As part of a trading update for the first quarter of 2026, Mondi has announced further site closures. The packaging and paper group is responding to continued margin pressure and rising costs in a challenging market environment.
In the first quarter of 2026, Mondi achieved an adjusted EBITDA of €212 million, including a positive fair value forestry gain of €8 million. This resulted in a largely stable performance compared to the previous quarter (€214 million), despite being impacted by lower selling prices and rising energy costs.
Factory closures in Germany, Poland and Hungary
Mondi has now announced the closure of three further processing sites: a Consumer Flexibles plant in Hungary, and two sites in the Corrugated Solutions segment in Germany and Poland. This will result in a total reduction of around 450 jobs over the course of the year.
The measures are part of a more comprehensive adjustment programme. With the recent announcements, there is an increase in planned factory closures on a total of six. Production is to be relocated to other sites within the existing network.
Volume growth meets rising costs
Operationally, Mondi was able to increase sales volumes in the Corrugated Packaging and Flexible Packaging business segments in the first quarter. This was supported, among other things, by capacity expansions and the broad geographical and product positioning.
However, this was offset by falling average selling prices and rising energy, raw material, and logistics costs. Additional burdens arose from increasing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which further heightened market volatility.
Price adjustments and cautious outlook
Mondi is responding to cost pressures with price adjustments, though their effect will be delayed. The full impact is not expected until the third quarter of 2026.
Andrew King, CEO of Mondi Group, said: „Against the backdrop of challenging market conditions, sales volumes have increased, but lower selling prices and, more recently, cost pressures resulting from increasing geopolitical tensions have weighed on adjusted EBITDA.“
He further explained: „These burdens will continue into the second quarter, and we are implementing price adjustments to mitigate their impact. Due to a certain time lag, we expect these measures to take full effect in the third quarter.“
King also emphasised: „Despite the uncertain outlook, we continue to focus on the factors we can influence – operational excellence, consistent cost and margin discipline, the optimisation of our production network, and focused cash flow management.“
Source: Mondi
