Ortviken’s new pulp mill is inaugurated

President and CEO Kari Jordan: “Metsä Group’s profitability in 2017 has improved from the previous year. The most significant reasons for the improved result are the clearly higher volumes in paperboard deliveries and the increased price of pulp. Metsä Group’s key development projects aiming for profitable growth are progressing according to plan. The construction of the bioproduct mill in Äänekoski, which has proceeded on schedule and on budget, is nearly completed, and the mill’s start-up will begin in mid-August. Pulp deliveries to customers will start at the beginning of September. The new production line at the Kerto® LVL mill in Lohja will likewise start up in August. The construction of the birch plywood mill in Pärnu, Estonia, and the work of converting the old paper machine hall at Äänekoski into a birch veneer mill are proceeding well. The Husum paperboard mill’s new extrusion coating line started up in April, and the related quality feedback from customers has been good. In June, we began work on rebuilding the baking paper machine at the Düren mill in Germany. The new machine will also allow us to expand our cooking paper business in the future. After years of stagnation, Finland’s economy has started to pick up. For this growth to continue, our country needs investments. Metsä Group and Finland’s forest industry in general have met this need. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Over the past few years, recycled paper made from 100% secondary fibers has turned the Koehler Paper Group into the premium provider of creative board. A firm favorite of the crafting and office segments, this product has recently established itself in the packaging industry and has even gained traction in the high-end segment. While Koehler Paper Group's plant in Thuringia impresses with its "Blue Angel" eco-label, the brilliant colors of its paper products are the real highlight. The newest addition to the range is called "EcoBlack". Udo Hollbach, managing director of Koehler Greiz GmbH & Co. KG has this to say about the new product: "EcoBlack is an extraordinarily high-quality paper that captivates with a deep, rich black and was specially developed for high-quality packaging. It is the next logical step for our range of vibrantly colored recycled paper. With this product, we are catering to our customers' wish that a product avoids doing harm to human health or the environment, without having to sacrifice its aesthetics. EcoBlack is lightfast, resistant to bleeding, color migration and wear." For the product developers at Koehler, it goes without saying that all its paper is ideally suited to further processing. Since EcoBlack is produced completely carbon-free, it lends itself particularly well to embellishment through foil stamping.

January–September 2021 (compared to 1–9/2020) • Sales were EUR 1,565.6 million (1,416.4). • Comparable operating result was EUR 295.3 million (156.7), or 18.9% (11.1) of sales. Operating result was EUR 285.0 million (162.7). • Comparable earnings per share were EUR 0.65 (0.33), and earnings per share were EUR 0.63 (0.34). • Comparable return on capital employed was 19.4% (11.8). • Net cash flow from operations was EUR 209.8 million (226.7).