Brazil’s Suzano has reported operating cash generation reaching R$4.4bn – up 132% on the same period last year – in its Q3 results.
Adjusted EBITDA totalled R$6.5bn, a 77% increase over 3Q23.
Net revenue reached R$12.3bn, which the company said was the highest quarterly performance since 2022, and a rise of 37% on the same quarter last year.
It said the strong third quarter results were mainly driven by “increased sales volume and higher average selling prices of exported products, with a favourable contribution from exchange rates.”
Pulp sales totalled 2.6m tonnes, a rise of 6% on the same period last year.
Paper sales reached 360,000 tonnes in the third quarter, a 9% increase over 3Q23.
The results also reflect the start-up of Suzano’s new mill in the municipality of Ribas do Rio Pardo, Mato Grosso do Sul state, which started operations on 21 July 2024.
The mill ended the quarter at 80% of its production capacity (learning curve), ahead of initial expectations to reach 71% capacity.
During the third quarter, Suzano completed the acquisition of a 15% stake in Austrian wood fibre company Lenzing.
On 1 October, it also concluded the purchase from Pactiv Evergreen of two US-based mills in a transaction worth U$110m.
Beto Abreu, Chief Executive of Suzano, said: “The third quarter of this year has seen Suzano make substantial progress in a number of strategic areas.
“We are very excited about the initial performance of our new mill in Ribas do Rio Pardo, our sales volumes were strong, our leverage continued to improve, and we advanced our international growth with progressing our acquisitions in the USA and Austria.
“The progress this quarter reinforces our conviction that the company is very well prepared for the future”.
