Essity Stock Price, News & Analysis

Essity Aktiebolag (publ) (traded over-the-counter as ETTYF) is described as a company in the sanitary paper product manufacturing industry within the broader manufacturing sector. Public communications from the company repeatedly refer to Essity as a hygiene and health company, reflecting its focus on hygiene-related products and solutions and its positioning in health-oriented markets.

Business focus and industry

Essity is characterized in its own announcements as a global hygiene and health company. Its operations are tied to sanitary paper product manufacturing, and its communications highlight activities in areas such as professional hygiene, consumer tissue and medical solutions. In various reports and press releases, Essity refers to its work in segments including Professional Hygiene, Medical Solutions, Consumer Tissue, and advanced wound care technologies. These references indicate that Essity’s business is centered on hygiene paper products and related health and medical offerings.

The company’s public reporting also notes that it serves both mature markets and emerging markets, and that it has pursued growth in regions such as Australia and New Zealand as well as Latin America through acquisitions and distribution agreements. Essity’s communications describe activities in markets including North America, China and Germany, underlining its international footprint.

Hygiene, health and professional markets

Essity’s press releases describe it as a hygiene and health company with a presence in professional hygiene and medical solutions. In professional hygiene, Essity refers to its Tork brand and to services such as the Tork PaperCircle recycling service, which recycles used paper towels into toilet paper. In a collaboration in Germany, Essity reports that beverage, milkshake and ice cream cups from McDonald’s sites are used as material for some of Essity’s mills and turned into Tork branded toilet paper, illustrating the company’s focus on circular use of fiber-based materials.

Within medical and health-related offerings, Essity has highlighted advanced wound care as an area of focus. The company reports that it acquired distribution rights in Australia and New Zealand for Sorbact wound care technology, which it describes as a clinically established innovation for advanced wound care. According to Essity’s own description, Sorbact is used in wound care products to prevent and treat infections by binding bacteria and fungi, and it does not contain antiseptics or other toxic substances.

Product and brand examples mentioned in disclosures

Essity’s reports and press releases mention several product and brand examples that help illustrate its portfolio within hygiene and health:

• Tork: a brand used for professional hygiene products, including toilet paper. Essity notes that Tork PaperCircle is a recycling service for used paper towels that are turned into toilet paper.
• TENA: within incontinence products, Essity refers to TENA Silhouette washable absorbent underwear as part of an expanded offering of reusable products.
• Libresse: within feminine care, Essity mentions the Libresse V-Cup menstrual cup as part of its reusable product range.
• Sorbact: a wound care technology used in advanced wound care products to prevent and treat infections through a natural binding mechanism for bacteria and fungi.

These examples, drawn from Essity’s own communications, show that the company’s activities extend from sanitary paper products into broader hygiene, incontinence, feminine care and medical wound care solutions.

Geographic reach and market exposure

Essity’s public reporting indicates a broad geographic reach. The company refers to operations and demand in North America, China, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and Germany. It notes that emerging markets account for a significant share of its net sales and that it has sought to build a stronger platform in Latin America through agreements to increase its ownership in the Colombian hygiene company Productos Familia S.A.

Essity also reports that it has been the largest shareholder in the Australian hygiene company Asaleo Care and that it entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining shares, with the goal of enabling growth in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region. These disclosures support the view that Essity uses acquisitions and ownership stakes to strengthen its position in key hygiene markets.

Corporate governance and shareholder matters

Essity regularly communicates outcomes from its Annual General Meetings (AGMs). In these meetings, shareholders approve the parent company and consolidated financial statements, decide on dividends, and resolve on remuneration to board members and committee members. The AGMs also address topics such as:

• Election and re-election of board members and the Chairman of the Board.
• Appointment of the company’s auditor for a mandate period extending to a future AGM.
• Guidelines for remuneration to senior executives and approval of the Board of Directors’ remuneration report.
• Authorizations for the Board of Directors to decide on buy-back of Essity B shares and to transfer shares bought back by the company.
• Resolutions to amend the articles of association, reduce share capital through cancellation of own shares, and increase share capital through bonus issues.

These AGM decisions, as described in Essity’s own releases, highlight the company’s use of share repurchases, capital structure adjustments and incentive programs as part of its corporate governance framework.

Strategic initiatives mentioned in reports

Essity’s interim reports and press releases mention several strategic initiatives aimed at supporting profitability, growth and sustainability. For example, the company has described a Manufacturing Roadmap program extending until 2025, which focuses on optimizing production structure, improving productivity and achieving raw material and energy savings. According to Essity’s description, this program is expected to contribute to annual cost savings and to reduce exposure to wood-based fresh-fiber pulp, which the company links to reduced volatility in profitability and faster progress toward its sustainability targets.

Essity has also communicated price increases in Consumer Tissue and prepared price increases in other product categories in response to higher raw material costs. In its reporting, the company notes that these price changes are announced in its key markets and that the average increases are in the mid-to-high single digits.

Financial reporting and investor communication

Essity publishes interim reports and year-end reports and organizes webcasts and teleconferences where executives present results and answer questions. The company’s communications refer to metrics such as net sales, organic net sales, adjusted EBITA margin, adjusted return on capital employed, and cash flow from current operations. Essity also highlights developments such as changes in market demand, the impact of external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, and the performance of e-commerce sales as a share of net sales.

In its investor communications, Essity notes that it is obligated to make certain information public under the EU Market Abuse Regulation, and it distributes press releases through established news and regulatory channels. The company also uses webcasts and social platforms such as LinkedIn to broadcast presentations of interim reports.

Leadership and organizational developments

Essity’s announcements include information about leadership changes. The company has communicated that its President and CEO informed the Board of Directors of the decision to step down from the CEO role and from the Board during a future period, with a notice period and a recruitment process for a successor. Essity’s AGMs also record re-elections and new elections of board members and changes in the Chairman of the Board, illustrating ongoing governance and leadership development.

Sustainability and circular initiatives

Essity’s public statements emphasize sustainability in both production and product design. The collaboration with McDonald’s Deutschland LLC and logistics partner HAVI in Germany is described as a project that turns used beverage, milkshake and ice cream paper cups into a resource for producing Tork branded toilet paper. Essity notes that all collected paper cup waste from McDonald’s sites in Germany is recycled in this project, and that the solution builds on the Tork PaperCircle service for recycling used paper towels.

In its Manufacturing Roadmap program, Essity links production optimization and raw material savings to its Science Based Targets for sustainability, stating that the program is expected to help achieve these targets faster. The company also highlights that the Sorbact wound care technology does not contain antiseptics or other toxic substances, which it describes as positive for both patients and the environment.

Stock and capital structure context

Essity communicates to shareholders about dividends, record dates and payment dates through its AGM releases. It also describes resolutions to reduce share capital through cancellation of own shares and to increase share capital through bonus issues, as well as authorizations for buy-backs of Essity B shares. These actions, as reported by the company, show that Essity actively manages its capital structure and share base within the framework approved by shareholders.

Position within sanitary paper product manufacturing

Within the sanitary paper product manufacturing industry, Essity’s own descriptions present it as a hygiene and health company with activities in consumer and professional hygiene, medical solutions and advanced wound care. Its communications highlight the use of recycling initiatives, reusable products such as washable absorbent underwear and menstrual cups, and advanced wound care technologies. The company’s focus on both hygiene paper products and broader health-related offerings, combined with its presence in multiple regions and markets, situates Essity as an important participant in the manufacturing of sanitary paper and related hygiene and health products.