Financial summary for Q2 FY24 ended March 2024:
- EBITDA excluding special items US$183 million (Q2 FY23 US$167 million)
- EPS excluding special items 12 US cents (Q2 FY23 11 US cents)
- Net debt US$1,366 million (Q2 FY23 US$1,225 million)
- Closure of Stockstadt and Lanaken Mills completed
Sappi delivers results ahead of expectations for the second financial quarter
Commenting on the group’s results, Sappi Chief Executive Officer Steve Binnie said: “Within the context of subdued underlying market conditions due to the challenging macroeconomic environment I am pleased that the group delivered EBITDA of US$183 million, which was 10% above the prior year.”
The increase was primarily due to an improvement from the pulp segment and significant costs savings, which included a 9% reduction in cash fixed costs following the closure of the Stockstadt and Lanaken Mills in Europe. Included in EBITDA was a positive plantation fair value price adjustment of US$3 million. A modest recovery in global paper markets was also observed following the extended destocking cycle in 2023.
Looking forward to Sappi’s third quarter, Binnie stated: “While we expect a gradual improvement in paper markets there will be a reduction in output due to a number of planned maintenance shuts in the quarter. We therefore anticipate that EBITDA (excluding a slightly negative fair value price adjustment) for the third quarter of FY2024 will be below that of the second quarter but substantially above last year.”
You can download and view all of the latest financial results below, alongside our 2023 Annual Integrated Report.