Sappi announces financial results for third quarter
Financial summary for the quarter: *Severe impact from Covid-19 on profitability *EBITDA excluding special items US$26 million (Q3 2019 US$118 million) *Loss for the period US$73 million (Q3 2019 Profit of US$8 million) *Net debt US$1,977 million (Q3 2019 US$1,728 million) *EBITDA from packaging and specialities segment increases 109%. For the quarter dissolving pulp (DP) and graphic paper sales volumes were 29% and 40% lower respectively. In response, a number of cost containment initiatives were implemented which, along with a positive currency movement, resulted in fixed costs being US$67 million less than the equivalent quarter last year. Consequently, the group generated EBITDA excluding special items of US$26 million compared to US$118 million in the equivalent quarter last year, which led to a decline in profitability and a loss of US$73 million for the quarter.