Retreating from damaging battles overseas, Australian paper merchant PaperlinX is reinventing itself with an 'old' name.

At its upcoming annual meeting, it will ask shareholders to allow it to become known as Spicers, the name of the ANZ and Asian businesses still making a profit.

Last week it reported a loss after tax of $392.3 million in the year just ended, more than six times the size of last year's loss.

During the year, PaperlinX withdrew from operations in Europe and sold its

Canadian business. A business in Germany is still trading, but paperlinX is looking to sell it off.

Most of this year's loss comes from the write-off of the two largest European businesses - in UK and Benelux - which went into administration following "continued poor performance" and the subsequent sales of other European businesses; and a $64.6 million loss from the divestment of its Canadian business.

"With no guarantee of success given the distressed state of the industry in Europe, the provision of further support would have put extreme pressure on the viability of the remainder of the Group and this was considered too great a risk for directors to take on behalf of shareholders," the report says.

In addition, the Canadian business would have needed significant additional capital to "preserve and enhance its value".

Meanwhile in Australia, New Zeanald and Asia, "sustainable returns" were generated in difficult trading conditions. A strong performer was the sign and display segment, in which an NZ sign industry supplier has been bought.

Managing director and chief executive Andy Preece says the company now aims to become "increasingly diversified" within the region by redirecting cash and investing to transform into a broader wholesale and distribution business.

"Aside from driving the growth of the current diversified portfolio, new business streams are being identified and developed through leveraging existing core competencies and supply chain relationships," he says.