affected the business environment during the year, with geopolitical disruption and high inflation across the value chain. Whilst demand remained overall solid, the pressure of inflation on consumers started to erode the consumption growth across categories and geographies during the second half of the year. The year 2022 was most importantly marked by the war in Ukraine, which led to the decision to divest our operations in Russia. This was successfully completed in September.
In the fourth quarter, our business performance remained consistent with previous quarters, delivering solid revenue and profit growth. Our comparable net sales increased by 9% and adjusted EBIT by 14%. Free cash flow generated reached EUR 71.3 million, representing a significant improvement compared to previous quarters and last year. The positive cash flow was driven by a release of working capital, while we have continued to invest for growth and innovation.
For the full year 2022, our net sales increased to EUR 4.5 billion with comparable net sales growth of 15%. Despite continued high inflation, market headwinds and decreased sales volumes in the latter part of the year, adjusted EBIT improved by 25%. While the cash flow remained low, it improved during the second half of the year. Our solid performance in 2022 reflects the scale and strength of our global footprint, our key technologies and diverse portfolio, and importantly the resilience, agility and commitment of our people.
As we consistently execute our 2030 strategy with the ambition to be the first choice for our customers in sustainable packaging solutions, we are accelerating the development of our technology capabilities for differentiated innovation. In November, we announced our collaboration with Nespresso to create paper-based coffee capsules which are fully home compostable. This innovation in paper-based coffee capsules is born as a continued development of our fiber high-precision technology, which was previously illustrated by the launch of Fiber Lids for the foodservice sector, replacing plastics. In addition, we launched products such as the ICON recyclable ice cream packaging solution in North America and expanded the product range of recyclable flexible packaging.
Innovation in new product alternatives supports our ambitious sustainability agenda. We continuously develop it to take a comprehensive systems-thinking approach, by setting a framework to drive net positive impact of our products. Our goal is to design all our products to be recyclable, compostable, or reusable. During the year, we signed our second virtual power purchase agreement, created water management plans for all our manufacturing sites and launched a sustainability-linked bond. We also invested in scalable recycling pilots, as we launched a plastic recycling plant in India through the Huhtamaki Foundation and started The Cup Collective initiative, focused on recycling paper cups. In 2022 we have taken important steps with our sustainability agenda, with our performance being recognized externally with improved sustainability ratings.
We have made good progress in 2022 on our journey to transform our company to address mega trends. We have a solid core business with underlying market growth and opportunities. Our scale, technology capabilities and customer innovation partnerships allow us to take a leading role in designing sustainable packaging solutions. This makes me confident of the bright future of our company. I would like to thank our customers and stakeholders for their continued trust in us as well as our employees for their dedication and hard work.”
