Mercer International Inc. reported Q1 2023 Operating EBITDA of $27.5 million, net of a $15.2 million non-cash inventory impairment charge, a decrease from $154.5 million in the Q1 2022 and $96.1 million in the Q4 2022.
Total revenues in the Q1 2023 decreased by approximately 12% to $522.7 million from $592.7 million in the same quarter of 2022 primarily due to lower pulp sales volumes and lower lumber and energy sales realizations partially offset by the inclusion of Torgau and higher lumber sales volumes and pulp sales realizations.
In the Q1 2023, net loss was $30.6 million (or $0.46 per share) compared to net income of $88.9 million (or $1.35 per basic share and $1.34 per diluted share) in the Q1 2022 and net income of $20.0 million (or $0.30 per share) in the Q4 2022.
Juan Carlos Bueno, the CEO, stated: “In the Q1, we achieved strong operational performance in both our pulp and solid wood segments. Our results in the quarter were negatively impacted by the lingering effects of inflation on our key inputs such as fiber and chemicals. We also experienced lower prices for most of our products in the quarter. Lower pulp prices were primarily the result of weak demand out of China, while lumber prices were weak through the first quarter as high interest rates and uncertain economic indicators impacted residential construction. Our per unit fiber costs reached a peak in the Q1 2023 due to reduced wood chip availability for our Canadian pulp mills as a result of sawmill curtailments and high fiber prices for our German pulp mills as we work through high cost inventory acquired in late 2022 when there was strong demand for wood as an energy source.”
Mercer International Inc. is a global forest products company with operations in Germany, the USA and Canada with an annual production capacity of 2.3 million tonnes of pulp, 960 million board feet of lumber, 140 thousand cubic meters of cross-laminated timber, 17 million pallets and 150,000 metric tonnes of wood pellets.
