AF&PA Releases Q2 2024 Containerboard Quarterly Report

*Net Revenues of $1,379 million for the third quarter of 2023 were down 14% compared to $1,609 million in the third quarter of 2022 and down 3% compared to $1,426 million in the second quarter of 2023. *Net Income from continuing operations of $28 million for the third quarter of 2023 compared to $175 million in the third quarter of 2022, a net loss from continuing operations of $139 million in the second quarter of 2023 and a net loss from continuing operations of $217 million in the twelve months ended September 30, 2023.

O-I Glass, Inc. announced it completed the sale of its Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) business unit to Visy Industries. Gross proceeds approximated AUD $947 million including a related sale-leaseback agreement which approximated AUD $214 million. Based on recent currency exchange rates, gross proceeds represented approximately USD $677 million. Approximately 95 percent of proceeds are being received at time of closing and the remaining balance will be paid within 12 months of closing without conditions precedent. Net proceeds will be principally used to reduce debt. O-I ANZ is the largest manufacturer of glass bottles and containers in Australia and New Zealand and the business generated sales of approximately AUD $754 million and EBITDA of approximately AUD $124 million in 2019.

Smurfit Kappa has completed a large-scale sustainability project at its Zülpich paper mill in Germany, which significantly reduces the plant’s CO2 emissions. The €11.5 million investment included a major redesign of the plant’s multi-fuel boiler to provide a more sustainable fuel source for the generation of steam and electricity. The mill, which produces approximately 500,000 tonnes of paper annually, is now powered by a combination of its own biogas, which is a by-product of its circular water treatment plant, natural gas, and the residual materials or so-called ‘rejects’ which occur in the paper recycling process that would otherwise be considered waste. The project reduces CO2 emissions at the Zülpich paper mill by more than 25% and saves 55,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, which represents a 2% reduction in Smurfit Kappa’s global CO2 emissions. Smurfit Kappa has the goal of achieving a 55% intensity reduction in fossil CO2 emissions by 2030 and at least net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. The packaging leader has also had its 2030 emissions reductions targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative as being in-line with the Paris agreement.