The Iberpapel Group recorded a net profit of Euro 23.16 million in 2024 (a margin of 9.7%). Production increased by 20% last year and the volume of paper sold (in tonnes) increased by 19%, driven by a broad sector recovery in the wake of a widespread slowdown in 2023. The Company also demonstrated its ability to adapt to the environment: average paper sales prices were 13% below the average in 2023, a year in which average prices marked an all-time record.
Net profit in 2024 was above the average for the last 10 years albeit 11.43% below like-for-like profit in 2023 and 50.85% below reported net profit in 2023, when Iberpapel recognised an extraordinary gain of Euro 20.98 million on the sale of its forest assets in Uruguay.
Elsewhere, Iberpapel continues to make progress and gain traction on its strategy of diversifying into new printing and writing paper grades, such as paper for packaging and labels and for use in the food and health sectors. This product range accounted for 28.40% of total sales volumes (in tonnes) and registered growth of 37.50% from 2023.
As for the energy market, gas prices were relatively stable throughout the year, albeit rising sharply in the last quarter, and were generally high relative to electricity prices. This circumstance made it difficult at certain times of the year to strike the ideal balance between the two sources of energy, prompting intermittent stoppages at the co-generation plant of up to 30% of its capacity in terms of operating hours. Even so, activity levels were slightly higher than in 2023.
The Company invested Euro 6.31 million in 2024 and has capital expenditure plans for the next few years amounting to Euro 25 million, starting in 2025. Most notably, it is going to build a new wood cutting facility valued at Euro 14 million.
Iberpapel is a vertically-integrated paper group. It is one of the leading players in the printing and writing paper segment in Spain.
