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04.12.2012
Mercer International Inc. announced that, pursuant to an amended Support Agreement with Fibrek Inc., it has increased its offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Fibrek to C$1.40 per Fibrek share. Pursuant to the enhanced Offer, Mercer is offering to acquire all of the outstanding Fibrek shares for consideration per Fibrek share, at the election of each holder, in one of the following forms: C$1.40 in cash per Fibrek share; 0.1659 of a share of Mercer's common stock per Fibrek share; or C$0.64 in cash plus 0.0903 of a Mercer Share per Fibrek share.
Under the enhanced Offer, the aggregate cash consideration has been increased to approximately C$83.0 million, while the maximum number of Mercer shares available to be issued under the Offer remains 11,741,496 Mercer shares.
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04.12.2012
Yesterday (April 11), the MPA--Association of Magazine Media released first-quarter Publishers Information Bureau-compiled advertising data for 211 magazines. The cumulative -4.2% ad revenues ($4.489 billion in first-quarter 2012 versus $4.689 billion for the same three months in 2011) were expected, because per min's boxscores, the 146 monthlies' ad pages were -6.09% and the 29 weeklies were -9.15%.
It is a pattern that has worsened since first-half 2011, with the poor economy and the shift to digital advertising being factors. Said Meredith National Media Group corporate executive vp and president/media sales (since June 2011) Dick Porter to AdAge.com: "When it comes to recessions, print is sometimes the last guy to feel it--because we have the longer lead times--and sometimes the last to swing out of it. So I do think it will be interesting to see [quarters three and four]. We're still in a fragile economy, most people think."
The two positive first-quarter categorical exceptions were the beauty- and fashion-centric toiletries/cosmetics (+7.1% ad revenues) and apparel/accessories (+13.2%). They were reflected in the women's beauty- and fashion magazines' generally strong March Spring Preview performances. Marie Claire (pictured) had the biggest March ad-page differential, +31.40%, which contributed to MC's +16.3% first-quarter ad revenues.
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04.12.2012
Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 3.2% in April compared with the same month last year, and year-over-year gains should continue through the end of summer, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
“Retailers are continuing to watch rising gas prices, but job gains and other indicators show the economy is strengthening,” NRF VP for supply chain and customs policy Jonathan Gold said.
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04.12.2012
Three publishers—Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster—have agreed to a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle federal claims of price fixing regarding e-books. PW takes an initial look at the broad strokes of the deal, and what it means for the settling publishers.
Terms: The agency model is not dead. However, once the settlement goes into effect, the current agency agreements, along with the “Most Favored Nation” clauses they included, are history, at least for a period of time.
Going forward, the Settling Publishers can still use the agency model if they choose, but for a period of two years they cannot dictate final consumer prices, which was the allure of the agency model to begin with. Under the terms of the Settlement, however, e-book retailers can only lower consumer prices up to the amount of their commission—generally 30%, under current agency terms.
Publishers are also expressly enjoined from “retaliating” against e-book retailers.
Compliance: This is the most onerous part of the settlement, and helps explain why Macmillan and Penguin have decided to fight. Under the Settlement, each publisher will have to engage in a number of compliance measures, including:
The appointment of an "Anti-Trust Compliance Officer," reporting directly to the company’s general counsel.
In addition, the publishers must provide at least "four hours of training" for relevant staff delivered by an attorney and conduct "an annual compliance audit."
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04.12.2012
Quad/Graphics, Inc. and WIRED have collaborated to produce America’s first mass-produced Near Field Communication (NFC) magazine ad. WIRED’s April issue features an ad with an NFC tag that launches a mobile site when tapped by an NFC-enabled Android smartphone. NFC chips have been used in smartcard and other applications, but the advertisement appearing in 500,000 subscriber copies of WIRED’s April issue marks the first time the fast-emerging chip technology has been used in an American magazine on a mass scale.
“This is a landmark development in the continued redefinition of print and the ways print can be married to innovative technologies to drive greater reader engagement and response,” says Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President & CEO of Quad/Graphics. “It is appropriate that we have partnered with WIRED and its Condé Nast support team to bring this innovation to market. WIRED is all about the future and how ideas and innovation are changing our world, and we see NFC changing how magazines and their advertisers will interact with readers.”
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04.12.2012
Rite Aid Corporation today reported improved financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 3, 2012.
For the fourth quarter, the company reported revenues of $7.1 billion, a net loss of $161.3 million or $0.18 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $274.3 million or 3.8 percent of revenues. Revenues improved by $690.3 million; net loss decreased by $44.4 million, or $0.06 per diluted share; and Adjusted EBITDA improved by $58.9 million over the prior year fourth quarter. These results benefited primarily from continued growth in same store sales and an extra week in the quarter.
For the full year, Rite Aid reported revenues of $26.1 billion, a net loss of $368.6 million or $0.43 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $942.9 million or 3.6 percent of revenues. Revenues improved by $906.3 million; net loss decreased by $186.9 million, or $0.21 per diluted share; and Adjusted EBITDA improved by $83.9 million over the prior year.
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04.12.2012
UPM launches a new ecological UPM SwanBarrier paper range for dry and greasy food wrappings. The barrier properties of the UPM SwanBarrier papers, such as water vapour barrier and medium grease resistance, have been achieved without any PE-coating or fluorochemicals thus they are fully recyclable and biodegradable. The innovative papers are a result of UPM’s persistent Research & Development.
The UPM SwanBarrier papers are developed for dry and greasy foodstuffs e.g. for bread bags and biscuit and greasy food wrappers. Because of the water vapour barrier UPM SwanBarrier light keeps the bread fresh for at least two to three days. Unlike plastic the paper breathes and thus prevents the bread from going soggy. UPM SwanBarrier with medium level greaseproof keeps greasy food wrapping tidy and the grease does not leak through.
“With this barrier paper range we want to answer customers’ needs for a recyclable and biodegradable packing material. We also wanted to make a barrier paper with existing barrier paper properties without using non-degradable components. With UPM SwanBarrier range we can answer both these needs. This product truly enhances our Biofore vision,” says Timo Lehmuskallio, Product Manager, UPM Packaging papers.
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04.12.2012
UPS today announced UPS CrossBorder Connect™, a ground freight service between the United States and Mexico designed to significantly ease heavyweight freight supply chain challenges for companies investing in cross-border trade.
The service bundles UPS's transportation and customs brokerage expertise north and south of the border to boost speed to market, drive cost efficiencies and reduce supply chain risk.
UPS CrossBorder Connect is a contractual service that utilizes the trucking network that supports UPS's North American Air Freight service. That network has been connected with trusted carriers in Mexico at eight important points along the U.S.-Mexico border. By integrating UPS's brokerage capabilities, the service helps companies with the complex brokerage process and is designed to help reduce customs delays associated with border regulations, inspections and lengthy paperwork.
UPS also provides the option of bonded movements through the border to help enable faster crossing of goods.
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04.11.2012
PPPC preliminary N American printing and writing stats show much weaker trends compared to Feb. Shipments fell 12.3% y/y in March vs only a 1.6% drop in Feb.
The March comp was 500bp tougher than Feb. Shipments rose 6% m/m. Year to date shipments are off 6.7%. Utilization was unchanged m/m but fell 500 bp y/y. Year to date, op rates are flat.
Uncoated free shipments fell 6.5% y/y –worse than the 4% growth in Feb but half the decline in all print/write.
Coated free shipments fell 12% y/y. Coated groundwood shipments fell 14.8% y/y. Uncoated groundwood shipments fell 22% y/y despite the easiest comp.
Uncoated trends supportive of pricing initiative, other grades tougher. With solid op rate and more capacity yet to shut we believe the data is generally supportive of the April partial uncoated free price hike. On the other hand, we are not convinced that steep double digit declines in shipments and tepid op rates will be enough to support the recent May hikes for the other 3 grades.
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04.11.2012
Oil traded near its lowest price in almost two months in New York after an industry report showed stockpiles rose for a third week in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer of crude.
Futures swung between gains and losses after dropping yesterday for a second day. U.S. inventories increased by 6.6 million barrels last week, according to the American Petroleum Institute. An Energy Department report today may show they rose by 2 million to the highest level for this time of year since 1990, according to a Bloomberg survey. The U.S. cut its price forecast for domestic and imported grades used by its refiners because of rising output in Canada and North Dakota.
“The fact there is a surplus in the U.S. is borne out by yesterday’s API inventory data,” said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. He predicts crude will average $104 a barrel this quarter.
Oil for May delivery was at $101.39 a barrel, up 37 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:49 a.m. in London. It fell earlier as much as 0.2 percent and gained 0.6 percent. The contract yesterday declined 1.4 percent, to $101.02, the lowest close since Feb. 14.
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04.11.2012
Metsä Group’s parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative (Metsäliitto), M-real Corporation (M-real) and Itochu Corporation (Itochu) have agreed on a transaction in which Itochu will acquire a 24.9 per cent strategic stake in Metsä Fibre Corporation (Metsä Fibre) against cash consideration of EUR 472 million, which corresponds to an enterprise value of EUR 2,040 million for Metsä Fibre.
At the completion of the transaction, Metsäliitto shall exercise the call option on the Metsä Fibre shares owned by UPM-Kymmene Corporation (UPM). The call option price for UPM’s 11.0 per cent shareholding in Metsä Fibre is EUR 150 million as was announced by Metsä Group and UPM on 30 June 2011. As a result of the transactions, Metsäliitto’s ownership in Metsä Fibre will decrease to 50.2 per cent (currently 56.8), M-real’s ownership to 24.9 per cent (currently 32.2), and Itochu will own 24.9 percent of the total share capital of Metsä Fibre.
At the same time, the parties will enter into a commercial arrangement whereby Itochu’s sales agent position in selling Metsä Fibre’s long fibre pulp in Asia and Metsä Fibre’s sales agent position in selling Itochu’s short fibre pulp in Europe will be renewed. The pulp sales included in the arrangement on the part of Metsä Fibre in Asia and on the part of Itochu in Europe amount to 500,000 tons and 150,000 tons per annum respectively.
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04.11.2012
If publishers think they've been covering the bases with an anytime, anywhere content strategy, they might be shocked to learn the results of a recent Time Inc. study conducted with Innerscope Research. Digital Natives, defined as consumers who grew up with mobile and digital technology as part of their everyday lives, switch their attention between media platforms an astonishing 27 times per hour.
That was one of the key findings of the study, called "A Biometric Day in the Life," which used biometric monitoring and point-of-view camera glasses to follow the media habits of 30 individuals during 300 hours' worth of media consumption. Biometric belts measured their emotional responses to various media platforms and the glasses recorded what platform they were viewing.
The other half of the study group consisted of Digital Immigrants, people who encountered and used digital media in their adult lives, who, predictably, have a more mellow media consumption patterns.
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04.11.2012
Graphcom, a Consolidated Graphics, Inc. company, with capabilities including digital printing, offset printing, web printing, packaging and fulfillment, announced today it has achieved G7 Master Qualified Printer status through IDEAlliance, the non-profit industry organization that develops, educates, and validates best practices in publishing and information technology. Graphcom’s G7 Master Qualified Printer designation highlights the company’s commitment to quality, consistency and color management.
Graphcom has been trained to utilize the new G7 methodology and can produce a press sheet to GRACoL (General Requirements for Applications in Commercial Offset Lithography) targets within acceptable tolerances. By achieving the status of a G7 Master Printer, Graphcom can reliably produce high-quality printing with a close visual appearance from proof to press, as well as from press to press. As a G7 Master Printer, the company will go through a yearly requalification audit to ensure it maintains IDEAlliance calibration and process standards.
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04.11.2012
Joining the other major titles in the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia portfolio, Whole Living comes onto the iPad in a digital edition with the May issue. The inaugural number is optimized for the new Retina display on the latest iPads, as are all the other MSLO monthlies going forward. Whole Living certainly takes advantage of the higher resolution by filling the screens with pin-sharp, close-up imagery of natural ingredients. From the lemons on the cover to asparagus that reaches from top to bottom of the hi-res screen and every imaginable ingredient in between, the design of the book emphasizes the lusciousness of food.
As an enhanced app, the title follows some of the conventions MSLO has been laying down in its other titles. The recipes are neatly gathered in a single thumbnailed index at the bringing of the app for easy reference. The recipes have a step by step mode aimed at kitchen use. A simple swipe moves you through each prep stage with oversized type for viewing while across the room at the fridge.
For interactivity, MSLO pubs seem to have settled in to a model that keeps the user tapping to bring up more information, captions, etc. that are attached to a simple plus icon indicating there is more information. The consistency of the visual cues is welcome. Moreover, the technique keeps the delectable images large and immersive and unimpeded while the content is collapsed into fewer screens/pages that need flipping.
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04.11.2012
A report released Tuesday by First Data Corp., which tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations, found that warm weather and spring promotions boosted discretionary spending in March.
According to First Data’s March 2012 SpendTrend report, year-over-year dollar volume growth was 8.7% in March, compared with February’s 8.9% growth.
Mild temperatures and early Easter holiday spending drove retail foot traffic despite higher gasoline prices. “The mild weather across much of the nation in March encouraged retailers to promote sales of spring merchandise, providing an additional catalyst to customer traffic,” said Silvio Tavares, senior VP and division manager of First Data Global Information and Analytics Solutions, which publishes SpendTrend.
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04.11.2012
Tuesday Morning Corp. reported Tuesday that same-store sales for the quarter ended Mar. 31 dropped 3.2% on spending and traffic decreases.
According to the discount retailer, traffic dipped 1.8% for the third quarter and average tickets fell 1.4%. Total revenue edged down 1% to $172.7 million, compared with $174.3 million in the year-ago period.
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04.11.2012
The global consumption of PET packaging will grow to almost 19.1 million tonnes by 2017 predicts Smithers Pira in a new market study. Driven mainly by increasing demand in emerging and transitional economies, the market will grow 5.2% per annum with a focus on Asia Pacific, South and Central America, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. Barrier PET bottles and jars for juices, milk, teas, beer, wine, and food are forecast to register strong growth over the period 2012 to 2017.
“The Future of Global PET Packaging to 2017” provides a detailed analysis of PET packaging markets and technology trends for the period ?2012 to 2017, with particular emphasis on the impact of the global economic downturn of 2008 to 2009 on the PET packaging market. It also presents volume and value data forecasts for PET packaging for the period 2012 to 2017 by end-use sector, and geographic markets. The study is based on a combination of primary and secondary data gathered during Pira's research program for the global packaging industry.
The developing countries of Asia Pacific, South America, and Central and Eastern Europe will show higher growth for PET packaging as a result of growing real incomes and the replacement of traditional pack formats by PET bottles. Asia Pacific overtook both North America and Western Europe during the period 2007 to 2012 to become the largest regional market for PET packaging. Asia Pacific accounts for a projected 29.4% of world PET packaging consumption in 2012, followed by North America with 24.1%, and Western Europe with 19.7%.
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04.11.2012
A. Schulman has announced earnings for the fiscal 2012 second quarter ended February 29.
The company reported net income for the second quarter of $9.1 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, compared with net income of $7.1 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the comparable period last year. The translation effect of foreign currencies negatively impacted net income for the quarter by $0.5 million.
The fiscal 2012 second quarter included certain after-tax charges of $2.1 million, primarily related to restructuring expenses and acquisition-related costs. Last year's second quarter included certain after-tax charges of $5.0 million, primarily related to restructuring expenses, asset impairments, and acquisition-related costs. Excluding these charges, net income for the fiscal 2012 second quarter was $11.2 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, compared with net income of $12.1 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, for the prior-year period.
Net sales for the fiscal 2012 second quarter were $495.9 million compared with $508.3 million for the same period last year. The decrease of $12.4 million in net sales was primarily a result of the $11.7 million negative impact of foreign currency translation. Volume was 458.7 million pounds in the second quarter of fiscal 2012, down 7.8 percent from 497.3 million pounds reported last year. The decrease in volume was partially offset by a 5.8 percent increase in the average selling price per pound.
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04.11.2012
UPM clarifies the strategy of its Timber and Living business areas and plans to restructure the production operations in Finland. The plan includes a possible closing of the production of Kajaani sawmill and Heinola and Aureskoski further processing plants by the end of 2012. UPM will begin co-determination negotiations with the employees in Kajaani, Aureskoski and Heinola, and later during April-May with the employees in the Finnish staff functions. Altogether 275 employees are included in the negotiations. Sale is an alternative option for closure of the production units.
”The profitability of the sawmills and further processing units located furthest from our integrated mills has been weak for a long time and has not turned permanently profitable despite the earlier restructuring measures. High log price and over capacity in the end-product markets have weakened the situation,” says the President of UPM’s Energy and Pulp Business Group Heikki Vappula.
”Our plan is to continue sawmilling and further processing in Finland in four locations, Pietarsaari (Alholma), Pori (Seikku), Juupajoki (Korkeakoski) and Lappeenranta (Kaukas), which are close to our pulp and paper mills using big volumes of wood. Saw mills and further processing plants operating close to pulp and paper mills have a central role in UPM’s wood sourcing supply chain as their by-products are used in the production of pulp, paper and energy.”
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04.11.2012
The new value-driven consumer and changing retailer strategies pose challenges for many retail product categories, including magazines.
The upside: They also open new opportunities for magazines to partner with retailers to achieve specific chain objectives, as well as boost magazine sales.
That was the core message from two speakers in a print-focused session during this year’s Publishing Business Conference & Expo: Jay Annis, VP trade sales, books and magazines for Taunton Press and president of the Periodical and Book Association of America (PBAA), and Jerry Lynch, president of the International Periodical Distributors Association (IPDA).
Annis and Lynch summarized factors that have contributed to declining magazine retail sales since the recession hit. These include consumer cutbacks on impulse-driven products of all kinds, and grocery retailers’ greater focus on necessities/perishable items, which has resulted in reduced space or less favorable locations for magazine mainlines (and other general merchandise products) in many supermarkets and supercenters.
Those two retail channels, they pointed out, continue to account for nearly 50% of all magazines sold (about 34% and 14%, respectively).
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04.11.2012
Sappi Fine Paper North America announces a price increase on new and unconfirmed orders that book with confirmed delivery dates on or after Friday, June 1, 2012 on the following products:
A $1.50 per CWT US$/CAD$ increase on: Somerset Web; Flo Web; Galerie Fine Web; Galerie Brite Web.
A $3.00 per CWT US$/CAD$ increase on: Galerie Lite Web – all finishes, all basis weights
Standard differentials and upcharges apply. This price increase includes any private label programs.
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04.11.2012
Precision Press, part of Taylor Corp. and an innovative U.S. packaging and label producer for the food, beverage and consumer markets, will be the first in the world to install the new Goss Sunday Vpak web offset printing system.
The new press will be configured for flexible packaging applications, with Sunday Vpak 500 web offset printing units as well as a Goss in-line flexo and coating unit. The press will also be equipped for UV and EB curing. The system will go into operation at the company’s 213,000-square-foot facility in late 2012.
Print quality, quick-change sleeve technology and the prospect of lower production costs were key factors in the investment decision, along with Goss support resources in the United States, according to Lee Timmerman, president of Precision Press. Timmerman says the Sunday Vpak 500 press will accommodate a wide variety of film substrates, product formats and high-quality lithographic requirements, supplementing the company’s extensive web offset capabilities.
“We have made a deliberate decision to do something different,” he explains. “There is a lot of untapped potential for web offset in the packaging arena, and we’re excited about the new print quality, productivity and efficiency benefits the Goss press technology will bring to our customers.”
Sunday Vpak 500 presses print at up to 1,200 fpm. Goss will equip the system at Precision Press with a closed-loop color, registration and inspection system.
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04.11.2012
Owens-Illinois, Inc. announced today that first quarter 2012 results, based on preliminary indications, should exceed prior year first quarter 2011 earnings from continuing operations of $0.50 per share (diluted) by more than 35 percent. The higher first quarter 2012 results were primarily driven by good manufacturing performance as the Company's facilities operated at greater than planned production rates. The Company increased its levels of finished goods inventory during the first quarter to support the upcoming seasonal sales volume trends, especially in North America and Europe, and to avoid the supply chain inefficiencies experienced last year during the second quarter. The results also partially benefited from 2012 pricing actions to offset unrecovered prior year inflation and anticipated 2012 inflation. Cost reduction activities initiated in the second half of 2011, as well as lower than expected costs in the first quarter of 2012 for the successful SAP deployment in North America, also benefited results.
Commenting on preliminary first quarter 2012 results and the Company's business outlook, Chairman and CEO Al Stroucken said, "We are seeing generally good initial results from our price increases and operational efficiencies. We are encouraged by the first quarter performance, yet conflicting customer demand patterns, especially in Europe where uncertainty regarding financial markets persists, continue to impact our visibility for the remainder of the year. Accordingly, we will actively manage our production levels for significant changes in sales demand patterns, and such actions could considerably influence future financial results."
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04.11.2012
Mohawk will focus its manufacturing exclusively on high-margin papers and products that will bring distinct value to the new generation of print customers, a unique positioning in an industry historically driven by volume and capacity.
Mohawk will develop strategic acquisitions and partnerships that successfully leverage Mohawk’s expertise and operational excellence.
Mohawk will continue to move closer to the end-customer across all business segments.
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04.11.2012
The Chairman of the Board of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) Jim Lopez, today announced that Fortress Paper has become the newest member of the industry group. FPAC is the voice of Canada’s wood, pulp and paper producers nationally and internationally in government, trade and environmental affairs.
“We are delighted to welcome Fortress Paper to FPAC.” said Lopez. “Fortress will fit well in an association that is actively engaged in the dynamic transformation taking place in our sector aimed at producing new and valuable products from trees.”
Fortress is an international producer of dissolving pulp, security papers and other security related products and wallpaper base. The Fortress Specialty Cellulose Mill, located in Thurso Quebec, produces dissolving pulp for the viscose fibre industry in Asia. The Companies Dresden Mill in Germany is a leading international producer of specialty non-woven wallpaper base products. The company’s security paper products business is based out of its Landqart mill in Switzerland, where it produces banknote, passport, visa and other security papers and products.
Fortress has also recently signed an agreement to purchase a mill in Lebel-sur-Quevillon Quebec where it will produce dissolving pulp and operate a co-generation facility to produce bio-energy. The company is based in Vancouver.
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04.10.2012
BtoB has announced the launch of Crain's Social Media Group, a new division within parent company Crain Communications Inc. that provides social media marketing consulting services to businesses.
The new unit offers social media training, including customized training seminars, personalized executive coaching and social media audits as well as strategic social media planning and execution.
Overseeing Crain's Social Media Group is Tracy Samantha Schmidt, director-training and strategy.
"Clearly, social media is incredibly important in today's business communications mix," said BtoB Publisher Bob Felsenthal. "Tracy and our new division can help executives build their personal business presence and use effective best practices to help grow their companies' businesses."
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04.10.2012
Oil dropped for a second day in New York as a decline in China’s fuel imports and speculation that U.S. crude stockpiles rose to the highest in 22 years raised concern of slowing global demand.
Futures slid as much as 0.7 percent. U.S. inventories probably increased 2 million barrels to 364.4 million last week, the most for this time of year since 1990, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Department report tomorrow. China’s net crude imports fell 6 percent in March and overseas purchases of all goods missed economists’ estimates, customs data showed. The two nations are the world’s biggest oil consumers. Prices have gained this year on worry that tension with Iran will disrupt global supplies.
“We are now between winter and summer with relatively low demand and high refinery maintenance,” Bjarne Schieldrop, Oslo- based chief commodity analyst at SEB AB, said today in an e- mailed response. Given the previous two weeks’ increases in U.S. stockpiles, “the market is likely to be cautious on the bull side with concern that we could see yet another strong rise tomorrow.”
Oil for May delivery fell as much as 71 cents to $101.75 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $101.77 at 11:19 a.m. London time.
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04.10.2012
With record recovered paper prices (unadjusted for inflation) at US mills the last two years, FutureMark Paper announced that it signed three long-term supply agreements for recovered paper that set a single price for the term of each contract based on historical averages rather than on monthly moving price terms.
FutureMark CEO Steve Silver said Tuesday that the two- and three-year agreements should iron out recovered paper price highs, which don't benefit FutureMark, and lows, which don't benefit recovered paper suppliers. The agreements cover about 40% of the 125,000 tons of recovered paper that FutureMark purchases annually. Of the 125,000, FutureMark consumes 70% old magazines (OMG) and coated groundwood sections (CGS), and 30% old newspapers (ONP) and coated book stock.
One of the agreements is with RockTenn, the third largest recovered paper processor in North America last year at about 1.75 million tonnes, the second largest consumer at about 4 million tonnes, and the 11thlargest exporter. For its recycled-content board mills, RockTenn principally uses old corrugated containers. Silver wouldn't identify the other two suppliers.
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04.10.2012
Japan Pulp and Paper Company (JP) said that it has acquired a 49% holding of the available shares in KCT Trading Private Limited, an Indian wholesale paper trading company, as part of the company’s efforts to further expand its global business activities.
The acquisition will enable the JP Group to strengthen its sales network in the growing Indian paper market, the company said in a statement.
In accordance with its JP Group Mid-term Business Plan 2013, JP is striving to expand its activities in relation to its overseas, resource and environment-related businesses fields in addition to its efforts to increase the profitability of its existing operations.
In terms of its overseas activities, JP is continuing to expand its global sourcing and sales network with business developments being made in a variety of areas including the wholesale supply of paper and paperboard, the manufacture of corrugated containerboard, the sale of raw materials used in the making of paper and the manufacture and sale of household paper products, the company said.
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04.10.2012
CourseSmart, a consortium of textbook publishers offering a range of digital textbooks options for faculty and students, has released the new CourseSmart Reader, a new browser-based e-reading software platform that offers improved functionality, new tools, viewing options and overall enhanced user experience for accessing digital textbooks and course material. The new reader offers three distinct online viewing options and the release marks an enhancement in the CourseSmart platform that allows its e-textbook catalog to be \ integrated into an educational institution’s library and campus learning systems.
The new CourseSmart Reader is a cloud-based browser-based e-reader that offers students and faculty improvements in overall user experience including improved look and feel, faster page loading, stream-lined navigation, better highlighting, notes and annotations, improved search and the ability to easily index a complete listing of all notes and annotations, according to Jill Ambrose, chief marketing officer at CourseSmart. “We took a lot of faculty and student feedback to learn what helps them the most in teaching and learning to make these improvements,” she said.
The new reader allows a user to access their textbook content on multiple devices online as well as offline. Students can log on their account through the web or through the CourseSmart web app and users can toggle back and forth between the improved new reader and the classic reader view. Another upgrade allows users to request Accessible View, which provides the digital text in a fixed layout mode that displays the original print layout. The new CourseSmart Reader is available for use on Apple devices—the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch—as well as Android 2.3 and 3.0 tablets and the Kindle Fire, NookColor and NookTablet.
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04.10.2012
SCA has decided to acquire an additional 5 percent of the shares in the leading Chinese tissue company Vinda. The purchase price is around 600 MSEK.
The seller in the transaction is Fu An, a company majority owned by Mr Li, the Chairman of Vinda. SCA’s share in Vinda after the transaction will be 22.6%.
Vinda is one of the most successful tissue producers in China, the second largest tissue market in the world. Currently Vinda commands strong brand recognition in the country and being the third largest player in the China household paper industry in terms of market share and production capacity. The company has eight production facilities with a total production capacity of 470,000 tons and targeting to reach 1 million tons in the coming years.
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04.09.2012
Apple Inc. (AAPL) and two publishers are preparing to fight the U.S. Justice Department in court if necessary over pricing agreements for digital books, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Apple, Pearson Plc (PSON)’s Penguin Group, and Macmillan, a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH, want to protect the so-called agency model that lets publishers -- not vendors --set e-book prices, said the people, who declined to be identified because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly.
The Justice Department is probing whether Apple’s interaction with publishers over pricing hampered competition in the market for electronic books. The government is seeking a settlement that would let Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and other retailers return to a wholesale model, where retailers decide what to charge customers, the people said.
CBS Corp. (CBS)’s Simon & Schuster, Lagardère SCA (MMB)’s Hachette Book Group, and News Corp.’s HarperCollins are seeking to avoid a costly legal battle and could reach a settlement next week, a person said this week. A settlement could also void so-called most-favored nation clauses in Apple’s contracts that require book sellers to provide the maker of the iPad with the lowest prices they offer competitors, the people said.
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04.09.2012
Oil fell for the third time in four days after Iran agreed to resume talks on its nuclear program and economic reports in the U.S. and China raised concern about fuel demand.
Futures slid as much as 1.4 percent as trading resumed after the Easter holiday weekend. International negotiations with Iran’s government are scheduled to start this week over its nuclear program. China said inflation in March accelerated more than forecast, reducing the Chinese government’s leeway to boost the economy. The U.S. created 120,000 jobs in March, fewer than forecast and the smallest increase in five months, an April 6 report showed.
The American payroll data “raises the old question mark about the speed of the U.S. recovery,” and whether it will depress oil demand, Olivier Jakob, managing director of Switzerland-based consultant Petromatrix GmbH, said by telephone today.
Oil for May delivery declined as much as $1.44 to $101.87 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $102.13 at 9:10 a.m. London time. The contract gained 1.8 percent to $103.31 on April 5, the latest settlement.
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04.09.2012
Local online media revenue is expected to reach $19.9 billion this year, growing 21.3%, according to a study published by Borrell Associates. “Local Online Media: 2011 Revenue Survey” found that local online media revenue increased 21.0% last year to $16.4 billion.
At the current rate of growth, Borrell Associates predicted that newspapers may no longer control the lion's share of local media next year. “As print newspaper share continues to slip and the popularity of mobile advertising skyrockets, online media are likely to topple newspapers within two years. If that occurs, it would be the first time in media history that newspapers didn't hold the No. 1 position,” the study said.
To complete the study, Borrell Associates last year surveyed 5,756 media companies in the U.S. and Canada via phone and email.
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04.09.2012
Nearly half, or 47%, of consumers are buying more online this year, up from 38% last year and 33% in 2010, according to the new Deloitte Retail & Consumer Spending Survey. Deloitte based its findings on an online survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted between March 5 and March 7.
The survey suggests that relatively affluent consumers will account for significant e-commerce gains this year. 63% of respondents who said they earn at least $100,000 annually say they are buying more items online this year, compared with 44% of respondents earning less than $100,000. Those income groups have differing views of the economy’s health. Of respondents earning at least $100,000, a third of them, 33%, say the economy remains in recession, compared with 44% for lower-income consumers.
For all consumers, shopping the web is becoming an increasingly popular way to find low prices, according to the survey. 58% of all respondents said they often find lower prices online than in bricks-and-mortar stores, compared with 53% who said the same last year.
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04.09.2012
For magazine veterans watching the magazine app space evolve on tablets there are no surprises in Kantar Media’s new survey of advertising on the platform. Magazine app publishers generally are relying on their current client base, tending to repurpose print ads without enhancement and running fewer ads in apps overall. But Kanrtar is offering a comprehensive overview of the state of the market across scores of titles.
As expected, more than 90% of ads appear in tablet magazine apps correspond with ads also in the print title. For now, at least, the tablet is not helping publishers expand their advertising base, the metric suggests. On average the apps ran only about 60% of the number of ads as their print counterparts, although Kantar says that average represents a wide range. In come cases the apps saw only 10% of the ads of the print version and in other cases the apps carried as high as 150% of the ad load.
Among the ad categories most notably absent from tablet editions in pharma. Very few ads for prescription drugs were found in tablet mags.
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04.09.2012
The National Football League, which is unmatched in the sports business ($$$/billions of revenues per year), proved to be a flop in the magazine business with the closure late last week of NFL magazine. The circa-400,000 monthly launched last December--when the 2011 season was nearing its peak with the Super Bowl coming in February, which meant plenty of mentions during television game coverage. But the credibility of Canadian-based partner Dauphin Media Group was questioned from the start.
What also was questioned was why the NFL did not publish the magazine through the NFL Network, in the manner that ESPN the Magazine complements ESPN. That may very well happen should there be a relaunch.
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04.09.2012
Standard Register, a leader in the management and execution of mission-critical communications, today announced that on April 3, 2012, it was notified by the New York Stock Exchange that it is no longer in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards. Standard Register is considered below the criteria since the Company’s average market capitalization was less than $50 million over a 30 trading-day period and, at the same time, its shareowner’s equity was less than $50 million.
Under applicable NYSE procedures, the Company has 45 days from receipt of the notice to submit a plan to the NYSE to demonstrate its ability to achieve compliance with the continued listing standards within 18 months. Standard Register intends to submit such a plan, which will likely include many of the elements of the strategic restructuring program announced on January 23, 2012, that is designed to better align the Company’s resources in support of its growing core solutions business and to reduce costs to offset the impact of declining revenue in its legacy operations.
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04.06.2012
As a result of rising input and transportation costs, NewPage is increasing prices effective on all new and existing orders with confirmed delivery dates of May 1, 2012 and later.
This increase applies to all Coated Freesheet and Coated Groundwood grades including, but not limited to, the following:
• Arborweb® web; Orion® web; and Vision® web $1.50/cwt US$/CAD$.
• Dependoweb® web; Escanaba® web; Capri® web; Consoweb® web; Consoweb Advantage® web; and All Textbook grades $3.00/cwt US$/CAD$.
This increase applies to all basis weights, finishes, brand extensions, and all related private label grades.
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04.06.2012
AAA’s Fuel Gage Report as of 4/5/12
National Unleaded Regular:
Current Average - $3.936/gallon
Month Ago Average - $3.764/gallon
Year Ago Average - $3.707/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.114/gallon on 7/17/08
Diesel:
Current Average - $4.166/gallon
Month Ago Average - $4.084/gallon
Year Ago Average - $4.003/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.845/gallon on 7/17/08
Current Exchange Rates as of 4/5/12
American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 1.00199 (120 day high - 1.01463 on March 1, 2012; low 0.950905 on November 25, 2011)
American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.158596 (120 day high – 0.158948 on February 13, 2012; low 0.156582 on October 21, 2011)
American Dollar to Euro = 1.3068 (120 day high - 1.416 on October 28, 2011; low 1.2669 on January 16, 2012)
American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.0122062 (120 day high – 0.0131979 on October 28, 2011; low 0.0119026 on March 21, 2012)
American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.0776729 (120 day high – 0.0793808 on March 14, 2012; low 0.0700535 on November 25, 2011)
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04.06.2012
Amazon.com, Inc. today announced a new Spanish-language eBook store within the Amazon.com Kindle Store, "eBooks Kindle en Español" (
http://www.amazon.com/tiendakindle), along with additional features specially implemented for U.S. Spanish-speaking customers like extensive help pages, and phone and email customer support in Spanish. U.S. customers can now shop for Spanish-language books in the new store on Amazon.com, or set any Kindle device to access a customized shopping experience designed for books in Spanish. eBooks Kindle en Español offers customers the most Spanish-language bestsellers, as measured by Nielsen, including "El Alquimista" by Paulo Coelho, "Cien años de soledad" by Gabriel García Márquez and "Juegos del Hambre" by Suzanne Collins. The store has over 30,000 titles in total, including the exclusive nonfiction work, "El Libro de los Manuales," from iconic Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, the best-selling Spanish-language author of all time on Amazon.com. The store also includes books from Nobel Prize winners Gabriel García Márquez, Camilo Jose Cela and Mario Vargas Llosa, popular titles from best-selling authors such as Julia Navarro, Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Isabel Allende, over a thousand free classics in Spanish, and exclusive Kindle Singles in Spanish. In addition to the new Spanish-language eBook store, the new $79 Kindle and many free Kindle reading apps can be easily customized for complete Spanish-language reading and navigation, including popular highlights and other social features.
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04.06.2012
Amcor announces today the US$40 million acquisition of the Aluprint tobacco packaging plant in Monterrey, Mexico.
The acquisition establishes a local presence in Mexico, a large and strategically located market for tobacco packaging. It follows Amcor’s recently announced purchase of a tobacco packaging operation in Argentina.
The Monterrey plant was constructed in 2009 at an approximate cost of US$40 million and the acquisition price represents the book value of assets acquired, comprising the plant at Monterrey, a cylinder engraving operation and working capital. The business has sales of US$30 million.
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04.06.2012
EMarketer today increased its e-commerce growth forecast for 2012, and now projects that U.S. online shoppers will spend $224.2 billion this year, up 15.4% from $194.3 billion in 2011. The research firm previously projected that sales would increase 11.3% from 2011, to $209.3 billion from $188.1 billion.
The rosier view of e-commerce came about because of several factors, says an eMarketer spokesman. Those include “stronger-than-expected figures reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce for e-commerce sales in 2011, particularly in Q4, as well as multiple reports suggesting that consumer optimism, homebuilding and the number of people willing to buy goods online is growing, while unemployment is declining slightly,” he says.
In February, the U.S. Department of Commerce said that U.S. e-commerce sales last year totaled $194.3 billion, up 16.1% from $167.3 billion in 2010. Seasonally adjusted online retail spending for the fourth quarter of 2011 hit $51.4 billion, up 15.5% from $44.5 billion for the same period in 2010. The unemployment rate in February was 8.3%, unchanged from January and down from 9.0% in February 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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04.06.2012
Just more than a fifth of U.S. adults, 21%, said in February that they had read an e-book within the past year, up from 17% who said the same in December, according to a report issued today by Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.
And the spread of electronic reading devices apparently has inspired readers to read even more books, Pew says. What the center calls the “average reader of e-books” read 24 books within the past year, compared with 15 books for readers who remain completely loyal to print.
“It’s now clear that readers are embracing a new format for books and a significant number are reading more because books can be plucked out of the air,” says Lee Rainie, one of the authors of the Pew report.
Pew based its findings on a variety of surveys that covered different aspects of e-books, reading and device use: A survey of 2,986 consumers aged 16 and older conducted between Nov. 16 and Dec. 21, 2011; a survey of 2,008 consumers aged 18 and older conducted in January; and a survey of 2,253 consumers aged 18 and older conducted between Jan. 20 and Feb. 19.
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04.06.2012
Mercer International Inc. announced that it has extended to April 16, 2012, the expiry date for its offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Fibrek Inc. The extension is intended to allow Mercer to obtain shareholder approval at its meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 10, 2012, for the issuance of its common stock in connection with the Offer. Mercer previously entered into voting support agreements with its two largest institutional shareholders and its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who collectively own approximately 44% of the outstanding Mercer Shares, who have agreed to vote their Mercer Shares in favor of the Shareholder Approval.
The consideration offered by Mercer under the Offer and the remaining terms thereof remain unchanged. As varied, Mercer's Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on April 16, 2012, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by Mercer.
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04.06.2012
Dick's Sporting Goods has agreed to make a 20 million pound investment ($31.75 million) in U.K. sports retailer JJB Sports plc, which operates over 180 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Dick's will purchase 18.75 million pounds ($29.76 million) in junior secured convertible notes and 1.25 million pounds ($1.98 million) in ordinary shares of JJB Sports. The transaction is subject to approval of the British company's shareholders.
Dick's has also received an option to buy an additional 20 million pounds in junior secured convertible notes of JJB in connection with a follow-on financing expected to take place in first quarter 2013.
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04.06.2012
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. today reported net earnings of $1.48 per diluted share ($351.0 million) in the fiscal fourth quarter ended February 25, 2012, an increase of approximately 32% versus net earnings of $1.12 per diluted share ($283.5 million) in the same quarter a year ago. Net sales for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2011 were approximately $2.732 billion, an increase of approximately 9.1% from net sales of approximately $2.505 billion reported in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2010. Comparable store sales in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2011 increased by approximately 6.8%, compared with an increase of approximately 8.5% in last year's fiscal fourth quarter.
During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2011, the Company repurchased approximately $359 million of its common stock representing approximately 5.9 million shares. As of February 25, 2012, the remaining balance of the current share repurchase program authorized in December 2010 was approximately $919 million.
For the fiscal year ended February 25, 2012, the Company reported net earnings of $4.06 per diluted share ($989.5 million), an increase of approximately 32% over net earnings of $3.07 per diluted share ($791.3 million) a year ago. Net sales for fiscal 2011 were approximately $9.500 billion, an increase of approximately 8.5% from net sales of approximately $8.759 billion in the prior fiscal year. Comparable store sales for fiscal 2011 increased by approximately 5.9%, compared with an increase of approximately 7.8% in last year.
For fiscal 2012, the Company is modeling net earnings per diluted share to be approximately $.79 to $.83 for the fiscal first quarter and to increase by a high single to a low double digit percentage range for the full year, which will be 53 weeks.
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04.06.2012
Rite Aid Corporation today announced sales results for March.
For the four weeks ended March 31, 2012, same store sales increased 3.6 percent over the prior-year period. March front-end same store sales increased 4.6 percent. Pharmacy same store sales, which included an approximate 240 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions, increased 3.2 percent. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 2.6 percent over the prior-year period.
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04.06.2012
TC Media is further developing its digital network and has signed an agreement to represent poolexpert.com with Canadian advertisers. PoolExpert® is a fantasy league management platform that receives 207,000 unique visitors and 22,000,000 page views a month during the hockey season. It is a bilingual, subscriber-driven site; 94% of users are male and adds to TC Media’s available offer to hockey fans, notably The Hockey News website which receives 158,000 unique visitors a month. This agreement marks a fine addition to the TC Media digital network as it expands its offering for men in the Sports and Entertainment categories.
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04.06.2012
Retailer Saks Incorporated today announced that owned sales totaled $276.5 million for the five weeks ended March 31, 2012 compared to $260.2 million for the five weeks ended April 2, 2011, a 6.3% increase. Comparable store sales also increased 6.3% for the month.
On a year-to-date basis for the two months ended March 31, 2012, owned sales totaled $484.4 million compared to $456.3 million for the two months ended April 2, 2011, a 6.2% increase. Comparable store sales increased 6.4% for the two-month period.
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