Stora Enso’s timber business returns to profit

22 October, 2009

Stora Enso’s wood products business returned to profit in the third quarter with an operating result of €9.4m.

The profit was up 166% on a year ago due to lower raw material and fixed costs. The company reported a seasonal improvement in demand and a reasonable supply and demand balance, with good order inflow and rising prices.

“After bottoming out in the first quarter of 2009, prices recovered to reach the levels of a year earlier,” it said.

Wood product sales reached €306.9m, compared with €366.2m a year ago.

As a group, Stora Enso’s overall profit before tax excluding non-recurring items (NRI) was €106.4m. Including NRI, the figure dropped to a €542.7m loss. Sales were €2.2bn, compared with €2.7bn a year ago.

“The clear improvement in earnings – with all business areas in the black although profits are still unsatisfactory - was not achieved through market recovery, or only developments in external costs, it was significantly due to our own actions,” said Stora Enso CEO Jouko Karvinen.