PACKAGING GROUP Smurfit Kappa has reported a 30 per cent rise in pretax profits to €85 million for the three months to the end of September.

Revenues, at €1.8 billion, were €166 million or 10 per cent higher than in the same quarter last year but the cost of sales increased in the first nine months of the year by €127 million to €1.3 billion.

Operating profit increased by about 13 per cent to €162 million, and earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation were up 9 per cent year on year to €264 million.

Smurfit said it had reduced its debt by €82 million in the third quarter and €189 million so far this year. It reaffirmed its target of reducing net debt to €2.85 billion by the end of 2011.

Smurfit Kappa chief executive Gary McCann said box demand had continued to grow in the third quarter, albeit at a slower pace than earlier this year, and that higher inventory levels had generated some downward pressure on paper prices in Europe.

Revenue at Smurfit Kappa has increased 12 per cent in the first nine months to €5.5 billion.