Ence Accelerates Specialty Pulp Focus on Rising Prices

Ence reported a net loss of Euro 55 million for the full year 2025, a result that includes a Euro 24 million provision related to collective redundancy procedures under its Efficiency and Competitiveness Plan.

The company’s transformation toward specialty pulp production accelerated, with specialty products accounting for 30% of pulp sales at year-end 2025, up seven percentage points from 2024 and generating an additional margin of Euro 37 per metric ton compared to standard fiber.

A key milestone in the Q4 was the start-up of the first fluff pulp line at the Navia biofactory, with an annual capacity of 125,000 metric tons, making Ence the only European producer of eucalyptus-based fluff pulp.

Pulp production for the year reached approximately 950,000 metric tons. Pulp sales increased by 4% in the Q4 to nearly 245,000 metric tons.

The company’s cash cost for 2025 was the lowest since 2022 at Euro 483 per metric ton, representing savings of Euro 70 per metric ton compared to 2022 and Euro 10 per metric ton compared to 2024.

In the renewable energy segment, biomass electricity generation reached more than 1,240 GWh for the year, 6% higher than in 2024. Q4 2025 generation amounted to 346 GWh, a 10% increase. EBITDA from biomass electricity generation in the second half of 2025 was Euro 20 million, implying an annualised EBITDA of Euro 40 million.

Net financial debt at year-end totaled Euro 378 million, compared to Euro 321 million in December 2024.

The company sees positive prospects for 2026 driven by the rise in pulp prices, which have climbed to $1,330 per metric ton. It aims for specialty pulp to exceed 62% of sales by 2028. Two initiatives are underway to reduce production costs by Euro 30 per metric ton between 2026 and 2027. In the biofertilisers and biomethane business, the company continues to develop its portfolio with 25 projects at an advanced stage.

Ence is a leading European producer of eucalyptus pulp, with a combined annual capacity of 1,200,000 tons from two key biofactories in Spain: Navia (Asturias) and Pontevedra (Galicia).

Source: Lesprom