Baikal Pulp-and-Paper Mill aims to boost revenue 20% in 2012
IRKUTSK. May 17 (Interfax) - OJSC Baikal Pulp-and-Paper Mill plans to increase sales of bleached dissolving pulp, its main product, by 20% to 3 billion rubles in 2012, the company's external administrator, Alexander Ivanov told Interfax.
He said the mill plans to produce 80,000-82,000 tonnes of dissolving pulp this year.
It was reported earlier that the mill increased production of bleached dissolving pulp by 170% to 59,000 tonnes in 2011, so production could increase by 36-39% this year.
Ivanov also said that the mill intends to produce 7,500 tonnes of pulp in May, up from 3,400 tonnes when external administration was imposed in December 2010, and maintain this output until the end of 2012.
The mill's creditors will meet on May 17 to discuss Ivanov's report on the results of external administration. One of the key issues to be discussed at the meeting will be a decision to ask the court to extend the term of external administration.
The mill is currently under external management appointed by a court in December 2010 for 18 months. Creditor claims total 1.71 billion rubles. Alfa Bank accumulated over 51% of the debt. Billionaire Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element was previously the main shareholder of the mill and its structures now hold claims worth over 600 million rubles.
The Baikal mill is controlled by entities owned by Nikolai Makarov, Deripaska's former partner in the forestry business, and the Federal Property Agency owns 49%. The mill has capacity to produce about 200,000 tonnes of pulp annually.