Catalyst Paper Price Announcement – Rumford Offset – USA

Total printing-writing paper shipments decreased five percent in March compared to March 2017. U.S. purchases of printing-writing papers decreased seven percent in March. Total printing-writing paper inventory levels decreased two percent from February 2018. Imports of printing-writing papers increased six percent compared to February 2017 imports, while exports increased five percent compared to February 2017. •Coated mechanical (CM) paper shipments declined year-over-year for the tenth consecutive month. Imports of CM increased 21 percent compared to February 2017. Exports of CM decreased five percent in February compared to the same month in 2017. •Shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) paper in March declined year-over-year. U.S. imports of CFS papers increased two percent year-over-year in February. Exports of CFS papers decreased five percent year-over-year in February. •Uncoated free sheet (UFS) paper shipments in March 2018 decreased year-over-year for the first time in 2018, following two months of year-over-year increases; meanwhile, shipments of uncoated mechanical (UM) papers decreased year-over-year in March 2018 for the 21st consecutive month.

Since 1998, Mohawk has lead the market with innovative substrates for digital printing. Starting with legendary fine paper and carefully expanding into specialized non-paper substrates, Mohawk is celebrating 20 years of product innovation. At this year’s DSCOOP gathering in Dallas, Mohawk will introduce a number of new products engineered for HP Indigo as well as wide format printing. Mike Madura, VP of Product Management and Development says, “We wanted to arrive at DSCOOP ready to demonstrate these new paper and specialty materials in a manner that would echo the conference focus on Inspiration. Anyone who knows us knows that we are always looking for new ways to inspire designers and printers with the power of materials through provocative demonstration.”

The Board of Directors of Rottneros has decided to invest a total of approximately 86 MSEK in renewable electricity at Rottneros Mill. The investments include a solar park and a battery storage and are part of a long-term strategy to reduce the groups exposure to the electricity market. The start-up is planned for 2024. The solar park is expected to generate over 3 GWh annually, which can be compared to the company's annual purchased electricity demand of around 220 GWh. The purpose of the battery storage is primarily to contribute to an improved balance on the electricity market, which also generates revenue from Svenska Kraftnät and thus a favourable return on investment.