Investments
Investments
In 2021, Klabin announced investments of BRL 342 million to be allocated to special projects and expansions by the end of 2022. The packaging segment, one of the main drivers of the company's results in recent years, will receive most of the investment, a total of BRL 251 million that will be used in initiatives focused on expanding the paper converting capacity into packaging.
The investments are expected to include the acquisition of new printers, one of which is digital, and conversion equipment, which will be installed in the units located in the states of Pernambuco, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Santa Catarina. The new equipment, which should come online in mid-2022, are pioneers in the market. With high-definition printing capabilities, they meet the specific needs of growing sectors such as fruit, cosmetics, beverage, food, home appliances, and electronics, as well as e-commerce, which require sophisticated printing.
Progress at Puma II
These investments are in addition to the company's largest growth project, the Puma II Project, which, in August 2021, inaugurated an important stage with the start-up of Paper Machine 27. With a capacity to produce 450,000 tons per year, MP27 supplies the market with paper marketed under the Eukaliner® brand, the world's first kraftliner paper made entirely from eucalyptus fibers.
The second machine (MP28), which is expected to come online in the second quarter of 2023, will produce paper board. It has an annual production capacity of 460,000 tons.
Debt management
The increase in EBITDA over the previous year and the solid cash generation during the year contributed to the Company's deleveraging, even during the Puma II investment cycle. At the end, in the fourth quarter of 2021, there was a reduction in the net debt/EBITDA ratio, measured in U.S. dollars, in order to better reflect Klabin's debt profile, to 2.9 times; at the end of the same period in 2020, the company had leverage of 4 times.
