Stora Enso’s 1Q/2018 sales were EUR2.5 billion, a 3.3 per cent increase year-on-year, a record high since since 2013.
Sales increased primarily due to favourable prices and the ramp-up of strategic investments in the Beihai, Varkaus and Murów sawmill, according to a company press release.
Operational EBIT was EUR369 million (+72%). The operational EBIT margin improved by over 5 percentage points to 14.3 per cent.
Stora Enso’s CEO Karl-Henrik Sundström said, “We experienced strong profitable growth resulting in a promising start of the year. Our transformation strategy grows from strength to strength. We reported a record high operational ROCE at 17.7 per cent, the highest since 2000. All in all, we have experienced record sales, profit, or improved operational efficiency in all five divisions!
“The strong financial performance has also given us the opportunity to continue to strengthen the balance sheet. We have decreased our net debt by nearly EUR 500 million compared to year ago and the net debt to EBITDA ratio has improved from 1.9 to 1.3.”
