Toilet paper giant Kruger, hit by tariff uncertainty, delays expansion decision and withholds guidance

By Christinne Muschi
The Canadian Press in the Globe and Mail
March 5, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

KP Tissue says it won’t provide guidance for its next quarter and has delayed a decision on a major capital investment because of US tariffs. The publicly traded Mississauga-based company, which owns 12.5% of Kruger Products and shares the same management team, typically provides earnings guidance when it reports earnings. But CFO Dino Bianco said that Kruger/KP would not provide profit guidance for Q1 “given the evolving news and volatility.” …Roughly one-third of Kruger’s revenues are exposed to tariffs, made at its nine Canadian plants and Canadian softwood pulp used by its one US facility, in Memphis. The company has also delayed a decision on where to locate a new US$600-million tissue manufacturing facility. Kruger has scouted locations in Canada and the US and had expected to make its pick in early 2025. …Further complicating the decision, he said, are the exchange rate, possible reciprocal tariffs, a potential recession and “collateral impacts around freight.” 

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