“As one of the largest independent Canadian news media organizations, our strength has always been rooted in our deep connection to communities across the country,” said Andrew MacLeod, Postmedia President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our connection is strengthened by our new editorial mission, which is designed to be a connecting force – thoughtful, uplifting, and bringing Canadians together through informed, meaningful journalism.” “The results from our second quarter demonstrate the success of our commitment to Canadian communities,” said MacLeod. “With positive momentum in both our advertising and circulation divisions, our investment into Atlantic Canada, through our Saltwire acquisition, has played a pivotal role in achieving these results. As we continue to face an immensely challenging media environment, our dedication to local communities will continue to guide the work we do.” Revenue for the quarter was $110.8 million as compared to $97.3 million in the same period in the prior year, representing an increase of $13.5 million (13.9%). The revenue increase was primarily due to increases in advertising revenue of $6.9 million (16.0%), circulation revenue of $2.2 million (6.6%) and other revenue of $4.8 million (67.4%), partially offset by decreases in parcel revenue of $0.4 million (2.9%). Excluding the impact of the Saltwire asset acquisition, advertising revenue for the quarter increased by 6.0% and other revenue for the quarter increased by 47.7%. Total operating expenses excluding depreciation, amortization and restructuring decreased $1.1 million, or 1.1%, for the quarter ended February 28, 2025, relative to the same period in the prior year.

Our Clermont Mill, a nearly century-old institution in Quebec’s Charlevoix region, has long been a pillar of the local community. The mill is home to a paper machine that produces 221,000 metric tons of newsprint a year from thermomechanical pulp. Faced with the high energy demands of paper production, the mill rose to the challenge with an innovative energy recovery project. Fully aware of the opportunities to optimize steam consumption, the team at the Clermont Mill partnered with Hydro-Québec to develop an ambitious energy recovery project. Hydro-Québec provided CA$3 million of financial assistance to help the mill reduce its steam consumption by capturing and reusing waste heat. The project involved installing heat exchangers and two water-to-water heat pumps, directly integrated into the paper production process — a first for Quebec’s pulp and paper industry. The initiative has yielded significant results, including an annual savings of CA$800,000 and a 15-million-kWh reduction in energy consumption. To better illustrate the impact, the energy saved could power 880 houses, a statistic that highlights the project’s economic and environmental benefits.

Robert P. Mundy, PCA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will step down as CFO on May 1, 2025 and remain employed by PCA in an advisory role through his planned retirement date of March 1, 2026. Bob has served as PCA’s CFO since 2015. Kent A. Pflederer, PCA’s General Counsel since he joined PCA in 2007, will become PCA’s Executive Vice President and CFO on May 1, 2025. Thomas A. Hassfurther, PCA’s Executive Vice President, Corrugated Products has been named President of PCA. Tom will continue to report to Mark W. Kowlzan, Chairman and CEO, and will oversee PCA’s strategic growth efforts in addition to leading the corrugated products business. Tom has led PCA’s corrugated products business since 2009 and joined PCA in 1977. D. Ray Shirley, PCA’s Senior Vice President, Corporate Engineering and Process Technology since 2019, has been named Executive Vice President, Corrugated Products. Ray will report to Tom Hassfurther and assume day-to-day management of the corrugated products business. Ray has worked for PCA since 1996 in various business and operational roles across PCA’s containerboard and corrugated products system. Ray will continue to oversee all aspects of PCA’s engineering and technology organization. Commenting on these changes, Mr. Kowlzan said: “Bob has been instrumental to PCA’s growth and success over the last ten years. As a 45-year industry veteran, he brought considerable operational and strategic expertise to complement his leadership of our finance function. I am very pleased that he will remain with PCA to assist in the transition of the CFO role to Kent.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released its Q1 2024 Containerboard Quarterly report. According to the report, total containerboard production in Q1 increased 7% compared to Q1 2023. U.S. operating rates for all major grades of conatainerboard in Q1 2024, except Semichemical Medium, increased compared to Q4 2023 while total production was down 0.7% (Q1 had 1 less day than Q4). Unbleached Kraft Liner production for export surged more than 41% over its year-ago levels. The Q1 2024 export total was higher than any quarter in 2023. Despite the significant increase in exports, domestic new supply was up 3.7% from Q1 2023 due to the increase in domestic production, as well as a 12.6% increase in imports of containerboard. New supply declined slightly from Q4. Mill inventories ended the quarter at 429,400 short tons, lower than at the end of 2023, but higher than any other month last year.

Key highlights of the 2022 CSR Report include: *EcoVadis Gold Rating: Monadnock received EcoVadis gold rating, placing it in the top eight percent of the 90,000+ companies ranked by EcoV Since earning a silver rating in the 2015 assessment, the company has achieved a 30% improvement in performance level. *Sustainable Resource Management: In 2022, Monadnock enabled its customers to avoid the consumption of 42,400,000 pounds of wood. The company also saw a 58% increase in post-consumer waste (PCW) usage since 2021. *Waste Reduction: Trash to landfill was reduced by 11% over 2021 with an excellent diversion rate of 98.6%. For context, a Zero Waste company is often defined by a minimum 90% diversion rate. *Innovative Collaborations: Monadnock collaborated with a global brand to pioneer a paper-based, 100% post-consumer waste recycled bag closure.

Dotdash Meredith posted a 15% decline in Q2 2023 revenue YoY to $414 million. But a $17.8 million operating loss reflected a 35% improvement over the prior year. Digital revenue fell by 10% YoY to $212 million. Print declined by 21% to $206.8 million, driven by a circulation falloffs for some publications. “Stability in traffic helped, as did passing the toughest of last year’s advertising comparables,” says Joey Levin, CEO of parent IAC. Levin continues, “While we can’t count on any aggregate recovery in the ad market, we do expect Dotdash Meredith to benefit from D/Cipher adoption, Performance Marketing strength, and more ad performance optimization on the former Meredith sites.”