Madison Paper Industries concluded the sale of its hydro power facilities in North America to Eagle Creek Renewable Energy

Highlights *Fourth quarter 2023 net loss from continuing operations was $21.6 million or $0.12 per share (diluted), compared to net earnings of $2.7 million or earnings of $0.01 per share (diluted) in the third quarter of 2023. For fiscal 2023, net loss from continuing operations was $48.8 million or $0.27 per share (diluted), compared to a net loss of $4.1 million or $0.02 per share (diluted) in 2022 on the same basis. *Average lumber prices for Q4 2023 were lower than Q3 2023, with an average selling price of $611/mfbm compared to $642/mfbm in Q3 2023. There was strong pricing momentum in the first half of Q3 2023 due to supply related concerns, which benefited results at the beginning of the third quarter. Despite lower prices, volumes in Q4 2023 were higher than Q3 2023 due to increased demand in the latter half of Q4 driven by positive trends in US housing starts and the central banks indicating a pause of further interest rate hikes. *The valuation provision for lumber and log inventory was decreased to $4.3 million from $8.7 million at the end of Q4 2022, generating a $4.4 million credit to cost of sales in fiscal 2023. *US Department of Commerce’s (“US DOC”) Final Determination of its Fourth Administrative Review resulted in a final duty rate of 8.05%. The Company stands to benefit from an approximate US$6.9 million (CAD$9.2 million) recovery on duties paid in 2021, as recorded in 2023. Additionally, the ongoing lower duty rate has positively impacted the Company’s earnings and free cash flow since August 1, 2023.

Supremex Inc. announced the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Royal Envelope Corporation (“Royal”), an envelope manufacturer and lithography company located in Chicago. This transaction was concluded for a total cash consideration of US$18.7 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis plus US$2.0 million for manufacturing equipment that was recently commissioned. “We are very excited with this acquisition that expands our reach in the fragmented U.S. envelope market and gives us a significant manufacturing presence in the U.S. Midwest,” said Stewart Emerson, President and CEO of Supremex. “Royal has established itself as one of the preeminent direct mail envelope manufacturers in North America, utilizing a modern fleet of envelope converting equipment, in-house lithographic printing and embellishing, targeting the financial services sector. We expect this acquisition will generate significant synergies and additional operating efficiencies throughout our network. We are pleased that John, Matt and Mike Pusatera will remain with the Supremex team.”

Crown Native is available for sale starting from February 2021 after 2 years of development. Environmental friendly and food compliant. The commercialization of the sugar beet paper makes Crown Van Gelder the first in the world to produce 'sugar beet paper' at an industrial level. The new product line called 'Crown Native' reduces the environmental impact by 16% through the usage of less wood fibers compared to traditional paper. A second advantage of using sugar beet pulp is that it is FDA* compliant. Crown Native is also approved by the BfR36** and suitable for food packaging, unlike most types of recycled papers that contain print ink residue. This makes sugar beet paper the ideal choice for product packaging and also for shopping bags or promotional print. Crown Native is the perfect fit for brands with a sustainability ambition.