Metsä Board Corporation Stock exchange release Inside information 31 July 2025
at 9:25 am EEST
Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, has experienced a prolonged period of
unsatisfactory profitability and cash flow performance. Intensified competition
and more cautious consumer behaviour have reduced demand for paperboard
packaging. Additionally, high wood raw material costs and the weak development
of the pulp market have negatively impacted the company's performance and
competitiveness.
In response to the changing market environment, the company is accelerating
growth and strengthening its services in Europe by leveraging its strong market
position, leading sustainability performance, and expertise in developing
material-efficient, safe, and recyclable packaging solutions for customers. This
development is further supported by the tightening requirements for packaging of
the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).
The company's objective is to maintain a strong market position in the U.S. and
drive growth especially through existing customer relationships. Over the past
ten years, Metsä Board's growth has been strongly focused on the U.S. market.
Increasing global uncertainty and import tariffs have together temporarily
reduced Metsä Board's paperboard deliveries to the United States. Due to growth
-related uncertainties, new growth efforts are also being directed toward other
markets.
Metsä Board's Board of Directors has today decided to launch a cost savings and
profitability improvement programme, targeting an annual EBITDA increase of EUR
200 million. The programme consists of cost savings (EUR 100 million) and
profitability improvement (EUR 100 million). Implementation will begin
immediately by initiating project planning and execution under a new management
structure. Progress will be reported regularly.
The programme is expected to improve comparable EBITDA by EUR 100 million in
2026, with the majority of the impact in the second half of the year. The
remaining impact is expected to be realised by the end of 2027. Additionally,
the closure of the Tako mill and efficiency improvements at the Kyro mill are
expected to contribute approximately EUR 30 million in annual EBITDA improvement
starting from Q4 2025.
In addition to delivering cost savings, the programme sharpens commercial focus
by redefining key customer segments and strategically aligning sales efforts to
support profitable growth.
Product development will focus on meeting evolving regulatory requirements,
particularly in the fast-growing food and foodservice packaging segments,
healthcare, and other strongest growing brand segments. Supply chain efficiency
will be improved by streamlining the product portfolio and reducing complexity.
To strengthen cash flow, Metsä Board aims to release at least EUR 150 million in
working capital by the end of 2025. The company will conduct a critical review
of ongoing investment pre-engineering projects and its ERP programme and provide
an update on them latest in its interim report for January-September 2025. In
addition, Metsä Board will update its strategy and renew its financial targets -
currently ROCE >12% and net debt to EBITDA < 2.5 - by the end of first quarter
of 2026.
Progress of the programme will be reported on a regular basis.
CEO Esa Kaikkonen: "We must take immediate actions to improve our profitability
and competitiveness. Our cost structure must be adjusted to reflect current
market conditions. Before launching the programme, we conducted a thorough
analysis of our operating environment and our strengths. Our leading position in
high-quality, fresh fibre-based packaging solutions, long-term customer
relationships, and committed personnel form a strong foundation for
profitability improvement."
Metsä Board's half-year financial report 2025
Metsä Board will publish its half-year financial report for January-June 2025 on
31 July 2025 at 12.00 EEST. Webcast presentation and conference call in English
will be held on the same day at 3:00 pm. EEST. The event can be followed via the
link: https://metsaboard.events.inderes.com/q2-2025.
METSÄ BOARD CORPORATION
Further information:
Media
Esa Kaikkonen, CEO, tel. +358 10 465 4300
Investor inquiries
Henri Sederholm, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913
Katri Sundström, VP, Investor relations, tel. +358 10 462 0101
Metsä Board
metsagroup.com/metsaboard (http://www.metsagroup.com/metsaboard/)
Metsä Board is a producer of lightweight and high-quality folding boxboards,
food service boards and white kraftliners. The fresh wood fibres we use in our
products are a renewable and recyclable resource, that can be traced back to
Northern European forests. We aim to have completely fossil-free mills and raw
materials by 2030. We promote a culture of diversity, equality and inclusion.
Metsä Board is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. In 2024 our sales totalled EUR 1.9
billion, and we have around 2,300 employees. Metsä Board is part of Metsä Group,
whose parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative is owned by over 90,000 Finnish
forest owners.
Follow Metsä Board:
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/metsa
-board/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/metsaboard/?hl=en)
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF6CD152EF0DA1E61)