By Andrea Hargraves 
In the first half of this year, Navigator posted a profit of 161.9 million euros, which is an increase of 151.3% compared to 64.4 million recorded in the same period in 2021.
In the presentation of the accounts through June, this Thursday, the pulp and paper producer reveals that the total turnover amounted to 1,142 million euros, “driven by the positive evolution of prices”, which represents a growth of 59.8% over the same period.
The company asserts that 94% of UWF paper sales took place in the overseas market, although sales in the domestic market increased by about 13% “in response to a paper shortage felt in the country throughout the semester.”
EBITDA was €345 million this semester, up 129% from last year, and gross sales margin was 30% (9 percentage points more than the same period last year), “benefiting from optimization and depreciation efforts, and a positive development The sales prices are set in international markets,” he explains.
The net debt of the company – which on Thursday announced an agreement with German company P2X Europe to produce green fuels for the aviation sector – in the first half of the year saw a decrease in debt of about 137 million euros (compared to 2021) to 521 million. The net debt/EBITDA ratio increased from 2.22 times to 0.95 times.
In its semi-annual results presentation, Navigator emphasized that it maintains a “historical high-ranking book, reflecting the significant reduction in available supply in the key regions in which it operates”, noting that in Europe “there may be room for further reductions in capacity following strategic decisions and / or because of profitability problems given the strong increase in variable costs that have plagued the sector.”
The group also considers that “the pulp sector is witnessing a unique moment at the global level, with prices reaching record values around the world”, taking into account the “severe, albeit temporary, imbalance between supply and demand in the pulp, as well as the concentration of annual maintenance stops. Global in the first semester and delays in starting new investments”, to which were added the effects of the strike in the first four months of the year in Northern Europe and logistical constraints that “also punish the available supply”.
According to him, there are also “related increases in transit time, numerous delays in delivery and, in general, a lack of logistical means.”
The Navigator also notes that logistical costs have risen “to levels we have not seen before”, expecting in the coming months the continuation of “logistical problems, namely congestion in the ports, as a result of the lack of human resources and the imbalance of the means necessary for a smooth operation.”
“In this context, Navigator moved quickly, increasing the productivity of its industrial assets and enhancing efficiency in raw material consumption and subsidiaries, mitigating the increase in variable costs by containing depreciation, specifically in pulp production, and efforts to contain fixed costs continued that increased proportionately less than Activity growth,” says the company, which also notes that the dollar’s rise in this period was also reflected in average prices, with a positive impact on its results.
In its latest bet, the packaging sector, sales of 51 million were generated in the semester, “roughly the entire 2021 sales volume,” he says.