Due to the extraordinary tough market situation in Europe, that is in the market in which Arctic Paper conducts its main sales, and the unfavorable development of fine paper and the graphic industry in general, the operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the 2Q 2013 was PLN 3.3 million ($1 million) compared to PLN 32.3 million ($10 million) in the 1Q 2013. The operating profit in the 2Q 2012 was PLN 38 million ($11.8 million).
Sales volume in the 2Q 2013 amounted to 183 thousand tons compared to 191 thousand tons in the same period of the previous year. The change represents a decrease of 8 thousand tons and respectively 4.2%.
President of the Management Board Wolfgang Lubbert says: “In the 2Q 2013, the demand for papers produced by the Company stayed at a low level and decreased by app. 5% compared to 2012. In the first half of 2013, Arctic Paper lost just 1.6% of sales volume. Compared with a decline of graphic markets in Europe, in the first 6 months of 2013, by app. 7.6%, Arctic Paper gained market shares all over Europe. However, the challenging demand situation has been reflected in lower prices. Arctic Paper results in Swedish mills were adversely influenced by a strong SEK and, as a consequence, by unfavorable exchange rates.
The combination of the following factors: reduced tonnages, slightly decreased prices and disadvantageous exchange rates resulted in significant lower revenues from sales of paper. The revenues decreased in the first 6 months of 2013 by 6.2%, and the revenue per ton decreased by 4.7%.”
In the six months of 2013 sales revenues amounted to PLN 1.6 billion ($496 million) compared to PLN 1.3 billion ($403 million) achieved in the analogous period of the previous year. This means an increase of PLN 257.2 million ($80 million) and respectively 19.4%.
Sales volume in the first half of 2013 amounted to 388 thousand tons compared to 394 thousand tons in the same period of the previous year. The change represents a decrease of 6 thousand tons and respectively 1.5%.
The Arctic Paper Group is the second-largest European
producer of bulky book paper in terms of production volume, offering the largest product assortment in this segment, and one of Europe’s leading producers of fine graphic paper.