Sylvamo Corporation (NYSE:SLVM) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

John Sims: Thanks, Paul. We said that core to our capital allocation strategy and goal is to continuously increase cash returns to shareholders, So core to that is our dividend and what we want to do is be able to provide stable dividend that grows over time, the balance of it in terms of share buybacks and it’s going to be really based on an opportunistic view, but our first priority and I should say, maintain a strong balance sheet so that we can invest in the cycle and provide a stable growing dividend in the long term. So I think the short answer to your question, to what you’re trying to get it, it really takes a sense of where we think each year in terms of the free cash flow that we generate in terms of how much — whether we can increase it above the $125 million or not going forward.

Paul Quinn: Okay. That’s all I had. Thanks, guys.

Jean-Michel Ribieras: Thank you.

Operator: And we go back to the line of George Staphos with Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Hans Bjorkman: George?

Operator: Mr. Staphos, you have your phone muted, we don’t hear you at this point. Mr. Staphos, if you can hear us, we are unable to hear you. We see inability to hear, Mr. Staphos at this point in time. We don’t have any further questions in queue, you may continue.

Hans Bjorkman: All right, thanks Leah, George will follow up with you after the call. Before I wrap up, Jean-Michel, any closing comments?

Jean-Michel Ribieras: And thank you, Hans, and thanks everybody for joining the call. We remain a cash flow story and we remain committed to returning $125 million dividend and share repurchases in 2023. We remain confident in our ability to generate stronger EBITDA and free cash flows through the cycle. We allocate capital increase to increase shareowner value, we use cash to maintain a strong balance sheet, return cash to shareowners, and reinvest to strengthen our business. In short, we are still very confident through the cycle about Sylvamo.

Hans Bjorkman: Thank you, Jean-Michel, and thanks everyone for joining us today. We appreciate your interest in Sylvamo and we look forward to continuing our discussions in the days and weeks ahead. That concludes our call for today. Thank you.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.