Mondi Group: Trading Statement

As part of the dual listed company structure, Mondi Limited and Mondi plc (together 'Mondi Group') notify both the JSE Limited and the London Stock Exchange of matters required to be disclosed under the JSE Listings Requirements and/or the Disclosure and Transparency and Listing Rules of the United Kingdom Listing Authority.

In terms of paragraph 3.4(b) of the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited, companies are required to publish a trading statement as soon as they become reasonably certain that the financial results for the period to be reported on next will differ by at least 20% from those of the previous corresponding period.

Mondi is currently finalising its results for the year ended 31 December 2010, which will be released on 21 February 2011. As announced in Mondi’s Interim Management Statement released on 1 November 2010, results for the first three quarters of 2010 were considerably above the comparable period in the prior year. It can now be confirmed that Group underlying operating profit for the year ended 31 December 2010 is expected to be considerably higher than that of the prior year.

Furthermore, in the prior year, Mondi recognised special item charges before tax and non-controlling interests in aggregate of €133 million, mainly relating to impairments of assets and restructuring and closure costs.The equivalent special item charge for the year ended 31 December 2010 is approximately €22 million, full details of which will be provided in the results announcement.

Accordingly, Mondi advises that it expects earnings per share (‘EPS’) for the year ended 31 December 2010 to be within the ranges shown below:

• basic earnings per share (euro cents) 42 to 47 (2009 6.5 loss)
• basic underlying earnings per share (euro cents) 44 to 49 (2009 18.7)
• basic headline earnings per share (euro cents) 44 to 49 (2009 11.4)

Mondi has disclosed basic underlying EPS, which is defined as basic EPS excluding the impact of special items, as the directors believe this provides a useful additional measure of the Group’s underlying performance. The disclosure of basic headline EPS is required under the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited and has been calculated in accordance with Circular 3/2009 as issued by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The above information has neither been reviewed nor audited by Mondi’s auditors.

Editors' notes:

Mondi is an international paper and packaging company, with production operations across 31 countries and revenues of Euro5.3 billion in 2009. The Group's key operations are located in central Europe, Russia and South Africa and employed 31,000 people on average in 2009.

Mondi is fully integrated across the paper and packaging process, from the growing of wood and the manufacture of pulp and paper (including recycled paper), to the conversion of packaging papers into corrugated packaging and industrial bags.

The Group is principally involved in the manufacture of uncoated fine paper (UFP), packaging paper and converted packaging products, as well as speciality products.

Mondi has a dual listed company structure, with a primary listing on the JSE Limited for Mondi Limited under the ticker code MND and a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange for Mondi plc, under the ticker code MNDI. The Group has been recognised for its sustainability performance through its inclusion in the FTSE4Good UK, Europe and Global indices in 2008 and 2009 and the JSE's Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Mondi Limited

(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number: 1967/013038/06)
JSE share code: MND ISIN: ZAE000097051

Mondi plc

(Incorporated in England and Wales)
(Registration number: 6209386)
JSE share code: MNP ISIN: GB00B1CRLC47
LSE share code: MNDI

Last change: 10/02/2011