CASCADES Review of financial results Q3 2011

Transcription

1 CASCADES Review financial results Q November 10, 2011

2 DISCLAIMER Certain statements in this presentation, including statements regarding future results and performance, are forward-looking statements within the meaning securities legislation based on current expectations. The accuracy such statements is subject to a number risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including, but not limited to, the effect general economic conditions, decreases in demand for the Company s products, the prices and availability raw materials, changes in the relative values certain currencies, fluctuations in selling prices and adverse changes in general market and industry conditions. This presentation also includes price indices as well as variance and sensitivity analyses that are intended to provide the reader with a better understanding the trends related to our business activities. These items are based on the best estimates available to the Company. The financial information included in this presentation also contains certain data that are not measures performance under IFRS ( non-ifrs measures ). For example, the Company uses earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) because it is the measure used by management to assess the operating and financial performance the Company s operating segments. Such information is reconciled to the most directly comparable financial measures, as set forth in the Supplemental Information on Non-IFRS Measures section our most recent quarterly report or annual report. Specific items are defined as items such as charges for impairment assets, for facility or machine closures, debt restructuring charges, gains or losses on sales business units, unrealized gains or losses on derivative financial instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting, foreign exchange gains or losses on long-term debt and other significant items an unusual or non-recurring nature. All amounts in this presentation are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. 2

3 OPENING REMARKS 3

4 QUARTERLY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Improved operating results compared to Q2 2011, in spite average raw material costs increase and production interruption following flood in one our tissue mills. 27% increase ($17 million) in EBITDA excluding specific items. Significant F/X gains on W/C items and on our cash management. Almost fourfold increase in cash flow from operations compared to Q Net loss per share (excl. specific items) $0.05 given tax adjustments $7 million ($0.07/share). Net loss per share (incl. specific items) $0.20 reflecting net impairment losses and unrealized losses on financial instruments (both non-cash items). 761,600 shares bought back (1% shares outstanding) at an average price $

5 SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL RESULTS (IFRS) 2011 (IFRS) (Canadian GAAP) (In millions CAN$, except amount per share) Year Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year Q1 Q2 Q3 Financial results Sales 3, , Excluding specific items EBITDA Net earnings (loss) (6) (5) Net earnings (loss) per share (0.06) (0.05) Cash flow from operations (adjusted) (M CAN$) EBITDA (M CAN$) (% sales) Cash flow from operations (adjusted) % 10.0% 8.0% 6.0% (% sales) 11.0% 9.0% 7.0% 5.0% 3.0% 0 Q1 2010Q2 2010Q3 2010Q4 2010Q1 2011Q2 2011Q % 0 Q1 2010Q2 2010Q3 2010Q4 2010Q1 2011Q2 2011Q % Improved EBITDA for a second consecutive quarter. Significant rebound in cash flow. EBITDA, net earnings and cash flow from operations (adjusted) excluding specific items. 5

6 BUSINESS CONDITIONS Selling prices Cascades North American manufacturing selling price and raw material cost indices (US$) Raw material costs Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Selling prices index (US$) Raw materials index (US$); 2009 Year Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year Q1 Q2 Q3 YTD US$/CAN$ $0.88 $0.96 $0.97 $0.96 $0.99 $0.97 $1.01 $1.03 $1.02 $1.02 Natural Gas Henry Hub - US$/mmBtu $3.99 $5.30 $4.09 $4.38 $3.80 $4.39 $4.10 $4.31 $4.19 $4.20 Capacity utilization rate (Manufacturing) 86% 92% 94% 91% 87% 91% 90% 90% 87% 89% Total shipments ('000 s.t.) 2, , , Business conditions still challenging in Q3: slightly tighter spread in US$. See notes page 32. Source: Bloomberg. 6

7 2011 QUARTERLY STRATEGIC HIGHLIHTS Q1 Q2 Q3 Sale Sale Avot-Vallée Avot-Vallée mill mill Sale Sale Dopaco Dopaco ($400M) ($400M) Increased Increased ownership ownership in in Reno Reno de de Medici Medici to to 41% 41% Consolidation Consolidation N. N. England England operations operations (closure (closure Leominster Leominster plant) plant) Sale Sale Versailles Versailles & & Hebron Hebron facilities; facilities; Greenpac Greenpac announcement announcement Construction Construction kick-f kick-f the the new, new, state--art, state--art, Greenpac Greenpac containerboard containerboard mill. mill. Acquisition Acquisition the the remaining remaining 50% 50% Papersource Papersource shares, shares, a a leading leading tissue tissue paper paper converter converter (effective (effective November November 2011). 2011). Closure Closure Burnaby Burnaby (BC) (BC) containerboard containerboard and and divestiture divestiture land land and and building building mill mill for for $20 $20 million million (effective (effective October October 2011). 2011). Closure Closure Le Le Gardeur Gardeur (QC) (QC) sheet sheet plant plant (will (will be be effective effective in in Q4 Q4 2011). 2011). Challenging Market Evolution = Proactive measures = Improve pritability EBITDA excluding specific items. 7

8 STRATEGIC PRIORITIES CASCADES SHORT/MID-TERM Restructuring under-performing units Focused investing for modernization core operations (and IT) Optimizing capital allocation between sectors & investments, reducing working capital ROCE: objective = WACC Net debt/ebitda: objective = 3x MID-TERM Cascades 3 pillar strategy: Restructuration, Modernization, Optimization. EBITDA excluding specific items. 8

9 FINANCIAL REVIEW 9

10 Q Q EBITDA VARIANCE ANALYSIS (M CAN$) Q (IFRS) Variation the CAN$ Selling prices & mix Business acquis. & disposals Energy costs Other costs Raw material costs & mix Shipments (M CAN$) Containerboard 21 1 (3) 2 1 (1) 3 24 Boxboard (9) 13 Specialty products (2) (1) (1) 13 Tissue papers (5) (2) 18 Corporate (3) 17 (3) 11 Total (3) (7) (9) 79 Impact W/C items and cash management following the divestiture Dopaco Higher EBITDA on significant F/X gains, improved selling prices, restructuring initiatives & lower energy costs Q (IFRS) EBITDA excluding specific items. 10

11 SEGMENTED EBITDA (M CAN$) Boxboard (including Reno de Medici from Q2-11) (% sales) % % % % % 0 0.0% Q Q Q Q Q Q Q (M CAN$) Containerboard (% sales) % % % % % % 7.0% 0 5.0% Q Q Q Q Q Q Q (M CAN$) Specialty products (% sales) 10.0% % 6.0% (M CAN$) Tissue papers (% sales) 12.0% % 5 4.0% % 0 Q Q Q Q Q Q Q % 0 Q Q Q Q Q Q Q % Improved EBITDA in all segments with the exception boxboard where the unfavourable seasonality impacted our European operations. ons. EBITDA excluding specific items. 11

12 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs) ('000 s.t.) Total Shipments % 94% 92% 90% 88% 86% 84% 92% 94% Capacity utilization rate 91% 90% 90% 87% 87% 400 Q Q Q Q Q Q Q % Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Return on assets Working capital (% sales) 12.0% 11.0% 10.0% 9.0% 8.0% 7.0% 11.5% 11.2% 11.0% 10.6% 9.9% 7.6% 7.4% 20.0% 18.0% 16.0% 14.0% 12.0% 14.7% 16.3% 16.1% 14.6% 15.0% 14.8% 15.0% 6.0% Q Q Q Q Q Q Q % Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Excluding the impact divestitures, one closure and exceptional l downtime, shipments would have remained relatively flat compared to Q Divestitures: 2 boxboard facilities (Hebron, Versailles); closure: Leominster corrugated box plant; exceptional downtime: Trenton containerboard mill, Pennsylvania tissue mill See notes page

13 Q EBITDA TO OP. INCOME RECONCILIATION (M CAN$) EBITDA excl. spec. items Depreciation & amortization EBIT excl. spec. items Net impairment loss Unrealized loss on financial instr. Closure and restructuring costs Operating income Container- Specialty Tissue Corporate (M CAN$) Boxboard board Products Papers Activities Total Operating income (loss) (5) Specific items: Gain on disposal and others 1 (1) Net impairment loss Closure and restructuring costs Unrealized loss on financial instruments Total specific items Operating income (loss) excluding specific items Depreciation EBITDA excluding specific items

14 Q NET EARNINGS RECONCILIATION (M CAN$) (5) (19) Net loss excluding spec. items Tax effect on specific items & other tax adjustments F/X loss on long-term debt & financial intruments Share results associates, JVs and noncontrolling interests Net impairment loss Unreal. loss on fin. instruments Included in disc.oper. Closure and restructuring costs Net loss 14

15 CASH FLOW OVERVIEW (in millions CAN$) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year Q1 Q2 Q3 Cash flow from operations (including discontinued operations) Capital expenditures & other assets 1 (33) (23) (24) (50) (130) (37) (24) (31) Dividend & Share Buyback (6) (6) (4) (4) (20) (5) (6) (8) Free cash flow (20) (16) 21 Free cash flow per share 0.12 $ 0.26 $ 0.58 $ - $ 0.96 $ (0.21)$ (0.17)$ 0.22 $ (M CAN$) Q Q Cash flow from operations 84 Q Q Q Q Q (M CAN$) Free cash flow % 14% 25 15% 11% - 8% 0 3% -25 (16) (4)% (20) Q1 2010Q2 2010Q3 2010Q4 2010Q1 2011Q2 2011Q Free cash flow Free cash flow yield 30% 20% 10% 0% -10% -20% Cash flow from operations and FCF rebounded significantly. Free cash flow yield is defined as LTM FCF per share / share price end period. 1 Excluding increase in investments. 15

16 NET DEBT RECONCILIATION (M CAN$) 1,500 1,400 1,300 1,200 1,100 1,000 1,288 Includes $148 million from Reno de Medici s net debt , Net debt June 30, 2011 Variation Canadian dollar CAPEX, net disposals Var. working capital Others Other assets & investments Dividends, bbacks Cash flow from continuing operations Net debt Sept 30, 2011 Net debt up mostly due to F/X change. 16

17 BALANCE SHEET & KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 (LTM EBITDA incl. 100% Reno) Q3 (LTM EBITDA incl. 100% Reno) Total assets 3,452 3,497 3,544 3,437 3,452 3,835 3,766 Total debt 1,469 1,522 1,477 1,403 1,455 1,306 1,371 Net debt 1,454 1,508 1,462 1,397 1,445 1,288 1,360 Shareholders' equity 1,067 1,081 1,101 1,049 1,038 1,135 1,064 Book value per share $11.01 $11.18 $11.40 $10.86 $10.77 $11.80 $11.16 LTM EBITDA LTM Interest % 55.0% 57.2% Debt / Debt + Equity 58.4% 53.5% 56.3% Net debt / LTM EBITDA % 45.0% % Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Slight increase in ratios due to a more challenging H Nevertheless, Cascades expects to remain in compliance with financial ncial covenants. Q net debt includes the net debt Reno De Medici $148 M. Cascades financial covenant ratios: Net funded debt to capitalization not more than 65%, interest coverage ratio not less than 2.25x. EBITDA excluding specific items. 17

18 SEGMENTED REVIEW 18

19 TISSUE PAPERS Sales EBITDA EBITDA margins Shipments Avg. Selling price Avg. Selling price (in millions $) (in millions $) (% sales) (in thousands s.t.) (CAN$/s.t.) (US$/s.t.) Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Manufacturing and converting % 7% ,699 1,630 1,734 1,685 Sales slightly improved due to the increase the average selling price and depreciation the Canadian dollar, which have more than fset the slight decrease in shipments. Both external shipments parent rolls and converted products stened compared to last quarter. The reduction our manufacturing shipments is mainly explained by the interruption operations in our Pennsylvania mill due to a flood. In our converting operations, the decrease is mostly explained by a weaker demand from two our main U.S. retail market customers. Actually, these had done more promotional activities during the prior quarter. The average selling price in U.S dollar increased approximately 3%. A 50 US$ / s.t. price increase was realized on white grade parent rolls in the second quarter. In Q3, parent roll prices were increased by an additional 35 to 50 US$ / s.t.. Moreover, we continued to implement price hikes in the away-from-home sector. In the Canadian market, we increased our pricing by 6% in September. Overall, EBITDA margins improved mainly as a result selling price increases and the depreciation the Canadian dollar. These factors more than fset higher raw material costs, the slight decrease in volumes and the negative impact a flood in our Pennsylvania mill. In November 1 st, we completed the acquisition the remaining 50% shares Papersource. This transaction, which amounted to $88 million including Papersource s debt, will enable the optimization our converting operations in North East U.S., Quebec and Ontario. It will additionally increase the integration level our Tissue Group to 70%, will reinforce its positioning in the away-from-home sector, and will have a positive impact on Cascades consolidated net results. EBITDA excluding specific items. 19

20 PACKAGING - BOXBOARD Sales EBITDA EBITDA margins Shipments Avg. Selling price Avg. Selling price (in millions $) (in millions $) (% sales) (in thousands s.t.) (CAN$/s.t.) (US$ or euro/s.t.) Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Manufacturing - N. America (1) 5% (2%) Manufacturing - Europe % 7% Converting % 5% ,803 1,849 1,839 1,910 Discontinued operations 1 - (42) - (4) -% 10% - (22) n/a n/a n/a n/a Others and eliminations (6) (13) (6) (17) % 5% North America / Manufacturing At the end the previous quarter, we completed the divestiture the Versailles (Connecticut) facility. This mainly explains the sequential decline in shipments and revenues. This transaction also significantly impacted our US$ average selling price which gained approximately 90 US$/s.t.. The sales mix now includes much more coated virgin boxboard than before. The price this type board is higher than recycled board. Excluding this factor, the average selling price would have still progressed given price hikes realization in our other facilities in July. EBITDA improved by $3 million mainly as a result price increases, F/X gains as well as the reduction in fixed costs and maintenance. North America / Converting (excluding the discontinued operations) We concluded the sale Hebron (Kentucky) plant at the end the 2 nd quarter. This mainly explains the lower volumes and sales. However, pritability remained stable as the benefits the divestiture the Hebron plant, the Canadian dollar depreciation and the slight increase in shipments (excluding Hebron), were fset by a more competitive price environment. Europe / manufacturing In Europe, results mainly reflect the normal seasonal demand decline and the associated lower production. However, economic uncertainty also affected demand. In terms selling prices and raw material costs spread, it started to improve as recycled fibre costs slightly decreased. 1 European manufacturing figures include Reno de Medici. Converting figures include discontinued operations (Dopaco) that are eliminated on another line. EBITDA excluding specific items. 20

21 PACKAGING - CONTAINERBOARD Sales EBITDA EBITDA margins Shipments Avg. Selling price Avg. Selling price (in millions $) (in millions $) (% sales) (in thousands s.t.) (CAN$/s.t. or msf) (US$/s.t. or msf) Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Manufacturing % 2% Converting % 9% 174¹ 168¹ 74¹ 73¹ 75¹ 75¹ Others and eliminations (78) (77) (6) (161) (153) % 9% Manufacturing Despite longer downtimes in our Trenton mill, sales and shipments stayed relatively stable. Actually, excluding the impact the longer shutdown in Trenton, shipments would have increased 6% sequentially. The rise in pritability is partly explained by the higher shipments but mainly by the production increase which had a significant impact on the entire cost structure. In the previous quarter, we took more downtimes due to maintenance and this greatly influenced costs as well as maintenance and repair expenses ($2 million higher in Q2). EBITDA our manufacturing operations also progressed due to the weaker Canadian dollar. In September, we announced the closure our Burnaby (British Columbia) mill and the divestiture the related land & building. Closure costs should amount $4 million while proceeds from the sale represent $20 million. Converting Improvement in sales is mainly explained by the higher shipments (+1% MSF compared to Q2 2011) linked with the favourable seasonality in the produce market sector. Converting operations have equally benefited from a decrease in their main cost, liner and medium board, in Canadian dollars. This fset other variable cost inflation. The shutdown Leominster plant in May and the transfer production to other plants continued to positively impact our pritability. In order to pursue the optimization our operations and increase our EBITDA, we announced the shutdown our Le Gardeur unit which will be effective by the end the fourth quarter. 1 Equals to 2,834 million square feet (msf), $1,210 CAN/s.t. and $1,234 US/s.t. respectively in Q3 2011, and 2,810 million square feet (msf), $1,203 CAN/s.t. and $1,243 US/s.t. respectively in Q EBITDA excluding specific items. 21

22 PACKAGING SPECIALTY PRODUCTS Sales EBITDA EBITDA margins Shipments Avg. Selling price Avg. Selling price (in millions $) (in millions $) (% sales) (in thousands s.t.) (CAN$/s.t.) (US$/s.t.) Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Industrial Packaging % 6% Consumer Product Packaging % 7% Specialty Papers (1) - -% -% Recovery and Recycling % 9% Others and eliminations (4) (3) (1) (4) (2) % 5% Industrial Packaging The improvements in results is mainly explained by the weaker Canadian dollar and by the reduction some fixed and variable costs. Packaging Consumer Products The EBITDA stability is mostly linked to the slight unfavourable seasonality in demand in our plastic product operations, which fset the implementation selling price increases. Specialty Papers The majority our specialty paper operations continued to be affected by the rise in raw material costs. Moreover, the pritability our fine paper sector was negatively affected by major planned maintenance shutdowns during the summer. The transition to recycled kraft paper at our East Angus mill continued in the third quarter. As announced, we proceeded to the closure our kraft pulp production equipment in September. Recovery and recycling Our recovery operations continued to benefit from a favourable business environment. In addition, the decrease in the Canadian dollar had a significant positive impact on the EBITDA this segment. EBITDA excluding specific items. 22

23 Q & A 23

24 CONCLUDING REMARKS 24

25 Sept 11 Current value NEAR TERM OUTLOOK EBITDA sensitivity to 15$U.S. or /s.t. change in recycled fibre costs = 52 M$ Headwinds are subsiding. Source: Official Board Markets (OBM), Bloomberg. US$/CAN$ EBITDA sensitivity to 10 CAN change = 50 M$ Jan 07 Apr 07 July 07 Oct 07 Jan 08 Apr 08 July 08 Oct 08 Jan 09 Apr 09 July 09 Oct 09 Jan 10 Apr 10 July 10 Oct 10 Jan 11 Apr 11 July 11 Oct 11 Jan 07 May 07 Sept 07 Sept 10 Jan 08 May 08 Sept 08 Jan 09 May 09 Sept 09 Jan 10 May 10 Jan 11 May 11 (US$/ton) MAIN RECYCLED FIBRE COSTS White grades (SOP) Brown grades (OCC)

26 NEAR TERM OUTLOOK In Q (+) Lower raw material costs (+) Depreciation Canadian dollar (+) Improved selling prices in our tissue paper sector (+) Acquisition Papersource (+) Restructuring and optimization measures (-) Lower seasonal demand (-) Higher energy cost (-) Europe uncertainty Cautious optimism for Q4 as unfavourable seasonality usually impacts results. 26

27 APPENDICES 27

28 MARKET PRICES AND COSTS SUMMARY Average Average Average Average Average Average Average Average Average Average Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 These indexes should only be used as indicator trends and they be different than our actual selling prices or purchasing costs. (unit) (%) (unit) (%) Selling prices Cascades North American US$ index (index 2005 = 1,000) 1 1,109 1,106 1,180 1,223 1,234 1,186 1,238 1,250 1,264 1, % 14 1% PACKAGING Boxboard North America (US$/ton) Recycled boxboard - 20pt. Clay coated news (transaction) % 3 0% Europe (Euro/tonne) Recycled white-lined chipboard (GD2) index % 0 0% Virgin coated duplex boxboard (GC2) index ,025 1,063 1,155 1,055 1,155 1,151 1,152 1, % 1 0% Containerboard (US$/ton) Linerboard 42-lb. unbleached kraft, East US (transaction) % 0 0% Corrugating medium 26-lb. Semichemical, East U.S. (transaction) % 0 0% Specialty products (US$/ton, tonne for deinked pulp) Recycled boxboard - 20pt. Bending chip (transaction) % -5-1% Deinked pulp (f.o.b; U.S. air-dried & wet-lap, post-consumer) % 44 6% Unbleached kraft paper, Grocery bag 30-lb ,020 1,047 1,060 1,022 1,025 1,093 1,110 1, % 17 2% Uncoated white 50-lb. fset, rolls % -8-1% TISSUE PAPERS Cascades Tissue papers (index 1999 = 1,000) 4 1,617 1,617 1,623 1,615 1,620 1,619 1,631 1,662 1,718 1, % 56 3% Raw materials Cascades North American US$ index (index 2005 = 300) % 20 4% RECYCLED PAPER North America (US$/ton) Corrugated containers, no. 11 (New England) % 1 1% Special news, no. 8 (ONP - Chicago & NY average) % -4-3% Sorted fice papers, no. 37 (SOP - Chicago & NY average) % 20 8% Europe (Euro/tonne) Recovered paper index % -11-7% VIRGIN PULP (US$/tonne) Bleached stwood kraft Northern, East U.S % -34-3% Bleached hardwood kraft Northern mixed, East U.S % -27-3% WOODCHIPS Conifer eastern Canada (US$/odmt) % 0 0% Q32011 Q32010 Change Q32011 Q22011 Sources: RISI, Dow Jones, Random Lengths and Cascades. See notes p

29 SENSITIVITY TABLE CAPACITY / CONSUMPTION ( 000 s.t. and 000 mmbtu for natural gas) CHANGE EBITDA IMPACT (In million CAN$) SELLING PRICES (MANUFACTURING) Boxboard 1, US$ or / ton 44 Containerboard 1, US$ / ton 26 Specialty Products (paper only) US$ / ton 12 Tissue US$ / ton 13 RAW MATERIAL COSTS Recycled papers Brown grades (OCC & others) 1, US$ or / ton (32) Groundwood grades (ONP & others) US$ or / ton (6) White grades (SOP & others) US$ or / ton (14) Commercial pulp US$ or / ton (9) Natural gas 13, US$ or / mmbtu (15) FOREIGN EXCHANGE Change US$ 0.01 vs CAN$ (5) 29

30 HEDGING PORTFOLIO Q Cash flow USD: Q4 2011: 31 to 36% (with options) exposure hedged at an average rate CAN$/US$ to CAN$/US$ 2012: 29 to 44% (with options) exposure hedged at an average rate CAN$/US$ to CAN$/US$ 2. Natural gas: Canada: Q4 2011: 70% at 6.13 CAN$/GJ 2012: 65% at 6.05 CAN$/GJ U.S.: Q4 2011: 63% at 6.47 US$/mmBtu 2012: 57% at 6.44 US$/mmBtu 30

31 RENO DE MEDICI: FULL CONSOLIDATION SINCE Q2 Reno De Medici (RdM) 1. Cascades owned 42.2% outstanding shares at the end Q Cascades can acquire up to 5% per year on the open market 3. Cascades has the option to acquire 9.07% from one shareholder «Industria Innovatione» Cascades has a call option to buy for 0.43 per share until Dec. 31, 2012 Industria has a put option to sell for 0.41 per share from Jan 2013 to March 31, 2014 Total potential investment M 4. Put / Call option for Cascades virgin assets in effect 2011 is reference year Paid in cash or in additional shares RdM May represent 10%-20% outstanding shares RdM (depending on acquisition structure) Due to the option in place (9.07%) and the size its ownership,, Cascades began to fully consolidate RdM s results in its financial statements in Q

32 NOTES 1. The Cascades North American selling prices index represents an approximation the Company s manufacturing selling prices in North America (excluding Converting products). It is weighted according to shipments and is based on the average selling price our North American manufacturing operations boxboard, containerboard, specialty products and tissue paper. It considers the change in the mix products sold. This index should only be used as a trend indicator. 2. The Cascades North American raw materials index represents the average weighted cost paid for some our manufacturing raw materials namely, recycled fiber, virgin pulp and woodchips in North America. It is weighted according to the volume purchase. This index should only be used as an a trend indicator and it may differ from our actual manufacturing purchasing costs and our purchase mix. 3. The capacity utilization rate is defined as: Shipments/Practical capacity. Paper manufacturing only. 4. Return on assets is a non-gaap measure and is defined as: LTM EBITDA excluding specific items/ LTM Average total quarterly assets. It includes discontinued operations. 5. Working capital includes accounts receivable plus inventories less accounts payable. It excludes an unpaid provision for closure and restructuring costs. It also excludes the current portion derivatives financial instruments and the current portion future taxes liability. 6. The Cascades recycled white-lined chipboard selling prices index represents an approximation Cascades recycled grades selling prices in Europe. It is weighted by country. 7. The Cascades virgin coated duplex boxboard selling prices index represents an approximation Cascades virgin grades selling prices in Europe. It is weighted by country. 8. The Cascades Tissue paper selling prices index represents a mix primary and converted products, and is based on the product mix at the end The Cascades recovered paper index represents an approximation Cascades recovered paper purchase prices in Europe. It is weighted by country based on the recycled fibre supply mix

33 For more information: Didier Filion Director, Investor Relations CREDIT: IMAGE ECOterre