2015-02-05 11:01:00 CET

2015-02-05 11:01:04 CET


SÄÄNNELTY TIETO

Englanti Suomi
Metsäliitto Osuuskunta - Financial Statement Release

Metsä Group’s operating result for 2014 excluding non-recurring items was eur 418 million


Metsä Group Stock Exchange Release 5 February 2015 at 12.00 noon


Full year result for 2014
• Sales amounted to EUR 4,970 million (2013: EUR 4,939 million).
• Operating result excluding non-recurring items was EUR 418 million (343).
Operating result including non-recurring items was EUR 417 million (335). 
• Result before taxes excluding non-recurring items was EUR 339 million (232).
Result before taxes including non-recurring items was EUR 330 million (224). 
• Return on capital employed excluding non-recurring items was 11.4 per cent
(9.1). 
• Cash flow from operations amounted to EUR 764 million (491).
• Metsäliitto Cooperative's Board of Directors has decided to propose to the
Supervisory Board that interest of 5.5 per cent (5.5 + 1.0 per cent for 2013)
be paid on the members' capital for 2014. Interest of 5.0 per cent (5.0) is
proposed for additional members' capital A, and interest of 4.5 per cent (4.5)
for additional members' capital B. 

Result for October-December 2014
• Sales amounted to EUR 1,248 million (10-12/2013: EUR 1,219 million).
• Operating result excluding non-recurring items was EUR 117 million (87).
Operating result including non-recurring items was EUR 84 million (88). 
• Result before taxes excluding non-recurring items was EUR 101 million (61).
Result before taxes including non-recurring items was EUR 68 million (60). 
• Return on capital employed excluding non-recurring items was 12.0 per cent
(9.3). 
• Cash flow from operations amounted to EUR 390 million (195).

Events in the fourth quarter of 2014
• Profitability improved in all of Metsä Group's business areas year-on-year.
• Metsä Board launched measures to complete its restructuring and decided to
invest approximately EUR 170 million in a new folding boxboard machine at the
Husum mill in Sweden. In addition, the company is planning to discontinue paper
production and has launched the divestment process of the loss-making
Gohrsmühle mill in Germany 
• Metsäliitto Cooperative announced that it will sell the entire share capital
of Metsä Wood's UK-based pole business subsidiary Burt Boulton and Haywood Ltd.
The transaction was completed in February 2015. The sale will not have any
material effect on the Group's result. 
• Mika Joukio, M.Sc. (Tech.), MBA, started as CEO of Metsä Board Corporation on
1 October 2014. 

Events after the period
• Metsä Tissue Corporation's Board of Directors appointed Petri Helsky, M.Sc.
(Chem. Eng.), M.Sc. (Econ), 48, as CEO of the company. He will start in his new
position and as a member of Metsä Group's Executive Management Team on 1 July
2015 at the latest. 


“In the light of our key indicators, and considering the business environment,
2014 was a good year. Our operating result excluding non-recurring items
clearly improved, the return on capital employed increased, net debt continued
to decrease and our cash flow was strong. 

We will continue the determined implementation of our focused strategy. We are
the market leader in wood supply and forest services, and this year we will be
the first company in Finland to digitise all sales and purchase processes in
wood trade and forest management. Metsä Wood's decision to focus on large
industrial customers has already strengthened our position in the wood product
market. We are also among the leading players in tissue and cooking papers in
our key markets. Metsä Board's decision to discontinue paper production and
build a new folding boxboard machine at Husum will finalise the company's
restructuring into a paperboard company. 

If the prerequisites for the investment are met, the investment decision
regarding building Metsä Fibre's planned bioproduct mill in Äänekoski will be
made this spring. The preparations for the decision have progressed smoothly. 

The basis for year  2015 is good: our finances are solid and stable, our
products are of the highest quality and our planned investments will further
strengthen our position. We are heading for the future with confidence."


Kari Jordan, President & CEO, Metsä Group



Key figures

Income statement, EUR million                 2014      2013      2014      2013
The figures for 2013 are restated             1-12      1-12     10-12     10-12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales                                      4 970.3   4 938.7   1 247.5   1 219.3
Other operating income                       170.3      81.0      29.2      25.1
Operating expenses                        -4 447.5  -4 427.7  -1 105.2  -1 094.8
Depreciation and impairment losses          -276.2    -257.1     -87.4     -61.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result                             416.9     335.0      84.1      88.3
Share of results from associated              16.4       9.6       1.9       0.1
 companies and                                                                  
joint ventures                                                                  
Exchange gains and losses                      2.7      -4.6       3.9      -2.6
Other net financial items                   -106.1    -116.2     -22.4     -24.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Result before income tax                     329.9     223.8      67.6      61.5
Income tax                                   -69.7     -35.1     -11.1      10.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Result for the period                        260.3     188.7      56.5      71.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Profitability                          2014   2013   2014   2013
The figures for 2013 are restated      1-12   1-12  10-12  10-12
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result, EUR million         416.9  335.0   84.1   88.3
- ” -, excluding non-recurring items  418.1  342.9  117.3   87.3
- ” -, % of sales                       8.4    6.9    9.4    7.2
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Return on capital employed, %          11.1    8.9    8.7    9.4
- ” -, excluding non-recurring items   11.4    9.1   12.0    9.3
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Return on equity, %                    13.0    9.9   11.1   14.9
- ” -, excluding non-recurring items   13.4   10.3   17.6   14.7
----------------------------------------------------------------





Financial position                               2014    2013   2014   2013
The figures for 2013 are restated              31.12.  31.12.  30.9.  30.9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equity ratio, %                                  37.9    37.9   38.5   35.9
Net gearing ratio, %                               46      77     62     85
Interest-bearing net liabilities, EUR million     938   1 510  1 258  1 604
---------------------------------------------------------------------------



SEGMENTS

Sales and          Wood Supply         Wood   Pulp      Paperboard    Tissue and
 Operating          and Forest     Products  Indust      and Paper       Cooking
 result               Services     Industry    ry         Industry        Papers
1-12/2014, EUR                                                                  
 million                                                                        
Sales                  1 575.0        896.9       1        2 008.4       1 012.8
                                              295.7                             
Other                      6.7         10.1    33.4           69.6           9.3
 operating                                                                      
 income                                                                         
Operating             -1 552.0       -842.5      -1       -1 835.8        -921.6
 expenses                                     039.2                             
Depreciation              -3.0        -30.4   -62.0         -125.6         -38.7
 and                                                                            
 impairment                                                                     
losses                                                                          
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating                 26.7         34.1   227.9          116.5          61.8
 result                                                                         
Non-recurring              1.5          3.1   -20.3           19.9           0.4
 items                                                                          
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating                 28.2         37.2   207.5          136.5          62.2
 result                                                                         
excluding                                                                       
 non-recurring                                                                  
 items                                                                          
- " -, % of                1.8          4.1    16.0            6.8           6.1
 sales                                                                          
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Near-term outlook
Metsä Forest buys wood from across the country, primarily from stands harvested
when the ground is unfrozen. Winter thinning stands are purchased in limited
volumes, as some of the logging sites planned to be harvested last year were
moved to this winter's harvest due to the poor weather conditions. The aim in
forest management services is to continue strong growth and be the
owner-members' first choice partner. 

In spite of seasonal fluctuations in demand, wood products industry's sales for
the first quarter of 2015 are expected to develop steadily compared to the
fourth quarter of 2014. The outlook for construction is challenging in Europe,
and especially in Finland. Competition in the sawn timber market, which is
suffering from oversupply, is expected to continue to be tight, and production
curtailments may need to be continued. The exchange rates of the currencies of
the key competitor countries have weakened more than the euro against the main
trade currencies, which weakens the competitiveness of the Finnish wood
products industry. 

Demand for pulp has remained stable, and no signs of rapid changes in the
market are in sight. The strengthening of the US dollar against the euro has
improved the profitability of pulp producers in the euro area. 

Delivery volumes of paperboard are estimated to increase slightly during the
first quarter of 2015 compared to the previous quarter. No material changes in
the price of paperboard are in sight at the moment. 

Metsä Board's paper deliveries are estimated to increase slightly during the
first quarter, while the average price is expected to decrease. 

Price competition in the retail trade of tissue and cooking papers will
continue to be tight in all markets. Demand is expected to continue to be at
the level of 2014. Changes in energy and raw material prices and the quality of
recycled paper and its local availability are significant drivers of the
development of Metsä Tissue's operating result. 

Metsä Group's operating result excluding non-recurring items in the first
quarter of 2015 is expected to be approximately on the same level compared to
the fourth quarter of 2014. 


Disclosure procedure
Metsä Group has adopted a disclosure procedure made possible by the Financial
Supervision Authority Standard 5.2b. This bulletin is a summary of Metsä
Group's Financial Statement Bulletin for 2014. The Financial Statement Bulletin
and its tables are attached to this Stock Exchange Release as a PDF attachment
and are available on the Group's website at www.metsagroup.com. 


Metsä Group will publish its financial reports in 2015 as follows:
7 May  Interim Report January-March 2015
6 Aug. Interim Report January-June 2015
5 Nov. Interim Report January-September 2015


METSÄ GROUP
Group Communications

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


www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a responsible forest industry group whose products' main raw
material is renewable and sustainably grown northern wood. Metsä Group focuses
on tissue and cooking papers, fresh forest fibre paperboards, pulp, wood
products, and wood supply and forest services. Its high-quality products
combine renewable raw materials, customer-orientation, sustainable development
and innovation. Metsä Group's sales totalled EUR 5 billion in 2014, and it
employs approximately 10,500 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries.
Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by
approximately 122,000 Finnish forest owners.