Sappi Responds to Impact from Covid-19
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
Commenting on the impact of Covid-19, Sappi Chief Executive Officer, Steve Binnie said: “The impact of Covid-19 on people, business and society has been severe. Sappi’s approach to the outbreak of Covid-19 is guided by our values and purpose. Our priority remains the safety of our people across all of the territories where they are present. This ensures that our operations continue in a safe and uninterrupted manner. We remain in close contact with our customers and suppliers as we try to minimize any negative impacts within government constraints, helping local economies to mitigate the negative economic consequences of the various measures imposed. We also assist with efforts to help mitigate the impact of the virus on local communities. I am proud of the Sappi team around the world who are living our values, being innovative and taking initiative to help our stakeholders. We understand that overcoming the impact of Covid-19 and returning to normal business operations will require significant time and effort, for which we are preparing.
Turning to the impact of Covid-19 on the second quarter, he continued: “Covid-19 had a relatively small impact on profitability during the quarter. However, an anticipated improvement in dissolving pulp (DP) prices did not materialize, principally as a result of the outbreak of Covid-19 in China. The subsequent actions taken by various governments only directly impacted our operations during the last few weeks of the quarter, and there was minimal disruption to production, although the Condino Mill in Italy was temporarily shut. We began to receive significant cancellations of DP and graphic paper orders scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter, and new orders for both product categories slowed considerably.”
