Hi, and welcome back to ABG Investor Days. My name is Julia Sundvall, and I'm an analyst here at ABG. Today, I have the honor to present Arctic Paper and Katarzyna Wojtkowiak to you, CFO of the company. Katarzyna, please take it away.
Thank you very much. Good afternoon. Welcome to this Arctic Paper presentation. My name is Katarzyna Wojtkowiak, and I'm the member of the Management Board and CFO of the Arctic Paper Group. So who we are and what we do. Arctic Paper, even though our official city is in Poland, has Scandinavian roots. Our oldest paper mill is over 280 years old, the second one 160, and they are located here in Sweden. With the turnover of EUR 610 million during three quarters of 2024, we achieved EUR 60 million EBITDA for that period. We operate in two traditional segments of pulp and paper, and with the new 4P strategy that we implemented in 2021, we expanded our segments with two new future-oriented segments of packaging and power. We operate via five mills where we employ over 1,500 employees.
Our three paper mills are located, one in Poland on the Polish-German border in Kostrzyn, and we have also two paper mills in Sweden. One is in Munkedal, which is north of Gothenburg, and another one in Grycksbo in Dalarna. In our group, we have also two pulp mills. One is in Vallvik, which is in the eastern part of Sweden, and in Rottneros in the western part. As I mentioned before, in 2021, we developed the 4P strategy. We wanted to diversify our segments to be in line with new trends and new opportunities. So apart from our traditional paper and pulp segments, we have now also packaging and power. And what does our strategy say about these segments? In these, as I mentioned, traditional pulp and paper segments, we want to build on the success that we have already achieved.
The investment in that area, so in the pulp and paper segment, mostly is focused on strengthening our competitive advantage to improve efficiency. We also go for automation, we implement new technologies, and we want to explore new applications for our products. We want to be a leader in different European graphic segments and also be a manufacturer of high-quality pulp for different special applications. In the segment of packaging, we noticed the global trend to replace plastic packaging with products which are made from renewable natural resources, and this represents a significant business opportunity for us. Together with our subsidiaries of Rottneros Group, we have expertise in the manufacturing of fiber packaging, and we will continue to invest in that segment. The fiber tray production unit in Kostrzyn is being built, and this is the first step that we are taking together.
We want to develop the packaging segment both independently and also through different joint venture partnerships. As for the energy market, we noticed that this segment still presents a high profitability, so we want to invest in the renewable energy with a focus on solar cells, but also biomass, and we also investigate the potential of system services. The investment in that segment, it's either for our own internal production process, and we want to achieve the self-sufficiency by 2030, but also we want to sell energy to external customers. In 2025, our renewable energy capacity will reach 27 megawatts, and we want to develop in that segment through different projects and also through different acquisitions, and this will lead to a significant increase in our installed capacity up to 80 megawatts in 2030. We also investigate in biofuels and pellets in Grycksbo and solar cells in Kostrzyn.
The financial perspective of the 4P strategy is presented that the goal is to maintain to keep the strong financial position. The planned investments within the 4P strategy until 2030 is about EUR 30 million. We will finance that from our own capital, 30%-40%, but also with external capital. Our aim is to get the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio below 3.5%. These charts represent also the financial perspective of a 4P strategy in the area of investment and planned EBITDA. 45% of the EUR 300 million that I mentioned on the previous slide will be in these two new segments, which are packaging and energy. We aim to get over 25%, so over one fourth of our EBITDA in 2030 from these new segments. What we actually do in our segments within the strategy. In paper, we are present in Europe.
This is our home market, and the map shows the locations of both our paper mills, but also sales offices, so we are more or less everywhere, and only 10% of our sales is sold outside Europe. We are number one in Europe for design papers and premium book paper with our very good brands of Munken and Arctic Volume. We aim to find very stable volumes for these segments, which are most profitable for us, and even despite our current weak European economy, we think that we can really achieve a good position there. In the graphic paper, we are pretty strong with our brands of Amber, G, and Arctic. Please remember that a graphic book, a printed book, will always be the best gift for Christmas. What is the operating data of that segment?
In the third quarter of 2024, we achieved PLN 562 million of the paper segment, and that was a small decrease of 5% in comparison to the previous quarter, but the average price reached PLN 5,000, which is slightly below the previous quarter. In the paper segment, as you can see, we experience fluctuation both in revenues, but also in average prices. The economy in Europe is not good, but as you can see, after a very good year 2022, when we noticed that the demand for paper is dropping, we wanted to focus on our margin, not that much on the volumes, and with this strategy, we managed to achieve the average price, which is higher than before the pandemic. In the pulp segment, we know that the main growth driver in the pulp segment is the shift from plastic to wood, so the renewable resource.
In this segment, we operate via our subsidiaries of Rottneros Group, and despite the fact that still the biggest share of sales in pulp is the traditional board and packaging part, we are looking for profitable niches, so for the segments where we see the potential to grow, and these are filters, electrotechnical applications, and special applications. The operating data of the pulp segment in the revenues of the third quarter reached SEK 686 million, which was a small decrease compared to the previous quarter, whereas the average price had a small 4% increase. As you can see, the pulp segment revenues and average prices seem to be more stable than in the paper segment, but please note that this doesn't reflect the final profitability. There are so many other items and factors that influence that, for example, the high raw material prices that we experience lately.
In the packaging segment, the new packaging production will be operational very soon. As I mentioned before, the demand in packaging is mainly based on the global trend to replace plastic packaging with smart renewable packaging solutions, and in the joint venture with Rottneros, we are building a production unit for molded fiber trays in Kostrzyn. The goal for that is being operated by the year end, so the operations test mode will start very, very soon. Apart from being in that part of the packaging industry, we are also developing our own packaging papers with two main brands of Munken Kraft, which is uncoated packaging paper, and G-Flexmatt, which is coated packaging paper. The fluctuation that you can see on the sales of packaging papers comes mostly from our focus on the product, which is more profitable per ton.
We see that as a big opportunity for us because we can choose whether the paper products or packaging products are more profitable and then prioritize the higher margins. In the energy part, what is the current overview? In our Munkedal mill, we have expanded hydropower plants. We have a new solid fuel boiler, LNG boiler, and we also are connected to the Swedish electricity grid. In Grycksbo, the biofuel boiler is being upgraded. We use pellets, and we are also connected to the Swedish grid, and in Kostrzyn, the solar park is being expanded. We have a local natural gas source and, of course, standard electricity grid. This setup allows us to move flexibly from the source that is cheaper at the moment and to choose what is more profitable for us. Oops, sorry, not this one. Yeah, but this is not all.
We have many ongoing projects within the energy segment. First of all is the expansion of the solar farm in Kostrzyn of 9.6 megawatts. We are also looking at the acquisition of different PV projects. One of them has been already acquired in November of four megawatts. We are modernizing the biomass boiler in Sweden. We are building a wood pellet production line in Grycksbo, and also we are investigating in the energy storage systems. This is what the solar park of 17 megawatts in Kostrzyn looks like, and we are at the moment expanding that by another 9.6 megawatts. Some kind of financial key figures. This is the development of EBITDA. Our aim is to keep the balance between both pulp and paper segments.
They both have a significant contribution, and as you can see, we managed to establish better profitability than before the pandemic, and the drop in the pulp segment comes mainly because of the higher wood, so raw material prices. This is also partly a result of the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, whereas we had to find other cheap sources for that raw material. Our aim to achieve the good EBITDA result is to balance the profit per ton, so the margin, with optimal capacity utilization. We are investing in the future. This is our cash flow breakdown for three quarters of 2024, and as you can see, the significant part of our cash flow is investments. It's over PLN 280 million, which is more than SEK 700 million.
We are investing in energy, in packaging, as I mentioned before, but we also have investments in our traditional paper and pulp segments, where we mainly focus on automation and new technologies. The year 2022 was extraordinary, I think, for many companies, but still, we are pretty proud that we managed to balance the segments, even though the market is difficult, and we achieve stable margins, even a bit higher than before the pandemic. We have a strong balance sheet and a strong financial position. We still keep the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio below zero. Therefore, we are a trustful partner for all stakeholders, including the banks. So what are the five main reasons why you should invest in Arctic Paper? First of all, we have a very stable position in the bio-based economy with our traditional segments of pulp and paper.
We get some kind of hedging effect between our segments, which proves the stable results and stable cash flows despite the fluctuations in the market. Our strategy aims to diversify towards faster-growing and more profitable segments of packaging and energy. We have a strong balance sheet and low net debt-to-EBITDA ratio. We have a very stable and reliable dividend policy, and we pay out 20%-40% of our net profit to our shareholders. We keep this word. Thank you very much. Please, may you have any questions?
Yes, thank you for that. I can begin with a question. In your Q3 report, you highlight the growth in packaging and specialty papers, but we see a decrease in graphic paper. How are you adapting to these changes, and if you want to elaborate a little bit more on the specifics?
This is a piece of what I mentioned, that within the packaging and graphic paper, we are able to maneuver a little bit. So when we see the better margin, then we are able to switch to another segment. This is a part of our strategy, and we are using these business opportunities, and this is what it looked like during the third quarter.
Yes, thank you. Previously mentioned, you mentioned the importance of vertical integration to improve profitability and control over the value chain. Can you provide an update on the progress and any future plans for such initiatives?
One of such integrations is the molded fiber tray production, which we do with our subsidiary Rottneros, and this is how we want to operate, and we are very proud of that cooperation.
Perfect, thank you. You operate multiple mills across Europe. How do you assess the performance and efficiency of these facilities?
Well, we are doing good progress, and we are really investing into being more and more efficient, and this is our aim. At the moment, we are not trying to expand our capacities, but we want to focus on profitability, and we can see that this works, and our mills are more and more profitable.
Yes, is there any plans to consolidate or repurpose the mills?
Not at the moment.
Okay, thank you. And you have also mentioned sustainability as a big part of your company. Can you discuss recent innovation within eco-friendly paper and paper grades or recycled materials that align with your sustainability goals?
That I would need to investigate with my sales colleague, then I can come back to you. But, within the sustainability, I can also underline that for this year, 2024, we are already obliged to report according to ESRS directive because in Poland, it's one year faster than in Sweden. So there will be plenty of such information to read in the report.
Perfect. Any questions? Yes.
Yeah, so you say it's so easy to switch from graphic paper and newspaper and this and so on to this. Is it really so easy to go from A to B and so on?
Technologically, it's not that difficult, as my colleague mentioned. Definitely, it needs some effort, yes, but in general, if we want to make a different grade of paper, for example, that also needs some kind of switch. So we are, especially, for example, the Munken grades are pretty different from each other. So our colleagues are really experts how to switch swiftly from one grade to another.
You said that you had to find another source than Russia. Can you describe that a little bit, and what does it mean if you foresee the pricing difference between Russia and your new source for material?
I think that would be a better question yesterday for Lennart from Rottneros. He had a presentation here, but definitely, we had to find new sources. Is there a big gap? There is a gap. I think you noticed the difference in the wood prices in Sweden already during last year, and especially in Sweden and Finland, they are extremely high at the moment, historically high.
Perfect. Any other questions? Yes, thank you, Katarzyna, for coming in.
Thank you very much.
And thank you for listening.