Box maker Smurfit Westrock targets 40% increase in core profit by 2030

DUBLIN, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Cardboard box maker Smurfit Westrock SW.N aims to grow its full-year core profit to $7 billion by 2030 from just under $5 billion last year, a goal it said on Wednesday hinged on maximising the potential of its North American business.

The world's biggest cardboard box maker reported full-year adjusted core earnings (EBITDA) for 2025 of $4.94 billion, at the lower end of a $4.9 billion to $5.1 billion range that was revised down in October due to weak North American demand.

The Ireland-headquartered company said an 8% fall in fourth-quarter core profit in North America reflected its planned reduction in output there late last year.

It said it also cut last year over 3,000 of the around 100,000 staff employed at the end of 2024 and exceeded the $400 million pretax cost savings targeted in the 2024 $11-billion merger of European-focussed Smurfit Kappa with U.S. rival WestRock.

So far in 2026, Smurfit Westrock said it saw a "generally better industry operating environment" and forecast full-year core profit rising to between $5 billion and $5.3 billion.

"We are focused on unlocking the full potential of North America, while continuing to outperform in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific) and delivering dynamic growth and strong margins in Latin America," CEO Tony Smurfit said on the 2030 target. The target includes boosting profits in its largest market of North America to $4.2 billion from $3 billion.

The goal - which assumes market growth of between 1.6% and 2% in North America, Europe and Latin America - should allow it to return around $5 billion to investors over the next five years via a progressive dividend policy, alongside the capacity for additional share buybacks from 2027, Smurfit Westrock said.

Its UK-listed shares SWR.L were broadly flat by 1200 GMT.

Smurfit added that the company had ended most of the U.S. loss-making contracts inherited from WestRock, and changed the way those sales staff can target more profitable business.

"We allow our salespeople to entertain our customers, make sure that they can buy them a drink. Nothing was allowed to be done before (at WestRock)," he told investors.