IFRS

Smith (DS) PLC
13 October 2005


                                                                 13 October 2005


 DS SMITH PLC RESTATEMENT OF 2004/05 FINANCIAL INFORMATION UNDER INTERNATIONAL
                      FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS (IFRS)

DS Smith Plc today releases information about the restatement under IFRS of its
financial statements for the year ended 30 April 2005 and the six months ended
31 October 2004.  These restated 2004/05 financial statements will form the
comparative figures in the 2005/06 financial statements.

DS Smith's underlying business and cash flows are unaffected by IFRS.  As the
Group adopted FRS 17 for pension accounting in 2004/05 (DS Smith Plc's adoption
of FRS 17 is consistent in all material aspects with its adoption of IAS 19
(Amended), which governs pensions accounting under IFRS), what otherwise would
have been the major effect of adopting IFRS has already been reported in the UK
GAAP accounts; the further changes described in this release are therefore
limited.  The primary changes to the Group's reported 2004/05 financial
information following the adoption of IFRS are:
                                                       
•    the ending of goodwill amortisation
•    the recognition of an expense for share-based payments
•    the statement of the Group's share of the associates' results after
     interest and tax
•    the recognition of dividends only after they have been declared
•    the recording of deferred tax liabilities for temporary timing
     differences that were not recognised under UK GAAP.

The format of the financial statements and the disclosures presentation will be
different under IFRS but the underlying information presented about the Group's
financial performance and position will not change materially.  The most
significant presentational difference is the disclosure of the Group's paper and
corrugated businesses under two key geographical segments.  The Group's
borrowings arrangements are unaffected.  Dividend policy and the ability to pay
dividends are also unaffected.

Under UK GAAP, the Group reported its result on an unadjusted basis, which
included the amortisation of goodwill (2004/05: amortisation of £8.8m).  When
the result was presented on an adjusted basis, this amortisation was excluded.
Under IFRS, this goodwill will not be amortised and the Group's unadjusted
result will improve accordingly.

Under UK GAAP, intellectual property intangible assets were amortised (2004/05:
amortisation of £0.6m).  When the result was presented on an adjusted basis,
this amortisation was excluded.  Under IFRS, this amortisation will continue.
However, because the amortisation of intellectual property is not significant,
this amortisation will not be adjusted for in any re-presentation of the results
that adjusts for other items, such as the presentation of the IFRS result before
exceptional items in the table below.
The effect of IFRS on key financial performance measures is as follows:-


                                         Full Year Full Year to      Change Half Year to Half Year to      Change
                                       to 30 April     30 April               31 October   31 October
                                              2005         2005                     2004         2004
                                           UK GAAP         IFRS                  UK GAAP         IFRS

Revenue                                  £1,624.9m    £1,624.9m           -      £800.1m      £800.1m           -
Profit before tax                           £57.1m       £64.3m      +£7.2m       £32.6m       £37.4m      +£4.8m
Adjusted* profit before tax                 £76.1m       £73.9m      -£2.2m       £37.3m       £37.4m      +£0.1m
Basic earnings per share                     10.1p        12.2p       +2.1p         6.0p         7.3p       +1.3p
Adjusted* earnings per share                 14.7p        14.4p       -0.3p         7.2p         7.3p       +0.1p
Free cash inflow before dividends and
acquisitions                                £55.4m       £55.8m     +£0.4m+       £26.0m       £26.5m     +£0.5m+
Net assets                                 £490.1m      £519.8m     +£29.7m      £515.5m      £529.9m     +£14.4m
Full year dividend per share                  8.4p         8.4p           -         2.6p         2.6p           -

*Adjusted profit before tax and adjusted earnings per share are presented above
(i) for UK GAAP numbers, before exceptional items and amortisation of
intangibles and (ii) for IFRS, before exceptional items.  Exceptional items are
defined in section 7.(c) of the IFRS Restatement Report.

+Change due to inclusion of share of joint venture's cash flow, not a change in
the Group's own cash flows.

Segmental Analysis

The presentation of revenue and operating profit under the IFRS segments is
shown in the table below.  Previously under UK GAAP, the UK Paper and Corrugated
Packaging and Continental European Corrugated Packaging segments were presented
as a single Paper and Corrugated Packaging segment.  Further segmental
information is given in section 4.7 of the IFRS Restatement Report.


                                       UK Paper   Continental     
                                            and      European   
                                     Corrugated    Corrugated     Plastic  Office Products       Other      
                                      Packaging     Packaging   Packaging      Wholesaling  Operations      Total
                                             £m            £m          £m               £m          £m         £m
Six months to 31 October 2004
Revenue                                   312.7         131.5        99.9            240.0        16.0      800.1

Operating profit                           19.8           9.9         6.2              6.9        (0.2)      42.6
(no exceptional items during the
period)

Year ended 30 April 2005
Revenue                                   631.2         265.7       195.9            499.7        32.4    1,624.9

Group operating profit before                                                                       
exceptional items                          31.6          20.2         9.3             21.5           -       82.6       
Exceptional operating items               (4.9)             -       (5.8)                -                 (10.7)
Operating profit                           26.7          20.2         3.5             21.5           -       71.9       
                 

Financial Instruments

The effect of the adoption of IAS 32, 'Financial Instruments: Disclosure and
Presentation', and IAS 39, 'Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement',
as shown in section 8 of the IFRS Restatement Report, is to reduce the Group's
net assets at 1 May 2005 by £1.5m (after tax).  The Group has designated
substantially all of its derivative financial instruments as hedges and believes
that the following are unlikely to have a significant effect on the future
income statement: (a) hedge ineffectiveness; and (b) movements in the fair value
of any financial instruments that cannot be designated as hedges under IAS 39.

Basis of Preparation

This restatement has been prepared taking into account all International
Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRSs'), including International Accounting
Standards ('IASs') and interpretations issued by the International Accounting
Standards Board ('IASB') and its committees.  These IFRSs are subject to ongoing
amendment by the IASB and subsequent endorsement by the European Commission and
are therefore subject to possible change.  Further changes may therefore be
required to the information presented in the IFRS Restatement Report before it
is published as comparative information in the 2006 Annual Report and Accounts.


Enquiries

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

Financial Dynamics                                                 020 7269 7291
Richard Mountain/Robert Gurner


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