YEAR-END RELEASE JANUARY – DECEMBER 2008
• The income after net financial items for the fourth quarter of 2008 amounted to SEK -169 (-321) million, an improvement of SEK 152 million. The operating income for the fourth quarter amounted to SEK -135 (-311) million.
• The income after net financial items for the full year 2008 amounted to SEK -385 (-384) million, of which SEK 106 million relates to the depreciation of fixed assets at Miranda following an impairment test, and SEK -115 million relates to losses at the Utansjö Mill until its closure.
• The company’s income has been affected by the significantly weaker market where the price and demand for pulp fell sharply in the fourth quarter. This forced Rottneros in the fourth quarter to limit production at several of the Group’s mills to avoid the accumulation of excessively large stocks of finished goods.
• Higher costs for wood and electricity reduced earnings for the full year 2008 by SEK 193 million compared to the previous year.
• The company is not providing a forecast for the full year 2009.
• Due to the weak market, Rottneros’ liquidity is strained. Rottneros is therefore negotiating with the company’s lenders to secure the short-term liquidity requirements and for a respite in order to make necessary changes to the operational and financial structure.
ROTTNEROS IN BRIEF
Rottneros, with its origins in the 1600s, is a non-integrated, flexible supplier of customised, high-quality paper pulp. Through continuous product development, high delivery reliability, technical support and service, Rottneros is able to adapt to meet the high expectations of its customers.
Rottneros has a total production capacity of just under 600,000 tonnes of pulp per year produced at four mills in Sweden and Spain, making the Group one of the ten biggest suppliers of market pulp in the world. Increasingly intensive product development in line with customer demands will lead to higher and more stable profitability throughout an economic cycle.
(For full report see attached file.)