Interim Report January-June 2013

• Loss after net financial items amounted to SEK ‑20 (36) million for the second quarter of 2013. Loss after net financial items amounted to SEK -24 (32) million for the first half of 2013. The deviation is in all essential respects attributable to prices and currency rates. This result has been affected by costs relating to the outgoing CEO in accordance with the applicable contract.
• Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -9 (67) million for the second quarter of 2013. This negative cash flow is fully explained by a drop in performance.
• The USD price for chemical pulp rose by USD 50 per tonne during the period January to June and by USD 23 per tonne during the second quarter. However, the average price was SEK 302 per tonne less than the previous year owing to the weak dollar rate
• As previously reported, Carl-Johan Jonsson took office as the new CEO and President on 1 July 2013.

CEO’s statement

Global economic development continues to be rather weak. The same applies to the global pulp market. Deliveries to China and Europe increase in some months but reduce in others. All in all global pulp deliveries increased by almost two per cent during the first five months of the year compared with the first five months of the previous year. The PIX price for NBSK pulp in Europe continued to rise during the spring, and the average price for the second quarter was just over USD 850 per tonne compared with just over USD 820 tonnes for the first quarter of the year. The PIX price for the stronger USA market has reached USD 950 per tonne. It is primarily our dependency on currencies, and the strong Swedish kronor that is exasperating the forestry industry and its profitability.

Global pulp stocks are hovering around ‘normal levels’, which serves to increase confidence levels ahead of July and August, which are slightly weaker months in terms of deliveries and may mean that the stronger delivery period for both China and Europe could gain momentum from stock levels with a balanced base. A number of long fibre-based pulp mills were converted for dissolving pulp production in 2013 and one large Nordic mill as well as a couple of Russian plants closed down, which looks favourable in terms of the balance between supply and demand. There will be an increase in the short fibre capacity in South America in 2013 and 2014, which could affect stability in the market. 

I took office as CEO and President of Rottneros on 1 July and would like to conclude my first CEO’s statement by thanking my predecessor Ole Terland for his achievements at Rottneros and for enabling a seamless handover.

Carl-Johan Jonsson

FORTHCOMING FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The information in this interim report is such that Rottneros is required to disclose under Sweden's Securities Market Act.

The report was released for publication on 18 July 2013 at 08.00 CT.

(For full report, see attached file)

Rottneros, a company that was originally established in the 1600s, is an independent and flexible supplier of customised paper pulp of high quality. Rottneros has been able to adapt in order to meet high customer expectations by continually developing its products and maintaining high levels of delivery reliability, technical support and service.

Rottneros has an annual production capacity of almost 400,000 tonnes of pulp at two mills in Sweden. Increasingly intensive product development in line with the requirements of customers will result in profitability that is higher and more stable throughout the business cycle.

Rottneros AB (publ)

Box 70 370, SE-107 24 Stockholm

Visitors: World Trade Center, Kungsbron 1, C6, Stockholm

Phone: +46 8-590 010 00, Fax +46 8-590 010 01

info@rottneros.com   

www.rottneros.com