Metsä Group narrows loss as Metsä Board returns to profit

Metsä Group reported a comparable operating loss of three million euros for April to June, an improvement from a loss of 37 million euros a year earlier, Yle reported.

Chief Executive Jussi Vanhanen said profitability improved year on year in all of the group’s businesses except wood products. Last year, the new tariff policy of the United States had a significant impact on profitability.

Vanhanen said the group must continue making cost savings and improving its competitiveness as the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has continued and oil prices have had a significant effect on costs.

“Our estimate is that oil remaining at 100 US dollars a barrel would increase Metsä Group’s annual costs by about 200 million euros compared with the previous price of 70 dollars a barrel,” Vanhanen said in a company statement.

Metsä Board, which manufactures paperboard products, reported a comparable operating profit of slightly more than three million euros for the second quarter. The result was a clear improvement from a loss of more than 22 million euros during the same period last year.

The company’s comparable operating profit turned positive in the second quarter for the first time since early last year. Chief Executive Esa Kaikkonen said the result was supported by higher paperboard volumes, cost-saving measures and stronger demand.

Kaikkonen said the war between the United States and Iran also affected the company’s operating environment. Rising oil prices increased costs, particularly in logistics, during the second quarter.