The Altri Group achieved a net income of €28 million in the first six months of this year, a year-on-year drop in a period marked by the destocking along the value chain of the pulp and paper industry.

EBITDA reached €81.2 million, a year-on-year decrease of 37.9%, despite the positive evolution in terms of costs, which, however, was not enough to face the reduction in demand, but also in market prices.

“This challenging environment is forcing us to remain cautious, strengthening our efforts to optimize our operations”, says José Soares de Pina, CEO of Altri. Part of this optimization has been achieved through efforts to reduce variable costs.

Production adjusted to the fiber demand

The demand for cellulosic fibers shrank during the first semester. In this context, and in a period in which, through Biotek, Caima and Celbi, the Altri Group produced 519.8 thousand tons of cellulosic fibres, sales fell by 10.8% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Total revenues of the Altri Group reached €426.6 million during the first half of 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 18.2% attributable to the rapid negative evolution of Hardwood Pulp prices, as a result of a decrease in global pulp demand, which ended up also affecting the volumes sold.

In this context, the Altri Group is adapting production volumes to the real market demand, at the same time that it is working to find the best commercial solutions to maintain high sales levels, seeking to compensate for the decrease in demand in some segments.

Focus on bioeconomy opportunities

Seeking to reduce costs, while taking steps towards decarbonization, the Altri Group expects to advance this year with a reinforcement of electricity generation through the installation of photovoltaic electricity production units. Additionally, the surplus energy production from the new Caima biomass boiler will be sold to the public grid.

This is an investment made at a time when the Altri Group continues to work on several fronts so that it can announce the final investment decision in the Gama Project, aimed at the production of sustainable fibers for the textile industry, in Galicia, by the end of 2023.