Half Year pre close statement

27 October 2015

DS Smith Plc - pre-close trading statement

for the half year ending 31 October 2015

DS Smith Plc, the leading supplier of recycled packaging for consumer goods, today issues a pre-close trading statement for the half year ending 31 October 2015.

Group performance remains in line with our expectations, and the business and market trends, as detailed in our trading update on 8 September 2015, have continued. Volume growth remains good while margins, ROACE and EPS continue to show strong growth.

We continue to actively manage our asset portfolio to enhance the quality of our business and our geographic footprint. We have been very active in the half year period completing the acquisitions of Duropack, Lantero and most recently, the acquisition of the market leading corrugated business in Greece. At the same time, we agreed to sell our stake in the Turkish operations of Cukurova Group and we have announced a proposal to reduce our paper capacity via the closure of our Wansbrough paper mill.

Performance of the acquired businesses to date has been better than originally anticipated with good customer reception to our entry into new markets.

Miles Roberts, Group Chief Executive, said:

"We are very pleased with the growth in margins, returns and earnings delivered in the year so far. We have achieved this by a continued focus on delivering for our customers by developing our geographic coverage and the quality of our service offering and customer relationships.

Our outlook remains positive as volumes and financial returns continue to grow, despite no change in market conditions. The Board expects continued performance in line with our medium term financial targets, views the remainder of the year with confidence and remains excited about the opportunities for the Group."

Forthcoming Dates

Enquiries

DS Smith Plc                                                                                      +44 (0)20 7756 1800

Hugo Fisher, Group Communications Director

Rachel Stevens, Investor Relations Manager

Bell Pottinger                                                                                               

John Sunnucks                                                                   +44 (0)20 3772 2549

Ben Woodford                                                                    +44 (0)20 3772 2566

Notes

·      Return on sales: earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and exceptional items as a percentage of revenue.

·      Return on average capital employed (ROACE): earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and exceptional items as a percentage of the average monthly capital employed over the previous 12 month period. Average capital employed includes property, plant and equipment, intangible assets (including goodwill), working capital, provisions, capital debtors/creditors and assets/liabilities held for sale.

·      For information on foreign exchange exposure please reference page 15 of our results statement of 25 June 2015, available on www.dssmith.com/investors

Cautionary statement

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the operations, performance and financial condition of the Group. By their nature, these statements involve uncertainty since future events and circumstances can cause results and developments to differ materially from those anticipated. The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this announcement and DS Smith plc undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Nothing in this trading statement should be construed as a profit forecast.