Sylvamo Enters Into Cooperation Agreement, Appoints Two New Independent Directors

Mondi Group has joined forces with the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) to support good water stewardship performance across its operations. AWS is a global membership collaboration comprising businesses, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the public sector. Members contribute to the sustainability of local water resources through their adoption and promotion of a universal framework for the responsible use of water – the International Water Stewardship Standard (or AWS Standard) – which drives, recognises and rewards good water stewardship performance. With AWS and WWF, Mondi developed a Group water stewardship standard that is designed to set out how its mills will use operational and catchment-based context to determine contextually appropriate levels of water stewardship responses. This work was guided by the AWS Standard and considers each of Mondi's mills' exposure to water-related risks using WWF’s Water Risk Filter.

Norske Skog’s EBITDA in the second quarter of 2021 was NOK 17 million, a decrease from NOK 112 million in the first quarter of 2021. The markets are still somewhat impacted by the Covid-19 imposed restrictions, but are expected to improve during the second half of the year as a result of substantial capacity closures and expected sales price increases. As announced earlier, Norske Skog’s board of directors made a EUR 250 million investment decision to convert one machine at the Golbey (France) industrial site from newsprint to recycled containerboard. This is the second major step of the two planned European conversion projects in the group’s strategy of establishing Norske Skog as a leading independent European producer of recycled containerboard. Cash flow from operations was NOK -190 million in the quarter compared to NOK 163 million in the previous quarter, mainly due to a combination of low sales prices and higher energy and recovered paper costs during the quarter. Operating earnings in the second quarter of 2021 were NOK -277 million compared to operating earnings in the first quarter of 2021 of NOK 204 million. The quarter was negatively affected by restructuring expenses, mainly related to the closure of the Tasman mill, amounting to NOK 160 million. Net loss in the quarter was NOK 355 million compared to a net profit of NOK 194 million in the previous quarter. Net interest-bearing debt was NOK 779 million at the end of the second quarter, with an equity ratio of 41 %.

Ahlstrom’s transformation efforts are delivering results. Our comparable EBITDA in the third quarter reached a record level, reflecting our ongoing commitment to performance and growth. Driven by our dedication to science and our desire to help customers navigate global trends, we continue to launch new products, with the introduction this quarter of recyclable packaging material for the bouillon cube segment. This innovation replaces thousands of tons of plastic and supports sustainable development. Moreover, our enhanced customer collaboration has led to our customer loyalty score reaching the highest decile in our industry in the latest measurement, which makes me particularly proud. Our margin on variable cost per ton continued to increase to a record high level, thanks to our improved operational performance driven by our transformation initiatives. Adjusted for the Stenay divestment in 2023, our deliveries increased by 1% compared to the previous year. We continued to strengthen our business portfolio by consolidating our footprint in parchment paper production at the Saint-Séverin site following the closure of the Bousbecque mill. Our centralized operations ensure efficiency and continued growth. In addition, we successfully completed the transaction to divest the Aspa pulp mill in November, supporting our growth transformation and focus on specialty materials production.