Fortress Paper posts Q4 2014 EBITBA loss of $1.4 million

Photo: Fortress Paper
Photo: Fortress Paper

Fortress Paper reported 2014 fourth quarter EBITDA loss of $1.4 million. The Dissolving Pulp Segment generated EBITDA loss of $3.7 million and the Security Paper Products Segment generated EBITDA of $3.2 million. Corporate costs contributed $0.9 million to EBITDA loss.

EBITDA loss of $3.7 million for the Dissolving Pulp Segment for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $2.5 million greater, primarily due to the eight day annual maintenance shut-down and operational challenges in the lime kiln and re-caust areas, when compared to the third quarter of 2014 EBITDA loss of $1.2 million, and $7.1 million less compared to the fourth quarter of 2013 EBITDA loss of $10.8 million.

The Company sold 40,966 air dried metric tonnes ("ADMT") of dissolving pulp and 6,009 ADMT of northern bleached hardwood kraft pulp ("NBHK") in the fourth quarter of 2014. Although the dissolving pulp market conditions continue to be challenging, production efficiencies and cash costs continue to see improvements relative to the prior year comparative periods. The Dissolving Pulp Segment continues to be affected by the antidumping duty imposed by China's Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") in April 2014. The operational challenges experienced in the fourth quarter of 2014 will also impact results in the first quarter of 2015.