Paper and packaging company Mondi says its underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of €351-million for the first quarter of this year were broadly flat when compared with its Ebitda for the fourth quarter of 2022, after excluding a noncash forestry fair value gain. “The quarter was characterised by lower average selling prices; softer demand, driven in part by destocking; and lower input costs from the highs seen in the second half of 2022. While wood prices remained high in the first quarter of this year, they have now started to reduce,” the company notes in a trading update.