CPH in the media

Long live paper

Neue Zürcher Zeitung: A good order situation and higher sales prices are highly favorable for CPH Chemie + Papier Holding. After a good first half-year, the industrial group raises its profit forecast for 2022.

Printed newspapers and magazines have often been pronounced dead, but apparently they can't be completely wiped out. The pandemic hit the industry hard. But now that people are increasingly venturing back into the stores, restaurants or on trips abroad, there is a prompt increase in circulation. More advertisements are being placed, and inserts are also becoming increasingly popular in print media.

This is benefiting the Swiss manufacturer CPH, which operates one of the last European plants for the production of newsprint in Perlen, Lucerne. The company's business is suddenly doing so well that it is confident not only for the first half of the year, but for the entire current year. As a result, operating and consolidated profit is expected to reach a high double-digit million figure in 2022. Thanks to rising demand, CPH has recently been able to raise prices, unlike in 2021. In addition, capacities in the European paper market, which was oversupplied until recently, are being reduced at an accelerated pace. Finnish industry giant Stora Enso announced at the end of March that it would sell four of its five mills in Europe. It is unlikely that it will find a buyer for all of them.

In addition, CPH benefited from a strike at another major competitor, UPM, from the beginning of the year. Production at this company, which is also Finnish, was paralyzed for 16 weeks. This effect will not be repeated, but CPH's strategy of holding out in the paper business could pay off for a while yet. The more competitors withdraw, the more the pricing power of the few remaining suppliers promises to increase.

You can find the article in Neue Zürcher Zeitung here (in German).

Among others, the following media have covered the topic as well: