Kruger Announces Newsprint/UGW price Increase

Georgia-Pacific recently announced plans to upgrade areas of its 640-acre Muskogee bath tissue, towel and napkin manufacturing operations. The Muskogee Mill has proposed investments of more than $50 million during the next three years to improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of operations, in addition to the investment of a new production line and equipment. “These investments will help Georgia-Pacific continue our focus on transforming manufacturing equipment and processes that result in better employee safety, environmental performance, reliability and quality,” said Amy Borovich, Muskogee Mill Facility Leader. “We appreciate the support from all of our Muskogee community partners, including the Muskogee City-County Port Authority, City of Muskogee and the City of Muskogee Foundation.” Georgia-Pacific’s Muskogee Mill employs more than 700 people, making it the largest private employer in the city. The mill makes bath tissue, paper towels and napkins for both retail and away-from-home markets, including such well-known consumer brands as Sparkle®.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. and GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. announced that the parties have entered into a binding asset purchase agreement pursuant to which RYAM has agreed to sell all of its lumber and newsprint facilities and related assets located in Ontario and Québec to GreenFirst for an expected purchase price of approximately US$214 million including inventory on hand at the time of closing which is payable approximately 85% in cash, 15% common shares of the capital of GreenFirst. In addition, a chip offset credit note will be issued to RYAM by GreenFirst in the amount of CDN$7.9 million, which may be set off against amounts owing to GreenFirst for chip purchases, equally over the next 5 years. Notably, RYAM will retain all of the cash generated by the Purchased Assets plus all softwood lumber duties, including earned interest on the duties, paid to the U.S. Department of Commerce through the closing date. RYAM estimates the duties to be approximately $110 million at the time of closing. The Purchased Assets: *include six lumber mills which are located in Chapleau, Cochrane, Hearst and Kapuskasing in Ontario and in Béarn and La Sarre in Québec as well as one newsprint mill located in Kapuskasing, Ontario. *produced 604 million board feet in 2020 with a combined nameplate capacity of 755 million board feet and are capable of producing a wide range of forest products used in residential and commercial construction, including dimensional lumber, wood chips and by-products. *include the lumber and newsprint mills as well as certain real property, machinery, inventory, permits, licenses and other related assets. *exclude accounts receivable and accounts payable.

Third-Quarter Highlights: *Third-quarter net income of $92 million ($2.09 per pro forma share1) compared with $115 million ($2.61 per pro forma share) in the second quarter of 2021 and $51 million ($1.16 per pro forma share) in the third quarter of 2020. Third-Quarter Commercial and Operational Highlights: *Price and mix improved by $30 million versus the prior quarter and volume improved by $12 million *Operations improved by $10 million and total planned maintenance outage expenses declined by $27 million versus the second quarter *Input costs increased by $26 million, reflecting higher costs for wood, energy, chemicals, packaging and distribution