Closure of Mill

Smith (DS) PLC
23 August 2006





                                                                  23 August 2006


                                  DS Smith Plc



            Sale of Taplow Site and Proposed Closure of Taplow Mill



DS Smith Plc (SMDS), the international packaging manufacturer and office
products wholesaler, announces further progress in the strategic rationalisation
of its UK Paper and Corrugated operations.  DS Smith has sold its site at Taplow
near Maidenhead, Berkshire to Towntalk Limited, a commercial property developer,
for a cash consideration of £30.25 million and announces the proposed closure of
its Taplow Mill.



Taplow Mill, which currently manufactures 95,000 tonnes per annum of corrugated
case material (CCM), has been adversely affected by difficult market conditions
and substantial increases in energy costs.  It made losses in financial year
2005/06 and is not expected to return to adequate profitability.  Consultation
will commence immediately with the Mill's 85 employees, with a view to
mitigating the effects of the proposed closure.  It is proposed that the closure
of the Mill will be implemented by the end of October 2006.  The Group's
Severnside waste collection depot, which also operates on the Taplow site, will
be relocated.



The consideration for the sale of the site will result in an exceptional profit
in the current financial year of £20.7 million, net of the book value of the
site of £9.0 million and related disposal costs.  It is also estimated that the
proposed closure and relocation will result in an exceptional charge to the
profit and loss account in the current financial year of the order of £12
million; approximately one third of which will be cash costs and the remainder
will be the write-down of assets.



The proposed closure of Taplow Mill is another important step towards raising
the returns of the Group's Paper operations.  Following the proposed closure of
Taplow Mill, St Regis' principal mill at Kemsley will represent approximately
70% of the division's output of over 840,000 tonnes per annum of paper; Kemsley
Mill is ranked in the top quartile of European CCM mills in terms of
competitiveness.





Enquiries:

DS Smith Plc                  020 7932 5000
Tony Thorne, Group Chief Executive
Gavin Morris, Group Finance Director
Peter Aubusson, Group Communications Manager


Financial Dynamics           020 7269 7291
Richard Mountain/Susanne Walker





NOTES TO EDITORS

DS Smith's UK Paper division, St Regis, currently has five mills and is the
leading UK producer of recycled paper.  Approximately 70% of the paper it
produces is used in the construction of corrugated boxes and trays, the
remainder being plasterboard liner and other speciality paper grades.


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