JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A drought in South Africa could cost paper maker Sappi between $5 million and $10 million in the first quarter of 2016 as it would result in slower production in its mills, chief executive Steve Binnie said on Thursday.

The drought – the worst in over a century in the eastern KwaZulu Natal province where Sappi has some mills – will negatively impact profits but Binnie told Reuters the first quarter of next year would still show improvement compared with the first three months of this year.

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by James Macharia, Reuters)