VIDA to invest in Bruza Sawmill in Hjältevad, Sweden

KPLP Q2 2020 Business and Financial Highlights • Revenue increased by $21.1 million or 5.8% to $386.8 million in Q2 2020 compared to $365.7 million in Q2 2019. Excluding the divested Mexico business, Q2 2020 revenue increased by $46.5 million or 13.7%. • Adjusted EBITDA was $64.4 million in Q2 2020 compared to $31.5 million in Q2 2019, an increase of 104.6%. • TAD Sherbrooke site progressing on time and on budget despite the temporary shutdown in Q1 2020 due to the implementation of strict COVID-19 protocols. • Declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share to be paid on October 15, 2020.

While the merger of Domtar and Paper Excellence has been approved by the Competition Bureau of Canada, part of the approval means the Kamloops pulp mill must be sold to a third party. On May 11, 2021, Paper Excellence and Domtar, based on Montreal and Fort Mill, S.C., entered reached an agreement for Richmond-based Paper Excellence to purchase Domtar for $55.50 per share, a deal worth about $3 billion in United States currency.
The merger agreement had a provision that limited the obligation to divest assets to no greater than 410,000 dried metric tons of softwood kraft pulp. The Domtar pulp mill in kamloops has 408,000 tons of production and is the company’s only kraft pulp mill in B.C. that is part of the deal. The Competition Bureau of Canada has concluded that the merger would likely lessen competition substantially for the purchase of wood fibre — a key input in the manufacture of pulp — from the Thompson/Okanagan region.

UPM continues to aim for business-specific collective bargaining with the Paperworkers’ Union but has also begun preparations for arranging working conditions temporarily without a collective labour agreement until agreements with the union are signed. During this week UPM communicates the temporary terms of work to employees of businesses where the contractual party is the Paperworkers’ Union. The current collective agreements between the Paperworkers’ Union and The Finnish Forest Industries Federation will end on 31 December 2021. After termination, the current agreement has no binding effect as the parties of the agreement change. The time for negotiation is running out, so UPM must prepare for a situation where no agreement is in place. “To ensure business continuity and payroll, we will prepare to arrange working conditions after the turn of the year according to labour law, UPM practices and personal employment contracts. With business-specific collective bargaining, we can offer better terms for everyone than without an agreement. Entering the negotiations with the Paperworkers’ Union is still our goal”, says Executive Vice President Riitta Savonlahti of UPM Human Resources.