Displaying items by tag: BillerudKorsnäs

As one of the forerunners in the global packaging industry, BillerudKorsnäs has received approval for its climate goals by the Science Based Targets initiative. The initiative was initiated by the UN, WWF and the World Resources Institute, aiming at assisting the world's companies to adopt climate targets in accordance with United Nations Paris Agreement.

Already today BillerudKorsnäs is largely fossil-free with 97.5 percent biofuels used in the own operation. In order to further contribute to reducing climate change, BillerudKorsnäs has adopted new climate targets for 2030 and 2050, which now has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. The approved targets, which are in line with what is required for global warming not to exceed two degrees, are to:

1. by 2030 reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions from own operations and indirect emissions from purchased energy by at least 59 percent compared to 2016 levels. By 2050, the corresponding emissions should be at least 74 percent lower.
2. by 2030 reduce indirect greenhouse gas emissions from purchases of goods and services (eg transports) by at least 30 percent compared to 2016 levels. By 2050, the corresponding emissions should be at least 70 percent lower.

”The Paris Agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts" sends a clear signal to rapidly develop new resource-efficient solutions and replace fossil based with renewable ones. We, as one of the first players in our industry, are therefore very proud to present new climate targets. BillerudKorsnäs and the forest based industry play a key role in the transition to a biobased and sustainable society, not least by offering renewable alternatives to fossil based packaging materials," said Henrik Essén, Senior Vice President Communication and Sustainability at BillerudKorsnäs.

“We congratulate BillerudKorsnäs for having their emission reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. By setting targets that are aligned with the rate of decarbonization needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, BillerudKorsnäs is demonstrating its business leadership and positioning itself for success in the low-carbon economy,” said Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Director, Climate Initiatives at CDP ‎and member of the Science Based Targets initiative steering committee.

Read more about BillerudKorsnäs view of sustainability at www.billerudkorsnas.com/sustainability and about the Science Based Targets initiative at http://sciencebasedtargets.org

For further information, please contact:

Henrik Essén, SVP Communication & Sustainability, +46 (0)73 057 38 01, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Louise Wohrne, Sustainability Manager, +46 (0)72 713 11 19, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world-leading provider of primary fibre based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production sites in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 22 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com

The difficulties with production availability continued in the fourth quarter 2017 which impacted sales volumes negatively despite a very strong market. Operating profit (EBIT) for full year 2017 is calculated to be approximately MSEK 2 240 which is lower than expected but gives a margin of 10 percent.

It is mainly the production facilities in Gruvön and Gävle that are affected, which impact sales negatively within business areas Consumer Board and Corrugated Solutions.

“Despite historically record high production volumes we are of course not satisfied with the recurring production disruptions in our facilities. Therefore, we now intensify our action plan to increase the stability and availability in our production. To ensure the operational stability will be my main focus going forward. We have strengthen the organisation that work proactively with both availability and quality at our facilities which will generate result going forward, says Petra Einarsson, President and CEO BillerudKorsnäs”.

The results are still preliminary and have not been reviewed by the auditors

For further information, please contact:

Susanne Lithander, CFO, +46 8 553 335 00

Christopher Casselblad, Investor Relations, +46 8 553 335 08

This information constituted inside information before publication. This is information that BillerudKorsnäs AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 14:30 CET on January
16th 2018

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world-leading provider of primary fibre based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production sites in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4 300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 22 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com

Wet and mild weather in the fall and early winter has led to a shortage of pulpwood in late 2017 and early 2018.

The root cause of the shortage of pulp wood is the unusually wet and mild start of the winter. Normal winters the ground freezes which allows for efficient forestry. At present, forestry machines cannot be used in the forests in certain areas. In addition, the possibility of driving on the forest road network is limited in some areas, which also reduces the flow of wood. The situation is the same in the Nordic countries, western Russia and the three Baltic states.

BillerudKorsnäs has taken measures to minimize the effects of the lack of pulpwood and follows the situation on a daily basis. The measures taken are mainly mix changes in production and redistribution of flows to optimize the use of wood.

"We have the opportunity to change the product mix in our production to optimize wood usage. This is something we look over every day but what we now do from the perspective of economizing wood, especially short fiber. To the plant in Gävle we have also imported eucalyptus chips from South America, something that has been evaluated to be used in this type of situations that historically happens every 5-10 years, "says Uno Brinnen, Senior Vice President Forestry, BillerudKorsnäs.

The financial impact on Q4 2017 results is minor and it is difficult to assess the extent of the lack of pulpwood and how long the situation will last but given current assessments the estimated negative impact on earnings in Q1 2018 is approximately SEK 80-100 million.

This information constituted inside information before publication. This is information that BillerudKorsnäs AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 11:30 CET on 8 January 2018.

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world-leading provider of primary fibre based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production sites in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4 300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 22 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com

Updated estimates show that the investment costs for BillerudKorsnäs' new board machine in Gruvön may increase by approximately 20 percent compared to previously announced investment cost of a total of SEK 5.7 billion.

WWF today presents the results of the Environmental Paper Company Index 2017, a WWF tool to promote transparency and continual improvement in the global pulp, paper and packaging sector. Compared to 2015, BillerudKorsnäs has increased their scores by 5 percentage points in the subcategories Responsible Fibre Sourcing and Clean Manufacturing, leading also to a better overall score.

BillerudKorsnäs is since 2011 a participant in WWF’s Environmental Paper Company Index (EPCI) and has during this period demonstrated transparency and continuous improvement. This year, in the product category Packaging, 73.9 percent (70,6)* was achieved, an improvement of 3.3 percentage points. In the subcategories Responsible Fibre Sourcing and Clean Manufacturing, 74 percent (69) respectively 70 percent (65) were achieved, corresponding to an improvement of five percentage points each. As in the 2015 index, BillerudKorsnäs scores high in terms of transparency with 78 percent (78) in the subcategory Reporting & EMS.

“Transparency is crucial for promoting sustainability in the value chain and also an important tool in providing stakeholders with information for their evaluation of BillerudKorsnäs performance” said Louise Wohrne, Sustainability Manager at BillerudKorsnäs. “It is very gratifying to see that our company´s efforts to improve are reflected in WWF´s evaluation and our scores on responsible sourcing and clean production.”

“Paper is a renewable, recyclable material, with a potentially lower footprint than substitute materials if managed and produced responsibly. However, the sector's size and impacts are expanding”, said Cecilia Alcoreza, WWF´s global lead on Sustainable Paper and Packaging. “This is why it is crucial for companies to demonstrate leadership in transparency and a commitment to continual improvement, reducing the sector´s forest, climate and water footprint.”

About WWF´s Environmental Paper Company Index
Environmental Paper Company Index (EPCI) is a WWF tool to promote transparency and continual improvement in the global pulp, paper and packaging sector. EPCI tracks how a company´s performance on responsible sourcing, clean production and EMS/reporting changes over time. The Index is based on voluntary data disclosure by invited participants on over 50 indicators that WWF considers important for a company´s ecological footprint. WWF publishes collated results company by company and shows a historical timeline since 2013. https://epci.panda.org

Read the full report at https://epci.panda.org/results/billerudkorsnas

* Figures in brackets refer to WWF Environmental Paper Company Index 2015

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world-leading provider of primary fibre based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production sites in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 22 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com

To answer the need for higher performance medical packaging systems, following the standardization regarding Packaging for terminally sterilized medical devices, BillerudKorsnäs has developed and now launches a new polymer reinforced paper SteriKraft® Protect AR.

The standardization, Packaging for terminally sterilized medical devices ISO 11607-1, 5.5 Storage & Transport, has led to more rigorous and realistic ship testing protocols which have, in turn, shown the need for higher performance medical device packaging systems. To answer this need, BillerudKorsnäs has developed a new polymer reinforced paper, SteriKraft® Protect AR.

SteriKraft® Protect AR is designed as a heat seal coating base but will also seal peel to selected advanced peelable films without needing a coating. More challenging applications such as large drape & gown packs, spinal needles, IV catheters etc. will benefit from the extra performance offered by SteriKraft® Protect AR. As with all other papers in the BillerudKorsnäs SteriKraft® range, Protect AR is fully approved under the relevant sections of EN868 and ISO 11607-1.

"The key benefit of the polymeric addition is to provide some stretch to the paper which results in much improved  tensile energy absorption (TEA). TEA gives a good measure of the durability of the paper under shipping conditions," explains Jonathan Andrews, Business Development Director Medical at BillerudKorsnäs.

Comparison of Geometric TEA between standard medical kraft papers and new SteriKraft® Protect AR demonstrating the significantly higher performance of the new paper.

World launch at COMPAMED in Düsseldorf
The new BillerudKorsnäs SteriKraft® Protect AR will be displayed for the first time at Compamed tradefair “Hightech solutions for medical technology” 13-16 November in Düsseldorf, Germany. Visit our stand, Hall 8b G09, to find out more about Protect AR and the rest of BillerudKorsnäs' SteriKraft® range.

About BillerudKorsnäs SteriKraft®
BillerudKorsnäs SteriKraft is a medical paper that can withstand exposure to various sterilisation methods and guarantees the sterility and purity of the products right up until the moment of use. The packaging will maintain its sterility for five years and is offered for all major sterilisation methods. Strong, safe and with microbial barrier properties. For more information, visit www.billerudkorsnas.com/our-offer/packaging-materials/kraft-paper-medical

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world-leading provider of primary fibre based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production sites in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 22 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com

BillerudKorsnäs has been awarded a Gold rating from EcoVadis for the fourth year in a row. The annual evaluation of 30,000 suppliers shows that BillerudKorsnäs is among the top 1 percent of all companies assessed.

EcoVadis is the leading system for evaluating suppliers' environmental aspects, working conditions, corporate social responsibility and subcontractors. Multinational brands with high ethical ambitions use the system to evaluate their supply chains in turn.

This year’s evaluation shows that BillerudKorsnäs is among the very best of all companies in the same industry and is also in the top percentage rank among all companies assessed, regardless of industry. It also shows that BillerudKorsnäs improved even more this year.

"EcoVadis confirms that our sustainability is at a high level and that we have structured work on environment and working conditions, clear guidelines regarding ethical issues and a systematic approach with our suppliers. The fact that we received very high scores in all areas assessed, well above the average of the group of paper and cardboard manufacturers we are compared to, and that we have received higher rankings every year since the first evaluation in 2013 is really pleasing,” says Bengt Brunberg, responsible for reporting on sustainability initiatives.

The EcoVadis method is based on internationally adopted principles for sustainability reporting, such as GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), United Nations Global Compact and ISO 26000, and is audited by independent sustainability experts.

Read the result in the attached BillerudKorsnäs' Sustainability Profile 2017

More about EcoVadis at http://www.ecovadis.com/

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world-leading provider of primary fibre based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production sites in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 22 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com

BillerudKorsnäs SteriKraft® Protect, manufactured from pure cellulose with no polymeric additions, is a unique medical packaging paper which is up to 20 percent stronger gram for gram than a normal paper. This gives a very special range of properties. The paper is fully compatible with direct seal films and highly cost effective, whilst offering substantially more protection for the packed device.

Building on the existing SteriKraft® Protect EO for low temperature sterilisation (EtO & Radiation), Protect S brings full compatibility with steam sterilisation (134°C) with high porosity and enhanced wet strength. Also, like Protect EO and BillerudKorsnäs SteriKraft® PeelClean range, Protect S offers strong seals and fibre free clean peels due to advanced size press coating technology.

SteriKraft® Protect EO is recommended for more challenging applications where cost effectiveness is still a key requirement eg IV catheters, large syringes, nutritional administration sets etc. SteriKraft® Protect S adds prefilled syringes, large hospital pouches and dialysis filters etc. to this list. As with all other papers in BillerudKorsnäs' SteriKraft® range, Protect S is fully approved under the relevant sections of EN868 and ISO 11607-1.

"Protect S compatibility with direct sealing combined with steam compatibility and with a significant increase in strength over a standard paper, all very cost effectively, fills a real need in the market," explains Jonathan Andrews, Business Development Director Medical at BillerudKorsnäs.

World launch at COMPAMED in Düsseldorf
The new BillerudKorsnäs SteriKraft® Protect S will be displayed for the first time at Compamed tradefair “Hightech solutions for medical technology” 13-16 November in Düsseldorf, Germany. Visit our stand, Hall 8b G09, to find out more about Protect S and the rest of BillerudKorsnäs' SteriKraft® range.

About BillerudKorsnäs SteriKraft®
BillerudKorsnäs SteriKraft is a medical paper that can withstand exposure to various sterilisation methods and guarantees the sterility and purity of the products right up until the moment of use. The packaging will maintain its sterility for five years and is offered for all major sterilisation methods. Strong, safe and with microbial barrier properties. For more information, visit www.billerudkorsnas.com/our-offer/packaging-materials/kraft-paper-medical

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world-leading provider of primary fibre based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production sites in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 22 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com

The Board of Directors of BillerudKorsnäs has appointed Petra Einarsson new President and CEO of the company. Petra succeeds Per Lindberg who is, after 12 successful years, leaving BillerudKorsnäs on his own request for a new assignment. Petra Einarsson will assume her new position at the turn of the year 2017-2018.

”I am very glad to present Petra Einarsson as new President and CEO of BillerudKorsnäs”, says Lennart Holm, Chairman of the Board. “Petra is a highly experienced and competent leader. She has during her years as President of Sandvik Materials Technology shown her capability to successfully develop a complex process industry in a competitive environment. With Petra as new CEO, I am convinced we will succeed in our ambitions to further develop BillerudKorsnäs to new levels.”

Petra Einarsson is since 2013 President of Sandvik Materials Technology and a member of the Group Executive Management of Sandvik AB. Prior to that she has held a number of senior positions within the Sandvik group, including President of product area Tube, President of product area Strip and Financial Manager at Sandvik Materials Technology. Petra was born in 1967 and holds a B. Sc. in Business Administration and Economics.

Per Lindberg leaves his position as President and CEO as Petra Einarsson assumes the position.

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world-leading provider of primary fibre based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production sites in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4 300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 22 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com

CEO Per Lindberg comments on the development during Q3 2017:

“We experienced a very strong market in the quarter, resulting in positive sales performance. Net sales were up 3% and volumes were up 1% on last year. Overall, we have had some difficulties with production availability in recent quarters, so we have established a new organisation to work proactively on both availability and quality at our facilities. I am confident that this will generate results over the coming years.

Looking ahead, market conditions appear encouraging, and we see good opportunities for continued growth. In the longer term, we will have additional support from increasing demand for sustainable packaging solutions. In this respect, our major investments, which will start to deliver in 2018 and 2019, will make a significant positive contribution to our growth on this market.”    

THE RESULT

EBITDA in the quarter was SEK 1 051 million and we experienced positive sales performance on the back of a strong market in Europe and increased demand in China and the rest of Asia. The slightly higher volumes, combined with higher prices, offset negative currency movements. During the quarter, our Karlsborg production unit was affected by a production shutdown due to a fire, which had an approximately SEK 35 million impact on earnings. The fire was put out quickly and there were no injuries to personnel, but it caused extensive damage to cabling in an adjacent area. The damage has been repaired and Karlsborg’s production is running according to plan once again.

The business areas delivered stable earnings. Consumer Board recorded its highest cartonboard sales volumes since Billerud and Korsnäs merged. Within Corrugated Solutions, Managed Packaging posted sales growth of almost 50 percent compared to last year.

MARKET OUTLOOK

The market for all business areas is expected to remain strong over the next quarter. We are seeing favourable order levels and opportunities for further price increases. It is uncertain, however, how large the price increases may be.

In the longer term, this positive picture is being further strengthened by growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions, particularly regarding alternatives to plastic. Plastic waste is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time and we are therefore seeing a greater focus on regulation to counter unnecessary use of plastic. This is strengthening our competitiveness as opportunities to replace less sustainable solutions are growing.

STRATEGY

Efficiency is a cornerstone of our strategy. Our approach to efficiency is about doing things right, and having efficient processes and practices. It is our customers who principally determine what are the right things to do. That’s why we are increasingly focusing on developing and harmonising our working practices by strengthening group-wide functions within our production organisation. This relates in particular to minimising production disruptions and ensuring our products maintain consistently high quality.

Another aspect of this is structural. Our two major investment projects, a new board machine at Gruvön and a world-leading MG centre at Skärblacka, not only demonstrate our ambition of meeting the market’s growing needs with efficient board and paper machines. We have also demonstrated our ability to create a production system that is efficient both in terms of its overall structure and its constituent parts. This is in order to supply our current and future customers with the highest-quality sustainable packaging materials and solutions. These projects are proceeding to schedule and we are looking forward to the start-ups; spring 2018 for Skärblacka and spring 2019 for Gruvön.

BillerudKorsnäs provides packaging materials and solutions that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are a world-leading provider of primary fibre based packaging materials and have customers in over 100 countries. The company has 8 production sites in Sweden, Finland and the UK and about 4 300 employees in over 13 countries. BillerudKorsnäs has an annual turnover of about SEK 22 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.billerudkorsnas.com