Finnforest registered operating profits of e21.6m for the first six months of 2002, an improvement on the e0.9m loss recorded in the same period last year.
The company attributed the better performance to internal measures rather than a market improvement.
But its sawmilling division remains in the red, recording a loss of e0.3m, compared with e8.3m last time around. Despite a small reduction in output volumes, the market remains oversupplied.
Operating profits for the engineered wood division were e7.7m, down from e12.3m in 2001 mainly due to recent investments in ThermoWood, Kerto LVL, birch plywood, glulam and I-jost facilities.
The markets division (direct timber sales to customers), which includes Finnforest UK‘s operations, increased operating profits from e3.3m to e8.6m.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s SCA group recorded a slight rise in operating profits within solid wood operations for the first six months of 2002. However, the pulp, timber and solid wood division overall experienced a 24% dip to SKr492m due to lower pulp prices.
