* Income after net financial items amounted to SEK 75 (31) million for
the second quarter of 2015 and SEK 177 (50) for the six-month period,
our best six-month performance in the current structure.
* Net turnover for the second quarter totalled SEK 456 (394) million, a
16% increase compared with 2014.
* Production volumes increased by 9% compared with the second quarter of
2014.
* The PIX price in USD declined during the second quarter and amounted
to an average of USD 855. Denominated in SEK, the price decrease was
5% compared with the first quarter. Compared with the second quarter
of 2014, the price increase in SEK was about 19%.
* Cash flow before investments for the second quarter of 2015 was strong
at SEK 116 (-3) million and SEK 278 million on a rolling 12-month
basis, compared with SEK 104 million for full-year 2014.
Interest-bearing net receivables as of 30 June amounted to SEK 165
(-42) million.
Comments by the president
The second quarter remained strong for the Rottneros Group. Profit after
net financial items was SEK 75 million, an improvement of SEK 44 million
compared with the same quarter in 2014. As in the first quarter, the
improvement was mainly driven by both currencies and the pulp market
moving in the right direction in relation to the corresponding quarter
in 2014. Increased sales and production were also important factors.
Both plants delivered good profitability and substantial improvements in
earnings.
The higher volumes can be explained by the higher availability in
production, especially at Rottneros Mill. This clearly shows the results
of our determined efforts towards higher production volumes that we have
conducted over the past year. Compared with the corresponding quarter
last year, production increased by 9 per cent for the Group. At
Rottneros Mill, volume increased an impressive 16 per cent, driven by a
sharp upswing in groundwood pulp.
In general, customer demand for our grades of pulp remains stable.
However, we have experienced continued pressure on prices during the
quarter, mainly driven by an increased supply on the market. Translated
into SEK, prices continue to be high, thanks to the weakening of the SEK
against the USD.
Absorption Express, the high yield pulp for absorbing fluids, which we
launched last fall, continues to exceed our expectations with respect to
demand. During the quarter, we carried out yet another successful
product launch, Bulk Booster, Rottneros’ newly developed high-yield pulp
for cardboard. It increases the bulk or thickness more than other
available raw materials, increased bending stiffness is a quality that
is crucial for many carton applications.
During the first half of the year Rottneros’ Board of Directors decided
on the first investments, for a total of SEK 180 million, to kick off
our long-term industrial plan, Agenda 500. The plan is to increase the
capacity of the Group through successive investments to eliminate the
bottlenecks in the two mills. Investments are planned in renewed
production equipment as well as in a stronger organisation. The
long-term goal is to expand Rottneros’ total capacity to reach a
business volume of at least 460.000 tonnes of pulp per year, compared
with the 345,000 tonnes produced last year. The total plan is about SEK
800 million for Agenda 500 in full, divided into about SEK 400 million
in the medium term and SEK 400 million in the longer term. Compared with
investment levels for increased capacity per tonne found in the
international paper industry, Rottneros’ investments are highly
competitive. The pace of the investments will be determined by
Rottneros’ ability to allocate the increased volumes in the market.
We continue to have a good starting position for the future. The strong
dollar more than compensates for the negative price trend. Our highly
motivated employees are working intensively to expand our business
towards higher volumes and thus more efficient production. I look
forward to the coming year and the strategic steps that we will take.
Per Lundeen
(For the complete interim report see attached file)
For more information, please visit. www.rottneros.com
Vallvik, 28 August 2015
Per Lundeen
Chief Executive Officer and President
Rottneros discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the
Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act.
This information was submitted for publication on 28 August 2015 at
08.30 am. A Swedish and an English version of this report have been
drawn up. The Swedish version shall prevail in the event of differences
between the two reports.
