By Andrea Hargraves 
Navigator made a profit of 23.5 million euros in the first quarter of this year, which means a decrease of 23.2% compared to the same period in 2020, when it recorded a net result of 30.6 million euros.
In a statement, the group led by Antonio Redondo said total sales in the first three months of this year fell 16% to € 340.8 million, with EBITDA down 20.2% to 70.6 million.
“The beginning of the year 2021 continued in the face of severe distress with intense“ closure ”until the end of the quarter in most of the group’s main markets, after this was reflected in the demand for paper in Europe and the United States of America.
According to him, “the core, which has already proved particularly resilient in 2020, has shown a rebound in reference prices in 2021” while the tissues, despite the good performance recorded in this work, have suffered from the effects of restrictions on circulation, ”expecting The company is “a gradual resumption of this market as economic activity returns to normal.”
Navigator also says it has projected a period of plant maintenance from the second quarter to the first quarter, making it coincide with containment, while ensuring “effective cost management is maintained and their inventory is reduced.”
In terms of costs, the company highlights “the work the difference has done in the occasional reduction of fixed and variable costs, which is still mirrored in the quarter which has allowed to mitigate part of the decline in business volume and reach an EBITDA of 71 million,” which equates to a margin of 21 million % (1 percentage point less than in the first quarter of 2020).
Although it is indicated that the future is still uncertain, the Group’s prospects for the next quarter are “improving the pulp, paper and tissue sector as the economy recovers and implementing the vaccination plan,” with an estimate of “maintaining about 80% of savings in operating costs, between 2019. And 2020, as well as in implementing its investment plan and its own sustainability projects. “
Compared to the first quarter of 2020, which he considers “difficult to compare,” paper sales decreased by 8% in the first three months of this year, pulp sales decreased 6%, while tissue sales increased 4%.
Group net debt decreased by 175.9 million, compared to the same period of the previous year, to 624 million euros, keeping the net debt / EBITDA ratio at 2.33X.