Sappi Announces Price Increase

“We delivered a strong third quarter, even as we dealt with the impact of Hurricane Helene at our Augusta, Georgia and Shelby, North Carolina facilities,” said Arsen Kitch, president and CEO. “We are also pleased that we closed on the sale of our tissue business and are now well positioned to execute on our strategy of building a premier paperboard company that is focused on servicing independent converters in North America.” Clearwater Paper's Board of Directors has approved a new $100 million share repurchase authorization, allowing the Company to opportunistically repurchase shares in addition to offsetting the dilution from employee share grants. This authorization replaces the Company’s previous authorization. The timing and amount of any repurchases of common stock will be solely at the discretion of the Company and is subject to general business and market conditions, as well as other factors.

Minerals Technologies Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement with Phoenix Paper LLC to re-establish a 35,000 ton per year satellite precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) plant at its paper mill in Wickliffe, Kentucky. This paper mill had been idled for the past five years and was recently purchased and restarted by Phoenix Paper, a subsidiary of Shanying International, a Chinese-based company focused on entering the North American paper market. MTI has been providing its PCC from nearby sources to the Wickliffe site since the facility restarted operations in November of 2019. "We are very pleased to collaborate with Phoenix Paper to support production of higher value grades from their paper machine in Wickliffe, Kentucky, using our PCC technology," said Douglas T. Dietrich, Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited to see the redeployment of our PCC assets in North America through this opportunity."

FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS *Delivered strong performance due to continued strength in the paperboard business and improvements in tissue *Higher pricing in both businesses helping to offset inflation *Net sales of $488 million, up 15% compared to the first quarter of last year *Net income of $17 million, or $0.97 per diluted share *Reduced net debt by $31 million in the quarter