HEINZEL GROUP increases production and completely frees itself from debt in the pandemic year 2020

Sebastian Heinzel joins management team

Vienna, April 7, 2021. HEINZEL GROUP recorded a respectable result in the challenging environ-ment of 2020 and created a good basis for further growth after completely freeing itself from debt. Sebastian Heinzel joins the management as Chief Strategy Officer with immediate effect.
 
HEINZEL GROUP increased production in both the paper and pulp segments in the 2020 financial year, with total production rising to 1,607,030 metric tons in 2020. The growth in paper volume is at-tributable to the first full year of operation of the PM3 in Pöls, which specializes in low-grammage kraft paper, and the very good performance of the PM10 in Laakirchen, which produced more con-tainerboard than in the previous year. Total sales volume amounted to 3.7 million metric tons and was slightly lower than in 2019 due to the corona pandemic. Coupled with lower market prices, HEINZEL GROUP’s net sales consequently declined to EUR 1,611.7 million. Although lower wood prices and large-scale savings measures had a positive effect, HEINZEL GROUP’s EBITDA, at EUR 126.0 million, fell to the level of 2017. The group’s EBIT decreased to EUR 57.7 million and net profit for the year to EUR 39.9 million. Against this backdrop it is all the more remarkable that HEINZEL GROUP was able to completely free itself from debt and increase the equity ratio to 59.2%.
 
With this balance sheet structure, the group is optimally prepared for future growth projects and is now further strengthening its management team. Sebastian Heinzel will join the management of Heinzel Holding with immediate effect. Along with CEO Kurt Maier and CFO Barbara Potisk-Eibensteiner, Heinzel will be responsible for strategy, M&A and sales in his role as Chief Strategy Of-ficer. In a dual function, Sebastian Heinzel will remain CEO of heinzelsales, the global sales network of HEINZEL GROUP. “Our unique combination of production and trade opens up new growth oppor-tunities, which we intend to capture,” says Heinzel.
 
Optimistic outlook for 2021
Significant price increases for nearly all paper and pulp qualities since the beginning of the year gives HEINZEL GROUP reason to view the year 2021 with optimism despite an increase in raw ma-terial prices. The management assumes that the economic environment will improve substantially in the course of the year based on the successful fight against the coronavirus, and expects the group to benefit from the economic recovery thanks to its global presence and its diversified product portfo-lio.
 
For further information regarding the developments of the 2020 financial year please refer to the An-nual Report of HEINZEL GROUP at www.heinzel.com/2020.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HEINZEL GROUP
With its industrial companies Zellstoff Pöls (Austria), Laakirchen Papier (Austria), Raubling Papier (Germany) and Estonian Cell (Estonia), HEINZEL GROUP, which is united under the Heinzel Hold-ing umbrella, is one of the main producers of market pulp and packaging paper in Central and East-ern Europe. Magazine paper rounds off the group’s portfolio. The Trading Business consists of heinzelsales, a globally operating trading company for pulp, paper and board, and Europapier Inter-national, the leading paper wholesale company in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, Bunzl & Biach is the largest and most important recovered paper trading company in Austria and a leading wholesaler in Central and Eastern Europe. Heinzel Group’s successful growth is based on an entre-preneurial spirit, a focus on long-term partnerships a commitment to sustainability.
 
 
For enquiries please contact:
 
Kurt Maier
Phone: +43-1-260 11-490
office@heinzel.com
 
Heinzel Holding GmbH
Wagramer Strasse 28–30
1223 Vienna
Austria
www.heinzel.com