American Forest & Paper Association Releases December 2017 Containerboard Report

Metsä Board invests EUR 210 million in increasing folding boxboard capacity at its Husum mill in Sweden. The company is responding to growing demand for sustainably produced packaging materials that support the circular economy. The investment strengthens Metsä Board's position as the leading producer of folding boxboard in Europe. Metsä Board has made an investment decision to increase the annual folding boxboard capacity by 200,000 tonnes at its Husum integrated mill in Sweden. At present, the annual folding boxboard capacity of the paperboard machine BM1 is 400,000 tonnes, and after the investment it will rise to 600,000 tonnes. Additional capacity will enter the market during 2024–2025. The investment value is approximately EUR 210 million, divided in 2021–2024 and mainly in 2022–2023.

Stora Enso will record non-cash impairments of approximately EUR 514 million in its IFRS operating result in the fourth quarter of 2023. The impairments will be reported as an item affecting comparability (IAC). Including the estimated positive tax effect of EUR 65 million, the net result impact will be approximately EUR 449 million negative. The fixed asset impairments in the Packaging Materials division mainly relate to the Business Unit Containerboard and in the Biomaterials division to the Nordic production units. The impairments are mainly a consequence of Stora Enso's predictions of a weaker outlook compared to previous estimates.

Containerboard production was 2.0 percent higher compared to August 2016. The month-over-month average daily production compared to July 2017 was 1.0 percent lower. The containerboard operating rate for August decreased from 97.9 percent to 96.9 percent, which was 0.8 percentage points higher compared to August of last year. Year-to-date production of containerboard for export is up 4.4 percent.