Clearwater Paper reports third quarter 2023 results and positive outlook
Company reports net income and adjusted EBITDA, highlighting performance in Pulp & Paperboard and Consumer Products segments
For the third quarter of 2023, Clearwater Paper reported net sales of $520 million, down slightly from $539 million for the same period in 2022. Net income was $37 million, with earnings per diluted share of $2.17, compared with $21 million and $1.21 per diluted share in 2022. For the first nine months of 2023, net sales reached $1.6 billion, representing a slight increase over 2022. Net income for this period came in at $90 million, with earnings per diluted share of $5.29, up from $52 million and $3.04 per diluted share in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2023 reached $81 million, exceeding $77 million in 2022.
CONSUMER PRODUCTS SEGMENT
In the third quarter of 2023, Clearwater Paper recorded an 8% increase in net sales for its Consumer Products segment, reaching $259 million compared to $241 million for the same period in 2022. Operating income increased to US$31 million in the third quarter of 2023 compared to US$5 million in the third quarter of 2022. In addition, adjusted EBITDA for this segment reached US$46 million in the third quarter of 2023, up from US$21 million in the third quarter of 2022. The increase was mainly due to higher selling prices and lower input costs.
In the first nine months of 2023, net sales in the same segment reached US$761 million, an increase of 9% compared to US$696 million in the first nine months of 2022. Operating income for this period was US$61 million compared to US$10 million in the first nine months of 2022, and adjusted EBITDA reached US$105 million, exceeding US$57 million in the same period of 2022. This increase was due to higher selling prices, but was partially offset by higher input costs, especially in transportation and energy costs.
PULP AND PAPERBOARD SEGMENT
In the third quarter of 2023, Clearwater Paper’s pulp and paperboard sales fell 13% to $261 million from $301 million in 2022. Operating income decreased to $43 million from $64 million in the third quarter of 2022, and adjusted EBITDA was $52 million, compared with $73 million in the same period last year. The decrease was due to lower sales volumes and prices, as well as planned production downtime, although lower input costs helped to offset.
For the first nine months of 2023, pulp and paperboard sales totaled US$812 million, down 6% from US$863 million in 2022. Operating income for the period was US$142 million, compared with US$166 million in 2022, and adjusted EBITDA was US$170 million, compared with US$194 million in the same period last year. The decrease was due to lower sales volumes and production downtime, although partially offset by higher selling prices.
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