SCA to acquire 13,000 hectares of forest land in Latvia

The Paper Excellence Group and Resolute Forest Products Inc. announced their intention to sell Resolute's Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill to further facilitate the regulatory review process. "Today's announcement is a clear demonstration of our commitment to timely complete the acquisition of Resolute," said Patrick Loulou, vice chair and chief strategy officer of the Paper Excellence Group. "This is a very hard thing to do, but we believe it is necessary in order to accelerate our strategic combination with the Paper Excellence Group," stated Remi G. Lalonde, Resolute's president and chief executive officer. "The mill is an exceptional asset. I am confident that the dedicated and talented team in Thunder Bay will have a prosperous future with any company fortunate enough to have them as part of their organization."

Fourth Quarter 2017 Relative to Third Quarter 2017: Net sales of $43.5 million in the fourth quarter decreased $1.7 million, or 3.7%, from the third quarter driven by seasonality factors. Converted product sales declined $1.5 million; a decline of $1.9 million due to volume, offset by higher average-selling prices having a positive impact of $0.4 million. Parent roll sales decreased $0.2 million, as the effect of lower sales volume outpaced an increase in the average selling price compared to third quarter 2017. Average selling prices were, to a degree, positively impacted in the fourth quarter by the inclusion of Orchids' new ultra-premium products manufactured at Barnwell. Cost of goods sold, net of depreciation, in the fourth quarter declined by $2.5 million to 84.6% of net sales, down from 87.0% in the third quarter, representing our second consecutive decline as a percentage of sales. Total cost of sales increased to 94.2% of revenue in the fourth quarter, up from 93.9% in the third quarter. Total depreciation increased to 9.6% of net sales in the fourth quarter from 6.9% of net sales in the third quarter as a result of the addition of the Barnwell facility. Click Read More below for additional information.

In a significant move to address the evolving needs of the graphics industry, UPM Raflatac is pleased to announce the expansion of its Graphics Solutions product range. Designed to meet growing customer demands for high quality, durable and versatile materials, the expansion includes the launch of a range of new, self-adhesive products. The new solutions being showcased include a range of self-adhesive films and protection laminates specifically engineered with high tack adhesive for large format printing (LFP) applications. Available to customers from April, the new High Tack Polymeric LFP range is tailored for demanding indoor and outdoor LFP applications on polar and non-polar surfaces, offering key benefits for customers including a high initial tack and a clear, non-yellowing adhesive that is resistant to temperature, water, chemicals and UV.