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HELSINKI, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Finnish forest industry company Metsa Group on Thursday reported a decline in sales and slightly increased operating results in 2020.
Last year, Metsa's sales dropped to 5,055 million euros (6,138 million U.S. dollars) from 5,473 million euros in 2019. The group's operating result increased from 374 million euros to 376 million euros.
In the fourth quarter (Q4) of last year, sales totaled 1,357 million euros compared to 1,290 million euros year-on-year. The company's operating result in Q4 was 97 million euros, while in Q4 2019 it was 32 million euros.
The Finnish business daily Kauppalehti commented that Metsa's results matched analysts' expectations.
Ilkka Hamala, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Metsa, noted that the market for paperboard and tissue paper remained good.
Demand for pulp was strong, particularly in China, and prices in Asia took a clear turn upward. The higher prices had not, however, impacted Q4 profitability yet. The pulp market in Europe follows that of Asia with a delay, he said.
Metsa Group subsidiary Metsa Fibre said on Thursday that it will invest 1.6 billion euros in a new bioproduct mill in Kemi, northern Finland. The mill is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.
In a statement, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin welcomed the investment in Kemi, describing it as Finland's largest forest industry investment to date.
The Kemi bioproduct mill will produce some 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp per year, as well as many other bioproducts. It will also generate two terawatt-hours (TWh) of renewable electricity per year, equal to around 2.5 percent of the country's total annual electricity production, the company said. (1 euro = 1.21 U.S. dollars)