Amcor shares have tumbled more than eight per cent after the packaging giant issued a profit warning sparked by currency woes in Venezuela and a broad restructuring in its flexible packaging business.
Amcor stock slumped $1.30 or 8.05 per cent to $14.85 on Thursday as investors digested the news that its profits will be hit in the current and two following financial years.
The company said deteriorating economic conditions in Venezuela have hurt its rigid plastics business in that country and will force it to take a one-off charge of $US350 million ($A468.35 million) in this year's accounts due to foreign exchange losses.
While operating profits will not be affected in the current financial year, it expects a $US40 million hit to pre-tax profits in 2016/17.
Amcor operates six rigid plastics plants in Venezuela, which is suffering from hyper-inflation and food shortages because of the slump in oil prices.
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It plans to adopt the floating exchange rate for Venezuelan bolivars - the local currency - for financial reporting because of the difficulty in accessing US dollars for importing raw materials.
The Australian packaging giant also announced a restructuring of its flexibles business, which supplies packaging for fresh and processed food, personal and home care products and tobacco products.
Amcor, which made recent acquisitions in the US, South Africa, Brazil, China and India, said it will restructure or close several plants in developed markets to cut costs and align capacity with demand.
It will also streamline the group's operations in Europe to reduce overhead costs.
The restructuring will cost Amcor between $US120 million and $US150 million over the 2017 and 2018 financial years. It also expects to take a hit of between $US170 million and $US200 million in pre-tax profits over the current and next financial year.
Amcor chief executive Ron Delia said the steps were critical to align the organisation with market opportunities and customer needs.
"In addition to reducing complexity and ensuring the cost position of the businesses remains competitive, the cash invested will generate attractive returns," he said.
Amcor expects the restructure to generate a 35 per cent pre-tax return on the cash invested within three years.
The company in February posted a 4.9 per cent dip in half-year net profit to $US305.5 million.
