NACE division

NACE 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products

188 companies currently classified in this industry by CSP

This division includes the manufacture of pulp, paper, converted paper and the manufacture of products of recycled goods from wood, paper, cardboard and paperboard. The manufacture of these products is grouped together because they constitute a series of vertically connected processes. More than one activity is often carried out in a single unit. The manufacture of pulp involves separating the cellulose fibres from other matter in wood, or dissolving and de-inking of used paper, and mixing in small amounts of reagents to reinforce the binding of the fibres. Converted paper products are made from paper and other materials by various techniques. The paper articles may be printed (for example, wallpaper, gift wrap), as long as the printing of information is not the main purpose. The production of pulp, paper and paperboard in bulk is included in group 17.1, while the remaining classes include the production of further-processed paper and paper products.

Industry indicators

Median, 25th and 75th percentile across companies in the industry for the selected year.

Size

NACE 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products · 2025 · Size
Indicator25th percentileMedian75th percentileTotalCompanies
Net turnover Reported net turnover€1,936€165,874€1,025,603€167m112
Net profit or loss Reported net income-€2,308€800€32,744€8 276k112
Total assets Reported total assets€7,265€103,165€682,174€168m112
Employees Reported average employees1312.51,566112

Profitability

NACE 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products · 2025 · Profitability
Indicator25th percentileMedian75th percentileTotalCompanies
Revenue growth (Net turnover − previous year net turnover) ÷ previous year net turnover-12.9%0.4%20.2%—92
Gross profit margin Gross profit ÷ net turnover8.5%21.8%39.7%—86
Net profit margin Net profit ÷ net turnover-5%2.6%10.1%—93
Return on assets (ROA) Net profit ÷ total assets at year end-12.8%1.4%16.4%—107
Return on equity (ROE) Net profit ÷ equity at year end-2.6%10.5%31.2%—82

Liquidity

NACE 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products · 2025 · Liquidity
Indicator25th percentileMedian75th percentileTotalCompanies
Current ratio Current assets ÷ current liabilities0.78×1.85×4.25×—105
Quick ratio (Current assets − inventories) ÷ current liabilities0.29×1.03×2.61×—105
Cash ratio Cash ÷ current liabilities0.02×0.2×0.75×—105

Capital structure

NACE 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products · 2025 · Capital structure
Indicator25th percentileMedian75th percentileTotalCompanies
Equity ratio Equity ÷ total assets3.4%52.4%88.8%—107
Debt-to-assets Liabilities ÷ total assets (liabilities = total equity and liabilities − equity)11.2%47.6%96.6%—107
Debt-to-equity Liabilities ÷ equity0.08×0.54×1.21×—82

Activity and efficiency

NACE 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products · 2025 · Activity and efficiency
Indicator25th percentileMedian75th percentileTotalCompanies
Asset turnover Net turnover ÷ total assets0.47×1.31×2.75×—107
Receivables collection period Accounts receivable ÷ net turnover × 36520 days38 days72 days—93
Revenue per employee Net turnover ÷ average employees€8,991€52,377€84,332—95

Cash generation

NACE 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products · 2025 · Cash generation
Indicator25th percentileMedian75th percentileTotalCompanies
Operating cash-flow margin Net operating cash flow ÷ net turnover5.2%10.4%15%—7

Taxes

NACE 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products · 2025 · Taxes
Indicator25th percentileMedian75th percentileTotalCompanies
Taxes paid VID published annual total€5€10,460€129,410€24m126
Taxes paid per employee Taxes paid ÷ VID average employees€3,494€8,689€14,650—89

Median Net turnover by year

Median Net turnover by year
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Median Net turnover by year
2019€118,694
2020€99,258
2021€153,131
2022€133,954
2023€136,077
2024€149,355
2025€165,874

Largest companies by net turnover

Active companies, by net turnover in their latest annual report.

Classes in this division

Sources and method

Methodology, sample and formulas
Population and report selection
Each company contributes at most one value per year and indicator. Current CSP NACE 2.1 classification is applied to all historical years. FTM selects a non-annulled, non-removed annual DUF report by latest period end, then registration date and record ID. Monetary comparisons use EUR reports with the filed rounding unit applied.
Median and quartiles
P25, median (P50) and P75 use continuous percentiles with linear interpolation between ordered observations. The shaded range spans P25–P75, the middle half of company values. Companies have equal weight; figures are not revenue-weighted.
Outliers
No trimming, winsorisation or outlier exclusion is applied. Extreme reported values remain in the distribution. The interquartile band reduces their visual influence but does not remove them.
Minimum sample
At least 5 valid company values are required separately for each year, indicator and group. The displayed company count is that indicator’s sample, not every company in the industry. Smaller samples are not published.
Periods and annualisation
The last seven completed calendar years are published. Ratios use closing balance-sheet values, not average balances. Results are not annualised or inflation-adjusted; short or long reporting periods can affect comparisons. Receivable days use a fixed 365-day convention.
Missing or invalid inputs
Missing inputs and zero or negative denominators produce no ratio, not zero. Quick ratio requires reported inventories. Growth requires the preceding calendar year. Liabilities use total equity and liabilities minus equity, otherwise current plus non-current liabilities and reported provisions.
Above, below or close
“Close” means within 10% of the P75–P25 range around the median (an exact match if the range is zero). Above and below describe position, not good or bad performance. No company percentile rank or credit score is inferred.
Derived annual taxes
For completed years with all four quarters, tax amounts are summed and average employees are the four-quarter average rounded down. Published quarterly values in thousands of EUR are converted to EUR. These derived years take precedence in comparisons. Missing quarters are not extrapolated.

How these indicators are calculated

Net turnover
Reported net turnover
Net profit or loss
Reported net income
Total assets
Reported total assets
Employees
Reported average employees
Revenue growth
(Net turnover − previous year net turnover) ÷ previous year net turnover
Gross profit margin
Gross profit ÷ net turnover
Net profit margin
Net profit ÷ net turnover
Return on assets (ROA)
Net profit ÷ total assets at year end
Return on equity (ROE)
Net profit ÷ equity at year end
Current ratio
Current assets ÷ current liabilities
Quick ratio
(Current assets − inventories) ÷ current liabilities
Cash ratio
Cash ÷ current liabilities
Equity ratio
Equity ÷ total assets
Debt-to-assets
Liabilities ÷ total assets (liabilities = total equity and liabilities − equity)
Debt-to-equity
Liabilities ÷ equity
Asset turnover
Net turnover ÷ total assets
Receivables collection period
Accounts receivable ÷ net turnover × 365
Revenue per employee
Net turnover ÷ average employees
Operating cash-flow margin
Net operating cash flow ÷ net turnover
Taxes paid
VID published annual total
Taxes paid per employee
Taxes paid ÷ VID average employees

Distributions are calculated by FTM from published annual reports and VID tax payments, grouped by each company’s current CSP NACE Rev. 2.1 class. Ratios use year-end balances. Groups with fewer than 5 companies are not shown. “Close to median” means within 10% of the interquartile range of the median.

Earlier years are grouped by the company’s current classification. VID publishes tax debts per company only, so there is no industry tax-debt statistic.

Benchmarks published 2026-10-19.

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