Cascades Inc. reports strong financial results for the third quarter 2024
Sales and EBITDA reflect growth in tissue and packaging sectors, despite challenges in raw material costs and production volumes
Cascades Inc. has reported unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2024, showing changes and adjustments to its revenues and operating costs compared to previous periods. The company reported sales of $1.201 million, up slightly from $1.180 million in the second quarter of this year and up from $1.198 million in the third quarter of 2023. These results are mainly driven by performance in the tissue and packaging segments.
On the operating income side, Cascades earned $36 million, an improvement from $34 million in the year-ago quarter, but down markedly from $80 million in the same period in 2023. Net earnings per share were flat at $0.01 compared to the second quarter of this year, but down from $0.34 in the third quarter of last year.
Adjusted EBITDA, which measures earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, was $140 million, up from $112 million in the previous quarter, but down from $161 million in 2023. This reflects the impact of higher raw material costs, partially offset by higher selling prices and a reduction in operating costs.
In his analysis, Hugues Simon, Cascades’ president and chief executive officer, noted that the sequential increase in results was driven especially by the packaging paperboard business, which was able to mitigate the increase in raw material costs. However, tissue paper performance was lower, affected by the increase in the average cost of raw materials and changes in the mix of products sold.
With respect to debt, Cascades reported net debt of $2,039 million at September 30, 2024, down slightly from $2,093 million at the end of June of this year, reaching a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 4.3x.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, the company expects stability in the packaging segments, while it anticipates a slight improvement in tissue driven by lower raw material costs and a slight increase in volumes. In addition, Cascades expects that, in the long term, its strategy of efficiency optimization at the Bear Island facility and new tissue converting lines will contribute to cash flow growth and debt reduction.
