Ahlstrom-Munksjö has entered into an agreement to acquire MD Papéis’ Caieiras specialty paper mill in Brazil of the Formitex Group, an industrial conglomerate active in the paper, chemicals and panel board industries. Ahlstrom-Munksjö has entered into an agreement to acquire MD Papéis’ Caieiras specialty paper mill in Brazil of the Formitex Group, an industrial conglomerate active in the paper, chemicals and panel board industries. Click Read More below for additional information.

Stora Enso launches its Green Bond Framework as part of its Sustainable Finance approach. The ambition is to offer a loan-format to support sustainability-focused fixed income investors and to report the direct environmental impacts of some its investments and business activities. The Group will use this bond format to complement its other funding sources. Stora Enso’s strategy on Sustainable Finance is a natural part of its overall agenda on sustainability and an integral part of its focus on being the world’s leading renewable materials company. Stora Enso’s goal is to work with funding partners for whom sustainability is a key part of their lending agenda. Stora Enso’s aim is to have all its suppliers, including those for financial services join the Stora Enso Supplier Code of Conduct. We see this as generating competitive advantage and thus prefer to partner with banks and financial service providers that make sustainability a leading issue in their respective eco-systems. Click Read More below for additional information.

Chief Executive Officer John D. Romano commented, “Tronox’s second quarter performance was consistent with our previous guidance and demonstrated the continued recovery across both TiO2 and zircon. Our TiO2 volumes increased 8% compared to the first quarter, or 16% compared to the prior year quarter, as we continued to see demand increase across all regions, consistent with seasonal trends. Zircon demand remained relatively stable compared to the first quarter. Pricing for both TiO2 and zircon increased from the first quarter into the second, as expected, partially offset by unfavorable mix. We generated $84 million in free cash flow in the quarter and returned $41 million to shareholders in the form of dividends. “On the operations side, our average pigment plant utilization rate in the second quarter was lower than targeted, driven by short-term challenges relating to ramping up our assets. As a result, we incurred higher costs in the second quarter than anticipated and delivered Adjusted EBITDA at the lower end of our guided range. While this will impact the margins of pigment sold in the third quarter, the operating challenges we experienced during the ramp up in the second quarter are resolved, and our average pigment plant utilization rate for July was in the range of 80%.”