Arctic Paper – executive interview

Arctic paper is a leading European producer of premium-quality graphic and packaging paper, in addition to pulp, with a growing renewables portfolio. In recent years, the company has embarked on a comprehensive transformation process, proactively repositioning its business from a largely niche and agile pulp and paper company to a more diversified business by adding Packaging and Power divisions as part of its 4P strategy. Arctic has set out an ambitious capex programme of PLN1.5bn from 2022 to 2030 to enable this. The company’s expansion into the higher value-add packaging market should boost consolidated margins and improve earnings visibility through the economic and commodity cycles, allowing it to capture the higher end of the value chain and to achieve better diversification and vertical integration.

In this interview, Michal Jarczyński, CEO of Arctic Paper, discusses the 4P strategy and how customer ordering patterns are affecting the business currently. He goes on to talk about the company’s capital allocation and dividend policies, in addition to the new ongoing energy and energy efficiency projects, such as the solar park in Kostrzyn. He concludes by discussing the future direction of the business, following its record FY22 with EBITDA margins approaching 20%.