UPM back in black for third quarter

Finnish forest products firm UPM is back in the black, posting pre-tax profits of €64m for the third quarter.

The result compares with a €90m loss a year ago. Sales totalled €1.9bn, down from €2.3bn last year.

Despite the improvement, UPM is still running at a €124m loss for January-September.

The company’s forest and timber division was also back in profit, with a €5m operating result, compared with a €5m loss a year ago.

Sawn timber deliveries totalled 355,000m³, bringing January-September production up to 1.08 million m³.

UPM said demand for both redwood and whitewood declined substantially during January-September, compared with 2008, resulting in significantly lower prices.

The plywood division reported a third-quarter €10m operating loss (2008: €2m loss) due to significantly lower delivery volumes and sales prices – deliveries declined 24% to 143,000m³.

However, UPM said demand for birch and spruce plywood was forecast to show slight improvement during the fourth quarter.