Sofidel has reported net sales growth of 12.5% from €1,706m to €1,919m in its 2019 Integrated Report.
EBITDA was €258m, 13.47% of which were net sales, up from €107m and 6.28% of net sales in 2018.
The tissue giant said this was largely a result of the “rebalancing of raw material prices after peak increases recorded in 2017-2018”.
Chief executive Luigi Lazzareschi said: “These data show that the group continues to grow in its fundamentals and to invest in the future. Over the next few months we will also officially inaugurate the large integrated plant in Inola, Oklahoma, which will bring new paper production capacity, necessary to meet the growing demand in the US market. This represents another investment, in addition to the Circleville plant, Ohio, operating since the second half of 2018 – for an overall commitment in the two plants of about one billion dollars.”
The company added that it continues to implement strict policies for the supply of pulp certified by independent third parties with forest certification schemes – 100% FSC, PEFC and FSC-CW – and works to safeguard water resources, limiting its consumption within its production processes.
It said that the water entering its production processes is “well below the sector benchmark: 7.3l/kg compared to 15-25l/kg”.
Since 2009, the direct CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere by the group has also been reduced by 17.9%.
Most recently, the company has also announced its commitment to halve the use of conventional plastic in its production by 2030 (compared to 2013).
This will involve the elimination of more than 11,000 tonnes of plastic released onto the market every year through the introduction of packaging made of paper, recycled plastic, bioplastics and with the reduction in thickness of the plastic film used in the production process.
