Earnings per share excluding special
items was EUR 0.20 (0.16), and reported EUR 0.22 (0.39) Operating profit
excluding special items was EUR 138 million, 5.5% of sales (128 million, 4.9%) EBITDA was EUR 258 million, 10.2% of sales
(325 million, 12.3% of sales) Fixed costs were EUR 36 million lower than last
year. http://www.paperage.com/2013news/08_06_2013upm_earnings.html
UPM's
CEO Jussi Pesonen made the following comments about the company's second
quarter 2013 financial results and the markets it serves:
"The
second quarter was in line with our expectations: growth businesses continued
to perform well, whereas Paper was impacted by lower delivery volumes and
prices in Europe. Our operating profit excluding special items was EUR 138
million (128 million). Operating cash flow was lower than Q2 last year due to a
temporary increase in working capital.
"Our
Pulp business experienced a strong quarter, with good delivery volumes and
increased prices. In Label, our growth actions resulted in increased volumes,
more than offsetting the increased fixed costs caused by expanded operations.
In Energy, profitability continued to be strong, despite being impacted by
lower hydropower volumes. Plywood and Timber continued on a positive track
despite the challenges of European markets.
"Paper
experienced what we believe will prove to be the weakest quarter in 2013.
Profitability continued on a good level in our Chinese and speciality paper
operations, but sales margins in our European graphic paper business as well as
export business were significantly lower than last year. In Q2, our Paper
business also suffered a significant negative impact from unrealised energy hedges,
especially when compared with Q1 2013.
