2012-08-02 11:01:00 CEST

2012-08-02 11:01:04 CEST


REGULATED INFORMATION

English Finnish
Metsä Group - Interim report (Q1 and Q3)

Metsä Group’s operating result for January–June EUR 114 million excluding non-recurring items


Metsä Group Interim Report 1-6/2012, Stock Exchange Release 2 August 2012 at
noon EET 


Result in the first half of 2012
- Sales amounted to EUR 2,531 million (1-6/2011: EUR 2,806 million).
- Operating result excluding non-recurring items was EUR 114 million (249).
Operating result including non-recurring items was EUR 105 million (185). 
- Result before taxes excluding non-recurring items was EUR 71 million (181).
Result before taxes including non-recurring items was EUR 61 million (113). 


Result in the second quarter of 2012
- Sales totalled EUR 1,247 million (4-6/2011: EUR 1,403 million).
- Operating result excluding non-recurring items was EUR 62 million (119).
Operating result including non-recurring items amounted to EUR 61 million (51). 
- Result before taxes and excluding non-recurring items was EUR 53 million
(95). Result before taxes including non-recurring items came to EUR 51 million
(24). 


Events in the second quarter of 2012
- The Japanese trading company Itochu Corporation acquired a 24.9 per cent
holding in Metsä Fibre from Metsä Group. The purchase price was EUR 472
million. In addition, Metsäliitto Cooperative purchased UPM-Kymmene's 11 per
cent holding in Metsä Fibre's shares for EUR 150 million. 
- At the beginning of May, Metsä Board signed a committed syndicated credit
facility totalling EUR 600 million, in order to refinance a EUR 500 million
bond maturing on 1 April 2013. 
- Metsä Group announced that it will launch a feasibility study to increase the
use and production of renewable energy sources at the Kemi pulp mill. 


Events after the period
- Metsä Wood decided to invest EUR 30 million in upgrading its Vilppula sawmill
in Finland. The investment will be carried out in 2013. 
- Metsäliitto Cooperative sold its holding in the German wood supply company
Thosca Holz GmbH,  a joint venture of Metsäliitto Cooperative and the Swedish
company SCA. 


“In the second quarter, the Group's performance developed in line with our
expectations. The operating result excluding non-recurring items improved over
the previous quarter, despite a slight drop in sales. The order books for
paperboards are now at a normal level and pulp sales have increased from the
previous year especially due to the pulp deliveries to China. 

The most important event in the period was the transaction concerning Metsä
Fibre, carried out with Itochu Corporation. Itochu's investment of nearly half
a billion euros is the largest investment in the Finnish forest industry for
years. The deal strengthens our position in the global pulp market.
Additionally, both parties will be able to pursue significant synergies, as our
cooperation will be enhanced even further. 

The uncertainty over the world economy and the continuing euro crisis affect
our and our customers' business, as well as the consumption behaviour of
end-users and demand for products. In addition, the decisions of the European
Union and national authorities along with new regulations, such as the sulphur
directive or increase in the waste tax in Finland, have a significant impact on
the operating conditions of the forest industry. Amid these challenges, Metsä
Group continues to determinedly implement its strategy in the selected product
areas.” 

Kari Jordan, President & CEO, Metsä Group



Metsä Group

Income statement                      2012    2011    2012    2011    2011
                                       1-6     1-6     4-6     4-6    1-12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales                                2 531   2 806   1 247   1 403   5 346
Other operating income                  37      49      16      20      95
Operating expenses                  -2 332  -2 482  -1 137  -1 255  -5 058
Depreciation and impairment losses    -131    -189     -65    -117    -354
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result                       105     185      61      51      29
Share of profit from associates          4       3       5       3       4
Exchange gains and losses                0       0      -2       1       2
Other net financial items              -47     -75     -13     -31    -133
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Result before income tax                61     113      51      24     -98
Income taxes                           -25     -60     -17     -33     -59
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Result for the period                   36      53      34      -9    -157
--------------------------------------------------------------------------



Metsä Group

Profitability                                 2012   2011   2012   2011   2011
                                               1-6    1-6    4-6    4-6   1-12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result, EUR mill.                    105    185     61     51     29
- “ -, excluding non-recurring items           114    249     62    119    314
- “ - % of sales                               4.5    8.9    5.0    8.5    5.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return on capital employed, %                  6.0    9.4    7.1    5.5    1.1
- ” -, excluding non-recurring items           6.4   12.8    7.3   12.5    8.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return on equity, %                            4.3    6.3    8.2   -2.2   -9.9
- ” -, excluding non-recurring items           5.5   14.4    8.6   14.5    8.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial position                            2012   2011   2012   2011   2011
                                              30.6   30.6   31.3   31.3  31.12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equity ratio, %                               33.8   30.9   28.5   30.4   28.3
Net gearing ratio, %                            94    121    132    112    131
Interest-bearing net liabilities, EUR mill.  1 705  2 051  1 993  1 933  1 953
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Segments

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales and Operating          Wood    Wood    Pulp  Paperboard and     Tissue and
 result                    Supply  Produc  Indust           Paper        Cooking
January-June 2012                      ts      ry        Industry         Papers
(EUR mill.)                        Indust                                       
                                       ry                                       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales                         789     471     626           1 067            479
Other operating income          4       4       5             168              8
Operating expenses           -781    -443    -525          -1 021           -449
Depreciation &             -1     -15     -27             -57            -22
 impairment losses                                                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result               11      16      79             157             16
Non-recurring items             -       -      -2            -133              -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result, excl.        11      16      77              24             16
 non-rec. items                                                                 
- % of sales                  1.4     3.5    12.3             2.2            3.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Near-term outlook

In Finland, demand for summer-harvestable stands continues to be good,
particularly with regard to log-dominated regeneration felling and thinning.
The highest demand is seen for pine logs, pine-dominated thinning and energy
wood sites. 

Seasonal fluctuation in demand, production shutdowns during the summer and high
raw material prices in relation to the prices of end products will have a
negative impact on Metsä Wood's business in the third quarter. 

The development of the European economy has a substantial effect on the pulp
market. Currently, the predictability of the market is extremely poor. However,
the utilisation rates of Metsä Fibre's pulp mills are expected to remain good
in the third quarter. 

Metsä Board's paperboard order books and utilisation rates are at normal level,
and delivery volumes in the third quarter are expected to improve compared to
the second quarter. During the third quarter no significant changes are
expected in delivery volumes of uncoated fine paper and pulp. Delivery volumes
of coated paper are estimated to improve in the third quarter. 

The demand for tissue and cooking papers is forecast to remain stable. Metsä
Tissue's strategic development programmes and the benefits gained from them
will provide a more solid basis for profitable growth. The main goals for the
rest of the year are to increase sales based on own brands as well as increase
the cash flow and improve the operating result. 

Metsä Group's operating result excluding non-recurring items in the third
quarter of 2012 is expected to be at approximately the same level as in the
previous quarter. 


Disclosure procedure
Metsä Group follows the disclosure procedure enabled by Standard 5.2b published
by the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority and hereby publishes its Interim
Report for January-June 2012 enclosed to this stock exchange release. Metsä
Group's complete Interim Report is attached to this release in pdf-format and
is also available on the company's web site at www.metsagroup.com. 


METSÄ GROUP
Group Communications

For further information, please contact:
Vesa-Pekka Takala, CFO, Metsä Group, tel. +358 (0)10 465 4260
Reeta Kaukiainen, SVP, Metsä Group Communications, tel. +358 (0)10 465 4541,
+358 (0)50 522 0924 


www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a responsible forest industry group whose products are part of
people's everyday life and promote sustainable well-being. Metsä Group produces
high-quality products mainly from renewable Nordic wood. The Group's business
areas are tissue and cooking papers, board and paper, pulp, wood products as
well as wood supply. Metsä Group's sales totalled EUR 5.3 billion in 2011, and
it employs approximately 12,500 people. The Group is present in some 30
countries.