The Navigator has reported growth and strong performance in its tissue business interim results, as sales for the division increased 14% year-on-year to 177,000tpy.
The value of tissue sales increased by 17%, and business in Iberia recorded its best quarter in sales of finished products.
The year-on-year figures were boosted by the integration of Navigator Tissue UK in May 2024, which extended the product range and also contributed to growth in sales.
After substantial growth (6.3%) in 2024, European demand for tissue was up slightly year-on-year, rising by 0.3%.
International sales in the tissue business accounted for 80% of the sales volume in the reporting period.
The English market took the largest share with 35% of sales, followed by Spain, with 30%, and France, which accounted for 14% of sales.
The new tissue and packaging segments account for around 30% of turnover and EBITDA; turnover for the group totalled €1,489m, down 5% year-on-year, while EBITDA dropped 30% to €300m, with an EBITDA margin down 7.3% to 20.2%.
Net income for the period fell 51% to €118m.
Pulp market: sales down 7% y-o-y
After bottoming out at 1,000$/t at the start of the year, the benchmark index for hardwood pulp – PIX BHKP in dollars increased to 1,218 $/t in April (up 16%) in Europe, before returning to 1,000 $/t in August and remaining there until the end of September.
In Europe, stock levels remained relatively stable. In China, although stocks at ports have been building up since January, analysis of paper production suggests that this growth is proportional to the expansion in industrial operations, and not an anomalous accumulation.
Navigator’s pulp sales totalled 258,000tpy, down by 7% on the same period in 2024.
“High level of volatility”
Navigator said the nine-month period has brought “a high level of volatility” in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, uncertainty resulting from the upturn in protectionism, and political instability in some developed economies.
In this context, the pulp sector “has faced severe pressure” visible in the sharp downturn in pulp prices in China since April, with an impact in Europe.
The third quarter marked the lowest point in this downward cycle.
Faced with falling prices across its markets, Navigator said it was able to grow its volumes in all paper segments and increase its market share.
Pulp and tissue production costs fell at the end of the third quarter to their second-lowest level since mid-2021, and paper production cash costs were the lowest for the past two years.
Alongside commercial strategy and market diversification, business diversification and innovation in new products remain at the heart of Navigator’s strategy, especially in the tissue and packaging segments, where there it said there is “still great potential for growth.”
