Net profits of €69.5m were down on the €74.1m for the first quarter, and almost half the €136m of the second quarter of 2011. Sales were up slightly on the first quarter, at €2.72bn, but were down on the €2.817bn record in 2011’s first quarter.
With the continuing uncertainty in the eurozone, sales are expected to remain much the same in the third quarter and Stora Enso plans additional cost cutting and production curtailments in its Building and Living, and Printing and Reading divisions.
"The environment is not going to get any easier," said CEO Jouko Karvinen. "We need to double our efforts to get through the short-term and long-term challenges."
The company needed to expand its announced restructuring programmes and implement them more quickly, he said.
"We will also continue to adjust our manufacturing capacity to market demand, as we have been doing since late in the second quarter," he said.
