Mercer International Inc. Reports Record Annual Pulp Production and Energy Sales and 2011 Fourth Quarter and Year End Results

NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercer International Inc. (Nasdaq:MERC) (TSX:MRI.U) today reported results for the fourth quarter and for the year ended December 31, 2011. Operating EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2011 was €17.0 million ($22.9 million), compared to €64.6 million ($87.8 million) in the last quarter of 2010 and €49.2 million ($69.5 million) in the third quarter of 2011. Current quarter results were negatively impacted by weak pulp markets and:

• a €13.0 million negative impact to Operating EBITDA at our Stendal mill resulting from: (i) 15 days (27,915 ADMTs) of scheduled annual maintenance downtime which was a longer shut than usual due to work on the recovery boiler (we had no maintenance downtime in the fourth quarter of 2010 and only nine days (8,343 ADMTs) in the third quarter of 2011); and (ii) €3.1 million in a one-time charge for municipal infrastructure costs at our Stendal mill in connection with a settlement with the local municipality for projects completed in prior periods; and
   
• €1.5 million in lost energy revenue at our Celgar mill due to turbine maintenance and a one-time charge relating to an electricity rate dispute with the mill's utility provider.

For 2011, Operating EBITDA was €167.1 million ($232.6 million), compared to €224.0 million ($297.3 million) in 2010. Operating EBITDA is defined on page 5 of this press release and reconciled to net income (loss) on page 8 of the financial tables in this press release.

For the fourth quarter of 2011, we had a net loss of €1.8 million ($2.4 million), or €0.03 ($0.04) per basic share, compared to net income of €35.3 million ($48.0 million), or €0.84 ($1.14) per basic share, in the last quarter of 2010 and €8.4 million ($11.9 million), or €0.15 ($0.21) per basic share, for the third quarter of 2011. For 2011, we reported net income of €50.1 million ($69.7 million), or €1.00 ($1.39) per basic share, compared to net income of €86.3 million ($114.5 million), or €2.24 ($2.97) per basic share, in 2010.

Summary Financial Highlights

Summary Operating Highlights

President's Comments

Mr. Jimmy S.H. Lee, President and Chairman, stated: "Overall, we are generally pleased with our strong yearly performance. During 2011, we reduced our indebtedness by €94.5 million through principal repayments, note buybacks and the conversion of notes. Additionally, our cash and holdings of short term German government bonds increased by approximately €18.3 million. Generally, our mills performed well in 2011 as our German mills achieved record annual pulp production and all of our mills set energy sales records. However, difficult market conditions in the second half of the year, a one-time charge and mill downtime negatively impacted our fourth quarter results."

Mr. Lee continued: "Overall, pulp prices in the fourth quarter of 2011 declined, primarily as a result of economic uncertainty in Europe and credit tightening in China, which were only partially offset by a stronger U.S. dollar over the period. At the end of 2011, list prices in Europe were approximately $825 per ADMT and in North America and China were approximately $890 and $670 per ADMT, respectively."

Mr. Lee added: "We are pleased to report that in 2011, our revenues from energy sales increased by 31% to €58.0 million ($80.7 million) in 2011 from €44.2 million ($58.7 million) in 2010. Our recently announced expansion project at our Stendal mill highlights our continuing focus on increasing production and sales of green energy at all of our mills. Since there are minimal incremental costs associated with our energy production, we believe that our generation and sale of surplus renewable energy will continue to provide us with a stable income source unrelated to cyclical movements in pulp pricing."

Mr. Lee continued: "We also intend to improve our energy profitability at our Celgar mill by rectifying what we believe is unfair and discriminatory treatment of the mill by the British Columbia regulatory authorities. In late January 2012, we served a notice of intent to submit a claim to arbitration on the Government of Canada for breaches of its obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement. We believe that the unfair and discriminatory treatment against our Celgar mill has resulted in it losing approximately C$19 million of incremental energy sales per annum."

Mr. Lee concluded: "Although pulp markets are still soft, we believe that the market is currently at the bottom of the cycle, and we are already seeing NBSK prices beginning to firm up. Looking ahead, we expect modest price recovery in the near- to mid-term. Further, we have no maintenance downtime scheduled for any of our mills for the first quarter of 2012. Overall, we believe that with the continued strong performance of our mills, along with our increased renewable energy revenues, we are well positioned for a positive 2012."

Three Months Ended December 31, 2011 Compared to Three Months Ended December 31, 2010

Total revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2011 decreased slightly to €229.2 million ($308.9 million) from €245.6 million ($333.8 million) in the same period in 2010, due to lower pulp revenues, partially offset by higher energy revenues. Pulp revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2011 decreased by approximately 8% to €213.2 million from €232.2 million in the comparative period of 2010, primarily due to lower pulp prices. Revenues from the sale of excess energy increased by approximately 19% in the fourth quarter to €16.0 million from €13.4 million in the same quarter last year, as a result of increased energy sales at all our mills.

Pulp production increased to 364,876 ADMTs in the current quarter, from 356,244 ADMTs in the same quarter of 2010, primarily due to increased production levels at all of our mills.

Pulp sales volume increased to 400,005 ADMTs in the fourth quarter from 385,989 ADMTs in the comparative period of 2010, primarily as a result of stronger demand in China. Average pulp sales realizations decreased to €527 per ADMT in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to €593 per ADMT in the same period last year, due to lower pulp prices. 

Costs and expenses in the fourth quarter of 2011 increased to €226.3 million from €195.2 million in the comparative period of 2010, primarily due to a government grant recorded in 2010 that covered accrued wastewater fees at our Rosenthal mill and no scheduled maintenance costs in 2010. Our costs and expenses in the current quarter included approximately €7.6 million for regularly scheduled maintenance costs. Several competing producers and members of the peer group that we benchmark our performance against now report their financial results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards which permit a significant portion of such maintenance costs to be capitalized instead of expensed. Such costs are not charged to EBITDA by the peer group companies but instead are expensed as depreciation.

On average, our overall fiber costs in the current quarter increased by approximately 3% from the same period in 2010, primarily due to higher fiber costs at our Celgar mill resulting from increased competition for fiber, partially offset by lower fiber costs at our German mills caused by weakened demand from the European board industry.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased to €11.4 million from €8.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

For the fourth quarter of 2011, operating income decreased to €3.0 million from €50.4 million in the comparative quarter of 2010, primarily due to lower pulp prices and 15 days (27,915 ADMTs) of scheduled annual maintenance downtime at our Stendal mill.

Interest expense in the fourth quarter of 2011 decreased to €14.1 million from €16.5 million in the comparative quarter of 2010, primarily due to the conversion of our convertible notes in 2011 and reduced levels of debt associated with our Stendal mill.

Our Stendal mill recorded an unrealized loss of €0.8 million on our interest rate derivative in the current quarter, compared to an unrealized gain of €12.4 million in the same quarter of last year. We recorded a foreign exchange loss on our debt of €0.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to a loss of €1.5 million in the same period last year.

During the current quarter, we recorded an €8.3 million net income tax recovery, compared to a net income tax recovery of €0.2 million in the same period last year, primarily due to the recognition of deferred tax assets in the current quarter.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the noncontrolling shareholder's interest in the Stendal mill's loss was €1.2 million, compared to its share of the Stendal mill's income of €3.5 million in the same quarter last year.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, Operating EBITDA decreased to €17.0 million from €64.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Operating EBITDA is defined as operating income (loss) plus depreciation and amortization and non-recurring capital asset impairment charges. Management uses Operating EBITDA as a benchmark measurement of its own operating results, and as a benchmark relative to its competitors. Management considers it to be a meaningful supplement to operating income as a performance measure primarily because depreciation expense and non-recurring capital asset impairment charges are not an actual cash cost, and depreciation expense varies widely from company to company in a manner that management considers largely independent of the underlying cost efficiency of their operating facilities. In addition, we believe Operating EBITDA is commonly used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate our financial performance.

Operating EBITDA does not reflect the impact of a number of items that affect our net income, including financing costs and the effect of derivative instruments. Operating EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP, and should not be considered as an alternative to net income or income from operations as a measure of performance, nor as an alternative to net cash from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. Operating EBITDA has significant limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. For a reconciliation of net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders to Operating EBITDA, see page 8 of the financial tables included in this press release.

We reported a net loss attributable to common shareholders of €1.8 million, or €0.03 per basic and diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2011, which included an aggregate non-cash unrealized loss of €0.8 million on the Stendal interest rate derivative. In the fourth quarter of 2010, we reported net income attributable to common shareholders of €35.3 million, or €0.84 per basic and €0.63 per diluted share, which included aggregate net non-cash unrealized gains of €9.3 million, comprised of a non-cash gain of €12.4 million on the Stendal interest rate derivative, a non-cash foreign exchange loss of €1.5 million on our long-term debt and a non-cash loss in connection with the repurchase of our 9.25% senior notes due 2013 (the "2013 Notes").

Year Ended December 31, 2011 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2010

Total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 marginally decreased to €889.4 million ($1,238.0 million) from €900.5 million ($1,195.2 million) in the same period in 2010, primarily as a result of slightly lower pulp revenues, being mostly offset by higher energy revenues. Pulp revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 decreased slightly to €831.4 million from a record €856.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2010, primarily due to a weaker U.S. dollar relative to the Euro. In 2011, revenues from the sale of excess energy increased by approximately 31% to €58.0 million from €44.2 million in 2010, due to record annual energy sales at all of our mills.

Pulp production increased to 1,453,677 ADMTs in 2011, from 1,426,286 ADMTs in 2010, primarily as a result of record annual pulp production at our German mills. We took a total of 35 and 31 days scheduled maintenance downtime at our mills in 2011 and 2010, respectively, and expect to take approximately 42 days in 2012.

Pulp sales volume marginally decreased to 1,427,924 ADMTs in 2011 compared to 1,428,638 ADMTs in 2010. Average pulp sales realizations slightly decreased to €574 per ADMT in 2011 from €591 per ADMT in 2010, primarily due to a weaker U.S. dollar relative to the Euro.  

Costs and expenses in 2011 increased to €778.2 million from €732.8 million in 2010, primarily due to higher fiber costs.

Our overall fiber costs in 2011 increased by approximately 7% from the same period in 2010, primarily due to higher fiber costs at our Celgar mill caused by increased competition for fiber in the second half of 2011. Fiber prices at our German mills also increased slightly, primarily as a result of low harvesting activity and high demand from the board industry in Germany during the first half of 2011. We currently expect our fiber costs to decline slightly at all of our mills in the short- to mid-term.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, we recorded €0.7 million of net income tax recoveries, compared to net income tax recoveries of €5.9 million in 2010, primarily due to the timing of recognizing deferred tax assets.

For 2011, we recorded operating income of €111.1 million, compared to operating income of €167.7 million in 2010, primarily due to a weaker U.S. dollar relative to the Euro and higher fiber costs, partially offset by higher revenues from the sale of excess energy.

Interest expense in 2011 decreased to €59.0 million from €67.6 million in 2010, primarily due to the conversion of our convertible notes in 2011 and reduced levels of debt associated with our Stendal mill.

Our Stendal mill recorded an unrealized loss of €1.4 million on its interest rate derivative at the end of 2011, compared to an unrealized gain of €1.9 million last year. We recorded a foreign exchange gain on our long-term debt of €1.2 million in 2011, compared to a loss of €6.1 million in 2010.

In 2011, the noncontrolling shareholder's interest in the Stendal mill's income was €3.9 million, compared to €8.5 million last year.

In 2011, Operating EBITDA decreased to €167.1 million from €224.0 million in 2010. For a definition of Operating EBITDA, see page 5 of this press release and for a reconciliation of net income to Operating EBITDA, see page 8 of the financial tables included in this press release.

We recorded a loss on the extinguishment of debt of €0.1 million in 2011, primarily in connection with the repurchase and extinguishment of some of our 9.5% senior notes due 2017. In 2010, we recorded a loss of €7.5 million, primarily in connection with the redemption of all of our remaining 2013 Notes.

We reported net income attributable to common shareholders of €50.1 million, or €1.00 per basic and €0.89 per diluted share, for 2011, which included a net non-cash unrealized loss of €1.4 million on the Stendal interest rate derivative. In 2010, we reported net income attributable to common shareholders of €86.3 million, or €2.24 per basic and €1.56 per diluted share, which included aggregate net non-cash unrealized losses of €0.5 million, comprised of a non-cash gain of €1.9 million on the Stendal interest rate derivative, a non-cash foreign exchange loss of €6.1 million on our long-term debt, a non-cash loss on the extinguishment of our 2013 Senior Notes and a non-cash income tax benefit.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following table is a summary of selected financial information for the periods indicated:

As at December 31, 2011, we had approximately €26.3 million and C$38.3 million available under our Rosenthal and Celgar facilities, respectively. As at December 31, 2011, approximately €477.5 million was outstanding under our Stendal mill's loan facility.

Restricted Group

The following table is a summary of selected financial information for the Restricted Group for the periods indicated.

Earnings Release Call

In conjunction with this release, Mercer International Inc. will host a conference call, which will be simultaneously broadcast live over the Internet. Management will host the call, which is scheduled for Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 10:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time). Listeners can access the conference call live and archived through March 15, 2012, over the Internet at
http://investor.shareholder.com/media/eventdetail.cfm?eventid=109259&CompanyID=MERC&e=1&mediaKey=1AE35D7DABC3ECD95E2779DA87354812 or through a link on the Company's home page at http://www.mercerint.com. Please allow 15 minutes prior to the call to visit the site and download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of this call will be available approximately two hours after the live call ends until February 16, 2012 at 11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time) through a link on the Company's Investors/News Releases page at http://www.mercerint.com/s/newsreleases.asp.

Mercer International Inc. is a global pulp manufacturing company. To obtain further information on the company, please visit its web site at http://www.mercerint.com.

The preceding includes forward looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Among those factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: as a result of the inherent uncertainty of litigation, we cannot predict whether or to what extent our NAFTA claim will be successful, delays in the process of our NAFTA claim, the highly cyclical nature of our business, raw material costs, our level of indebtedness, competition, foreign exchange and interest rate fluctuations, our use of derivatives, expenditures for capital projects, environmental regulation and compliance, disruptions to our production, market conditions and other risk factors listed from time to time in our SEC reports.