Stora Enso has confirmed its figures for the latest period. For Q3/2016 (compared with Q3/2015), the company reported sales of €2,393 million, (€2,500 million), a decrease of 4.3 per cent. Sales excluding the structurally declining paper business and divested Barcelona Mill increased 1.8 per cent, primarily due to the ramp-ups at Varkaus kraftliner and Beihai consumer board mills.
The operational EBIT was €219 million (€246 million), including a negative impact of €35 million due to the ramp-up of Beihai. The EBIT margin was 9.2 per cent (9.8 per cent).
Within its report, Stora Enso said its Varkaus kraftliner mill reached EBITDA break-even during Q3. Full production is expected during the second half of 2017. It goes on to say that Q4/2016 sales are estimated to be around €2,393 million, and operational EBIT is expected to be in line with the €219 million recorded in Q3/2016. The impact of the annual maintenance shutdowns is expected to be approximately €35 million lower than in Q3/2016.
Stora Enso’s CEO, Karl-Henrik Sundström, comments, “Our transformation into a customer-focused renewable materials company is progressing well. I am pleased that the ramp-up of the Beihai Mill is ahead of plan and we are now conducting customer tests of liquid boards and other grades. We have also completed our first test runs of CKB, our cartonboard which is very competitive in terms of strength, stiffness, purity and runnability. We have launched a new product in our CKB product family during the quarter, CKB Nude by Stora Enso. It is an uncoated carton board designed to meet the consumer preferences for renewable packaging materials with natural look and feel.
“The Varkaus kraftliner mill ramp-up is also proceeding and the mill reached EBITDA break-even during the quarter, as planned. We are expecting full production of virgin-fibre-based containerboard during the second half of 2017.
“We are planning to create a centre of excellence for corrugated packaging in Lahti. The aim is to boost competitiveness by consolidating manufacturing of corrugated packaging in Finland to one location. As part of the possible consolidation, we will invest approximately €19 million in new machinery and supporting infrastructure. The proposed project is expected to be finalised by the end of the first quarter 2018,” he concluded.
