Stora Enso Oyj - Company Announcement

Stora Enso plans restructuring and profitability improvement actions

Permanent shutdown of 475 000 tonnes of newsprint capacity planned

Helsinki, Finland, 2013-02-05 11:57 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STORA ENSO OYJ
STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 5 February 2013 at 12.57 EET 

Stora Enso plans to restructure its operations through the permanent shutdown
of two newspaper machines in Sweden. Stora Enso also plans efficiency
improvements in the Printing and Reading customer service and the Building and
Living Business Area. The profitability improvement actions are planned to
reduce annual costs by EUR 54 million and reduce the number of employees by
approximately 600 altogether. 

Printing and Reading plans to close capacity in Sweden and reorganise its
Customer Service Centres 
Printing and Reading plans the permanent shutdown of paper machine (PM) 2 at
Hylte Mill in Sweden with annual capacity 205 000 tonnes of newsprint and PM 11
at Kvarnsveden Mill in Sweden with annual capacity 270 000 tonnes of newsprint
in the second quarter of 2013. This represents 3.4% of European newsprint
capacity. The plans to shut down capacity are due to continuing structural
weakening of newsprint demand in Europe. 

In addition, Stora Enso plans to create a common platform for all its Printing
and Reading sales desk, order handling and logistic services in Europe to
improve customer service. These processes currently handled at seven customer
service centres, mills and logistic service centres will be centralised into
five customer service centres located in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Belgium and
the UK. It is planned to establish a separate Logistics Service Centre for
overseas business in Gothenburg, Sweden to serve all Stora Enso's Business
Areas. 

Building and Living to streamline operations throughout the whole Business Area
Building and Living plans to reduce costs, increase productivity and find
sustainable improvement in all operations to overcome continued poor
profitability. The plans announced include downsizing of Sollenau Sawmill in
Austria, transfer of some production from the high-cost Pfarrkirchen Mill in
Germany to the low-cost Zdírec Mill in the Czech Republic and efficiency
improvement actions at Kitee and Honkalahti sawmills in Finland. In addition,
Building and Living is planning cost reduction measures in all other units and
in sales and general administration, as well as in support functions throughout
the whole business area. 

Financial impacts
Stora Enso will record a restructuring provision and a fixed asset and working
capital write-down as non-recurring items related to the restructuring plans
described above with a negative impact of approximately EUR 88 million on the
operating profit in its first quarter 2013 results. 


Segment      Annual     Annual cost   Fixed asset and   Provisions       Planned
              sales         savings   working capital    with cash  reduction in
          reduction                       write-downs       impact     personnel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Printing    EUR 190          EUR 24    EUR 42 million       EUR 40           300
 and        million        million,                        million              
 Reading                starting Q3                                             
                         2013, full                                             
                     impact Q1 2014                                             
Building  No impact          EUR 30                 -        EUR 6           300
 and                       million,                        million              
 Living                 starting Q2                                             
                              2013,                                             
                        full impact                                             
                         early 2014                                             
         -----------------------------------------------------------------------
         -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total       EUR 190  EUR 54 million    EUR 42 million       EUR 46           600
            million                                        million              


No decisions regarding closures and employee reductions will be taken until the
local co-determination negotiations have concluded. Stora Enso would make every
effort in co-operation with local communities to help the affected personnel
find new employment opportunities, and all job openings in other Stora Enso
units would be available to those affected. 


For further information, please contact:
Jouko Karvinen, CEO, tel. +358 2046 21410
Karl-Henrik Sundström, CFO, tel. +46 1046 71660
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, SVP, Investor Relations, tel. +358 2046 21242
Lauri Peltola, EVP, Global Identity, tel. +358 2046 21380

www.storaenso.com
www.storaenso.com/investors

Stora Enso is the global rethinker of the paper, biomaterials, wood product and
packaging industry.We always rethink the old and expand to the new to offer our
customers innovative solutions based on renewable materials. Stora Enso employs
some 30 000 people worldwide, and our sales in 2011 amounted to EUR 11.0
billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and
Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs
(SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market. 

STORA ENSO OYJ