British Airways and the Spanish airline Iberia said during the weekend that they are looking for new airline acquisitions, even though their own merger talks are still incomplete.
The Finnish national airline Finnair has come up in discussions on the merger.
BA’s CEO Willie Walsh says that BA-Iberia has drawn up a list of 12 possible acquisition targets. He would not say which airlines are on the list, but analysts immediately saw Finnair as a possible merger partner.
Walsh emphasised that no negotiations are underway yet about the matter. He added that the focus now is on setting goals.
However, on Tuesday Walsh said in The Australian Financial Review that BA would like to start talks with the Australian airline Quantas.
Previous talks on a merger fell apart two years ago over disagreements over the valuation of the two companies.
Quantas has been seen by some analysts as a first choice as a partner of BA-Iberia, as its dense network in the Far East would considerably strengthen the British-Spanish carrier’s activities in the world’s fastest-growing market.
However, Finnair would also provide such an advantage. The Finnish airline’s extensive network in Europe could feed passengers between Asia and Europe via Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
BA would be able to collect passengers to Asia only from the British Isles, while Iberia, lacking the routes, could do even less.
Finnair’s strategy of flying European passengers to Asia has worked magnificently.
The company said on Tuesday this week that its traffic on Asian routes grew in August by nearly nine per cent over the same period last year. The growth has been almost uninterrupted.
Finnair carries many passengers from both Britain and Spain to Asia, which has not gone unnoticed by BA-Iberia.
British Airways flies to six destinations in the Far East, while Finnair serves nine.
Nagoya and Osaka in Japan, as well as the South Korean capital Seoul are destinations of Finnair, but not of BA. The other destinations are the same.
However, Finnair’s biggest attraction is its European feeder network. With it, BA-Iberia-Finnair could seriously challenge its main rivals, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM.
The blow could be quite strong, as it would allow the merged company to gather passengers from the back yards of its competitors.
Another question is whether or not the Finnish state would be willing to sell Finnair, which has been classified as a strategic national asset.
Although Finnair’s foreign routes would be a golden egg for BA-Iberia, the situation can always change.
Finnair is quite capable of operating independently, in spite of recent losses. Previous failures of possible mergers with Lufthansa and the Scandinavian SAS have proven to be blessings.
For a merger to take place, the price would have to be lucrative.
Membership in the Oneworld Alliance is probably enough for Finnair for now.
BA, Iberia, and Quantas are all part of the same alliance, whose other leading members are American Airlines, the Japanese JAL, and the Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific.
BA-Iberia may have to make do with smaller fish. The Indian Kingfisher and the German airline Air Berlin have been mentioned as options.
Analysts say nevertheless that there is a need for mergers, as there are still too many airlines in the world.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Helsingin Sanomat
Internation Edition
Thursday 9.9.2010
Nordic countries business
jueves, 9 de septiembre de 2010
lunes, 17 de mayo de 2010
1000 New Wind Turbines Planned for Finland
Plans are being made to construct up to 1000 new wind turbines north of the Gulf of Bothnia in an area between the Pyhäjoki and Tornio rivers. Total electricity generation may be twice the target for wind power set by the Finnish government.
When plans are implemented, the northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia will become home to a near-forest of wind power turbines. Including those to be constructed on the Swedish side of the border, the area could in future boast over 2000 of the electricity-generating facilities.
According to Erkki Kunnari, who heads wind power affairs for the state enterprise that administers state-owned land and water areas, the general plan will be carried out, even though some projects will be modified in practice.
Currently, the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Northern Finland is evaluating the environmental impact of the envisaged wind farms. One key issue is the possible threat posed to migrating birds.
Kunnari says that the turbines should not be a major problem to wildlife. Estimates are that on average one bird a year will meet its end on the blades of each of the new turbines.
YLE
When plans are implemented, the northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia will become home to a near-forest of wind power turbines. Including those to be constructed on the Swedish side of the border, the area could in future boast over 2000 of the electricity-generating facilities.
According to Erkki Kunnari, who heads wind power affairs for the state enterprise that administers state-owned land and water areas, the general plan will be carried out, even though some projects will be modified in practice.
Currently, the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Northern Finland is evaluating the environmental impact of the envisaged wind farms. One key issue is the possible threat posed to migrating birds.
Kunnari says that the turbines should not be a major problem to wildlife. Estimates are that on average one bird a year will meet its end on the blades of each of the new turbines.
YLE
jueves, 6 de mayo de 2010
Sweden falls back into recession
STOCKHOLM March 1 - Sweden unexpectedly fell back into recession in the fourth quarter, figures showed, tracking a growth blip suffered by several European economies and casting further doubt on the durability of the continent’s recovery.
Gross domestic product contracted 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter from the third compared with expectations for growth of 0.3 per cent, statistics office data showed on Monday. The third-quarter figure was revised to a 0.1 per cent quarterly decline from an original 0.2 per cent gain.
”All of a sudden Sweden went from being best in test to worst in class,” said Henrik Mitelman, chief strategist at SEB.
”But I wouldn’t be too alarmed by today’s GDP report, because most indicators show we’re moving toward growth.
”What we’re witnessing right now is a pretty lacklustre trade environment around Europe.”
Inside the eurozone, German economic growth unexpectedly halted in the fourth quarter while Italy went into reverse and Spain stayed in recession, according to figures released last month.
The Swedish crown dropped to 9.77 a euro at in early afternoon from 9.707 before the number.
Sweden’s central bank said last month it expected to raise rates from an ultra-low 0.25 per cent in the summer or early autumn, sooner than laid out in a previous timetable.
The Riksbank had cited an improving economic picture as the rationale for tweaking its rate path, and many analysts have taken a bullish view of the recovery based on upbeat retail sales and improving consumer sentiment.
Analysts were divided over the GDP data, with some saying it would make the Riksbank more cautious about raising interest rates, while others said it made no real difference to Sweden’s economic outlook.
”This probably won’t influence the Riksbank as they look at the picture ahead and we can see that there is going to be stronger growth,” said Bengt Rostrom, economist at Nordea.
However, Swedbank economist Knut Hallberg said the data was more likely to reinforce the cautious view on recovery taken so far by the Riksbank.
”These figures are not a trigger for the Riksbank to raise rates,” he said. ”The recovery in Sweden is going to take time.”
Nordea’s Rostrom said he had expected a small rise in GDP in the fourth quarter.
”It was mainly private consumption and inventories which did not help the figure in the way we had hoped. Net exports were not much different from expectations.”
The downbeat GDP figures were somewhat offset by other data on Monday.
Sweden’s seasonally adjusted purchasing managers’ index fell marginally to 61.5 points in February from 61.7 points in the previous month, data compilers Silf and Swedbank said.
Analysts said the figure remained strong and pointed to robust growth in the current quarter and in the months ahead.
(Financial Times / FT.com / Europe)
Gross domestic product contracted 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter from the third compared with expectations for growth of 0.3 per cent, statistics office data showed on Monday. The third-quarter figure was revised to a 0.1 per cent quarterly decline from an original 0.2 per cent gain.
”All of a sudden Sweden went from being best in test to worst in class,” said Henrik Mitelman, chief strategist at SEB.
”But I wouldn’t be too alarmed by today’s GDP report, because most indicators show we’re moving toward growth.
”What we’re witnessing right now is a pretty lacklustre trade environment around Europe.”
Inside the eurozone, German economic growth unexpectedly halted in the fourth quarter while Italy went into reverse and Spain stayed in recession, according to figures released last month.
The Swedish crown dropped to 9.77 a euro at in early afternoon from 9.707 before the number.
Sweden’s central bank said last month it expected to raise rates from an ultra-low 0.25 per cent in the summer or early autumn, sooner than laid out in a previous timetable.
The Riksbank had cited an improving economic picture as the rationale for tweaking its rate path, and many analysts have taken a bullish view of the recovery based on upbeat retail sales and improving consumer sentiment.
Analysts were divided over the GDP data, with some saying it would make the Riksbank more cautious about raising interest rates, while others said it made no real difference to Sweden’s economic outlook.
”This probably won’t influence the Riksbank as they look at the picture ahead and we can see that there is going to be stronger growth,” said Bengt Rostrom, economist at Nordea.
However, Swedbank economist Knut Hallberg said the data was more likely to reinforce the cautious view on recovery taken so far by the Riksbank.
”These figures are not a trigger for the Riksbank to raise rates,” he said. ”The recovery in Sweden is going to take time.”
Nordea’s Rostrom said he had expected a small rise in GDP in the fourth quarter.
”It was mainly private consumption and inventories which did not help the figure in the way we had hoped. Net exports were not much different from expectations.”
The downbeat GDP figures were somewhat offset by other data on Monday.
Sweden’s seasonally adjusted purchasing managers’ index fell marginally to 61.5 points in February from 61.7 points in the previous month, data compilers Silf and Swedbank said.
Analysts said the figure remained strong and pointed to robust growth in the current quarter and in the months ahead.
(Financial Times / FT.com / Europe)
jueves, 29 de abril de 2010
Improved economic outlook for industry - technology industry still at low ebb
Unemployment marginally down at 9.1% in March
Economic prospects for Finnish industry are improving. While the Confederation of Finnish Industry (EK) reports that confidence among industry as a whole has improved significantly, the technology branch continues to lament its poor situation.
According to the EK, industrial confidence was nearly at the long-term normal level. There has been considerable improvement since March.
In addition to manufacturing, the construction industry is also showing greater confidence, and slight improvements are being seen in the service sector and commerce.
“The continued positive trend shows that demand, which has been been something that companies have been waiting for, is now being reflected in rising orders”, says EK economist Penna Urrila.
As if to confirm the trend, the steel manufacturer Outokumpu, which announced its first quarter result on Tuesday, said that demand for stainless steel had grown in the early part of the year.
However, in technology, the spirit has not quite become flesh, in that orders have not yet started to grow.
In fact, a slow recovery in orders took another dip in the early part of the year.
In monetary terms, companies earned 18 per cent less from orders in the first quarter than in the last three months of 2009.
“Our message is that the situation is not over”, says Jorma Turunen, managing director of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries.
However, if the number of orders in January-March this year is compared to that of the same period last year, there was a slight increase. However, orders are nearly 50 per cent below what they were in the boom period of July-September 2008.
Turunen notes that there are companies in the technology industry that are doing quite well, but most are not.
The end of the year is usually the best of times for the technology industry, while the early months of the year tend to be more quiet. However, Turunen does not want to ascribe the situation to mere seasonal variation.
“This information involves current facts from the companies, and facts are facts”, Turunen says.
The technology sector is a major employer in Finland.
About 250,000 people worked for a technology company in March. During the current slump, about 27,000 people in the sector have lost their jobs, and about 37,000 are currently on temporary layoffs.
“A good thing is that most of the temporary redundancies have ended in continued work instead of permanent dismissals”, Turunen says.
This is borne out to some extent by the unemployment figures. The jobless rate did not climb from February to March, but actually declined marginally.
In March, 9.1% of the workforce were unemployed, down from 9.2% in February.
There is nevertheless little cause for throwing hats in the air and cheering, as the March figures do show 18,000 more people out of work than a year ago, and 240,000 unemployed. The unemployment rate has gone up by 0.8%-points in the past 12 months.
The EK’s perception of a general belief in improvements in the current situation, and recovery from the recession, is shared by the Finnish people.
Statistics Finland says that consumer confidence grew in April from the previous month. Confidence in the economy is significantly better than it was a year ago, and stronger than the long-term average.
Consumer confidence improved, especially expectations for employment and the Finnish economy in general. Faith in economic prospects was the strongest that it has been since 1994.
(HS International Edition Thursday 29.4.2010)
Economic prospects for Finnish industry are improving. While the Confederation of Finnish Industry (EK) reports that confidence among industry as a whole has improved significantly, the technology branch continues to lament its poor situation.
According to the EK, industrial confidence was nearly at the long-term normal level. There has been considerable improvement since March.
In addition to manufacturing, the construction industry is also showing greater confidence, and slight improvements are being seen in the service sector and commerce.
“The continued positive trend shows that demand, which has been been something that companies have been waiting for, is now being reflected in rising orders”, says EK economist Penna Urrila.
As if to confirm the trend, the steel manufacturer Outokumpu, which announced its first quarter result on Tuesday, said that demand for stainless steel had grown in the early part of the year.
However, in technology, the spirit has not quite become flesh, in that orders have not yet started to grow.
In fact, a slow recovery in orders took another dip in the early part of the year.
In monetary terms, companies earned 18 per cent less from orders in the first quarter than in the last three months of 2009.
“Our message is that the situation is not over”, says Jorma Turunen, managing director of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries.
However, if the number of orders in January-March this year is compared to that of the same period last year, there was a slight increase. However, orders are nearly 50 per cent below what they were in the boom period of July-September 2008.
Turunen notes that there are companies in the technology industry that are doing quite well, but most are not.
The end of the year is usually the best of times for the technology industry, while the early months of the year tend to be more quiet. However, Turunen does not want to ascribe the situation to mere seasonal variation.
“This information involves current facts from the companies, and facts are facts”, Turunen says.
The technology sector is a major employer in Finland.
About 250,000 people worked for a technology company in March. During the current slump, about 27,000 people in the sector have lost their jobs, and about 37,000 are currently on temporary layoffs.
“A good thing is that most of the temporary redundancies have ended in continued work instead of permanent dismissals”, Turunen says.
This is borne out to some extent by the unemployment figures. The jobless rate did not climb from February to March, but actually declined marginally.
In March, 9.1% of the workforce were unemployed, down from 9.2% in February.
There is nevertheless little cause for throwing hats in the air and cheering, as the March figures do show 18,000 more people out of work than a year ago, and 240,000 unemployed. The unemployment rate has gone up by 0.8%-points in the past 12 months.
The EK’s perception of a general belief in improvements in the current situation, and recovery from the recession, is shared by the Finnish people.
Statistics Finland says that consumer confidence grew in April from the previous month. Confidence in the economy is significantly better than it was a year ago, and stronger than the long-term average.
Consumer confidence improved, especially expectations for employment and the Finnish economy in general. Faith in economic prospects was the strongest that it has been since 1994.
(HS International Edition Thursday 29.4.2010)
miércoles, 10 de marzo de 2010
Harbour strike forces UPM to shut down three paper mills
The Finnish paper manufacturer UPM has shut down three newspaper and magazine paper mills over the ongoing strike by stevedores at Finnish harbours.
The Rauma mill, the Kaukaa mill in Lappeenranta, and the Kaipola mill in Jämsä. In addition, newspaper and magazine paper production lines have been stopped at the Jämsänkoski mill.
Arto Lampinen, the UPM director responsible for paper production says that the company will cut back on the manufacture of special grades of paper in Tervasaari, Pietarsaari, and Jämsänkoski if the strike continues.
“We have to look constantly when and what we need to shut down”, Lampinen says.
Ordinarily the mills that have been shut down are capable of keeping a few days’ worth of production in storage on site.
“Now ready paper will not fit anywhere”, Lampinen says.
UPM employs 4,300 people at its paper mills in Finland. So far, the stoppages are affecting nearly 2,000 paper workers. UPM says that the number might rise to about 3,000 if the production of special grades is shut down toward the end of the week.
Under labour legislation, employees are paid for seven days after production is suspended under these types of circumstances. At the Rauma mill, where production began closing down already last week, the time limit will be reached on Thursday.
"Everybody hopes that some kind of a reasonable settlement can be reached by then”, Lampinen says.
Stora Enso, another large forest industry company, said on Monday that the harbour strike is not yet affecting operations at the company. However, if the strike continues, it is possible that machinery at the company’s mill in Varkaus might be shut down.
Negotiations aimed at ending the harbour strike are resuming on Tuesday. The key issue involves job security and severance pay. The Finnish Transport Workers Union (AKT) is demanding severance pay equivalent to a year’s earnings in situations in which an employee is terminated. The management side sees this as an unreasonable demand.
The Paperworkers’ Union has expressed understanding with the harbour workers. Helsingin Sanomat asked the union’s chairman, Jouko Ahonen, if the solidarity is likely to continue if stoppages at paper mills continue for more than seven days.
Ahonen noted that workers at paper mills have experienced personally how job security in Finland is weaker than in several European countries, and he insists that most paper workers support the dock woorkers.
“But naturally, there are some individual voices who make more noise.”
“Everyone is losing here, and that is why it would e good to get this to end as soon as possible”, Ahonen says.
Helsingin Sanomat (International Edition)
The Rauma mill, the Kaukaa mill in Lappeenranta, and the Kaipola mill in Jämsä. In addition, newspaper and magazine paper production lines have been stopped at the Jämsänkoski mill.
Arto Lampinen, the UPM director responsible for paper production says that the company will cut back on the manufacture of special grades of paper in Tervasaari, Pietarsaari, and Jämsänkoski if the strike continues.
“We have to look constantly when and what we need to shut down”, Lampinen says.
Ordinarily the mills that have been shut down are capable of keeping a few days’ worth of production in storage on site.
“Now ready paper will not fit anywhere”, Lampinen says.
UPM employs 4,300 people at its paper mills in Finland. So far, the stoppages are affecting nearly 2,000 paper workers. UPM says that the number might rise to about 3,000 if the production of special grades is shut down toward the end of the week.
Under labour legislation, employees are paid for seven days after production is suspended under these types of circumstances. At the Rauma mill, where production began closing down already last week, the time limit will be reached on Thursday.
"Everybody hopes that some kind of a reasonable settlement can be reached by then”, Lampinen says.
Stora Enso, another large forest industry company, said on Monday that the harbour strike is not yet affecting operations at the company. However, if the strike continues, it is possible that machinery at the company’s mill in Varkaus might be shut down.
Negotiations aimed at ending the harbour strike are resuming on Tuesday. The key issue involves job security and severance pay. The Finnish Transport Workers Union (AKT) is demanding severance pay equivalent to a year’s earnings in situations in which an employee is terminated. The management side sees this as an unreasonable demand.
The Paperworkers’ Union has expressed understanding with the harbour workers. Helsingin Sanomat asked the union’s chairman, Jouko Ahonen, if the solidarity is likely to continue if stoppages at paper mills continue for more than seven days.
Ahonen noted that workers at paper mills have experienced personally how job security in Finland is weaker than in several European countries, and he insists that most paper workers support the dock woorkers.
“But naturally, there are some individual voices who make more noise.”
“Everyone is losing here, and that is why it would e good to get this to end as soon as possible”, Ahonen says.
Helsingin Sanomat (International Edition)
jueves, 4 de febrero de 2010
Co-owned nuclear plants in Sweden and subsidiary in Russia weaken Fortum’s profit figures
Management says that progress in Russia is on track to reach targets
Last year, the government-controlled power utility Fortum had problems behind both borders, namely both in Sweden and in Russia.
As a result of longer-than-expected outages at co-owned nuclear plants in Sweden, nuclear volumes were clearly below normal.
In the Russia Division, the economic decline weakened the profit of Fortum’s subsidiary, rendering it negative.
The poor utilization rates of the nuclear plants have long attracted attention in Sweden. While the Finnish plants regularly operate at a capacity of more than 90 per cent, the Swedish plants have reached an average of only some 75% over the past few years.
In 2009, the weakest situation was recorded in September, when the Swedish nuclear plants were operating at a capacity of 45 per cent.
The decrease in Fortum’s Nordic nuclear power generation was mainly due to the extensive power increase and safety modernisation outage in Oskarshamn 3, which started at the beginning of March 2009 and ended in mid-December.
Oskarshamn 3’s capacity has increased by some 250 MW, of which Fortum’s share is approximately 110 MW.
However, Tapio Kuula, the President and CEO of Fortum, noted that as a ”realist” he believes that the Swedish plants are not likely to reach the same figures as the Finnish ones even in the future.
In Sweden, there are currently three nuclear plants, with a total of eight reactors.
Fortum owns 45 per cent of the Oskarshamn plant, which has three reactors.
The majority owner is the German energy company E.ON. The majority owner of the Swedish Forsmark nuclear power station is Vattenfall, while Fortum holds one-third of the shares.
On the other hand, long outages can also be profitable for the owners, as the decrease in power generation is bound to increase the wholesale price of electricity.
Particularly last autumn, the major buyers of electricity in Finand accused the producers of decreasing the volume deliberately and of manipulating the prices.
Fortum and other power facilities have denied all such accusations, saying that it is not possible to schedule outages according to the market situation.
In Russia, the OAO Fortum acquisition two years ago cost Fortum almost EUR 3 billion.
The facility produces electricity and heat.
In 2009 OAO Fortum continued to show a loss.
However, the net operating loss in 2009 was down to EUR 26 million from EUR 91 million in 2008.
According to CEO Kuula, the improvement in profitability was remarkable, while Fortum has confirmed its commitment to fulfil OAO Fortum’s investment programme.
Kuula noted further that the management initially promised that the result of the company would turn positive in two years after the acquisition, in other words, in the current year.
This is what he has also trusted in, as the power sector reform in Russia has progresssed as planned.
The Russia Division is underging a major reorganisation. Over one year, the number of OAO Fortum employees has been reduced from 7,300 to some 5,000.
In spite of the fact that the recession decreased the overall Nordic power consumption, Fortum recorded an excellent result in Finland and Sweden.
The Group sales were EUR 5,435 million, down by EUR 200 from 2008.
The profit for the period totalled EUR 1,351 million, roughly EUR 250 million lower than in the previous year.
”Fortum was, once again, able to weather the turbulent times and deliver good results. We improved our operational performance from a year ago and Fortum’s comparable operating profit increased clearly in the last quarter of the year”, said CEO Kuula in Fortum’s financial statement release.
When releasing the financial statements on Wednesday, CEO Tapio Kuula announced that the Board of Directors is proposing to the Annual General Meeting that Fortum Corporation pay a cash dividend of EUR 1.00 per share for 2009 - the same as for 2008.
HS.fi (International Edition)
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Co-owned+nuclear+plants+in+Sweden+and+subsidiary+in+Russia+weaken+Fortum%E2%80%99s+profit+figures/1135252625746
Scania cuts dividend as profits fall
Published: 3 Feb 10 14:48 CET
Analysts had expected a profit of around 795 million kronor for the period, according to a survey from Reuters, and the report was well received by the markets with Scania topping the winner lists, up over nine percent.
Sales during the quarter amounted to 18.360 billion kronor, in comparison with 22.658 billion in the fourth quarter 2008.
Deliveries of trucks and buses fell by 23 percent to 13,753. Orders increased meanwhile from 2,423 to 13,884 units.
Scania has during the period managed to turn its cashflow around to a positive 2.5 billion kronor, from a negative 1.9 billion in the corresponding period of 2008.
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/24764/20100203/
Swedish bus and truck manufacturer Scania reported a net profit of 1.236 billion kronor ($172 million) for the fourth quarter 2009 down from 1,708 million kronor in the corresponding period of last year.
- Metro finishes 2009 with a flourish (4 Feb 10)
- Electrolux stock falls on gloomy forecast (3 Feb 10)
- Sony Ericsson losses lower than expected (22 Jan 10)
Analysts had expected a profit of around 795 million kronor for the period, according to a survey from Reuters, and the report was well received by the markets with Scania topping the winner lists, up over nine percent.
Sales during the quarter amounted to 18.360 billion kronor, in comparison with 22.658 billion in the fourth quarter 2008.
Deliveries of trucks and buses fell by 23 percent to 13,753. Orders increased meanwhile from 2,423 to 13,884 units.
Scania has during the period managed to turn its cashflow around to a positive 2.5 billion kronor, from a negative 1.9 billion in the corresponding period of 2008.
District Heating Consumption Record-High in January
Consumption of district heating was more than 25 percent above average last month, the coldest January of the past decade.
According to the Finnish Energy Industries association, the average district heating bill for a detached home was 36 euros higher than during a "normal" January. This is based on the long-term average between 1971 and 2000.
For the average apartment, last month's bill was about 19 euros higher.
Altogether Finland consumed 5985 gigawatt hours (GWh), which was 32 percent higher than a year ago. However it falls short of the record from January 2003, when consumption exceeded 5100 GWh.
Finland has an exceptionally high usage of district heating, which is far more efficient than individual house-by-house heating systems. About half of all buildings have their heat piped in from regional generation stations. More than 2.6 million of the nation's 5.3 million people live in homes heated this way.
YLE
Stora Enso Reports Q4 Improvement
The forest industry company Stora Enso has posted improved fourth-quarter results.
The company's turnover rose by six million euro over the previous quarter to 137.5 million euros. Profits rose by 109 million euros from a year earlier.
Stora Enso says production of consumer packaging board is more profitable. A similar situation was reported in the newsprint sector, thanks to a stable cost level.
For short-term prospects, the company notes that the world economy is recovering, but it nevertheless feels that the improvement will be slow and inadequate, and that it must continue with its savings programme and initiate new measures to maintain profitability.
Stora Enso plans to pay its shareholders 0.20 euros in capital returns per share.
YLE
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