Stora Enso Reports Q2 Results

http://www.storaenso.com/

Q2/2013 (compared with Q2/2012)

Operational EBIT EUR 124 (EUR 144) million. Improvement in Building and Living and in Renewable Packaging. Printing and Reading loss-making due to weak paper market. Solid cash flow from operations at EUR 344 (EUR 246) million due to reduction in working capital, especially in paper business. Cash flow after investing activities EUR 227 (EUR 74) million.

Q2/2013 (compared with Q1/2013)

Operational EBIT EUR 124 (EUR 118) million. Ratio of net debt to the last twelve months' operational EBITDA 2.7 (2.7). Cash flow from operations EUR 344 (EUR 101) million. Strong liquidity at EUR 1.8 (EUR 1.7) billion.

Q1-Q2/2013 (compared with Q1-Q2/2012)

Operational EBIT at EUR 242 (EUR 294) million. Solid cash flow from operations at EUR 445 (EUR 469) million.

AF&PA Reports June Paperboard Numbers

http://www.afandpa.org/

The American Forest & Paper Association has released its June 2013 U.S. Paperboard Report.

Total boxboard production increased by 0.7 percent compared to June 2012 but decreased 0.3 percent from last month. Unbleached Kraft Boxboard production increased over the same month last year but decreased compared to last month. Total Solid Bleached Boxboard & Liner production increased compared to June 2012 and increased compared to last month. The production of Recycled Boxboard increased compared to June 2012 but decreased when compared to last month.

Stora Enso Invests in Biorefinery, Finland

http://www.storaenso.com/

Stora Enso has decided to invest EUR 32 million in building a world-class biorefinery at Sunila Mill in Finland, which will reduce the CO2 emissions of the mill by replacing up to 90% of natural gas by lignin extracted from the black liquor. This will be the first step towards a new business selling lignin to external customers. It will enable global specialty chemical and high-tech material customers to replace fossil raw materials with renewable alternatives. Stora Enso is developing new applications in which lignin provides added value as a natural polymer.

Stora Gets Approval for Pulp & Board Project, China

http://www.storaenso.com/

Stora Enso has received the requisite project approval for the integrated pulp and board project in Guangxi, southern China, from the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In order to benefit from the growing consumer demand for hygienic and high quality consumer board more rapidly, Stora Enso has together with its local partner and supported by key customers revised the investment schedule and will start by building a consumer board machine scheduled to be operational in the beginning of 2016. Construction of the previously announced pulp mill will be started after the board machine has been completed.

MeadWestvaco Raises Paperboard Price

http://www.meadwestvaco.com/index.htm

MeadWestvaco has informed customers of a $50/ton price hike on its grades of coated unbleached kraft (CUK) paperboard effective Sept. 1, according to market contacts.

The increase follows a mostly successful price increase in March-May that lifted prices by $45 of an announced $50.

IP Completes Sale Temple-Inland Building Products

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/07_19_2013international_paper_georgia_pacific.html

International Paper [yesterday] announced that it has finalized the sale of its Temple-Inland Building Products division to Georgia-Pacific Building Products, LLC for $710 million in cash, subject to customary closing adjustment. The division's assets include 15 manufacturing facilities: five solid wood mills, four particleboard plants, one medium-density fiberboard plant, one fiberboard plant and four gypsum wallboard plants.

Trees for Energy Could Lessen Global Warming

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/07/global-warming-carbon-capture-storage

Global warming could be reversed using a combination of burning trees and crops for energy, and capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground (CCS), according to an analysis by scientists. But experts cautioned that trying such an approach after temperatures had passed dangerous levels could be problematic, as climate change reduced the number of trees available for "bioenergy".
The bioenergy and CCS method was the most cost-effective way of tackling carbon emissions, said the team at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, publishing their research in the journal Environmental Research Letters on Thursday. Such an approach could offset and even reverse other emissions from fossil fuels, they claimed.

Fashion Magazines Record-Breaking September Issues

http://adage.com/article/media/fashion-magazines-turn-record-breaking-september-issues/243169/

With ad sales now closed for its upcoming September edition, for example, Hearst Magazines' Elle magazine says it will publish its largest issue to date, with 442 ad pages, a 12% gain from September 2012. Sibling Harper's Bazaar will also have its largest issue yet, notching 397 ad pages, good for a 10% boost. And Hearst's Marie Claire said its September will top all of its previous issues with 246 ad pages, up 13.5% from last year.
Through the first half of 2013, magazines saw an overall decline in print ad pages of 4.9%, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. But print advertising remains vital especially for fashion and luxury brands, publishers say.

Williams-Sonoma Opens PBteen Store

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130718-907334.html

PBteen, a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio of brands, today announced the opening of its first store in Maryland, at the Westfield Annapolis on Saturday, July 20 at 10:00 AM. The first 250 visitors at the PBteen store on opening day will receive a free gift and a chance to win one of four $250 gift cards. To celebrate, PBteen has D.J. As-One spinning live in the store for customer enjoyment on opening day.

Greeting Card Association's Report on USPS

http://www.greetingcard.org/

Today, the Greeting Card Association (GCA) released a report outlining a commonsense solution to address the United States Postal Service's (USPS) budget deficit and set it on a sustainable path without cutting valuable services or increasing prices.

The GCA analysis drew from both Government Accountability Office (GAO) and USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reports. It outlines more than 100 deficit reduction proposals that do not cut critical services or raise prices, including 54 proposals that could be implemented immediately without Congressional legislation or collective bargaining.

http://www.afandpa.org/

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman released the following statement in response to the report: 

"The GCA's report underscores both the need and the many opportunities for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to reduce costs to remain a vital part of our economy. 

Folio: People on the Move

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/people-move-7-18-2013#.Uemd7FOYyKw

TIME has announced a number of staff changes:

Michael Scherer has been named TIME’s new Washinton Bureau Chief.
Ben Goldberger becomes Nation editor at TIME.
Maya Rhodan joins the Washington bureau as a reporter.
Eliza Gray joins TIME as a reporter from The New Republic.
Jack Dickey has been named a reporter covering sports and culture.
Nick Carbone has been promoted to homepage editor.
Alex Fitzpatrick joins TIME as homepage editor.
Lily Rothman has been promoted to reporter.
Olivia Waxman has been promoted to reporter.

Dawn Sheggeby has been promoted to executive director, group strategy & development for Hearst Men’s Group. She was previously director of integrated marketing at Esquire.

MediaPost Mag Bag

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/204846/mag-bag-time-inc-signs-up-for-gfk-mri-starch-dig.html#axzz2ZKsbnT9P

Hearst Fashion Titles Clean Up in September 

Hearst’s fashion titles posted big year-over-year gains in their September issues, the most important month for the fashion business, the publisher revealed this week, with record-breaking issues for Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire. Elle’s September issue is up 12% over the same month last year, to 442 ad pages, making it the biggest September issue ever and the biggest issue ever published by Hearst, which acquired Elle from Hachette in May 2011. Harper’s Bazaar posted a year-over-year gain of 10% in September, to 397 ad pages, while Marie Claire jumped 13.5% to 246 ad pages. Meanwhile, Cosmopolitan grew 16% to 171 ad pages, and Esquire soared 26.5% to 126 ad pages.  

 

Time Inc. is the first multititle publisher to sign up for GfK MRI Starch Digital’s syndicated service, which measures the impact of digital magazine advertising. The service measures the readership and effectiveness of digital advertising in over 17 genres of magazines across 254 advertising categories, including the percentage of reaers who “noted” a digital magazine ad, how much of a digital ad was actually read, and actions taken as a result of seeing a digital ad. (Issues considered: making a purchase, intention to buy, visiting a Web site, recommending product, etc.

There has been lots of movement in the executive suites at Forbes recently, with the news that chief revenue officer Meredith Levien, who spearheaded the brand’s programmatic and native advertising initiatives, is leaving to become executive vice president of advertising at The New York Times. She will be replaced by Mark Howard, who previously served as senior vice president of digital advertising strategy. 

 

Baba Shetty, who announced he was stepping down as CEO of Newsweek/The Daily Beast in June after nine months on the job, is joining Digital in the new role of chief strategy and media officer.