Clearwater Paper reports net sales of $539 million for Q3 2022
Tissue performance continued to improve with higher pricing helping to offset the impact of inflation, said the company’s CEO
Clearwater Paper Corporation, a supplier of quality tissue and bleached paperboard products, reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2022.
“We had an excellent third quarter, which exceeded our expectations with strong volumes, pricing and operational performance,” said Arsen Kitch, president and chief executive officer. “While paperboard demand and pricing remained strong, our tissue performance continued to improve with higher pricing helping to offset the impact of inflation.”
For the third quarter of 2022, Clearwater Paper reported net sales of $539 million, a 20% increase compared to net sales of $450 million for the third quarter of 2021. Net income for the third quarter of 2022 was $21 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, compared to net income for the third quarter of 2021 of $2 million, or $0.11 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $77 million, compared to the third quarter of 2021 Adjusted EBITDA of $50 million.
For the first nine months of 2022, Clearwater Paper reported net sales of $1.6 billion, a 21% increase compared to net sales of $1.3 billion for the first nine months of 2021. Net income for the first nine months of 2022 was $52 million, or $3.04 per diluted share, compared to net loss for the first nine months of 2021 of $38 million, or $2.25 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months was $199 million, compared to the first nine months of 2021 Adjusted EBITDA of $119 million.
Impacting the first nine months of 2021, Clearwater Paper incurred impairment and other closure costs associated with the closure of the company’s Neenah, Wisconsin facility of $47.1 million and as well as planned major maintenance at its paperboard facilities.
Net sales in the Consumer Products segment were $241 million for the third quarter of 2022, up 13% compared to the third quarter 2021 net sales of $214 million. Segment operating income for the third quarter of 2022 was $5 million compared to operating income of $4 million in the third quarter of 2021. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was $21 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to $20 million in the third quarter of 2021. The increase in operating income and Adjusted EBITDA was driven by higher sales prices partly offset by higher input costs, specifically related to pulp, freight and energy.
“During previous periods of economic uncertainty demand for our products was relatively resilient. In today’s economic environment, our continued focus is on operational performance while offsetting the impact of inflation. We are continuing to improve our financial flexibility to take advantage of opportunities to create shareholder value,” concluded Kitch.
