| Thursday | ||||
TD Securities analyst… TD Securities analyst Sean Steuart lowered the firm's price target on Mercer to $15 from $17 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. He lowered target prices for seven of the 10 companies in his coverage universe, noting that forest product equities remain under pressure as investors discount an increasingly negative macroeconomic outlook. However, Steuart reiterates an Overweight bias on the sector given that balance sheets are in significantly better shape than was the case entering previous recessions and he believes current valuations "assume an overly negative outlook." | ||||
| Over a month ago | ||||
Reports Q1 revenue… Reports Q1 revenue $592.741M vs $412.720M last year. David Gandossi, the Chief Executive Officer, stated: "Our robust first quarter operating results were driven by strong sales volumes, increased pulp, lumber and energy pricing and our German mills' sales of surplus energy into the spot market. These positive effects were only partially offset by higher costs for key inputs including fiber, energy and chemicals. Despite the impact of such cost inflation, we believe that our cost control measures will help mitigate the effect of increases going forward and we see our surplus energy sales as a strong hedge for higher energy prices." | ||||
| Over a quarter ago | ||||
Mercer International… Mercer International announced that David Gandossi, who has served as CEO and President since 2015, has announced, as part of turning 65 years old this year, his decision to retire from the Company. The Board of Directors has appointed Juan Carlos Bueno to succeed Mr. Gandossi as Chief Executive Officer and President effective May 1, 2022. He will also be nominated for election to the Company's Board of Directors at the upcoming 2022 annual general meeting of shareholders. Gandossi will step down from his current executive duties after more than seven years as CEO and President concurrently with Mr. Bueno's appointment. He will continue with the Company as an advisor until August 31, 2022 and assist Mr. Bueno and Mercer to facilitate a smooth transition. Bueno most recently served from 2018 to the present date as the Chairman of the Board and co-founder of Global Energy which produces novel green energy generation devices. | ||||
A quarterly dividend of… A quarterly dividend of 7.5c per share will be paid on April 6 to all shareholders of record on March 30. Future dividends will be subject to board approval and may be adjusted as business and industry conditions warrant. | ||||
Reports Q4 revenue… Reports Q4 revenue $518.96M, two estimates $453.05M. David Gandossi, the CEO, stated: "I am pleased with our record fourth quarter operating results which were driven by strong sales volumes and steady pulp and lumber pricing and by materially higher energy prices in Germany for our surplus green energy sales. We also benefitted from the settlement of our business interruption insurance claim associated with the downtime taken in 2021 to rebuild our Peace River mill's recovery boiler. Our annual Operating EBITDA also set a new benchmark which significantly surpasses our prior high and highlights the cash generating power of our world class assets." | ||||
RBC Capital analyst Paul… RBC Capital analyst Paul Quinn upgraded Mercer to Outperform from Underperform with a price target of $15, up from $8. The analyst notes that the outlook for pulp market has "markedly improved" in the short-term due to significant supply disruptions, while the medium-term is also looking better due to the delayed start-up of new capacity. Mercer should also see one-time gains from European power prices and a repeat of strong lumber prices, Quinn tells investors in a research note. | |
Raymond James analyst… Raymond James analyst Daryl Swetlishoff upgraded Mercer to Outperform from Market Perform with a $15 price target. | |
Credit Suisse analyst… Credit Suisse analyst Andrew Kuske downgraded Mercer to Neutral from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $12.50. The analyst cries limited potential return to the price target and some "near-term potential headwinds" for the downgrade. | |
RBC Capital analyst Paul… RBC Capital analyst Paul Quinn downgraded Mercer to Underperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $8, down from $10. 2022 will be challenging for Mercer's pulp business given the potential combination of a negative demand shock amid Chinese energy curtailments and a sharp rise in low-cost BEK capacity, the analyst tells investors in a research note. A rating cut is warranted by the negative industry outlook, the company's leverage to pulp pricing, and relatively higher debt levels, Quinn adds. | |
RBC Capital analyst Paul… RBC Capital analyst Paul Quinn downgraded Mercer International to Underperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $8, down from $10. |
