Scandinavian timber producers Södra, UPM-Kymmene and Stora Enso have posted profits sharply down on last year.
Swedish-based Södra saw its pre-tax profits fall more than 70% to SKr529m between January and September this year. And Finland-based Stora Enso saw its profits shrink 47% to e1.85bn during the same period.
Sales at both were also down – Södra’s fell SKr900m to SKr7.9bn and Stora Enso’s were down e880m to 9.34bn.
Södra reported that trading conditions for its sawmills remained ‘extremely tough’ with the market characterised by oversupply.
Stora Enso said that lower prices and falling sales volumes had been partly alleviated by lower costs.
Meanwhile, operating profits at Finland’s UPM-Kymmene’s wood products divisions for January-September were e28m – less than half of last year’s figure – as a result of low sawn timber prices and higher log costs. The company says plywood prices remain stable with profitability ‘fairly good’.
