International Paper Reports Q4, 2012 Results

International Paper 4Q 2012 results: net earnings down 16% from year ago to $235 million:
International Paper reported preliminary full-year 2012 net earnings attributable to common shareholders totaling $794 million compared with $1.3 billion in full-year 2011.
International Paper (IP) reported preliminary full-year 2012 net earnings attributable to common shareholders totaling $794 million ($1.80 per share) compared with $1.3 billion ($3.03 per share) in full-year 2011. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the company reported net earnings of $235 million ($0.53 per share) compared with $281 million ($0.65 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2011. Amounts in all periods include special items and non-operating pension expense. Full-year 2012 Operating Earnings were $1.2 billion ($2.65 per share) compared with $1.4 billion ($3.12 per share) in 2011. Operating Earnings in the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled $305 million ($0.69 per share) compared with $319 million ($0.73 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2011. Annual sales totaled $27.8 billion in 2012 compared with $26.0 billion in 2011. Quarterly net sales were $7.1 billion in the fourth quarter compared with $6.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. Full-year 2012 business segment operating profits were $2.0 billion compared with $2.2 billion in 2011. 

IP/Smart Papers Settle Suit

http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/suit-settled-in-wastewater-case/nT8jD/

The city of Hamilton has settled a federal lawsuit with International Paper and SMART Papers over an outstanding termination fee for wastewater treatment services at the former SMART Papers plant. 

The city, which originally filed suit for $3.2 million, has received a settlement from both papermakers for a total of $2.76 million, according to Doug Childs manager of energy management and utility business services. Of that amount, $2.6 million will be paid by International Paper and $250,000 has already been paid by SMART Papers. The funds, minus about $80,000 for legal and other miscellaneous fees, will be deposited into the city’s wastewater treatment fund.

China's Reliance on Recycled Paper Pushes Recovery

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-01/16/content_16123274.htm

Fueled by escalating paper and cardboard demand, China's recovered paper production has seen rapid growth in recent years. Consumption jumped from 7.6 million tons in 1994 to 71 million tons in 2011, China Paper Association figures show.
Asian countries, especially fiber-short countries like China and India, will remain heavily dependent on recovered paper and account for a large share of the demand growth in the future, predicts Hannah Zhao, a Resource Information Systems Inc. economist on recovered paper.
In 2011, China used 56.6 million tons of recycled fiber-based pulp, accounting for 62 percent of the total pulp consumption in China. About 38 percent of the recovered paper was recycled domestically.

SK's Hansol Increases Coated Woodfree Price

South Korea's largest paper and board producer, Hansol Paper, has tabled price increases of 5-6% for coated fine paper and cartonboard exports, effective February 1.

The proposed rises will be implemented on orders received from that date on the company's coated fine paper, including one-side coated products, and also on coated recycled board grades, such as grayback coated duplex board and whiteback coated duplex board.
Hansol attributed the hike to the rising costs of raw materials, including market pulp, recovered paper, chemicals and energy.

New Face for The New Republic

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/business/media/the-new-republic-aims-to-broaden-its-audience.html?_r=0

There are not many firsts for a politically savvy, 98-year-old publication like The New Republic. But Franklin Foer, its 38-year-old editor, experienced one recently when he passed a Hudson News store at Union Station here and saw the magazine displayed prominently near the checkout. 
It’s all part of the plan by Chris Hughes, the 29-year-old co-founder of Facebook, former online campaign adviser to President Obama and The New Republic’s newest owner, to turn around the magazine he bought in March.

What Magazines Can Learn from eBooks

http://paidcontent.org/2013/01/25/what-digital-magazines-can-learn-from-ebook-publishers/

A recent Wall Street Journal article by Keach Hagey takes a look at trends in digital magazine pricing and finds a number of publishers charging more for tablet editions than print. As ad revenue declines, publishers are turning to digital magazines as a way to “become more leveraged toward consumer revenue and a little less dependent on advertising,” in the words of Hearst president David Carey.
And here’s Condé Nast president Bob Sauerberg: “We’re using this new platform and the clear demand for all access to our content as a way to redefine our subscription offerings at a higher price. The industry is trying to take a step forward because we’re all trying to get more money from the consumer.”

Sperduti on Rebranding J.Crew Retail

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-24/anthony-sperduti-on-rebooting-j-dot-crew-retail

J.Crew thought their men’s business was considered irrelevant and wanted to rebrand it. At the time [2007-08] there were a lot of blogs about menswear that gave a lot of smaller brands an outsized footprint and large reach. J.Crew was making great products, they had amazing attention to detail, they just weren’t part of the conversation. Mickey Drexler, the CEO, asked what they could do to remedy that: Was it a national campaign or rethinking their catalogue? Our answer was a small space with no overt branding that was outside the retail corridor. We believed the Liquor Store had the perfect makings to recontextualize J.Crew menswear. The rent was half of what a billboard in Tribeca would cost. For us it was a big lesson: There is more than one way to rebrand a company. Offering something experiential and acting smaller reverberates on a much larger scale.

Nonprofits Hurt By New Postal Rules

http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/article/detail/nonprofits-hurt-by-new-postal-rules-5160

Six of the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) new workshare discount rates, that took effect yesterday, are shallower for nonprofit mailers than for commercial mailers, and unfairly discriminate against nonprofits, contends the Association of Nonprofit Mailers (ANM), based in Washington, D.C.
Three of the new discounts -- high density letters, high density flats, and automated 5-digit flats -- are higher than the old rates, two categories (high density plus letters and high density plus flats) are new and the discount for non-automated 3-digit flats is slightly lower than the old rate. But the key issue is the discrepancy between the nonprofit and commercial rates.

Rolling Stone Debuts iPad App

Rolling Stone Debuts iPad App with Support From MEI, Nervous Pixel: Jenkintown, PA — Managing Editor Inc. (MEI) today announced its professional and creative services support of Rolling Stone magazine’s recently released iPad app. Wenner Media, publisher of Rolling Stone and other entertainment magazines including Us Weekly, produced the app using vjoon K4™ Cross-Media Publishing Platform and the Adobe® Digital Publishing Suite™ (DPS), both top-tier products provided and supported by MEI.

Publishers Increasing Invesment In Mobile

Survey: Publishers Upping Their Invesment In Mobile: A survey of North American newspaper, magazine and business publication members shows how they are innovating and investing in cross-media platforms.
With an eye on profitability, more respondents report moving to some form of a paywall. Of those currently not using a paywall, 44% plan to implement one in the next 24 months.
Business publications and newspapers are more than twice as likely to have implemented a paywall as magazines.
The most employed paywall is metered, allowing consumers to access a set number of articles before payment is required. Almost 40% are using this type of paywall, while 17% are using a hard paywall (payment required to read any content). One-third (33%) are using a combination paywall that restricts access to premium content.