DS Smith

British multinational packaging business

Geoff Drabble (chairperson)
Miles Roberts (CEO)

Revenue

£8,221 million (2023)^[1]

Operating income

£748 million (2023)^[1]

Net income

£503 million (2023)^[1]

Number of employees

30,168 (2023)^[1]Websitedssmith.com

DS Smith plc is a British multinational packaging business, headquartered in London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.^[2]

History

The business was founded by two cousins, David Gabriel Smith and David Solomon Smith in 1940, to manufacture cartons. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in the late 1950s.^[3]

In 1986 the company acquired St Regis Paper Company and in 1988 Kemsley Paper Mill, both paper manufacturing businesses. In 1991 the business bought Kaysersberg Packaging, a leading packaging business, and in 1993 it bought Spicers, an office products wholesaler.^[4] In 1996 it acquired John Dickinson, an envelope manufacturer,^[5] and in 2004 it completed the purchase of Linpac Containers, a corrugated packaging manufacturer.^[6]

The company sold Spicers, its office products wholesaling business, for £200 million, in July 2011^[7] and acquired the packaging division of Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget for a net consideration of approximately €1.6 billion (c. £1.3 billion) in July 2012.^[8] It went on to complete the acquisition of Duropack for approximately €300m (c. £220m) in May 2015^[9] and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index in December 2017.^[10] In August 2023, it was announced DS Smith had acquired the Valjevo-based packaging company, Bosis doo.^[11]

On 19 February 2024, DS Smith announced a €13 million investment to enhance the production capacity of its Margarethen am Moos and Kalsdorf bei Graz facilities in Austria by up to 20%, as part of its growth strategy in Eastern Europe and commitment to the sustainable packaging market.^[12]

In March 2024, the company's board indicated that it had agreed a takeover offer worth £5.1 billion from packaging business, Mondi.^[13] In April, the company agreed to a larger £5.8 billion ($7.2 billion) all stock deal from the U.S. paper and pulp company, International Paper.^[14]

Operations

DS Smith is a leading provider of sustainable fibre-based packaging in Europe and the United States, with recycling and papermaking operations. The company manufactures packaging that is 100% recyclable, and has sites in 37 countries.^[15]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). DS Smith. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
^ "London Stock Exchange | London Stock Exchange". www.londonstockexchange.com. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^ "History". DS Smith. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
^ David Smith buys Spicers for £95m: Purchase of envelope maker marks move away from cyclical paper making The Independent, 26 June 1993
^ "Hamelin Brands - branded envelopes, notebooks, pads, diaries". hamelinpaperbrands.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
^ DS Smith to acquire Linpac Containers UK Official Board Markets, June 2004
^ DS Smith sells Spicers to Unipapel for £200m Packaging News, 3 January 2012
^ "DS Smith doubles in size with £1.3bn SCA Packaging deal". Citywire. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
^ "DS Smith snaps up Duropack for €300m". FT. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
^ "New FTSE 100 entrant DS Smith could make you brilliantly rich". Motley Fool. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
^ Sharma, Soumya (2 August 2023). "DS Smith signs deal to acquire Bosis doo". Packaging Gateway. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
^ Sharma, Soumya (19 February 2024). "DS Smith invests in two Austrian facilities to boost production". Packaging Gateway. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
^ "DS Smith shares lift after Mondi takeover deal agreed". The Herald. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
^ Shabong, Yadarisa; Rajesh, Ananya Rajesh (16 April 2024). "DS Smith agrees $7.2 bln all-share deal with International Paper". Reuters. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "DS Smith Locations Map". DS SMith. Retrieved 25 November 2019.