Sappi-PM2 launch doubles our paperboard capacity

Norske Skog's newly elected board of directors is progressing the recapitalization process and will continue to work to develop a sustainable, industrially based recapitalization proposal to the stakeholders of the group. This recapitalization proposal will be based on the current operating performance and outlook for the Norske Skog group, and will seek to provide a robust industrial and financial platform for the future development of the group. The board's current intention is to make public the industrially based recapitalization proposal on Monday 18 September (at 13.00 CET), after which date the group's financial creditors will be expected to have a 10 business day period until 2 October at 17.00 CET to accept or reject the board's proposal. The recapitalization proposal will be based on the recently announced 2017 gross operating earnings estimate of around NOK 700 million. The recapitalization proposal will reduce the group's debt position and interest payments to a level which leaves Norske Skog as an industrial company with a realistic and long term sustainable capital structure to enable future development of the group in a rather challenging international business environment. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Highlights * Q1, 2018 adjusted operating income of $238.7 million driven by historically high lumber prices and record-high pulp and paper earnings; record-high sales of $1.23 billion * Adjusted net income of $145.4 million, or $1.13 per share * Net debt of $96.8 million, or 4.3% net debt to total capitalization, at March 31, 2018. Click Read More below for additional information.

Conciliator Leo Suomaa has submitted proposals for UPM Specialty Papers and UPM Raflatac in the collective labour negotiations with the Paperworkers’ Union. The conciliator has asked the parties to state their position on the proposals by 14 April 2022 at 10:00 EEST, which is also the deadline for the settlement proposal for UPM Pulp, given earlier by the conciliator. In the meanwhile, conciliation will continue between the Union and UPM Biofuels. The conciliation for UPM Communication Papers was interrupted last weekend, and no further meetings have been agreed. "I am pleased that the negotiations have reached a point where conciliation settlements are presented. I hope agreements will be reached soon, and we get to start the mills", says Riitta Savonlahti, Executive Vice President, Human Resources at UPM.