Alongside its Swedish competitor Tetra Pak, SIG is one of the world's leading players in food and beverage packaging. Carton packaging accounts for the bulk of its revenue (71%), far ahead of bag-in-box solutions (a bag inserted into a box) and spout pouches (16%). The rest comes from equipment and services. Geographically, the group is highly developed internationally, with a strong presence in Asia-Pacific and the Americas, although Europe remains its main region by a narrow margin. SIG also has operations in India, the Middle East, and Africa.

Listed on the stock exchange in 2018, the company initially raised some doubts amongst investors, before enjoying two particularly favorable years. SIG benefited from increased consumption at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, accelerated development in emerging markets, and its status as a defensive stock in an economy with an uncertain future.

In 2022, the group wanted to accelerate its growth: in a market with low margins and limited growth, concentration seemed logical. SIG therefore acquired the American company Scholle IPN, a specialist in liquid packaging. However, the operation is now struggling to convince. It has not delivered the expected synergies and has left behind heavy debt, equivalent to around ten years of profit. At the same time, certain segments such as out-of-home catering have declined, which has penalized volumes. Costs have risen sharply, due to inflation in raw materials, logistics, and energy, which is particularly energy-intensive in this industry.

These difficulties, which have persisted for several quarters now, are now forcing SIG to review its roadmap. The Swiss group now expects slightly negative to stable growth, a contraction in margins and a restructuring marked by significant impairment charges, the disposal of non-strategic activities and the suspension of the dividend. The disappearance of the coupon would be a first since the company was listed.

SIG Group is thus trading at historically low valuation levels. Paradoxically, the share price is now trading below its 2019 level, even though revenue has doubled since then. What really matters is the group's ability to generate profits. While these have doubled from 2019, their growth is partly due to the acquisition of Scholle IPN: organic growth is very meager.

With no visibility, the company is embarking on uncertain restructuring at a rather delicate time. Shareholders are likely to face difficult weeks ahead, even as many indices hit record highs, galvanized by the prospect of monetary easing in the US.