FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS *Delivered strong performance due to continued strength in the paperboard business and improvements in tissue *Higher pricing in both businesses helping to offset inflation *Net sales of $488 million, up 15% compared to the first quarter of last year *Net income of $17 million, or $0.97 per diluted share *Reduced net debt by $31 million in the quarter

Paper Excellence announced that the company’s Prince Albert Pulp Inc mill restart project has submitted its environmental impact statement (EIS) to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment. The EIS is a critical part of the environmental permitting process and marks another significant step in the process towards restarting the dormant pulp mill, which has been down since 2006. “Submitting our environmental impact statement is a critical step forward for the project,” said Carlo Dal Monte, Project Operations Director for the Prince Albert Pulp Inc. restart. “We look forward to the Ministry of Environment’s thorough and timely review of our EIS.” Paper Excellence recently commissioned public opinion polling that showed 93 percent of Saskatchewan residents support the restart of the pulp mill.

The Finnish Paperworkers’ Union has issued a strike announcement to UPM, declaring a strike to all work under the expiring paper industry collective agreement at UPM. The strike would start at the mills on Saturday 1 January 2022 at 6.00 EET except at the Lappeenranta biorefinery, where the strike would start on 1 January 2022 at 7.00 EET. The strike would end on 22 January 2022, at 6:00 EET, unless an agreement for a new collective agreement is reached before then. Should the strike materialise, UPM strives to meet customer demand through deliveries from its mills outside Finland to the extent possible. UPM will not disclose the financial impact of the possible strike at this point.