The
first half of 2013 has been a loss making period for the coated woodfree and
specialty paper group Lecta. The group posted a net loss of €37.9m and
an operating loss of €9,5m, compared to a net profit of €18.3m and an operating
profit of €42.4m in the corresponding period a year ago; Net sales increased by
3% to €810.1m on higher sales of coated woodfree paper, specialties and trading
goods, Lecta reported. An increase of €36/t in average net sales prices related
to the acquisition of the paper merchant Polyedra and the corresponding
improvement in product mix also had a positive impact on sales in the
January-June 2013 period.
Torraspapel's
Uranga paper mill closing for good; Polyedra will abandon three warehouses to
adapt to Italy's market
In
addition to the definitive closure of
the 130,000 tpy coated woodfree paper machine PM 6 at the Condat paper mill
in France, Lecta has initiated restructuring processes at different
subsidiaries in Spain, Italy and France. Among other things, the group decided
to install a second-hand base paper machine at the Zaragoza mill and increase
production capacity at the site by 80,000 tpy in order to optimise "the
use of pulp produced on the site, thus reducing drying and transportation costs
of pulp to other mills," Lecta explained. This would lead to a permanent closure of
Torraspapel's Uranga paper mill in Spain, where Lecta's subsidiary is producing
some 27,000 tpy of base paper for specialty grades.
