Fortress Paper announces fourth quarter 2014 results
Fortress Paper Ltd. reported 2014 fourth quarter EBITDA loss of $1.4 million. The Dissolving Pulp Segment generated EBITDA loss of $3.7 million and the Security Paper Products Segment generated EBITDA of $3.2 million. Corporate costs contributed $0.9 million to EBITDA loss.
EBITDA loss of $3.7 million for the Dissolving Pulp Segment for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $2.5 million greater, primarily due to the eight day annual maintenance shut-down and operational challenges in the lime kiln and re-caust areas, when compared to the third quarter of 2014 EBITDA loss of $1.2 million, and $7.1 million less compared to the fourth quarter of 2013 EBITDA loss of $10.8 million. The Company sold 40,966 air dried metric tonnes (“ADMT”) of dissolving pulp and 6,009 ADMT of northern bleached hardwood kraft pulp (“NBHK”) in the fourth quarter of 2014. Although the dissolving pulp market conditions continue to be challenging, production efficiencies and cash costs continue to see improvements relative to the prior year comparative periods. The Dissolving Pulp Segment continues to be affected by the antidumping duty imposed by China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) in April 2014. The operational challenges experienced in the fourth quarter of 2014 will also impact results in the first quarter of 2015.
The Landqart mill continues to implement new initiatives to improve efficiencies and profitability. EBITDA of $3.2 million for the Security Paper Products Segment for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $2.1 million higher when compared to the third quarter of 2014, and $0.5 million higher when compared to results in the fourth quarter of 2013. Less than favourable conditions, including the strength of the Swiss franc against the euro and strong competition for orders putting pressure on pricing, continue to impact the results of the Security Paper Products Segment. The Landqart mill sold 2,270 tonnes of security paper in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to 2,436 tonnes of security paper in the third quarter of 2014.
