Mercer International Inc. recently reported fourth quarter 2025 Operating EBITDA of negative $20.1 million compared to positive $99.2 million in the same quarter of 2024 and negative $28.1 million in the third quarter of 2025.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, net loss was $308.7 million ($4.61 per share) compared to net income of $16.7 million ($0.25 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2024 and a net loss of $80.8 million ($1.21 per share) in the third quarter of 2025. The net loss in the fourth quarter of 2025 included total non-cash impairments of $238.7 million. This included non-cash impairments of $203.5 million recognized against long-lived assets at our Peace River mill due to the continued down-cycle environment of hardwood pulp markets, $12.2 million against certain obsolete equipment and $23.0 million against pulp inventory due to low prices and high fiber costs.
Mr. Juan Carlos Bueno, Chief Executive Officer, stated: "To address the challenging hardwood pulp environment that has weighed on our Peace River mill’s results, we have engaged with all stakeholders and several initiatives have been underway. These include shifting production mix at the mill further towards softwood and engaging government on accretive opportunities surrounding energy and carbon capture. We are considering all options in respect of this asset.
Despite the non-cash impairments and the challenging business climate, our underlying operational performance improved quarter-over-quarter, reflecting our focus on cost reduction and efficiency initiatives. These will remain a key focus in 2026.
We continue to advance our "One Goal One Hundred" program launched in the second quarter of 2025. The program includes cost reduction initiatives and operational efficiency measures targeting $100 million in cost savings and operational improvements by the end of 2026, using 2024 as a baseline. We realized approximately $30 million in cost savings and reliability improvements during 2025 and remain confident that we will achieve our target by the end
In the fourth quarter of 2025, softwood pulp third-party list prices in Europe were relatively stable, while North American list prices and third-party net prices in China decreased compared to the third quarter of 2025. The decreases in these markets primarily resulted from continued weak demand stemming from the current economic climate and continuing global trade policy uncertainty. For hardwood pulp, the third-party net price in China increased in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the third quarter, driven by strengthening demand and higher domestic fiber costs. In North America, hardwood pulp third-party list prices remained flat. We currently expect pulp prices to modestly
