Mercer International Inc. reported 2Q 2022 net income was $71.4 million (or $1.08 per basic share and $1.07 per diluted share) compared to $21.4 million (or $0.32 per share) in the 2Q 2021 and net income of $88.9 million (or $1.35 per basic share and $1.34 per diluted share) in the 1Q 2022.
Total revenues in the 2Q 2022 increased by approximately 42% to $572.3 million from $401.8 million in the same quarter of 2021 primarily due to higher pulp sales volumes and higher pulp, energy and lumber sales realizations.
In the 2Q 2022, Operating EBITDA increased by approximately 73% to $145.1 million from $83.8 million in the same quarter of 2021 primarily due to higher sales realizations and pulp sales volumes and the positive impact of a stronger dollar partially offset by higher per unit fiber and other production costs.
Juan Carlos Bueno, CEO, stated: “Our strong 2Q operating results were driven by increased pulp and lumber pricing, continued strong energy pricing and our Stendal mill’s reversal of its wastewater fee accrual. These positive effects were offset by higher planned maintenance costs, higher costs for key inputs including fiber, energy and chemicals, and lower pulp sales volumes. We continue to see cost inflation for certain inputs, including energy costs. However, we see our surplus energy sales as a strong hedge against higher energy prices and we are focused on developing strategies to manage the cost of our key inputs.”
Mercer International Inc. is a global forest products company with operations in Germany, USA and Canada with consolidated annual production capacity of 2.3 million tonnes of pulp, 550 million board feet of lumber and 140 thousand cubic meters of CLT.
