Stora Enso sold €314.2m worth of timber in the fourth quarter of 2002 during market conditions which varied between stable and slightly positive.
Operating profits for the timber products division were €11.8m, up 21.6% on the previous quarter. Full year operating profits totalled €46.8m from sales of €1.235bn.
Despite market consumption indicators pointing downwards in Europe, Japan and North America, the company says overall wood consumption has actually been high. The balance between supply and demand has been “reasonable”, allowing improvement in sales prices, with the exception of North America.
Stora Enso’s overall sales for 2002 were €12.78bn, while operating profits totalled €926.5m, excluding non-recurring items of -€1,078bn.
UPM-Kymmene‘s timber sales in the fourth quarter totalled €380m, slightly up on the same period in 2001. Operating profits of just €10m were described as “unsatisfactory”.
The company says weak profitability was down to its sawmilling business, which suffered high raw material costs and low sales prices resulting from oversupply. Plywood business was down on 2001, as fierce competition forced prices lower.
Full year operating profits for the division were €37m from sales of €1.48bn. Total profits for all UPM’s product areas in 2002 were €835m (before extraordinary and non-recurring items).
