• Net sales declined to SEK 4,558m (4,813). The sales decrease was mainly due to lower selling prices. Delivery volumes increased compared with the preceding year due to a gradual ramp up of production at mills where strategic capital expenditures have recently been made.
• EBITDA amounted to SEK 1,596m (2,055). Lower selling prices were partly offset by effective cost control due to the high degree of self-sufficiency in primarily wood raw material but also in energy and logistics.
• EBITDA margin was 35.0% (42.7).
• Operating profit declined to SEK 1,077m (1,596).
• Operating cash flow amounted to SEK 677m (1,203).
• Earnings per share was SEK 1.12 (1.74).

• Net sales increased to SEK 4,558m (4,384), mainly attributable to higher selling prices.
• EBITDA amounted to SEK 1,596m (1,635) and EBITDA margin was 35.0% (37.3). Higher selling prices were offset by negative exchange rate effects.

KEY FIGURES

Quarter
SEKm 2024:1 2023:1 % 2023:4 %
Net sales 4,558 4,813 -5 4,384 4
EBITDA 1,596 2,055 -22 1,635 -2
EBITDA margin, % 35.0 42.7 37.3
Operating profit 1,077 1,596 -33 1,119 -4
Net Profit 789 1,213 -35 833 -5
Earnings per share SEK 1.12 1.74 1.22

Operating cash flow 677 1,203 -55
Net Debt / EBITDA (LTM) 1.8x 1.2x 1.6x

SUMMARY OF THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024

The market for fiber-based products gradually strengthened during the quarter, leading to successively higher selling prices, which combined with a strong result in forest operations had a positive earnings impact. The high rate of self-sufficiency in wood raw material, energy and logistics continued to contribute to effective cost control and the strategic capital expenditures recently made in pulp and packaging paper resulted in higher delivery volumes. SCA's earnings for the first quarter of 2024 were in line with the preceding quarter, but were weaker year on year.

The supply of fiber to SCA's industries was stable. The price of sawlogs and pulpwood continued to rise slightly compared with the preceding quarter.

Production at Swedish sawmills has been severely restricted since last autumn, resulting in low producer stocks. Together with low customer inventories, this has resulted in a more robust market balance and higher selling prices for solid-wood products compared with the preceding quarter.

In the Pulp segment, the market for both northern bleached softwood kraft pulp (NBSK) and chemical thermomechanical pulp (CTMP) strengthened, resulting in higher selling prices compared with the preceding quarter.

Selling prices for kraftliner fell compared with the preceding quarter. Demand for packaging material gradually increased during the quarter, leading to progressively higher demand for kraftliner and price increases were announced for the second quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, 797 wind turbines were operating on SCA's land with a combined annual production capacity of 9.4 TWh. The jointly owned biorefinery in Gothenburg began operating at year-end and the ramp up is proceeding according to plan.

INVITATION TO PRESS CONFERENCE ON INTERIM REPORT FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024

Members of the media and analysts are hereby invited to attend a press conference where this interim report will be presented by the President and CEO, Ulf Larsson, and by the CFO, Andreas Ewertz.

Time:                      Friday, April 26, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. CEST

The press conference will be webcast live at www.sca.com. It is also possible to participate by telephone by calling:

Sweden:            +46 (0)8 505 204 24

UK: +44 (0)33 0551 0200

USA: +1 786 697 3501

Specify "SCA Q1".
 
For further information, please contact
Andreas Ewertz, CFO, +46 (0)60 19 31 97
Josefine Bonnevier, Investor Relations Director, +46 (0)60 19 33 90
Anders Edholm, SVP Sustainability and Communications, +46 (0)60 19 32 12
 
 
Please note:
This is information that SCA is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. This report has been prepared in both Swedish and English versions. In case of variations in the content between the two versions, the Swedish version shall govern. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on April 26, 2024 at 08:00 a.m. CEST. The report has not been reviewed by the company's auditors.
Anders Edholm, SVP Sustainability and Communications, +46 (0)60 19 32 12
 
The core of SCA's business is the growing forest, Europe's largest private forest holding. Around this unique resource, we have built a well-developed value chain based on renewable raw material from our own and others' forests. We offer packaging paper, pulp, wood products, renewable energy, services for forest owners and efficient transport solutions. 2023 the forest products company SCA had approximately 3,400 employees and sales amounted to approximately SEK 18 bn. SCA was founded in 1929 and has its headquarters in Sundsvall, Sweden. For more information, visit www.sca.com