In the second quarter, the earnings figures of Stora Enso's "Wood Products" division improved significantly compared with the same quarter of the previous year. According to the quarterly report published today, EBITDA and EBIT increased by 27.8 % to € 55 million and 33.4 % to € 47 million, respectively. However, at €430 million, sales were 2.2% below the previous year's figure. Adjusted for the Puumerkki trading company, which was sold to the Swedish Mimir Invest in November 2017, however, this represents an increase of 7.2 %. Sales of sawn timber and wood products remained stable at just under 1.3 million m³.
The improvement in earnings is attributable to higher selling prices and an improved product mix. The commissioning of the LVL plant in Varkaus, Finland, and production improvements at the Murów sawmill in Poland also had a positive impact on earnings. Construction of the glulam plywood (BSP) plant at the Gruvön sawmill in Sweden, which has a capacity of around 100,000 m³/year, is proceeding according to plan; commissioning is scheduled for the first quarter of 2019.