NewPage swings to 2013 net loss of US$2M from 2012 net income of US$1.26B, mostly due to 2013 reorganization items; 2013 net sales down 2.5% year-over-year, to US$3.05B, affected by lower sales volume and prices, partially offset by improved mix

Debra Garcia

MIAMISBURG, Ohio , February 26, 2014 (press release) – NewPage Holdings Inc. ("NewPage") today announced its results of operations for the full year 2013.

Net sales for the full year 2013 were $3,054 million compared to $3,131 million for 2012, a decrease of $77 million, or 2 percent. On a year over year basis, net sales were primarily affected by lower sales volume of paper and lower average paper prices, partially offset by improved mix. For the full year, net loss was $(2) million in 2013 compared to net income of $1,258 million in 2012. The decrease was primarily the result of Reorganization items, net, partially offset by improved gross margin.

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization as further adjusted as shown in the attached reconciliation) was $269 million in 2013 compared to $238 million in 2012.

NewPage closed the year with total liquidity of $400 million, consisting of $317 million of availability under the revolving credit facility and $83 million of available cash and cash equivalents.

Cash from operating activities was $116 million during 2013 compared to $3 million during 2012, primarily the result of lower cash requirements for interest and other bankruptcy related activities as a result of emerging from Chapter 11 Proceedings, as well improved gross margins driven by cost reductions.

Capital expenditures for 2013 were $75 million compared to $157 million in 2012. Capital expenditures in 2012 included $54 million associated with the purchase of paper machine No. 35, previously under a capital lease pursuant to the Chapter 11 plan.

"We were able to offset the impact of lower prices with improvements in productivity and cost saving measures to increase adjusted EBITDA by 13% compared to 2012. Our year over year improvement in Adjusted EBITDA comes at a time when there was a 4.3% decline in North American demand for coated paper according to PPPC," said George F. Martin, president and chief executive officer for NewPage.

On February 11, 2014, the company entered into a $750 million senior secured term loan facility to refinance the existing $500 million senior secured exit term loan debt facility and to fund a special distribution to NewPage stockholders and holders of NewPage stock awards, to pay certain transaction costs and for general corporate purposes. The company also announced a new a $350 million ABL facility to replace the existing $350 million revolving credit facility on the same day. The refinancing transactions and the distribution payments are components of the merger announced by the company on January 6, 2014.

Additional Information
The NewPage 2013 Form 10-K as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today can be found on the NewPage website. The company believes this information is sufficient to answer questions and no conference call is planned.

About NewPage
NewPage is a leading producer of printing and specialty papers in North America with $3.1 billion in net sales for the year ended December 31, 2013. NewPage is headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, and owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. These mills have a total annual production capacity of approximately 3.5 million tons of paper.

The company's portfolio of paper products includes coated, supercalendered and specialty papers. These papers are used in commercial printing to create corporate collateral, magazines, catalogs, books, coupons, inserts and direct mail as well as in specialty paper applications including beverage bottle labels, food and medical packaging, pressure-sensitive labels and release liners. To learn more, visit www.NewPageCorp.com.

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