2016-11-02 11:01:22 CET

2016-11-02 11:01:22 CET


REGULATED INFORMATION

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

Metsä Group’s comparable operating result in January–September 2016 was EUR 332 million


Metsä Group Interim Report 1 January–30 September 2016 Stock Exchange Release 2
November 2016 at 12.00 noon EET 


January–September 2016 (1–9/2015)

  -- Sales were EUR 3,483 million (EUR 3,811 million). 
  -- Operating result was EUR 333 million (414). Comparable operating result was
     EUR 332 million (415).
  -- Result before taxes was EUR 275 million (355). Comparable result before
     taxes was EUR 275 million (358).
  -- Comparable return on capital employed was 10.5 per cent (14.2). Comparable
     return on capital employed excluding assets under construction related to
     strategic investment projects was 11.9 per cent (14.6).
  -- Cash flow from operations was EUR 298 million (626).

July–September 2016 (7–9/2015)

  -- Sales were EUR 1,143 million (EUR 1,225 million).
  -- Operating result was EUR 107 million (142). Comparable operating result was
     EUR 103 million (149).
  -- Result before taxes was EUR 89 million (121). Comparable result before
     taxes was EUR 85 million (128).
  -- Comparable return on capital employed was 9.8 per cent (14.6). Comparable
     return on capital employed excluding assets under construction related to
     strategic investment projects was 11.1 per cent (15.1).
  -- Cash flow from operations was EUR 177 million (293).

Events during the third quarter of 2016

  -- At the end of September, the bioproduct mill project was nearly 75 per cent
     complete.
  -- The market price of long-fibre pulp increased by 2 per cent. The price of
     short-fibre pulp fell by 3 per cent.
  -- Delivery volumes of Kerto® LVL continued to grow strongly in Australia and
     North America.
  -- Metsä Board's production of uncoated fine paper ended in July.
  -- Metsä Board's wallpaper base machine PM3 at the Kyro mill was closed down
     in September.
  -- Metsä Group announced that its sawmills in Finland will transfer from Metsä
     Wood to Metsä Fibre through an internal group transaction on 1 November
     2016.

Profit guidance for October–December 2016

Metsä Group’s comparable operating result is in the last quarter of 2016
expected to be roughly at a similar level as in the third quarter of 2016. 



President and CEO Kari Jordan:

“Compared to the previous year, Metsä Group's profitability in 2016 was
impacted by the lower market price of pulp and the start-up phase of Husum's
new folding boxboard machine However, this year too we have surpassed the 10
per cent target we have set for comparable return on capital employed. 

Husum's paperboard production has been determinedly increased in accordance
with our plan. The new folding boxboard machine is already running at close to
full capacity. The construction work on the new extrusion coating line, set to
start up next year, has progressed according to plan. 

The bioproduct mill under construction in Äänekoski is almost three quarters
complete. We have made good progress, on schedule and within the budget. Test
runs in the departments that will be completed first will begin the first
quarter, and the entire mill will start up in the third quarter of 2017. 

The approximately EUR 100 million development programme in our Wood Products
Industry is likewise progressing in line with our objectives. The expansion of
Lohja's Kerto® LVL mill has begun. The development programme includes
investments in both Finland and Estonia, and it will be implemented by the end
of 2018. 

Metsä Group is investing heavily in the growth of its core businesses.
Resource-efficient processing into products creates the most added value for
Finnish wood. It serves as an excellent starting point for the circular
economy.” 




Key figures

                                         2016     2015    2016     2015     2015
Condensed income statement, EUR           1–9      1–9     7–9      7–9     1–12
 million                                                                        
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales                                 3 482.7  3 810.6       1  1 225.2  5 016.0
                                                         143.3                  
Other operating income                   52.3     78.8    27.1     10.6     95.7
Operating expenses                         -3       -3  -998.0       -1       -4
                                        011.6    277.5            032.4    311.4
Depreciation and impairment losses     -190.8   -197.9   -65.0    -61.4   -258.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result                        332.7    413.9   107.4    142.0    542.1
Share of results from associated         -1.4      8.5    -0.5     -0.8     11.2
 companies and                                                                  
joint ventures                                                                  
Exchange gains and losses                 0.8     -3.8     1.3     -0.6     -1.2
Other net financial items               -56.5    -63.7   -18.7    -20.0    -83.8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Result before income tax                275.5    355.0    89.5    120.7    468.4
Income tax                              -63.8    -91.4   -21.7    -38.4   -112.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Result for the period                   211.7    263.6    67.8     82.3    355.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



                                        2016   2015   2016   2015   2015
Profitability                            1–9    1–9    7–9    7–9   1–12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result, EUR million          332.7  413.9  107.4  142.0  542.1
Comparable operating result            332.1  414.7  102.8  149.0  537.4
% of sales                               9.5   10.9    9.0   12.2   10.7
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return on capital employed, %           10.6   14.2   10.2   13.9   13.7
Comparable return on capital employed   10.5   14.2    9.8   14.6   13.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return on equity, %                     11.5   16.0   10.9   14.2   15.9
Comparable return on equity             11.5   16.2   10.2   15.4   15.8
------------------------------------------------------------------------



                                               2016   2015   2016   2015    2015
Financial position                            30.9.  30.9.  30.6.  30.6.  31.12.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equity ratio, %                                44.0   42.7   44.8   41.9    43.2
Net gearing ratio, %                             40     29     38     34      25
Interest-bearing net liabilities, EUR           991    682    945    779     610
 million                                                                        
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



SEGMENTS

Sales and           Wood Supply          Wood   Pulp     Paperboard   Tissue and
 Operating result    and Forest      Products  Indust      Industry      Cooking
1–9/2016, EUR          Services      Industry    ry                       Papers
 million                                                                        
Sales                   1 135.2         631.6   962.9       1 298.5        741.6
Other operating             5.4           7.0    20.5          28.6          2.5
 income                                                                         
Operating              -1 116.0        -594.4  -762.0      -1 151.5       -670.0
 expenses                                                                       
Depreciation and           -2.5         -23.3   -44.9         -81.9        -29.7
 impairment                                                                     
losses                                                                          
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating result           22.0          20.9   176.6          93.8         44.5
Items affecting               -           5.5   -11.7          10.9         -2.0
 comparability                                                                  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comparable                 22.0          26.4   164.9         104.7         42.5
 operating result                                                               
% of sales                  1.9           4.2    17.1           8.1          5.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Q3 2016 Metsä Group has relabeled the previously referenced “excluding
non-recurring items” non-IFRS financial measures with “comparable” performance
measures. 

Near-term outlook

Wood demand will focus primarily on spruce logs, thinning sites to be harvested
when the ground is unfrozen and, in terms of energy wood, on crown wood. The
uncertainties related to the Act on the Financing of Sustainable Forestry will
have a negative impact on the demand for forest management services. 

Competition in the wood products industry is intensifying as a result of new
investments. In sawn timber, demand in Asia will support the market balance of
spruce sawn timber, but the oversupply in pine sawn timber will continue.
Demand for board products is expected to experience slight seasonal weakening.
Construction in the UK market is expected to remain at a good level. 

Global demand for pulp has remained stable, and there are no signs of
considerable changes in market conditions. New capacity will enter the markets,
but global demand for pulp is, correspondingly, expected to keep on growing.
The capacity utilisation rates of Metsä Fibre's pulp mills are expected to be
at a good level in the last quarter of the year. 

Demand for high-quality fresh fibre paperboards is expected to remain good in
both Europe and the Americas. Metsä Board's paperboard deliveries in
October–December are expected to remained at the same level as in the previous
quarter. 

The increased capacity of European folding boxboard producers has not had a
negative effect on the demand for and prices of Metsä Board's products. The
market prices of folding boxboard and white fresh fibre linerboards are
expected to remain fairly stable or increase slightly. 

Metsä Board's fourth-quarter result will be weakened by the annual maintenance
shutdown at the Husum integrated mill, which was extended by approximately a
week due to the problems discovered in the pulp mill's recovery boiler. 

In the tissue and cooking paper markets, demand is expected to continue to
remain stable in all market areas. Demand for tissue paper is expected to
increase particularly in eastern Central Europe, and demand for cooking papers
is expected to grow in Asia. 


Profit guidance for October–December 2016

Metsä Group’s comparable operating result is in the last quarter of 2016
expected to be roughly at a similar level as in the third quarter of 2016. 

Espoo, Finland, 2 November 2016


BOARD OF DIRECTORS



For further information, please contact:
Vesa-Pekka Takala, CFO, Metsä Group, tel. +358 10 465 4260
Juha Laine, SVP, Communications, Metsä Group, tel. +358 10 465 4541





www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a forerunner in bioeconomy utilising renewable wood from
sustainably managed northern forests. Metsä Group focuses on wood supply and
forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh forest fibre paperboards and tissue
and cooking papers. 

Metsä Group’s sales totalled EUR 5.0 billion in 2015, and it employs
approximately 9,600 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries.
Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by
approximately 116,000 Finnish forest owners. 

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