You are given a text that consists of multiple sentences. Your task is to perform abstractive summarization on this text. Use your understanding of the content to express the main ideas and crucial details in a shorter, coherent, and natural sounding text. 
Text: We will also present certain non-U.S. GAAP financial information.
A reconciliation of those figures to U.S. GAAP financial measures is available on our website.
Relative to the Ilim joint venture and Graphic Packaging investment, Slide two provides context around the financial information and measures presented on those entities.
We will begin our discussion on Slide three.
International Paper delivered solid earnings and strong cash generation in the first quarter.
Our mill and converting system performed well to mitigate the significant impact of the winter storm and support a strong customer demand across all of our packaging channels.
We see momentum building, continuing to build across our three businesses with very strong demand for corrugated packaging and containerboard and solid demand for absorbent pulp.
And in papers, we're seeing an improved supply demand backdrop in all of our key geographies.
Our capital allocation in the first quarter, we repaid $108 million of debt and we returned $331 million to shareholders, including $129 million of share repurchases.
Our performance again demonstrates the agility and resilience of International Paper to perform well across many different circumstances.
We're passing the 1-year mark of the global pandemic, and I could not be any prouder of the commitment of our employees to take care of each other and take care of our customers.
The vast majority of our 48,000 team members work in our mills and conversion plants each and every day, and their health and safety remains our most important responsibility.
We also made solid progress on the spin-off of our Printing Papers business, which we expect to complete late in the third quarter this year.
Our team is also making strong progress to develop and deliver multiple streams of earnings initiatives to achieve the $350 million to $400 million in incremental earnings and accelerated growth by the end of 2023.
As we work to build a better IP, we remain laser-focused on delivering superior solutions to our customers, executing well and meeting our commitments to our shareowners and our other stakeholders.
Turning now to Slide four, which shows our first quarter results.
We delivered EBITDA of $730 million and free cash flow of $423 million despite the $80 million pre-tax earnings impact from the winter storm in the Southern U.S. Revenue increased by more than $100 million sequentially, primarily driven by price realization in our Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers businesses.
And again, free cash flow is strong with a continued focus on running our businesses well, controlling our cost and actively managing our working capital.
I'll start with the quarter-over-quarter earnings bridge on Slide five.
First quarter operating earnings were $0.76.
The winter storm impacted pre-tax earnings by $80 million or a $0.15 impact to operating EPS.
We're still in the very early stages of the insurance process and do not have a recovery estimate at this time.
Looking at the bridge, price/mix was strong driven by prior period price flow-through and packaging and cellulose fibers.
Volume was essentially flat with continued strong demand for corrugated packaging and absorbent pulp.
Overall papers volume continues to recover even though we saw the expected seasonal decline for papers in Brazil in the first quarter.
Operations and costs were favorable.
Mill and box system performance was solid and helped mitigate the impact of the winter storm, which was a cost headwind of $55 million to operations.
Maintenance costs increased sequentially, and we expect to complete about 65% of our maintenance outages in the first half of the year.
Input costs were unfavorable, which included a $20 million cost impact from the storm, mostly for energy and raw materials such as starch and adhesives.
Overall, we're seeing higher costs for recovered fiber, energy, chemicals and distribution, which we expect to continue in the second quarter.
Transportation conditions are challenging, and we're experiencing significant rail, truck and ocean transportation congestion.
Higher corporate expenses were driven by a noncash foreign exchange loss on intercompany loans, and lower equity earnings are partly attributed to the reduced ownership position in GPK.
Turning to the segments, and starting with Industrial Packaging on Slide six.
We continue to see strong demand across all of our channels, including box, sheets and containerboard.
For the quarter, volume was essentially flat.
We lost 145,000 tons of containerboard production due to the winter storm.
Although our mills and box plants in the region recovered quickly, the storm did impact sales in the quarter.
We had nearly 30 box plants in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi affected by the storm, which impacted our box shipments in the quarter.
Price and mix was strong.
Our November increase is essentially implemented fully with the $131 million first quarter realization.
And I would add, this is one of the fastest implementations that we've seen.
Operations and cost includes about $55 million impact from the winter storm, about half of which is due to unabsorbed fixed costs and the balance is related to repairs and higher distribution costs.
Overall, mill and box plant performance was solid, and we leveraged our system to support strong customer demand across all of our channels.
Maintenance outage costs increased sequentially.
We did defer about $30 million of maintenance outages from the first to the second quarter due to the significant production loss resulting from the winter storm.
We expect to complete about 75% of our planned maintenance outages for packaging in the first half of the year.
Input costs were a significant headwind in the quarter, including about $20 million related to the winter storm due to higher energy, distribution and raw materials in our mill system and box plants.
Higher recovered fiber costs were another significant headwind in the quarter.
We expect continued cost pressure for recovered fiber, energy distribution in the second quarter, and we're still seeing the lingering effects in certain chemicals produced in Texas and Louisiana as suppliers recover from the winter storm.
Turning to Slide eight.
As we enter the second quarter, we're seeing continued strong demand across all of our channels.
U.S. and export containerboard demand is strong with low inventories in all regions.
Our first quarter shipments were impacted by the significant production loss resulting from the storm.
We're working with our customers to recover from extensive backlogs.
In our U.S. box system demand remains robust as more states start lifting restrictions.
E-commerce, again grew at a strong double-digit pace in the first quarter, and we believe the majority of the accelerated consumer adoption in this channel is permanent.
With states starting to reopen, we're also seeing improved demand in segments with greater exposure to restaurant and foodservice channels, such as produce and protein, although we're still not back to pre-COVID levels.
Nondurables, excluding food and beverage, represents about 30% of U.S. box demand across a wide range of consumer and industrial products.
This segment is benefiting from strong consumer demand in the broad manufacturing sector recovery.
And lastly, demand for durable goods, which had the immediate pullback due to COVID is benefiting from a healthy housing market.
We're well positioned and have the scale and footprint to serve just about every corrugated segment in a meaningful way, and our packaging team continues to focus on delivering superior packaging solutions to help our customers succeed.
Turning to Slide eight.
I'll provide an update on the progress we're making in our EMEA packaging business.
Our objective is to bring this business back to sustainable mid-teen margins and generate returns above our cost of capital.
We're well on our way to achieving our goal.
In the first quarter, we improved adjusted EBITDA by nearly $20 million compared with last year.
The Madrid mill is fully ramped, and we have more integration and cost opportunities available.
We're integrating our world-class lightweight recycled containerboard with our box network in Southern Europe to provide customers with a broader array of packaging solutions.
We've improved our footprint in the Iberian Peninsula through selective acquisitions, including two box plants in Spain acquired at the end of the first quarter.
These acquisitions provide additional integration opportunities with the Madrid mill.
And more importantly, they enhance our commercial capabilities in the region.
We continue to make progress with our box system performance and have more opportunity ahead.
All our plants have clear commercial and operational plans, and we're leveraging the skills and resources from across the company to deliver on our commitments.
The map on the slide shows our packaging footprint in Europe after the sale of our Turkey packaging business, which we expect to close in the second quarter.
After the sale, the EMEA packaging business will have two recycled containerboard mills, 21 box plants and two sheet plants.
And again, our commitment is to bring this business to sustainable returns above our cost of capital.
Moving to Global Cellulose Fibers on Slide nine.
Price and mix was favorable with price realization accelerating across all pulp segments in the first quarter.
Volume was moderately lower due to the shipping delays related to port congestion.
Demand for fluff is solid and we have healthy backlogs.
Operations and costs improved sequentially, driven by the nonrepeat of the $20 million write-off in the fourth quarter as well as solid operations and good cost management.
These improvements were partially offset by about $10 million of higher seasonal energy consumption and an FX loss at our mill in Canada.
Maintenance outage costs decreased as expected, and input costs increased due to higher wood costs in the Mid-Atlantic region as well as higher energy costs.
Demand improved as we entered the year and the end-use demand signals for absorbent hygiene products is healthy.
Turning to Printing Papers on Slide 10.
Our business -- our papers business has demonstrated outstanding resilience throughout the past year.
Our performance reflects the talent and commitment of our team, the scale and capabilities of our global footprint and the strength of our highly valued brands.
We continue to see steady recovery in demand across all regions, which we expect will accelerate with broader return to office and return-to-school activity.
I'd also add that we've seen significant improvement in supply demand dynamics both within the U.S. and outside the U.S. Looking at our first quarter performance, price and mix was stable across the segment.
Volume decreased sequentially due to the lower seasonal demand in Brazil and Russia as expected.
It also meant that the export supply chains are stretched in most regions.
Operations and costs improved on solid operations and good cost management, as well as a favorable FX in Brazil of about $10 million.
Fixed cost absorption improved with economic downtime decreasing by 40,000 tons sequentially across the system.
Maintenance outages increased modestly, as expected, and input costs increased primarily due to higher wood and energy costs in North America.
Looking at Ilim on Slide 11.
The joint venture delivered $49 million in equity earnings in the first quarter with an EBITDA margin of nearly 35%, driven by higher average pricing.
Volume decreased sequentially, primarily due to fewer shipping days because of the Chinese New Year, as well as the impact of tight shipping capacity in China.
Underlying demand remained strong as we enter the second quarter.
And lastly, in April, we saved a $144 million dividend payment from Ilim, which is $44 million higher than the estimate we provided last quarter.
Now we can turn to the outlook on Slide 12, and starting with Industrial Packaging.
We expect price and mix to improve by $75 million on realization of our March 2021 price increase.
Volume is expected to decrease by $10 million on lower seasonal demand in Spain and Morocco as the citrus season winds down.
Operations and costs are expected to improve by $15 million, with the full recovery of the winter storm impact partially offset by higher incentive compensation accruals related to a stronger outlook.
Staying with Industrial Packaging, maintenance outage expense is expected to increase by $77 million.
And input costs are expected to increase by $20 million due to higher OCC, energy, raw materials and distribution costs.
In Global Cellulose Fibers, we expect price and mix to increase by $100 million on realization of prior price movements.
Volume is expected to increase by $5 million.
Operations and costs are expected to decrease earnings by $10 million.
Maintenance outage expense is expected to decrease by $10 million, and input costs are expected to be stable.
Turning to Printing Papers.
We expect price and mix to increase by $25 million.
Volume is expected to increase by $5 million.
Operations and costs are expected to decrease earnings by $10 million due to the nonrepeat of foreign currency gain in Brazil during the first quarter.
Maintenance outage expense is expected to increase by $22 million, and input costs are expected to increase by $5 million.
And under equity earnings, you'll see the outlook for our Ilim joint venture.
Turning to Slide 13.
I want to take a moment to update you on our capital allocation actions in the first quarter.
We're committed to maintaining a strong balance sheet.
We have no significant near-term maturities.
And in the first quarter, we reduced debt by $108 million.
We also returned $331 million to shareholders, including $129 million of share repurchases, which represented about 2.6 million shares at an average price of $50.28.
We acquired two box plants in Spain at the end of the first quarter.
You can expect M&A to continue to focus primarily on bolt-on opportunities in North America and Europe.
And lastly, in the first quarter, we monetized about $400 million of our stake in Graphic Packaging.
After that transaction, we now hold about 7.4% ownership in the partnership.
Turning to Slide 14.
As we enter the second quarter, I'm mindful that we're still in the midst of a global pandemic, and there is still significant uncertainty in the geographies and markets that we operate.
Having said that, we see momentum building in our three businesses.
We continue to see very strong demand for corrugated packaging and containerboard in North America and Europe.
We're also seeing solid demand for absorbent pulp with more favorable supply and demand dynamics as paper-grade pulp demand recovers.
In Printing Papers, we're seeing a steady recovery in demand.
And in areas where schools and offices have reopened, we're seeing a step change improvement.
Overall, we're seeing a much better supply/demand backdrop.
We expect price flow-through from prior price increases across our three businesses.
We expect margins to improve, even as we manage through the impact of higher input costs for recovered fiber, energy and transportation.
In addition, we expect productivity and other cost initiatives to offset general inflation.
All of this contributes to a more favorable outlook for 2021.
I just want to take a moment to reflect on what has now been a full year of living and working in a global pandemic environment.
When we shared our first quarter performance last year, we talked about all the protocols we quickly put in place to keep our employees and contractors safe so that we could continue taking care of our customers.
We stayed diligent about adhering to those protocols, and we will remain steadfast for as long as it takes to get fully and safely past the pandemic.
We continue to operate in this environment with a view toward the short-term and long-term success and sustainability of International Paper for all of our stakeholders, with an unwavering commitment to the health and safety of our employees and contractors, to understanding and taking care of our customers' needs as they also adapt to rapid change, to supporting the critical needs in our communities and to building a better IP for all of our stakeholders.
Since the pandemic began, not a day goes by that I don't think about the commitment of our employees, and especially our frontline teams for their ability to adapt well and perform at a high level across circumstances and geographies.

user
q1 adjusted non-gaap operating earnings per share $0.76.

assistant