Sappi Profit Jumps as Pulp Maker Sees Higher 2016 Earnings
- Sappi benefits from depreciation of South African rand
- Low rainfall had a $6 million negative effect on the quarter
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Sappi Ltd., the world’s biggest producer of dissolving wood pulp, said first-quarter profit more than tripled after higher prices for the cotton substitute helped offset the effects of a drought in South Africa on volumes.
Net income for the three months through December increased to $75 million, compared with $24 million a year earlier, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. Revenue declined 6.8 percent to $1.28 billion and net debt was $1.73 billion, compared with the $1.77 billion the company reported three months ago.