South Africa's Mondi first-half earnings up slightly

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Paper maker Mondi posted a slight rise in first-half earnings on Thursday as a strong performance in its packaging business offset lower prices of paper grades.

Mondi (LSE: MNDI.L - news) , which is also listed in London, said diluted headline earnings per share for the six months to the end of June totalled 48.2 euro cents from 45.6 euro cents a year earlier.

Headline earnings, the main measure of profit in South Africa, strip out certain one-off items.

The group said it expected further growth in its packaging businesses, helped by a price increases and continued economic recovery.

Mondi declared an interim dividend of 13.23 euro cents per shares, up 39 percent from last year. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; editing by David Dolan)