Georgia-Pacific Cuts the Ribbon on New $425 Million Dixie® Tableware Facility in Jackson, Tennessee

Operating profit for January–June 2017 was SEK 1 152 million (January–June 2016: SEK 1 063 million, excluding items affecting comparability). The improvement in earnings was due to higher wood product prices, better earnings from forests and the divestiture of the newsprint mill in Madrid. Compared with the first quarter, operating profit decreased by SEK 102 million to SEK 525 million as a result of a maintenance shutdown within paperboard and seasonally lower hydro power production. Profit after tax for January–June amounted to SEK 880 million (587), which corresponds to earnings per share of SEK 10.5 (7.0). Return on capital employed increased to 9.4 (8.4) per cent. Production of paperboard, paper and wood products has been established at a higher level than previous years and the sales mix has developed well. Cash flow was strong and largely covered the SEK 1 billion dividend that was paid in April.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö is exploring strategic options for its Decor business, including the possibility of divesting the business. The review process, first announced on September 17, 2019, has been impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak. In 2020, the Decor business saw strong customer demand with tailwinds from increased consumer spending on furniture and domestic refurbishments as a consequence of structural changes related to working from home accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. For the full year, comparable EBITDA increased, partly driven by higher raw material efficiency, and reached 14% of sales in the fourth quarter. In the past months, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has progressed with the carve-out of Decor with the objective of enabling the business to operate as a stand-alone entity. Decor has also been discussing opportunities for partnering with leading Chinese suppliers to create a more global leader with strong presence in Europe, South America and Asia.

SCA intends to invest SEK 1,45bn in the production of chemically pre-treated thermo-mechanical pulp (CTMP) at the Ortviken paper mill in Sundsvall. In parallel, SCA is initiating consultations with trade unions and employee representatives to discontinue the production of publication paper at the mill. SCA intends to invest to achieve an annual production volume of 300,000 tonnes of CTMP pulp at Ortviken, using the existing infrastructure. Currently, SCA produces coated and uncoated publication paper on three paper machines at Ortviken paper mill with annual sales of approximately SEK 4bn. Demand for publication paper in Western Europe has declined by approximately 5% per year since 2008.