Norske Skog has recorded a pre-tax profit of Nkr236m ($25.2m) in the first quarter of 2026, down 46% from Nkr442m in Q1 2025.

EBITDA decreased by 26% to Nkr451m in the quarter from Nkr612m a year earlier, while recycled containerboard shipments reached 106,000 tonnes.

Operating income stood at Nkr2.8bn in the first quarter, compared with Nkr3.1bn in the previous year, a 7% decrease.

In the company’s packaging paper segment, operating revenue rose 89% to Nkr398m from Nkr210m a year ago.

Total operating income in the segment nearly doubled to Nkr508m during the quarter from Nkr255m in Q1 2025.

The segment consists of Norske Skog’s operations in the packaging paper market, with mills in France and Austria. Annual production capacity is approximately 0.8 million tonnes when full utilisation is reached.

Norske Skog CEO Geir Drangsland said: “We achieved record containerboard deliveries and significantly improved profitability in the first quarter. Operational performance continues to improve across our packaging paper business, while publication paper profitability benefited from lower raw material costs and the recognised gain related to the Saugbrugs transaction.

“We are also seeing clear effects from our ongoing cost and working capital initiatives. Cash generation was strong, working capital remained efficient, and significant liquidity inflows after quarter-end further strengthened our balance sheet.”

In May 2025, the Norwegian pulp and paper company started recycled containerboard production at its Golbey mill in France after an investment of approximately €400m.

The new containerboard machine will increase the company’s capacity by 550,000 tonnes, raising the group’s total capacity to 760,000 tonnes.