Vajda-Papír Acquires Majority Stake in Norwegian Mill

Vajda-Papír Ltd. has acquired a majority stake in Vajda-Papír Scandinavia AS, a Norwegian company that has been part of the Vajda-Papír Group for more than ten years, Attila Vajda, Managing Director of Vajda-Papír Ltd., told MTI.

He justified the transaction on the basis of economic considerations, improving efficiency and the creation of a large corporate structure. The amount of the transaction and the new ownership share were not disclosed, but it was noted that the company has been present in the Scandinavian country since 2013, with its local subsidiary (Vajda-Papír Scandinavia) employing more than 110 people.

It was also reported that Vajda-Papír Ltd. has won more than HUF 5.7 billion from the HUF 150 billion Factory Rescue Program announced in 2023. Out of the total amount of the grant, HUF 1.313 billion was advanced to the company at the end of December 2023. Group company Vajda Real Estate Ltd. (bond guarantor) won a HUF 5.714 billion grant, of which HUF 2.857 billion was advanced at the end of last year.

Attila Vajda said in the announcement that the grants will be used to launch energy efficiency investments, with the aim of reducing water consumption in production and operations by 20% by 2030, further reducing waste production, increasing the share of renewable energy in their own operations and at group sites by 50% and making operations carbon neutral by 2050. Attila Vajda also mentioned that over the last ten years they have invested around HUF 40 billion to ensure that the production of tissue paper and the operation of the company can be carried out with the most environmentally friendly, sustainable technologies. Founded 25 years ago, Vajda-Papír is a leading domestic manufacturer of tissue paper products, employing around 650 people at group level. The company doubled its turnover in 2022, with a total turnover of more than HUF 80 billion, and the Norwegian subsidiary's turnover was close to HUF 20 billion. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) reached HUF 1.44 billion, compared to HUF 2.7 billion a year earlier. Last year's first-half revenue rose to more than HUF 29 billion, and in the same period of 2021 it reached HUF 21.5 billion, according to the company's previous announcements.