PORT TOWNSEND — An increase in top line revenue, attributed to a 30 percent increase in the price of containerboard, combined with moderate energy costs has resulted in an upbeat quarterly report for PT Holdings, parent company of Port Townsend Paper.
“In general, the trends are very, very positive,” said Tim Leybold, the company’s chief financial officer.
“Overall, it’s very good news.”
Of the company’s quarterly and six-month reports released Friday, Leybold cited the portion that shows adjusted earnings before net interest expense, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization — what accountants call EBITDA — at $6.9 million for the second quarter ending June 30.
That compares with $5.8 million in earnings in the same period in 2005.
“I think that our quarterly $6.9 million for [EBITDA] is a number that probably beats most people’s expectations,” Leybold said.
“I think the story is really top line revenue. The increase in pricing is greater than the increase in cost.”
He added that the company is absorbing higher energy costs.
Port Townsend Paper, Jefferson County’s largest private industry, employs, about 320 in Port Townsend, and annually produces more than 320,000 tons of unbleached kraft pulp, paper and linerboard at the Port Townsend mill.
The company also operates three Crown Packaging plants and two BoxMaster plants in British Columbia and Alberta.
Net sales rise
Net sales for the three months ended June 30 were $59.1 million, a 6 percent increase above $55.9 million for the same period a year ago.
Net loss was about $3.1 million, compared with a net loss of $2.3 million for the second quarter in 2005.
Included in the company’s second-quarter loss is a $2.3 million charge for costs related to the re-audit of the company’s 2002 and 2003 financial statements.
For the three months ending June 30, the company reported lower sales volumes for pulp and kraft paper.
For 2006, pulp sales were 22,931 tons, compared with 24,897 tons during the second quarter of 2005.
Kraft paper sales for the quarter in 2006 totaled 12,514 tons, compared with 12,930 tons in the second quarter of 2005.
Containerboard sales were up 2.38 percent during the second quarter at 31,418 tons, compared with 30,688 tons during the same quarter in 2005.
During the quarter, the company earned $1.8 million in operating income, a decrease of $500,000 from $2.3 million in earnings from operations in the same period in 2005.
The company achieved a $1.2 million increase in quarter-over-quarter gross profit, which was offset by a $1.7 million increase in selling, general and administrative costs.
