2014-05-13 11:01:00 CEST

2014-05-13 11:01:02 CEST


REGULATED INFORMATION

English Finnish
Metsäliitto Osuuskunta - Interim report (Q1 and Q3)

Metsä Group’s operating result for January–March excluding non-recurring items was EUR 105 million


Metsä Group Interim Report 1-3/2014 Stock Exchange Release 13 May 2014 at noon
EET 


Result for January-March 2014
- Sales amounted to EUR 1,254 million (1-3/2013: EUR 1,264 million).
- Operating result excluding non-recurring items was EUR 105 million (89).
Operating result including non-recurring items was EUR 70 million (94). 
- Result before taxes excluding non-recurring items was EUR 80 million (57).
Result before taxes including non-recurring items was EUR 37 million (62). 
- Return on capital employed excluding non-recurring items was 12.3 per cent
(9.7). 
- Cash flow from operations amounted to EUR -32 million (-19).

Events during January-March 2014
- The USD-denominated price of softwood pulp continued to increase in all
markets and was higher than in the corresponding period in the previous year. 
- There were no material changes in the prices of paperboards and papers
compared to the previous quarter but prices were slightly lower than in the
corresponding period last year. 
- The profitability of the wood products industry improved as a result of
increased sales prices and the implemented efficiency programmes. 
- Metsä Board issued a EUR 225 million unsecured bond and signed a new
unsecured credit agreement for EUR 250 million. 
- Metsäliitto Cooperative increased its shareholding in Metsä Tissue with a
share transaction completed on 15 January 2014, after which Metsäliitto
Cooperative owns 91 per cent of Metsä Tissue. 
- Metsä Board sold the real estate property in the Lielahti area of Tampere,
Finland, to the City of Tampere for approximately EUR 26 million. 
- The arbitration proceedings related to Metsä Fibre's shareholder agreement
were completed, and Metsä Group was ordered to pay a total of EUR 67 million in
fines. 

Events after the period
- In April, Metsä Fibre sold a total of 170,000 Pohjolan Voima Oy's B shares to
Kymppivoima Oy for EUR 75 million. 
- Metsä Group announced in April that it is planning the construction of a
bioproduct mill in the existing pulp mill area in Äänekoski, Finland. Should
the project materialise, the mill with a cost of approximately EUR 1.1 billion,
would be the largest ever investment in the history of the forest industry in
Finland. The bioproduct mill is planned to be operational in 2017. The mill's
annual pulp production capacity would be 1.3 million tonnes. 


“As expected, the Group's operating result in January-March improved compared
to the previous quarter. The improvement was boosted by the increase in the
sales prices of Metsä Wood's products and the efficiency programmes
implemented, the positive development in pulp prices, as well as the increased
delivery volumes of folding boxboard and white-top fresh forest fibre
linerboard. 

Northern, renewable wood is an excellent raw material for ecological,
recyclable products. Our plan to build a next generation bioproduct mill in
Äänekoski is proof of our strong trust in our strategy, which is based on
focusing on operations with good growth outlook and in which we have a clear
competitive edge. 

The economy in Europe and in Finland is still functioning in low gear, and
markets are active primarily in the USA and Far East. Now we need policy-making
which puts the competitiveness of European industry first. The government must
effectively promote the interests of Finnish basic industry.” 

Kari Jordan, President & CEO, Metsä Group


Metsä Group
Income statement, EUR million           2014      2013      2013
The figures for 2013 are restated        1-3       1-3      1-12
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sales                                1 254.3   1 263.6   4 938.7
Other operating income                  36.1      16.0      81.0
Operating expenses                  -1 152.5  -1 115.3  -4 427.7
Depreciation and impairment losses     -68.2     -69.8    -257.1
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result                        69.7      94.5     335.0
Share of results from associated                                
companies and joint ventures             7.4       6.6       9.6
Exchange gains and losses               -2.1       0.2      -4.6
Other net financial items              -37.8     -38.9    -116.2
----------------------------------------------------------------
Result before income tax                37.2      62.4     223.8
Income taxes                            -5.4     -16.0     -35.1
----------------------------------------------------------------
Result for the period                   31.8      46.4     188.7
----------------------------------------------------------------



Profitability                                 2014   2013    2013
The figures for 2013 are restated              1-3    1-3    1-12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result, EUR mill.                   69.7   94.5   335.0
- “ -, excluding non-recurring items         105.1   89.3   342.9
- “ - % of sales                               8.4    7.1     6.9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Return on capital employed, %                  8.0   10.2     8.9
- ” -, excluding non-recurring items          12.3    9.7     9.1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Return on equity, %                            6.5    9.9     9.9
- ” -, excluding non-recurring items          15.4    8.8    10.3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Financial position                            2014   2013    2013
The figures for 2013 are restated            31.3.  31.3.  31.12.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Equity ratio, %                               37.2   34.9    37.9
Net gearing ratio, %                            83     90      77
Interest-bearing net liabilities, EUR mill.  1 614  1 695   1 510
-----------------------------------------------------------------


Segments

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales and Operating   Wood Supply     Wood      Pulp   Paperboard   Tissue and  
 result                and Forest   Products   Indust   and Paper     Cooking   
January-March 2014     Services     Industry     ry     Industry      Papers    
(EUR mill.)                                                                     
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales                       434.9       221.9   329.0       501.2          252.6
Other operating               1.3         1.1     2.9        32.8            1.5
 income                                                                         
Operating expenses         -426.8      -207.6  -256.1      -464.8         -232.7
Depreciation &           -0.7        -7.7   -20.8       -25.7           -9.5
 impairment losses                                                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result              8.6         7.7    54.9        43.5           11.8
Non-recurring items             -         1.0       -        -7.4              -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result,             8.6         8.6    54.9        36.1           11.8
 excl. non-rec.                                                                 
 items                                                                          
- % of sales                  2.0         3.9    16.7         7.2            4.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Near-term outlook

In Finland, wood procurement will focus on renewal stands and thinning stands
harvestable in the summer. Metsä Forest will also buy delivery wood directly
from forest owners mainly for autumn deliveries. 

Sales in the wood products industry is expected to grow in the second quarter
compared to the previous quarter. Demand and supply of wood products are
reasonably balanced, and the balance of the demand and supply of birch plywood
is good. Estimating the demand for spruce sawn timber in the remainder of the
year is difficult. 

Demand for pulp is expected to continue to grow, and demand and supply of
softwood pulp are expected to be balanced in the coming months as well. The
annual maintenance shutdown of Metsä Fibre's Äänekoski mill and the shutdown of
the Joutseno mill, which is longer than normal due to renewal investments, will
take place in the second quarter. The shutdowns are estimated to cause
production cuts of approximately 50,000 tonnes. The utilisation rates of the
other pulp mills are expected to remain at a good level in the second quarter. 

Delivery volumes of folding boxboard are expected to increase slightly during
the second quarter of 2014 compared to the previous quarter. Delivery volumes
of white-top fresh forest fibre linerboard is estimated to be approximately at
the previous quarter's level. The average price of folding boxboard is
estimated to increase slightly in the second quarter as a result of the price
increases implemented at the end of last year. Metsä Board has announced that
it will increase the prices of white-top fresh forest fibre liners in Europe. 

Delivery volumes of uncoated fine paper are expected to decrease slightly in
the second quarter of 2014 compared to the previous quarter, and delivery
volumes of coated papers are expected to be at the previous quarter's level.
Metsä Board has announced that it will increase the prices of uncoated fine
paper in Europe. No material changes are in sight in the prices of coated
papers. 

The planned annual maintenance shutdown will be carried out at the Husum  mill
in Sweden in the second quarter. 

In the tissue paper market, demand is expected to continue to be stable in all
market areas and to grow in Eastern Central Europe. 

Metsä Group's operating result excluding non-recurring items in the second
quarter of 2014 is expected to be slightly weaker compared to the first quarter
of the year. 


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-March 2014 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, 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, consumer packaging 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 4.9 billion in 2013, and it
employs approximately 11,000 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries.
Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by
approximately 123,000 Finnish forest owners.