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Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation
1. Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation
Nature of Operations
The Company is a leading manufacturer of high purity cellulose, paperboard and high-yield pulp products and operated the following segments during the periods presented in this 2024 Form 10-K: High Purity Cellulose, Paperboard and High-Yield Pulp.
High Purity Cellulose
The Company, through its four production facilities located in the U.S., Canada and France, manufactures and markets high purity cellulose, which is sold as either cellulose specialties or commodity products. Cellulose specialties are primarily used in dissolving chemical applications that require a highly purified form of cellulose. Commodity products are used for absorbent materials and viscose applications. Absorbent materials, typically referred to as fluff, are used as an absorbent medium in consumer products. Commodity viscose is a raw material required for the manufacture of viscose staple fibers which are used in woven and non-woven applications. The Company’s specialized assets also produce bioelectricity and biomaterials, including biofuels, lignin and tall oil soap. Sales of chemicals and energy, by-products of the manufacturing process, are also included in the High Purity Cellulose operating segment.
Paperboard
The Company manufactures and markets lightweight multi-ply paperboard products through its production facility in Canada. Paperboard is used for packaging, printing documents, brochures, promotional materials, paperback book and catalog covers, file folders, tags and lottery tickets.
High-Yield Pulp
The Company manufactures and markets bulky high-yield pulp through its production facility in Canada. Paper manufacturers use high-yield pulp to produce paperboard, packaging, printing and writing papers and various other paper products.
Basis of Presentation
The Financial Statements include the accounts and operations of the Company and its wholly owned, majority owned and controlled subsidiaries. Redeemable noncontrolling interests held in certain of the Company’s consolidated entities are reported as temporary equity in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company applies the equity method of accounting for investments in which it has an ownership interest of 20 percent to 50 percent or exercises significant influence over the related investee operations. All intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Certain amounts in prior periods have been reclassified to conform with the current period presentation.
The Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP and the rules and regulations of the SEC. The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Because of the inherent uncertainties in using estimates, actual results could differ from those expected as of the reporting date. Management believes that the estimates and assumptions used are reasonable.
The Company’s fiscal year end is the last day of the calendar year. For interim reporting periods, the Company uses the last Saturday of the fiscal quarter.
Discontinued Operations
As a result of the sale of its lumber and newsprint assets in August 2021, the Company presents the results for those operations and any associated impacts as discontinued operations. Unless otherwise stated, information in these notes to consolidated financial statements relates to continuing operations. See Note 4—Discontinued Operations for further information.
Altamaha Green Energy LLC
The Company is involved with AGE, under a preliminary joint venture agreement with Beasley Green Power, LLC. AGE aims to construct a biomass boiler and turbine to produce and sell green electricity to Georgia Power Company. AGE is not engaged in any other operating activities and since formation it has only been focused on developing feasibility studies for this project and handling related administrative matters. AGE expenses to date have been shared evenly by RYAM and Beasley and have not been material for the Company for any of the periods presented. The amounts expensed by the Company have been recorded as general and administrative expenses. Once the project evolves from the development stage and the current joint venture agreement between the Company and Beasley is amended to reflect the appropriate terms, the Company will evaluate the accounting and disclosure implications.
Subsequent Events
In February and March 2025, the U.S. government imposed new tariffs on products imported from China, Canada and Mexico, which have and may result in additional retaliatory tariffs and other trade actions from these nations. Given the evolving nature of trade policies and the potential for further modifications, reductions or expansions of these tariffs, it remains uncertain how these actions will ultimately impact the Company.
Beginning in January 2025, the Company reorganized its High Purity Cellulose operating segment as a result of changes in its internal operating model, significant developments in its Biomaterials strategy (see Note 2—Significant Accounting Policies and Recent Accounting Developments—Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest and Note 10—Debt and Finance Leases for information regarding the newly-formed subsidiary, BioNova, and important financing milestones reached) and a successful enterprise reporting system launch that significantly enhances the Company’s financial reporting capabilities. Specifically, the Company determined, in light of these new developments and capabilities, that the performance and outlook of the High Purity Cellulose business will be better managed as three separate businesses: Cellulose Specialties, Cellulose Commodities and a new Biomaterials business. No changes were made to the composition of the Paperboard and High-Yield Pulp operating segments. The Company will begin reporting based on this new segment structure in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of fiscal 2025.