The Altri Group, through Celbi, Biotek and Caima, produced 280.3 thousand tons of cellulosic fibers in the first quarter of 2022, a level practically equal to the same period of the previous year.
In terms of sales, the volume reached around 298.1 thousand tons, a slight decrease of 2.1% when compared to the first quarter of the same period last year, with foreign markets absorbing 255.6 thousand tons, the equivalent to 86% of the total.
Financial performance was strongly impacted by fiber production volume, but mainly by sales growth in a context of rising prices in international markets. Demand, combined with a reduced level of stocks, has led to a rise in prices, with the price of pulp (BHKP) in Europe reaching USD 1,200/ton at the end of the first quarter.
“Demand for cellulosic fibers continues to show very positive dynamics, with the acceleration of demand in Western Europe being particularly important. This context, associated with low stocks, has led to successive price increases. The price rose to US$1,200 per ton at the end of the first quarter, but since then several updates have already been announced to the market, totaling US$100”, says José Soares de Pina. “This result allowed the growth of our revenues as well as of EBITDA and net income”, emphasizes the CEO of the Altri Group.
Total revenues reached €249.2 million in the first quarter of 2022, a growth of 46.5% compared to the same period in 2021. And despite the increase in costs with natural gas, chemicals as well as a greater level of wood imports have dictated a relevant increase in production costs per ton, EBITDA reached €61 million, an increase of 85.6% compared to the first quarter of 2021, with the reported EBITDA margin increasing by 5.1 percentage points to 24.5%.
Thus, the Altri Group's net income reached around €29.8 million, a significant increase compared to the €12.2 million recorded in the first quarter of 2021, without GreenVolt, which is now considered a “discontinued operation” in terms of reporting financial information.
Search for fibers with strong dynamics
In the cellulosic fiber segment, while China's pulp demand continues to be affected by factors already identified in 2021, which restrict many of the economic relations with the Asian country, namely logistical factors (availability of ships and freight prices) and (Covid Zero policy), in America and Europe there is an acceleration in demand.
Demand in North America increased by 10.8%, with a growth of 3.7% in Latin America and 3% in Western Europe during the first quarter. In Europe, the strong momentum registered at the beginning of 2022 continues, especially for end-use Printing and Writing Paper (P&W) as well as Tissue.
The strong demand combined with the low availability, visible from the historically low levels of stocks in European ports, led to the announcement of two additional price increases for Pulp (BHKP) for April (US$50) and May (US$50), to US$1,300 per ton.
Galicia project progresses at a high pace
The Galicia project continues to advance at a high pace, with the location announced in April. The sustainable fiber biofactory will be in the Palas de Rei area, in the province of Lugo, in Galicia.
After this important step, we expect to move on to the next steps that will include the environmental impact study, the beginning of the engineering project detail and economic feasibility, as well as the definition of the financing structure.
“We are confident that we are taking the necessary steps to create the right conditions for a unique project for the production of sustainable cellulosic textile fibers”, says José Soares de Pina, CEO of the Altri Group.
The Galicia project stems from a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Impulsa, a public-private consortium in the Galicia region, to exclusively study the construction of an industrial unit from scratch with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons of pulp. soluble and sustainable textile fibers.