CHARLOTTE - Glatfelter has significantly narrowed its losses in first quarter, boosted by greater profitability in its Composite Fibers and Airlaid Materials businesses and the company's ongoing strategic restructuring plan.
The net loss from continuing operations was US$13.6 million, down from $108.2 in the same period last year. Operating income was $6.1 million with overall sales flat at $378,208.
Welcoming the results, Thomas Fahnemann, president and chief executive officer of Glatfelter said that the actions the company completed this quarter, combined with the improvement in Adjusted EBITDA, were strong indications of the progress Glatfelter was making to turn around its business and drive greater profitability. “The fundamentals of our Composite Fibers and Airlaid Materials segments remain strong as demonstrated by the quarter-over-quarter growth in profitability for both segments despite a continued difficult economic environment," he said. "And, although volumes increased in Spunlace, we did not see a sequential increase in profitability compared to the fourth quarter due to a challenged product mix."
Airlaid Materials’ first quarter net sales increased $10.0 million in the year-over-year comparison, mainly driven by higher selling prices from cost pass-through arrangements with customers and pricing actions to recover significant inflation in raw materials and energy. Shipments were 7.5% lower mainly due to feminine hygiene and tabletop categories and currency translation was unfavorable by $3.4 million.
Spunlace revenue was $9.7 million lower in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the year-ago quarter as lower shipments of 20.8% and unfavorable currency translation of $1.4 million were partially offset by higher selling prices of $12.0 million.
"We continue to aggressively drive improvements in our business and recently announced senior leadership changes that combine accountability for commercial and global supply chain into a single role to achieve greater alignment and improved efficiency across these important functions," Fahnemann added. "Also, I have commissioned the formation of a product management function to gain greater category-level focus on strengthening product differentiation and innovation, maximizing customer value, and ultimately driving sustainable margin improvement. These changes are the next natural steps in executing our turnaround strategy, along with the ongoing work to address the overall performance of the Spunlace segment."
