PaperlinX says sentiment hasn't translated to demand yet
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SYDNEY, Oct 22 AAP
October 22 2009, 1:42PM
Paper merchant PaperlinX Ltd says an upturn in market sentiment in its major markets has not yet translated into a significant lift in print demand.
The weak markets it faced earlier this year have carried into the seasonally slow northern hemisphere summer period, PaperlinX chairman David Meiklejohn told the company's annual general meeting.
"At this stage, we have not yet seen the upturn in economic sentiment which has been reported in our major markets translate into a significant lift in print demand although we do expect North America to lead future improvements," he told shareholders on Thursday.
"We will see the benefit of our ongoing cost reduction initiatives flow through in our 2010 results but we will need significant increases in market demand and higher selling prices to boost overall profitability."
The paper merchant and manufacturer posted a net loss of $798.2 million for the year ended June 30, compared with a net profit of $72.2 million in the prior year.
After shedding 632 employees in 2008/09 and restructuring the business, PaperlinX has frozen salaries, including management and executive remuneration and imposed tougher performance hurdles.
