Outokumpu has today published its online Annual Report 2011 including the Corporate Sustainability report in English. The report is available on our website at www.outokumpu.com/annualreport2011.  

Outokumpu's online Annual Report 2011 comprises the Business review, including a fully integrated Corporate Sustainability report, the Corporate Governance Statement, the Review by the Board of Directors and the Financial Statements 2011.

Outokumpu's Corporate Governance Statement is also available both in English and in Finnish as a separate PDF-file at www.outokumpu.com/investors.

OUTOKUMPU OYJ

Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) has announced that John B. Crowe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will participate in the Credit Suisse Global Paper & Packaging Conference in New York City on Wednesday, February 22, 2012, at 2:05 p.m. (ET).

A live audio webcast of Mr. Crowe's remarks and a copy of presentation materials will be accessible at www.bkitech.com. To access the webcast, follow the link to the Credit Suisse Global Paper & Packaging Conference.

Buckeye, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and nonwoven materials, is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States, Germany and Canada. Its products are sold worldwide to makers of consumer and industrial goods.

Source: Buckeye Technologies Inc.

Palmetto Distribution Center achieves gold-tier award status by going landfill free

Sonoco Recycling, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco and one of the largest packaging recyclers in North America, today announced that Fruit of the Loom’s Palmetto Distribution Center, located in Summerville, S.C., has received a gold-tier Sonoco Sustainability Star Award for going landfill free.

“This is something we are very proud of,” said Jay Medlin, plant manager, Palmetto Distribution Center, Fruit of the Loom. “I challenged my team with the goal of going landfill free, and every employee in our facility has worked to help us hit our goal. From the early environmental education to the impact on daily operations, we could not have accomplished this without them.”

In announcing Fruit of the Loom’s achievement, Ray Howard, general manager, Sonoco Recycling, said, “Fruit of the Loom has demonstrated a strong commitment to preserving our planet’s natural resources, focusing on sustainability as an effort vital to the success of their business and their communities. We are honored to present them with a gold-tier sustainability award for this impressive achievement.”

To achieve landfill-free status, the Palmetto Distribution Center created a Green Team and began working on what they called their “Green on Green” initiative. The Green Team focused on making sure all recyclable materials, such as cardboard, baled stretch wrap, miscellaneous plastics, cores and office paper were collected by Sonoco Recycling. Fluorescent lights were crushed in a secure manner and sent off for recycling, while batteries were sent for recycling through an approved vendor. The Palmetto Distribution Center also works with vendors to ensure that their pallets are reused internally. The small amount of waste remaining is sent to a local compost facility and garden, or used by a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility.

The team’s biggest challenge was food and miscellaneous waste, but it successfully managed to find uses for all waste materials. As of January 2012, the Palmetto Distribution Center has successfully gone from 70 percent landfill diversion in 2010 and 95 percent in 2011 to 100 percent landfill diversion.

Created to recognize customer and Sonoco facilities for achieving significant milestones in landfill diversion and waste stream reduction, the program is composed of three tiers:

• Gold Star Awards, which recognize facilities that have achieved 99 percent landfill diversion;
• Silver Star Recognition, which is awarded to facilities achieving 95 percent landfill diversion; and
• Bronze Awards, which recognize facilities that have made significant waste reduction achievements.

Learn more about our Sonoco Sustainability Star Award program at http://www.sonoco.com/productsservices/sonocorecyclinginc/sustainabilitystarawards.aspx.

A recycling leader with locations and expertise worldwide, Sonoco Recycling annually collects more than 3 million tons of old corrugated containers, various grades of paper, metals and plastics. In addition, the Company has experts who provide secure, reliable and innovative recycling solutions to residential and commercial customers.

Currently, Sonoco Recycling operates six material recovery facilities (MRFs) and serves nearly 150 communities in which curbside-collected residential and commercial materials are processed. The Company also provides recycling programs which identify waste reduction opportunities that reduce operating expenses for many of the largest consumer product companies in the U.S.

Source: Sonoco

Electricity consumers in Spain are shortly to take advantage of renewable energy produced from PEFC-certified biomass. Valoriza Energía has recently obtained PEFC Chain of Custody certification for three  of its plants in Andalusia with a combined capacity of 33.8 megawatts, sufficient to provide electricity to an equivalent of more than 23,000 households per year.

Valoriza Energía, which is part of the Sacyr Vallehermoso Group, is committed to utilizing forest biomass in a responsible manner and obtained PEFC certification to demonstrate the sustainability of the high volume of biomass it procures.

"We have noticed that energy companies are becoming increasingly interested in ensuring that the biomass they are using is PEFC-certified," said Michael Berger, Head of Technical Unit, PEFC International. "This is an important development: For forest biomass to be renewable, it must originate form forests that are managed sustainably."

Forest biomass in electricity production decreases carbon emissions because the carbon in biomass is regarded as part of the natural carbon cycle: trees take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into biomass and released it back into the atmosphere when they decompose naturally or are burned for biomass production.

"PEFC certification ensures that the forests from which the biomass originates are managed in a responsible manner, maintaining their capacity to deliver environmental, social and economic benefits," Mr. Berger emphasized.

As part of the dual listed company structure, Mondi Limited and Mondi plc (together “Mondi Group”) notify both the JSE Limited (“JSE”) and the London Stock Exchange of matters required to be disclosed under the JSE Listings Requirements and/or the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules and/or the Listing Rules of the United Kingdom Listing Authority.

Mondi Group has made an all cash public tender offer of PLN69.00 (EUR16.48) per share (“Offer”) for 17 million shares representing 34% of the share capital of Mondi Świecie S.A. (“Mondi Świecie”) that it does not already own. Mondi Świecie is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The Offer represents a premium of 15.6% over the last three months average price of PLN59.71 (EUR14.26) and a premium of 4.1% over the last six months average price of PLN66.26 (EUR15.82).

Mondi Świecie is a leading integrated manufacturer of virgin and recycled containerboard in Central Eastern Europe (CEE). In 2011 it produced 1,333 thousand tonnes of containerboard at its operations in Swiecie, Poland. Mondi Świecie presently employs approximately 1,020 people under its Managing Director Maciej Kunda. This acquisition would bring into full ownership an asset of the Mondi Group, further streamlining its corporate structure.

Mondi Świecie today announced its results for the year ended 31 December 2011. The company generated EBITDA of PLN610m (EUR148m), operating profit of PLN457m (EUR111m) and net earnings of PLN396m (EUR96m). As of 31 December 2011 it had net cash of PLN70m (EUR16m), gross assets of PLN2,729m (EUR612m) and shareholders’ equity of PLN1,830m (EUR410m). A translation of the company’s announced Consolidated Financial Statements and Report on Business Activities for the year ended 31 December 2011 is set out below. Under the Offer, the implied equity value of the whole of Mondi Świecie is PLN3.5bn (EUR824m) and represents an EV/EBITDA multiple of approximately 5.5x and a P/E multiple of approximately 8.7x for 2011.

The Offer is expected to be concluded in mid April 2012. Full acceptance of the Offer would result in an aggregate cash consideration payable by the Mondi Group on closing of PLN1.2bn (EUR280m). The Offer is conditional on Mondi Group achieving minimum acceptances of 14% of Mondi Świecie shares (to bring the Mondi Group’s total interest in the company to not less than 80%). After completion of the Offer, Mondi intends to delist Mondi Świecie from the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The Offer will be funded by Mondi Group’s existing cash resources and from existing committed bank facilities available to it.

In accordance with the provisions of the JSE Listings Requirements, the unaudited pro forma financial effects set out below are included for the purpose of illustrating the effects of a full acceptance of the Offer on Mondi Group’s underlying earnings, basic earnings from continuing operations, basic earnings from continuing and discontinued operations, headline earnings, net asset value and tangible net asset value per ordinary share, for the half year ended 30 June 2011 as if such transaction had occurred on 1 January 2011 for income statement purposes and 30 June 2011 for statement of financial position purposes. These unaudited pro forma financial effects are the responsibility of the directors and have been prepared in accordance with the guidelines issued by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.

These unaudited pro forma financial effects are presented for illustrative purposes only and because of their nature, may not give a fair reflection of Mondi Group’s financial position nor the effect on future earnings following the acquisition:

Notes:

1. Underlying earnings per share excludes the impact of special items.
2. The presentation of headline earnings per share is mandated under JSE listings requirements. Headline earnings has been calculated in accordance with Circular 3/2009, "Headline Earnings", as issued by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
3. The Group financial information has been extracted, without adjustment, from the Group's reviewed results for the six months ended 30 June 2011.
4. The adjustments to earnings, on the basis that the acquisition had occurred on 1 January 2011 for income statement purposes and 30 June 2011 for statement of financial position purposes, include the following main items:

• The exclusion of the non-controlling interest charge in respect of Mondi Swiecie
• The estimated finance charges associated with the financing of the consideration
• Assumed taxation rate of 26.25%

Net asset value and tangible net asset value, on the basis that the acquisition had occurred on 1 January 2011 for income statement purposes and 30 June 2011 for statement of financial position purposes,are reduced by the estimated consideration of EUR280 million.

Alfa Laval – a world leader in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling – has won an order to supply Alfa Laval plate heat exchangers to a nuclear power plant in Russia. The order value is approximately SEK 120 million and delivery is scheduled to start in 2013 and be completed during 2015.

The Alfa Laval plate heat exchangers will be used in the reactor island cooling systems, where some of them will operate in the system that cools down the main reactor in case of any shutdown.

“This order confirms our strong position in the Russian power market”, says Lars Renström, President and CEO of the Alfa Laval Group. “In fact we have supplied equipment to all nuclear power plants in operation in Russia today.”

Did you know… that in 2010 the total electricity generated in Russian nuclear power plants was 170.1 TWh or 16 percent of all power generated in the country.[1]

Vacon Plc has completed the statutory personnel negotiations on 15 February 2012 concerning the company's white-collar personnel in Finland.

The invitation to the personnel negotiations was given to Vacon's white-collar employee representatives on 12 December 2011, and the negotiations started on 19 December 2011.

The need for personnel reduction in Finland operations was estimated at 60 persons at most. Possible temporary lay-offs and part-time work were estimated to affect not more than approximately 400 white-collar employees of the company. As a result of the negotiations, the need for personnel reduction was specified at 19 persons. 13 fixed-term employment contracts will not be extended. In addition to the personnel reductions, the number of Vacon's white-collar personnel in Finland operations will be reduced by 13 persons altogether with voluntary arrangements.

In the negotiations an agreement was also reached on an option for temporary lay-offs for a total of 20 working days which can be realized during April-December of 2012 as well as on an option for temporary lay-offs for a maximum of 10 working days during the first quarter of 2013.

Furthermore, savings equal to over 10 man-years have been identified in Vacon's global operations, and these savings will be realized during the first half of 2012.

In the background of the need for the alignment are economic and production related reasons as well as the re-organization of Vacon's operations. The aforementioned measures aim to ensure the company's competitiveness as well as developing and launching new products to the market.

In Finland, Vacon employs altogether some 750 people in Vaasa, Tampere and Vantaa.

Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, today announced full-year 2011 sales of CHF 7.370 billion, compared to CHF 7.120 billion in 2010. Sales grew 16% in local currencies and 4% in Swiss francs. The lower growth in Swiss francs was a result of the significant appreciation of the Swiss franc against most major currencies on a year-on-year basis.

Due to the acquisition of Süd-Chemie and the strength of the Business Unit Catalysis & Energy in the third and fourth quarters, sales were higher in the second half-year than in the first six months, despite a significant slowdown in some businesses towards year-end. In addition to Catalysis & Energy, which had another record-year, the non-cyclical Business Units Additives, Functional Materials, Industrial & Consumer Specialties, and Oil & Mining Services contributed significantly to the sales increase in 2011. Those non-cyclical businesses account for more than 50% of Group sales. In contrast, the cyclical Business Units Pigments and Masterbatches suffered from a slow-down in industrial production that started at the beginning of the second half-year and resulted in destocking activities along the value chain. All regions grew at a double-digit rate in local currencies.

The double-digit increase in sales was driven by year-on-year sales price increases of 7% and by acquisitions, which contributed 14% to sales growth. Volumes were 5% lower, reflecting the lower demand in the second half-year and the deliberate loss of sales that did not meet Clariant's profitability targets. 

The gross margin decreased to 26.7% from 27.9% in full-year 2010. Lower volumes, negative currency effects, and a one-time charge were the main drivers of the slightly lower margin, and were only partly offset by successful sales price management. Excluding the one-time charge of CHF 54 million as a result of the sale of Süd-Chemie inventories revalued to fair value less costs to sell, the gross margin was 27.4%. Despite the global economic slow-down, commodity prices remained at high levels. Raw material costs increased 14% compared to the previous year. Sales price increases of 7% fully compensated the higher raw material costs, leading to a slightly positive contribution to the gross margin.

EBITDA before exceptional items increased to CHF 975 million (margin 13.2%) from CHF 901 million (margin 12.7%) a year ago. A strong fourth quarter in Catalysis & Energy and a diminishing negative impact from currencies toward the end of the year pushed the margin higher. The operating profit (EBIT) before exceptional items rose to CHF 717 million (margin 9.7%) compared to CHF 696 million (margin 9.8%) in 2010. Lower restructuring costs led to an improvement in net income to CHF 251 million from CHF 191 million despite higher tax expenses.

The extreme volatility in the foreign exchange markets weighed on Clariant's profitability in 2011. Both EBITDA and EBIT before exceptional items were negatively impacted by approx. CHF 190 million (EBITDA), corresponding to a 0.9 percentage-point margin, respectively approx. CHF 170 million (EBIT), corresponding to a 1.0 percentage-point margin.

Cash flow from operations of CHF 206 million was below last year's CHF 642 million, which to a large extent had been obtained from the reduction in net working capital, but significantly above the CHF 21 million reported at the end of the third quarter 2011. As a percentage of annualized sales, net working capital reached 19.6%, below the targeted
20% of sales.

The acquisition of Süd-Chemie led to an increase in net debt to CHF 1.740 billion compared to CHF 126 million at year-end 2010. Net debt has been reduced from 1.812 billion at the end of the third quarter, leading to a gearing (net debt divided by equity) of 58% at year-end 2011. The cash position was strong with CHF 1.199 billion in cash and cash equivalents on 31 December 2011. The extension of the maturity profile has been successfully addressed with the issuance of bonds totaling CHF 300 million in the Swiss francs market since May 2011 and another EUR 365 million in certificates of indebtedness with terms of three years and four and a half years. After the reporting period, another EUR 500 million with maturity in 2017 have been raised in the Eurobond market.

Clariant Q4 2011 Performance

Clariant reported 21% sales growth in local currencies in the fourth quarter. In Swiss francs, sales were 13% higher, at CHF 1.918 billion compared to CHF 1.700 billion a year ago. Sales prices increased 9% year-on-year, while volumes were 12% lower and raw material costs rose 10%. Sequentially, sales prices rose slightly while raw material costs fell 1%. Catalysis & Energy had an excellent quarter, leading the good performance of the non-cyclical businesses. Masterbatches and Pigments were negatively affected by the softening demand from the plastics industry and the related destocking activities. The structurally challenged mature businesses Textile Chemicals, Leather Services, and Paper Specialties continued to suffer from the poor business conditions in their respective end-markets. Organic sales growth in North and Latin America was double-digit, while sales in Asia/Pacific decreased. Europe suffered from the debt crisis, with a double-digit decrease in sales. Including acquisitions, all regions showed double-digit sales growth.

The gross margin was lower year-on-year, at 23.8% compared to 26.0% in the previous-year period. This was exclusively due to a one-time charge of CHF 43 million as a result of the sale of Süd-Chemie inventories revalued to fair value less costs to sell. Excluding this charge, the gross margin reached the level of the previous-year quarter. The EBITDA margin before exceptional items climbed to 12.6% from 10.0% in the fourth quarter of 2010, driven by lower costs and helped by one-time effects, contributing 0.8 percentage points to the EBITDA margin. The operating income (EBIT) before exceptional items increased to CHF 165 million (margin 8.6%) from CHF 120 million (margin 7.1%).

Operating cash flow picked-up significantly compared to the first nine months (CHF 21 million) and rose to CHF 185 million, but was below the exceptionally high CHF 277 million of the previous year, which had been the result of the reduction of net working capital.

Süd-Chemie meets high expectations, smooth integration ongoing

The two new Süd-Chemie Business Units - Catalysis & Energy and Functional Materials - have performed above target in the first eight months of consolidation. Catalysis & Energy reported an EBITDA before exceptionals of CHF 107 million (margin 21.8%), and Functional Materials CHF 59 million (margin 12.9%). Catalysis & Energy showed the expected strong development in the third and especially the fourth quarter.

After the extraordinary General Meeting held by Süd-Chemie AG on 22 November 2011, the transfer of all shares held by minority shareholders to Clariant was approved. The squeeze-out became effective 1 December 2011, with Süd-Chemie now being 100% owned by Clariant and organized according to the Clariant operating model.

The integration is progressing as planned with all project teams fully operational. Based on current insights and integration experience, the anticipated EUR 75-95 million EBITDA improvements by year-end 2013 are confirmed.

Outlook 2012

Clariant will continue to systematically implement the next steps in its transformation process with a focus on the integration of Süd-Chemie, on completing the restructuring measures initiated in 2009-2010, and on portfolio management. In this context, Clariant is evaluating strategic options for the Business Units Textile Chemicals, Paper Specialties, and Emulsions, Detergents & Intermediates, with the goal of realization in the mid- to long-term.

An accurate forecast for 2012 is difficult given the current level of economic uncertainty. Raw material costs are expected to rise in the mid-single-digit range while exchange rates should remain stable compared to the beginning of the year. In its base case scenario, Clariant expects that after a weak start to 2012, the global economy will progressively strengthen in the course of the year. Therefore, results for the first half-year are expected to be lower compared to the high base of the first half of 2011, with an improvement in the second half-year 2012. For full-year 2012, Clariant expects further sales growth in local currencies and sustained profitability.

In the last three years, the restructuring program as well as portfolio management measures have brought Clariant's operating performance to a sustainably higher level. The Board of Directors will therefore propose to the AGM a payout of CHF 0.30 per share through a reduction of the nominal value of the shares to CHF 3.70 from CHF 4.00.