Paper pushers
How Mondi and Sappi proved everyone wrong and reinvented themselves
Mondi's market cap has grown fourfold since 2007, largely as a result of its focus on packaging, while Sappi's stock is at a record high
Written off a decade ago as redundant in the new digital world, the paper industry has gone back to the drawing board to defy its predicted demise. Now, it is in robust health: Mondi's market cap has grown fourfold since 2007, largely as a result of its focus on packaging, while Sappi's stock is at a record high. This is how they reinvented themselves David Hathorn’s last AGM as Mondi CEO was a low-hype affair: all four of the shareholders who posed questions about the R124bn company seemed more concerned with the complex accounting valuations of its forestry assets than the future prospects for such an old-world asset as paper. Perhaps that is testament to the fact that under Hathorn, Mondi has delivered anything but wafer-thin margins since it was spun out of Anglo American in July 2007. Hathorn, a chartered accountant who joined Anglo American 26 years ago before becoming Mondi’s finance director in 1991, has officially retired (he turned 55 on Sunday). But he presided over a com...
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