Smurfit's US associate to outline restructuring plans

Jefferson Smurfit Corporation is expected to outline plans for the future direction of the company in New York today. The US company, which is 46 per cent owned by the Jefferson Smurfit Group, has arranged a briefing meeting with stockbroking analysts in New York. With third-quarter results also due today, the briefing is expected to concentrate on the strategic direction of the group and on the outlook for prices in the paper and packaging sector.

JS Corp has been engaged in a strategic assessment of its operations for some months. Details of the strategic review of the US operations were first disclosed in The Irish Times in May.

At that time, it was reported that the company was examining the possible sale of newsprint and forest assets worth up to $1.4 billion (£961 million) to allow the company to concentrate on core packaging activities. The aim was that JS Corp would become a focused, value-added packaging company, producing corrugated containers, folding cartons and labels.

US paper sector analyst Mr Richard Schneider, of Paine Webber, expects JS Corp will announce that the company is to become "a purer packaging company". Packaging assets - corrugated boxes, folding cartons and labels - will become the company's core business, he forecast. In line with that expected plan, he expects JS Corp to sell assets such as newsprint operations and timberland and to use the proceeds of the sales to acquire new packaging assets.

If JS Corp was able to broaden the scope of its packaging operations and add value in this area, it could reduce the cyclical volatility of its earnings, he suggested.

JS Corp's strategic assessment involved identifying the company's most attractive business segments, finding ways to minimise the cyclicality of its business and finding ways to perform its peers. The company wanted to focus more on customer packaging needs.

Goals outlined to US analysts last May included making JS Corp a high-performing company producing differentiated services - such as a bundling products and providing one-stop shopping for paper packaging needs - and adding value through innovation, technology and conversion. Mr Schneider is forecasting earnings of $0.03 per share for the third quarter up from $0.02 in the corresponding quarter of 1996 and up from a loss of $0.04 per share in the second quarter of 1997.

An outcome of $0.03 would be a good performance against a background of flat box prices and higher container costs, he suggests. He expects a strong improvement in the current quarter, reflecting rising box prices. He is forecasting earnings of $0.19 per share up from $0.13 for the fourth quarter.

JS Corp is 34 per cent owned by a Morgan Stanley leveraged equity fund. One of the issues under review was finding a way for Morgan Stanley to disengage without requiring the Jefferson Smurfit Group to buy its stake. Among the options considered was the merger of JS Corp with another US packaging group.

Market sources concluded that the Jefferson Smurfit Group was unlikely to buy out the Morgan Stanley stake because the group would then have to take JS Corp's debts of $2 billion on to its balance sheet, driving its gearing to untenable levels.