Mondi cautions over Iran war cost hikes as it shuts plants across Europe

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “There’s no papering over the cracks in packaging outfit Mondi’s latest update.

“The business is heavily exposed to rising energy and raw materials costs and that’s putting significant pressure on profit.

“Mondi is increasing its prices but cannot pass on costs overnight so investors won’t see evidence of this until later in the year.

“Management can take some credit for an increase in volumes which suggests Mondi is making progress on items within its compass to control.

“Around the turn of the last decade a combination of the burgeoning ESG theme – where packaging firms like Mondi were popular picks thanks to their recycling efforts – and the e-commerce boom seen during the pandemic saw the share price hit heights which feel very distant today.

“Mondi is now down more than 60 per cent over the last five years as demand has eased back and the company has battled waves of inflationary pressure.

“The immediate outlook suggests Mondi will have to run hard just to stand still.”