“Solid year, satisfactory fourth quarter, rethinking continues”
Helsinki, Finland, 2012-02-08 12:01 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
STORA ENSO OYJ STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 8 February 2012 at 13.01 EET
“Stora Enso’s 2011 turned out to be another year of change. Whereas the full
year shows year-on-year operational EBIT improvement, the latter part and
especially the fourth quarter showed that rethinking within the Group has to
continue.
“The uncertainty and slowing down of the economy were distinctly apparent in
our performance in the fourth quarter. The pricing momentum achieved earlier in
the year helped us through the fourth quarter with satisfactory results, and as
before, with strong cash flow and liquidity at the year end. This is naturally
crucial for the transformation of the Group and our continued strategic
investments in growth markets.
“Reviewing our own performance in 2011, it is also evident that more
flexibility, productivity and work to build customer loyalty are needed. And
even with the strong cash flow of the fourth quarter, we need to re-engineer
our demand chain to release cash from working capital to invest in our future.
This is why we announced a new Business Area structure in January, to improve
our competitive position in the various businesses – every day, as soon as
possible. The clarity, accountability and simplicity of our new Business Area
structure is meant to be an accelerator of this process.
“During the first months of 2012, we will face a challenging operating
environment. Uncertainty and limited visibility, at least in European markets,
will continue. The decrease in variable costs will only begin to be visible in
our profit and loss statements. We will therefore continue to focus on pricing
quality and cash flow. Construction of the Montes del Plata pulp mill is
progressing according to the plan, with close to 4 000 people working at the
Punta Pereira site in Uruguay. This is a project in which we and the
surrounding community can take pride.
“In summary, another challenging year ahead, a year of improving our
productivity, demand chain and customer satisfaction. But also another exciting
year of building and transforming the Group.”
For further information, please contact:
Jouko Karvinen, CEO, tel. +358 2046 21410
Lauri Peltola, Head of Communications and Global Responsibility, tel. +358 2046
21380
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, Head of Investor Relations, tel. +358 2046 21242
www.storaenso.com
www.storaenso.com/investors
Stora Enso is the global rethinker of the biomaterials, paper, packaging and
wood products industry. We always rethink the old and expand to the new to
offer our customers innovative solutions based on renewable materials. Stora
Enso employs some 30 000 people worldwide, and our sales in 2011 amounted to
EUR 11.0 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV,
STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the
USA as ADRs (SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market.
STORA ENSO OYJ