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It is believed that pricing is the most powerful and underutilized revenue lever among commercial organizations in the pulp and paper industry. These organizations will need to have the analytical capability to isolate the causes contributing to profitability. Paper companies can also narrow the gap between pricing strategy and execution through analytical insights.

This article consists of statistical tables companies within the U.S. paper and forest products industry featuring earnings for 1991 and 1996 through 2001.

This article consists of the following subsections: Product mix; factors that influence demand and supply; Cost position; Looking at the income statement; Cash flow and balance sheet data; and Acquisition and divestitures.

This article provides two side-by-side statistical lists of pulp, paper, and converting operators throughout the world. International Paper, Georgia-Pacific, Procter & Gamble, Stora Enso, and Oji Paper are at the top of the first list. The other list ranks companies by sales by segment.

To analyze a paper and forest products company, one must examine its product mix, the impact of supply and demand on the industry, type of paper or wood product, inventory, capacity levels operating rate or the percentage of manufacturing capacity being used in a given period for a particular paper grade. Its income statement should be looked into in respect of sales, operating margins, cash flow and balance sheet data.

The paper and forest products industry had healthy gains in 1999 but the figures for the third and fourth quarter of 2000 declined substantially, according to Pulp and Paper Week. Standard and Poor expects year-to-year earnings for 2001 to be negative, but rising in the fourth quarter to a possible gain.

If this is the bottom of the cycle, then Juha Niemela is happy with his company's performance. But that could yet prove to be a big 'if' The fact that [...]

Viewed as a speculative and complicated financial instrument, derivatives may help paper industry firms and their customers reduce risk and improve earnings When most people hear the word 'derivatives,' they [...]

Paper companies which focused on particular market segments and invested in long-term execution-based projects increased their shareholder value between 1986-1996 according to an Andersen Consulting study. Paper companies which concentrated their investments in a few market segments had lower overhead costs. Paper companies' ability to boost their shareholder value depends on the market segment diversity and not on the market segments in which they operate., When it comes to creating shareholder value -- generating stock appreciation and dividend payments -- there have been some clear winners, and 'losers' in the forest products industry. According to [...]

The pulp and paper industry requires capital investments double the average of most US manufacturing industries. The pulp and paper industry also has the lowest shareholder return of any industry. As a result, third-party, non-recourse financing has several benefits for the industry. The major benefit is that this type of financing does not affect the balance sheet of the host company., Editor's Note: In the December 1996 issue, Pulp & Paper published an article by Daniel J Cenatempo of Jacobs-Sirrine on project financing ('Project Financing Offers Investment Option with Low Borrower [...]

PPI's annual survey of the world's Top 150 P&P companies shows a record-breaking year as the industry piled on the profits and earnings soared What a year that was. No [...]

The number of deinked or recycled mills developers that are turning to tax-exempt revenue bonds to finance their facilities has increased. These recovered paper mills, which are usually deinked market pulp mills using a variety of grades of office waste or linerboard mini-mills using mixed office waste, DLK and OCC, are becoming increasingly dependent on institutional financing. While such nonrecourse financing allows for low-cost option, it also forces the developer to show investment stability., Why are developers of recovered paper mills talking to institutional investors regarding financing of their proposed facilities? In recent years, there has been an increased number of recycled or deinked [...]

FINANCIAL people and top management often look at maintenance as a cost, and a cost that is always too high. They frequently believe that the results of good maintenance are [...]

FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS: The world's Top 150 pulp and papermakers appear to be emerging from the recessionary storm. After three successive years of falling profits, the net earnings of [...]

Part 2 of PPI's 1994 preview focuses on North America, Asia, Africa and Latin America, where most producers are expecting a year of consolidation. Canada Improved performance spurs producers to [...]

Capital investment in the US and Canadian paper industries is predicted to be slow as decreased spending continues to dominate the market. Capital outlays for environmental improvement programs decreased in 1993 but are predicted to improve in the later part of 1994. Meanwhile, companies are looking into the use of recycled fiber and recycling capacity in the US is expected to reach a 7% annual rate. Canadian mills intend to spend C$7 billion from 1993-95 while the US outlays from $3 to $4.3 billion for projects over a two year period., Spending plans are down for the fourth year in a row, as a strong recovery continues to elude the industry BUSINESS CONDITIONS REMAINED EXTREMELY tough in 1993, especially for Canadian [...]

The next 12 monts will be a time to improve profitability and heal the wounds of recession, but a big upturn in fortunes could take a while. LAST YEAR WAS [...]

The world's forest-products companies are good at making paper, but when it comes to finances, most could do better. THE SLOWDOWN IN THE world economy has proved more persistent than [...]

US and Canadian pulp and paper firms did not perform well in 1992, leading to a decline in capital spending plans. These companies are also expected to allot more for environmentally-related projects because of more stringent state, provincial and federal laws. There will be an increase output of recycled fiber products which will partially compensate for the effects of the recession. US pulp and paper companies will invest $13.4 billion on mill modernization between 1992 and 1994 while Canadian firms plan to allot 8.8 billion Canadian dollars within the same period., Spending plans are down for the third straight year, but the trend has leveled off and should turn positive as the recovery progresses Pulp and paper companies in the U.S. [...]

There is not much pleasure in being proved right when the subject of the prophecy is so thoroughly negative. In last year's top 150 listing we reported still-rising sales but [...]

Pulp and paper companies in the U.S. and Canada will cut back sharply on capital spending this year in the face of continued weakness and uncertainty in the economy, stubbornly [...]

Capital Spending Plans: 1990-92 Paper industry capital spending has boomed for the past two years, but the slowdown in business that began last year will lead to a slowdown in [...]

Increasing investments in Middle Eastern paper manufacturing industry is discussed.

The sun continues to shine on the forests of Nelson and Marlborough, with the region seeing relatively little of the strife being experienced in other parts of the country. Despite [...]

The pulp and paper industry spends twice the amount of capital investment that other commodity industries do. Feasible capital projects must be identified to ensure an adequate level of return on investment. Capital effectiveness must also be identified early in the development of a project in the pulp and paper industry., Methods for analyzing data and profitability in early project phases, as well as optimizing spending, lead to more accurate projections for investment returns Despite spending twice the capital of other [...]

The cyclical behaviour of paper industry results and cash flow make it difficult to devise a financing strategy. The paper industry is generally seen as one of the most cyclical [...]

Backed by huge timber resources, the Russian pulp and paper industry has the potential to become a dominant force in the world. Like many other Russian industries and the Russian [...]

Although the need for precise product costing is as great in the paper industry as it is in assembly industries, pulp and paper producers have not focused to the same [...]

US and Canadian pulp and paper sector encountered several difficulties in 1992 although spending plans indicate that a recovery is expected. The spending plans on mill improvement of US companies are pegged at $13.6 billion for the 1992-94 period while those of Canadian companies are at 9 billion Canadian dollars. On environmental improvements, US mills are alloting $1.9 billion while Canadians are planning to spend 2.9 billion Canadian dollars., Water quality improvements, especially to limit dioxin formation, push environmental outlays up to highest level since the 1970s Pulp and paper companies in the U.S. and Canada struggled through another [...]

The Indonesian pulp and paper industry has not been afraid to look to Europe to assist its broad development. Julian Allen discussed this, and other aspects, with Abubakar Soetikno, chairman [...]

Balance of Costs and Technology Will Yield Kraft Pulp Mill of the Future Report analyzes how such factors as environmental regulations, quality issues, and new technologies will affect the cost [...]

Given the current recession, it comes as no surprise that a Pulp & Paper Week survey of 31 U.S. forest products manufacturers shows a 53.1% decline in earnings to $600.6 [...]

Profits drop 22% in U.S., plummet 69% in Canada North American paper industry earnings continued to spiral downward as U.S. and Canadian producers suffered from prolonged weak newsprint and market [...]

High drama Set against a background of falling profits, the actors on the Finnish pulp and paper scene are acting out some of the tensest dramas ever seen in the [...]

Spotlight on the North American Market Corey M. Reardon, principal of international consultants AWA Alexander Watson Assoc., takes a closer look at 'local' market trends. The North American market for [...]

CANFIBRE RIVERSIDE INC. of Riverside, CA, a subsidiary of The CanFibre Group Ltd., voluntarily filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code as of October 25, 2000. [...]

WEYERHAEUSER CO. of Federal Way, WA, announced Jan. 5 that it had extended its $48 per share cash tender offer for all of the outstanding common stock of Willamette Industries [...]

With production at just 55% of capacity last summer, CanFibre Corp.'s medium-density fiberboard plant in Riverside, Calif., was still losing money. In an Aug. 9 statement, the company admitted that [...]

Canada's pulp and paper industry improved its overall financial results in 1999, ending 'a disappointing decade' on an upbeat note and providing renewed optimism for the coming year. The industry [...]

Mexico's forest industry suffers from lack of investment and political neglect, giving competitive advantage to companies in North America and elsewhere in Latin America, warned Forestry Chamber president Carlos Gonzalez. [...]