Smurfit-Stone Container Corp yesterday posted a wider second-quarter loss but suggested it might return to profit for the first time in nearly two years in the current period.

The maker of paper bags and cardboard boxes said it suffered flat prices and higher energy and staff costs in the three months to the end of June.

However, the US company (formerly an associate of the Jefferson Smurfit Group), which has posted losses for six consecutive quarters, said strong box demand would restore its fortunes in the third quarter.

Smurfit-Stone said it lost $10 million (€8.3 million), or four US cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with a loss of $8 million, or three cents a share, a year earlier.

Second-quarter results included a net gain of one cent per share from special items, including foreign currency translation gains and restructuring charges. Excluding these items, analysts had been expected Smurfit-Stone to lose six cents a share in the quarter. - (Reuters)