June 24, 2009 — The Top 100 Forest, Paper and Packaging (FPP) companies from around the world saw net income tumble from positive $13.8 billion in 2007 to record losses of $8.0 billion in 2008, the first time this metric has been negative since 1996, the date PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) began the annual PwC Global Forest, Paper & Packaging Industry Survey. This year’s survey shows that:

• Total sales were $357 billion in 2008, up from $333 billion in 2007.
• Cash flow from operations totaled $26 billion in 2008, down from $31 billion in 2007.
• Operating income of $21 billion represented a decrease of 19% compared to 2007.
• Average ROCE (return on capital employed) dropped from 4.9% in 2007 to 2.4% in 2008. Only six companies earned a return of 10% or more in 2008, compared to 14 in 2007.