UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.)

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Definitive Proxy Statement

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Definitive Additional Materials

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Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

Glatfelter Corporation

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

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NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

Time and Date:

Friday, May 10, 2024 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Virtual Meeting

Place:

www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/GLT2024

The 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Annual Meeting") of Glatfelter Corporation ("Glatfelter," the "Company," "we," "us," or "our"), a Pennsylvania corporation, will be held on Friday, May 10, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to consider and act on the following proposals:

  • 1. the election of seven members of the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") to serve until our 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and until their successors are elected and qualified;

  • 2. the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024;

  • 3. the advisory approval of the Company's 2023 named executive officer compensation ("Say-on-Pay" vote); and

  • 4. such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting.

Only holders of record of the Company's common stock at the close of business on March 14, 2024 (the "Record Date") will be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting.

If you are a holder of record of the Company's common stock on the Record Date, it is important that your shares be represented and we encourage you to vote your shares in advance of the Annual Meeting. Please vote your shares by telephone at 1-800-690-6903, online atwww.proxyvote.com, or by completing and signing the enclosed proxy card and returning it promptly in the enclosed envelope (requiring no postage if mailed in the United States). If you choose, you may still vote online during the Annual Meeting, even if you previously voted by telephone, internet, or mail.

In order to encourage participation and minimize any logistical obstacles for our shareholders, we are holding the Annual Meeting exclusively in a virtual only format via live webcast on the internet, also known as a "virtual meeting." There will not be a physical location for the Annual Meeting, and you will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person.

To participate in the Annual Meeting, you must log ontowww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/GLT2024 (the "Meeting Website") and enter the 16-digit control number found on your proxy card, voting instruction form, or Notice of Availability. Therefore, it is very important that you retain your proxy card, voting instruction form, or Notice of Availability if you wish to virtually attend the Annual Meeting. You may vote your shares and ask questions during the Annual Meeting by following the instructions available on the Meeting Website. We encourage you to access the Meeting Website prior to the start time to familiarize yourself with the virtual meeting platform and ensure you can hear the streaming audio. Online access will be available starting at 7:45 a.m. on May 10, 2024. Whether or not you plan to virtually attend the Annual Meeting, we urge you to vote and submit your proxy in advance of the Annual Meeting by one of the methods described above.

Jill L. Urey, Secretary

March 26, 2024

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE COMPANY'S 2024

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON MAY 10, 2024:

Glatfelter Corporation's proxy statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and 2023 Annual Report are available via the Internet atwww.glatfelter.com/investors/financials-and-filings/.

2024 PROXY STATEMENT

Table of Contents

PROXY SUMMARY .........................................................................................................................................................................................

1

PROPOSAL 1: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS ..............................................................................................................................................

10

PROPOSAL 2: RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM ............

15

PROPOSAL 3: ADVISORY APPROVAL OF 2023 NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION ("SAY-ON-PAY" VOTE).

16

OWNERSHIP OF COMPANY STOCK .........................................................................................................................................................

17

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management ............................................................................................ 17

Equity Compensation Plan Information ................................................................................................................................................ 19

Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports ......................................................................................................................................................... 19

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS ..............................................................................................................

20

Corporate Governance Principles ......................................................................................................................................................... 20

Board Composition and Leadership ..................................................................................................................................................... 20

Board Independence ............................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Evaluation of Board Nominees ............................................................................................................................................................. 21

Resignation and Majority Voting Policy ................................................................................................................................................ 21

Proxy Access ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 22

Board Meetings ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 22

Committees of the Board of Directors .................................................................................................................................................. 22

Continuing Board Education .................................................................................................................................................................. 23

Board Self-Assessment .......................................................................................................................................................................... 24

Risk Oversight .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 24

Director Compensation ........................................................................................................................................................................... 25

ENHANCING EVERYDAY LIFE®…SUSTAINABLY ....................................................................................................................................

28

Environmental Impact ............................................................................................................................................................................. 28

Social Responsibility ............................................................................................................................................................................... 30

Governance and Ethics .......................................................................................................................................................................... 31

HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT ...............................................................................................................................................................

33

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION ....................................................................................................................................................................

35

Compensation Discussion and Analysis .............................................................................................................................................. 35

Report of the Compensation Committee ............................................................................................................................................. 55

Summary Compensation Table ............................................................................................................................................................. 56

Grants of Plan-Based Awards ............................................................................................................................................................... 58

Outstanding Equity Awards .................................................................................................................................................................... 59

Options Exercised and Stock Vested ................................................................................................................................................... 61

Retirement Benefits ................................................................................................................................................................................. 62

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control ........................................................................................................... 65

PAY VERSUS PERFORMANCE ...................................................................................................................................................................

70

CEO PAY RATIO ..............................................................................................................................................................................................

76

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS .............................................................................................................

77

REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE ......................................................................................................................................................

78

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ("FAQs") ..........................................................................................................................................

79

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................................................................

85

Annual Report on Form 10-K ................................................................................................................................................................. 85

Other Business ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 85

"Householding" ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 85

2024 PROXY STATEMENT

Proxy Summary

This Proxy Summary highlights information explained more fully elsewhere in this proxy statement. We ask that you read the entire proxy statement before voting.

Annual Meeting Information

Time and Date:

Friday, May 10, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time

Place:

Virtual Meetingwww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/GLT2024

Record Date:

March 14, 2024

Voting:

Shareholders of Glatfelter as of the Record Date are entitled to vote. Each share of Glatfelter common stock is entitled to one vote for each director nominee and one vote for each of the other proposals to be voted upon at the Annual Meeting.

Proposals Requiring Your Vote

Your vote is very important to us and our business. Please cast your vote immediately on all proposals to ensure your shares are represented.

Board

Recommendation Page

1

PROPOSAL 1 - Election of Directors

10

The seven director nominees possess the necessary qualifications and range of experience and expertise to provide effective oversight and advice to Management.

FOR

2

PROPOSAL 2 - Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm The Board, at the recommendation of the Audit Committee, approved the

15

appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company's independent auditor for fiscal year 2024. Shareholders are being asked to ratify the Audit Committee's appointment of the independent auditor for fiscal year 2024.

FOR

3

PROPOSAL 3 - Advisory Approval of 2023 Named Executive Officer Compensation ("Say-on-Pay" Vote)

16

The Company's executive compensation program is designed to create a direct

linkage between shareholder interests and Management, with incentives specifically tailored to the achievement of financial and operational goals and total shareholder return ("TSR").

FOR

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Any statements included in this proxy statement that pertain to future financial and business matters are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company uses words such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "future," "intends," "plans," "targets," and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding recent leadership changes and the benefits thereof, the plans and objectives of Management, the Turnaround Strategy (as defined herein), proposed and pending transactions and acquisitions and the success and timing thereof, the Company's anticipated financial and operational performance, and the Company's environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") initiatives, plans, and goals and the realization and benefits of such initiatives, plans, and goals, as well as all statements and estimates relating to the proposed transaction with Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) (the "Proposed Transaction"), including its expected timing, structure and related approvals, the ability of the parties to complete the Proposed Transaction, expected benefits of such transaction, including future financial and operating results and financing plans, the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, and other statements that are not historical facts. Any such statements are based on the Company's current expectations and are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties, and other unpredictable or uncontrollable factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other unpredictable or uncontrollable factors include, but are not limited to, those described herein, in Part I, "Item 1A. Risk Factors," and under the heading "Forward-Looking Statements" and in other sections of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the "2023 Form 10-K") filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and in its other filings with the SEC, all of which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In light ofthese risks, uncertainties, and other factors, the forward-looking matters discussed in this proxy statement may not occur and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company speaks only as of the date such statement was made, and the Company undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new circumstances, information, future events or otherwise, occurring after the date of this proxy statement, except as may be required by applicable law or regulation.

Websites

Website addresses referenced in this proxy statement are provided for convenience only, and the content on the referenced websites does not constitute a part of, and is specifically not incorporated by reference into, this proxy statement.

Core Values: Who We Are and What We Stand For

Our Core Values guide and capture the essence of the Company's identity and culture, establishing the values upon which to build and govern our business for the long-term. Making decisions based upon our Core Values is what makes us who we are as a Company.

Our Core Values are:

Integrity

We act ethically and responsibly in all of our business endeavors at all times.

Financial Discipline

We are responsible for the prudent management of the resources entrusted to us and for the generation of financial value for all constituents.

Mutual Respect

We treat each other with honesty and respect. We recognize that what we have and what we will achieve is through the efforts of our employees. We strive to provide them with rewarding challenges and opportunities for advancement.

Customer

Focus

We are dedicated to understanding and anticipating the needs of our customers and helping them achieve their business objectives.

Environmental Responsibility

We empower employees to take personal responsibility for environmental issues that arise on the job. We strive to prevent pollution by using natural resources efficiently, reducing waste, encouraging recycling and reuse, and reducing adverse environmental impacts relating to our operations, all with the goal to foster environmental sustainability worldwide for the benefit of future generations.

Social Responsibility

We recognize our responsibility to contribute to the betterment of the communities in which we operate and the world in which we live.

Building Momentum in Engineered Materials

After a five-year journey to strategically transform into a leading global supplier of engineered materials, Glatfelter is now a $1.4 billion company by net sales, with three distinct reporting segments - Airlaid Materials, Composite Fibers, and Spunlace. We employ approximately 2,920 people worldwide, following the 2023 divestiture of our Ober-Schmitten operations in Germany and sale of a fiber supply operation in Costa Rica and our 2021 acquisitions of two leading engineered materials businesses, Georgia-Pacific's U.S. nonwovens business ("Mount Holly") and Jacob Holm ("Spunlace"). The completion of the Mount Holly and Spunlace acquisitions have improved the balance of our geographic sales mix between the Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) at 48% and 44%, respectively, with the remaining 8% coming from Asia Pacific.

In 2022, President and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") Mr. Thomas M. Fahnemann and his leadership team initiated a Turnaround Strategy with the purpose of optimizing our portfolio, improving our operations, and addressing our capital structure and overall financial performance.

The Turnaround Strategy is comprised of six key initiatives: (1) portfolio optimization, (2) margin improvement, (3) fixed cost reduction, (4) cash liberation, (5) operational effectiveness, and (6) returning the Spunlace segment to profitability.

Additional details related to the Turnaround Strategy are included in the "Business Highlights" section beginning on page 5.

In 2023, the Board continued to assess the leadership needed to address the specific business concerns and unlock Glatfelter's full value potential. In an effort to streamline decision making and real-time assessment of the business needs of our commercial and supply chain functions under a single point of accountability for delivering results, on April 5, 2023, the Board appointed Mr. Boris Illetschko as Senior Vice President ("SVP"), Chief Operating Officer ("COO"), replacing Mr. Christopher W. Astley, former SVP, Chief Commercial Officer and Mr. Wolfgang Laures, former SVP, Integrated Global Supply Chain and Information Technology (the "COO transition"). Mr. Illetschko joined Glatfelter on August 1, 2023 after completing his legally required notice period. This change in executive leadership was not related to Glatfelter's operations, financial reporting or controls, or personal conduct.

On February 7, 2024, we announced the signing of definitive agreements with Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE: BERY) for Berry to spin-off and merge the majority of its Health, Hygiene and Specialties segment to include its Global Nonwovens and Films business ("HHNF") with us, with the goal of creating a leading, publicly-traded company in the specialty materials industry. We anticipate the Proposed Transaction will lead to favorable long-term growth dynamics and believe the new combined company ("NewCo") will become a global leader in the growing specialty materials industry, serving many of the world's largest brand owners across global end markets.

For Glatfelter, the Proposed Transaction represents the next significant milestone in the Company's time-tested strategy as a leading global supplier of engineered materials. We believe the proposed combination of Berry's HHNF business and Glatfelter could provide meaningful scale given our complementary technology and product portfolios, along with a platform for considerable future growth. We anticipate that once formed and operational, NewCo could deliver significant value creation for Glatfelter shareholders by deleveraging Glatfelter's balance sheet and increasing the equity value of our overall enterprise, while also enhancing our credit profile with customers and suppliers. Our recent focus on optimizing our portfolio, managing the price/cost spread dynamic, and driving commercial and operational excellence, along with general and administrative cost discipline, provides the opportunity to meaningfully contribute towards the overall success of NewCo.

Closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the second half of 2024, subject to various customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and Glatfelter shareholder approval, which will be solicited through a special shareholder meeting. Shareholders will not be voting on the Proposed Transaction at this Annual Meeting. Shareholders will receive a separate proxy statement and related materials before the special shareholder meeting that will be held to seek shareholder approval for the Proposed Transaction.

Our Board of Directors

Our director nominees have diverse experience spanning a broad range of industries in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. They bring a wide variety of skills, qualifications, and viewpoints that strengthen and enrich the Board's ability to carry out its oversight role as fiduciaries on behalf of our shareholders. We believe that Glatfelter, and our shareholders, clearly benefit from the Board's individual and collective business acumen, sound judgment, informed decision-making, and careful guidance and oversight. The chart below summarizes some of their key skills and experience that we find relevant to our business. As a summary, the chart does not include all of the attributes, expertise, or skills that our director nominees offer, and the fact that a particular attribute, expertise, or skill is not listed does not mean that our director nominees do not possess it.

Board Skills and Experience

Capital Markets / Investor Relations

Consumer Packaged Goods Industry

Corporate Governance, Compliance,

Regulatory & Risk Management

Corporate Strategy / M&A

Environmental / Sustainability

Financial Literacy

Government / Regulatory

High Integrity and Ethical Behavior

Human Resource / Executive Compensation

Relevant Industry (Non-wovens, Fiber-based

Materials, Engineered Products)Information Technology / Cybersecurity

Innovation / Transformation

International

Leadership (Chairman, CEO, President,

Sr. Managing Director and /or CFO)

Manufacturing / Supply Chain

SEC Audit Committee Financial Expert

(Independent Directors only)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Data on the seven director nominees with respect to their age, diversity, and tenure on the Board is aggregated in the pie charts below. Of the seven director nominees who elected to self-identify and consented to the public disclosure of their race, ethnicity, or gender, two identify as women and one identifies as racially or ethnically diverse. We believe a diverse Board helps bring unique perspectives to the organization, and we are committed to maintaining Board diversity.

Director Age

Director Diversity

Director Tenure

42.9%

57.1%

28.6% 42.9%42.9%

14.3%

14.3%

Age < 60 (28.6%)

Women (28.6%)

Age 60-70 (42.9%)

Racially Diverse (14.3%)

Age > 70 (28.6%)

<5 years (42.9%)6-10 years (14.3%)>10 years (42.9%)

All Others (57.1%)

Enhancing Everyday Life® . . . Sustainably

Our commitment to sustainability and being a responsible corporate citizen has been longstanding. We contribute to the health, well-being, and betterment of everyday living for millions of people around the world. Our existing products contain mostly plant-based fibers and are engineered for performance.

In 2019, Glatfelter formalized its sustainability priorities under the Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") pillars. We issued our first Sustainability Report in 2020 to share our commitment to advancing our ESG strategy. In 2022, we published our second Sustainability report for 2021-2022, which included ESG targets and mid-term commitments for the Company.

We are committed to operating as a responsible steward of the environment and creating a more sustainable world for future generations. We also have a consistent record of following through on commitments to our employees and supporting the communities where we work and live. The pursuit of our vision to be the leading global supplier of engineered materials is supported by our Core Values, strong governance standards, the Glatfelter Code of Business Conduct, and other governance policies and principles.

Human Capital Management

Our business is guided by our diverse Board and Management team comprised of leaders with extensive business and industry experience. Additional information on our leadership team is set forth in our 2023 Form 10-K under the caption "Executive Officers" and available on our website atwww.glatfelter.com/about/leadership. As of December 31, 2023, we employed approximately 2,920 people worldwide, the substantial majority of whom are skilled personnel responsible for the production and commercialization of our composite fibers, airlaid materials, and spunlace products. Our operations are continuous flow manufacturing with approximately 68.3% of our employees represented by local works councils or trade unions in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Philippines. The daily work of Glatfelter employees is rooted in the Company's longstanding Core Values and Code of Business Conduct. We understand how important it is to be a good neighbor, employer, and corporate citizen, as we aim to provide current and potential employees around the globe with good paying jobs and meaningful work, close to home. It is through these principles that we strive to create a shared purpose of Enhancing Everyday Life® for our employees and stakeholders.

Business Highlights

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Glatfelter is a leading global supplier of engineered materials with a strong focus on innovation and sustainability. Our high-quality, innovative, and customizable solutions are found in tea and single-serve coffee filtration and personal hygiene products, as well as in many diverse packaging, home improvement, and industrial applications. Our 2023 net sales were $1.4 billion, with customers in over 100 countries. Our operations utilize a variety of manufacturing technologies including airlaid, wetlaid, and spunlace, with fifteen manufacturing sites located in the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the Philippines. We have salesoffices in all major geographies serving customers under the Glatfelter and Sontara® brands. In addition, we have two global centers of excellence - one in Switzerland and one in the United States.

We manage our business and make investment decisions under a functional operating model with three distinct reporting segments: Airlaid Materials, Composite Fibers, and Spunlace. For 160 years, we have developed deep partnerships with our customers and suppliers and have demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship by broadly promoting responsible corporate citizenship in the communities in which we operate.

Glatfelter is focused on producing products that enhance everyday life with approximately 85% of its manufacturing output producing essential consumer staples. We believe that these product categories position the Company to deliver long-term shareholder value with greater influence in growth markets, more innovative products, and expanded margins.

As of the end of the fiscal year 2023, Glatfelter reported a loss from continuing operations of $78.1 million. On an adjusted basis, we delivered approximately $93 million of Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and certain non-GAAP adjustments) amid a very challenging market driven by customer destocking across multiple categories and competition from lower cost alternate substrates as customers managed input costs. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that is reconciled to the nearest GAAP measure onpage 21 of our 2023 Form 10-K filed on February 28, 2024.

  • • Our Airlaid Materials segment delivered operating profit of $43.2 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $73.7 million, which was approximately $11.3 million lower than 2022. The earnings was negatively impacted by lower shipments of 5.1% and lower production as some customers slowed ordering patterns to manage inventory levels built up at the end of 2022 to avoid anticipated energy and supply chain disruptions at the beginning of 2023. Selling price increases and energy surcharges were fully offset by higher raw material, energy and other inflationary costs.

  • • Our Composite Fibers segment delivered operating profit of $21.3 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $37.0 million which was slightly higher than 2022. Higher selling prices and energy surcharges more than offset the continued inflation in energy, raw material, and freight, particularly in the first half of the year and was a net favorable benefit of $11.2 million. The price cost gap benefit was mostly offset by lower shipments of 8.1% driven by customer destocking in food and beverage categories, divestiture of the Ober-Schmitten business and overall market softness in other categories.

  • • Our Spunlace segment had an operating loss of $2.1 million dollars and Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $11.2 million, which was approximately $8.6 million higher versus 2022. Higher selling prices and energy surcharges particularly in the first half of the year were partially offset by higher raw material and energy costs that persisted in the first half of year, but the price cost gap further improved in the second half of 2023 as inflationary pressures eased and overall positively impacted earnings by $11.6 million. Volume was lower across all categories driven by post-COVID contraction, cheaper cost alternatives from Asia and overcapacity in the market. The impact of volume decline was partially offset by additional steps taken to improve earnings through headcount actions and operational efficiencies.

In late 2022, an ongoing Turnaround Strategy comprised of six key initiatives was implemented to aggressively drive improvements in the Company's profitability amid the unprecedented global inflation and the geopolitical conflicts in Russia/Ukraine, each of which yielded major challenges that impacted Glatfelter's financial performance.

  • Portfolio optimization - Includes reviewing our entire asset portfolio and considering the strategic, financial, and operational value of each asset in the near- and long-term; continued focus is on areas of our portfolio that have scale, or the potential for scale, a strong market-leading position and core competencies in manufacturing technology. Actions taken included the 2023 sale of our Ober-Schmitten, Germany business and Costa Rica fiber supply operation.

  • Margin improvement - Places greater focus on profitability by addressing input costs rather than simply top-line growth. In 2023, our Composite Fibers and Spunlace segments benefited from actions taken to improve margin to historical levels.

  • Fixed cost reduction - Includes evaluating our fixed costs and taking action to make significant reductions in personnel costs and indirect spending. The actions implemented in 2022 have improved our cost structure offsetting the impact of labor inflation and helping to mitigate the negative impact from lower volume. In addition, we identified additional opportunities in 2023 that we anticipate completing in 2024 to further improve our overall cost structure.

  • Cash liberation - Supported by the work on the first three initiatives and includes goal of paying down debt, decreasing our leverage, and increasing EBITDA, along with prudent oversight of capital allocation and a disciplined approach to managing our accounts receivables, finished goods inventory, and raw material pricing.

The Board's decision in 2022 to suspend the declaration of dividends on our common stock is expected to free up approximately $25 million of cash annually. A series of debt refinancing transactions was completed in 2023, eliminating near-term debt maturities and strengthening our capital position.

  • Operational effectiveness - Places greater focus on driving continuous improvements across our operations, identifying areas for process enhancements and waste reduction, and expanding operational best practices across the organization.

  • Return Spunlace to profitability - Includes all the initiatives in our turnaround plan with a heightened sense of urgency for returning the Spunlace segment to profitability.

2023 Financial Performance - Year in Review

For the year ended December 31, 2023, we reported a loss from continuing operations of $78.1 million, or loss of $1.73 per share compared with a loss of $194.1 million and loss of $4.33 per share in 2022. In 2023, we reported an adjusted loss from continuing operations, a non-GAAP measure (as defined below) of $38.7 million, or $0.86 per share, compared with an adjusted loss from continuing operations of $19.0 million, or $0.42 per share in 2022. These results reflected the significant impact of lower shipments seen across categories related to customer inventory destocking, competitive pressures from lower cost alternatives and overcapacity in the market. Our interest expense of $61.7 million, as compared to $32.8 million in 2022, related to higher interest rates and debt refinancing, lowered earnings by approximately $28.9 million. The six-point Turnaround Strategy noted above was implemented in 2022 to aggressively drive profitability improvement across the enterprise and helped mostly offset the significant market headwinds and operational challenges we experienced in 2023.

Airlaid Materials' results decreased earnings by $11.6 million, primarily driven by lower shipments and related machine downtime due to customer inventory destocking as well as weak European markets. Price increases and energy surcharges mostly offset inflation while operational spending was higher compared to 2022 due to extended planned downtime in our Gatineau facility and a fire that occurred in our Fort Smith facility. Composite Fibers increased earnings by $4.4 million mainly driven by the margin improvement initiative as part of the Turnaround Strategy, which improved price cost gap by approximately $11.2 million. The favorable impact was partially offset by lower volume and related impact of machine downtime due to customer destocking and pricing pressures as input costs remained elevated in first half of 2023. Spunlace had an operating loss of $2.1 million in 2023, which improved by $7.2 million versus 2022, despite lower shipments of 15%. The higher earnings in 2023 despite a weak market were largely attributed to Turnaround Strategy initiatives implemented, such as improving margins to historical levels through pricing actions, lowering fixed costs through headcount actions and operations improvement initiatives.

Cash used by operating activities totaled $25.6 million in 2023, compared with cash usage of $40.8 million a year ago. The improvement in operating cash flow despite lower earnings was largely driven by lower working capital cash usage of $41 million as inflation lowered significantly in the second half of 2023 compared to the end of 2022, lowering cash costs for carrying inventory as well as prices to our customers in accounts receivables. Cash used to pay interest increased by $26.0 million. During 2023 and 2022, capital expenditures totaled $33.8 million and $37.7 million, respectively.

The following charts present financial information for the periods indicated. Adjusted EBITDA by reporting segment represents operating profit, as presented on page 22 in our 2023 Form 10-K, adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization (totals exclude corporate unallocated costs and other income and expense items). A reconciliation of Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted Earnings Per Share to the nearest GAAP measure is provided onpage 20 of our 2023 Form 10-K.

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Disclaimer

P.H. Glatfelter Company published this content on 26 March 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 26 March 2024 20:56:24 UTC.