Metsä Board Corporation Stock exchange release Financial Statement Release 5
February 2026 at 12:00 noon EET
January-December 2025 (compared to 1-12/2024)
· Sales were EUR 1,775.7 million (1,938.6).
· The comparable operating result was EUR -80.2 million (69.0), or -4.5% of
sales (3.6). Operating result was EUR -169.5 million (62.3).
· Comparable earnings per share were EUR -0.24 (0.09), and earnings per share
were EUR -0.44 (0.07).
· Comparable return on capital employed was -3.1% (3.2).
· Net cash flow from operations was EUR 239.6 million (37.8).
October-December 2025 (compared to 10-12/2024)
· Sales were EUR 393.5 million (446.0).
· The comparable operating result was EUR -34.7 million (-3.6), or -8.8% (
-0.8) of sales. Operating result was EUR -99.2 million (-1.7).
· Comparable earnings per share were EUR -0.10 (-0.03), and earnings per share
were EUR -0.25 (-0.02).
· Comparable return on capital employed was -5.6% (-0.3).
· Net cash flow from operations was EUR 155.6 million (49.7).
Events in October-December 2025
· In October-December, paperboard deliveries were reduced due to seasonality.
· By the end of the year, the impact of the measures implemented in the change
programme on EBITDA (run-rate) is approximately EUR 52 million (total target EUR
200 million by the end of 2027). The impact will be reflected in the result
gradually starting from 2026.
· The release of working capital supported the October-December cash flow from
operations, which was EUR 156 million (Q4'24: 50)
· As a result of the change negotiations concerning all personnel, a total of
310 positions were reduced at Metsä Board. In connection with the negotiations,
the company recognised EUR 14 million in one-off costs in comparable operating
result for October-December 2025 as an item affecting comparability.
· The EUR60 million renewal project at Simpele board mill was completed.
· The demand for market pulp remained subdued in both Europe and China. Pulp
production at associated company Metsä Fibre's Joutseno mill was paused from
June until December. Metsä Fibre is also preparing for production curtailments
in 2026.
· Insurance compensation negotiations related to the gas explosion and the
repair shutdown of the recovery boiler (in 2024) at Metsä Fibre's bioproduct
mill in Kemi have been completed. The comparable operating result for
October-December 2025 includes insurance compensation of approximately EUR 14
million, including the impact of Metsä Fibre's share of the result.
· Metsä Board signed a EUR250 million revolving credit facility with a margin
tied to long-term climate and energy efficiency targets.
· Metsä Board achieved the highest A rating from the environmental
organisation CDP in all three assessment categories: Climate Change, Forests,
and Water Security.
· Metsä Group's ERP system renewal project, which also involves Metsä Board,
has been suspended for the time being. In connection with the project, Metsä
Board has recorded a EUR35 million impairment in its operating result for
October-December 2025 as an item affecting comparability. The project's
continuation, scope and method of implementation will be reassessed later.
Board of Directors' proposal for the distribution of profit
The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting to be held on 19
March 2026 that no dividend be paid for the 2025 financial period. Earnings per
share was EUR -0.44 for the financial period.
Metsä Board's CEO Esa Kaikkonen:
“In 2025, our business was negatively affected by weak consumer demand, US
import tariffs, overcapacity in Europe and persistently high raw material costs.
The situation also remained challenging in the pulp market, which had a
significant impact on Metsä Board's result both directly and through its holding
in Metsä Fibre. Towards the end of the year, the cost level eased due to both
declining raw material prices and our own efficiency measures.
The challenging market conditions and the need for renewal have guided us to
focus on solutions that we can control. Our ongoing transformation programme
aims to improve our annual EBITDA by about EUR 200 million by the end of 2027.
The programme focuses on cost savings, strengthening commercial capabilities,
and simplifying and streamlining operations. The earnings impact of the measures
implemented by the end of the year is approximately EUR 52 million (run-rate).
The profitability improvement actions will continue systematically toward the
set target.
In the short term, our key objective has been to secure cash flow by releasing
working capital. The EUR150 million target set in the summer was clearly
exceeded, and in the second half of the year, approximately EUR300 million of
working capital was released, mainly through inventory optimisation and
financing arrangements for wood purchases. Cash flow from operations
strengthened in 2025, amounting to EUR 240 million (2024: 38). Cash flow after
investments was also clearly positive, totalling EUR 118 million (2024: -92).
Sales in 2025 were EUR 1,776 million (2024: 1,939) and the comparable operating
result was clearly negative at EUR -80 million (2024: 69). Folding boxboard
deliveries decreased by approximately 10%, or 100,000 tonnes. The largest
decline came from U.S. food service cartonboard. The sales prices of paperboards
in euros remained almost unchanged. Profitability was also weakened by the
decline in market pulp prices, Metsä Fibre's negative share of result, market
driven production curtailments, and a decrease in the sale of unused emission
allowances.
At the production unit level, the greatest challenges were faced by the Husum
integrated mill, which was particularly affected by US import tariffs and the
weak pulp market. The overall result of the integrated mill remained clearly
negative and was the single most significant factor behind Metsä Board's loss
for the entire financial year. On the other hand, Husum is well positioned for
an improvement in its financial performance as the market environment stabilises
and the measures under the transformation programme strengthen its operational
efficiency. In addition, the acquisition of the Winschoten sheeting and
distribution hub, announced after the financial period, will enhance the
utilisation of Husum's capacity in the company's key European markets.
In October, the investment to renew the paperboard machine at the Simpele mill
was completed, improving the quality of folding boxboard and making the mill
nearly fossil-free in its production.
The substantial investments made in recent years have largely been completed,
and the next step is to take full advantage of them. The investment level in
2026 is expected to be significantly lower than in 2025, reflecting a shift from
the investment phase towards improved efficiency and profitability.
In the last quarter of the year, we held extensive change negotiations, which
resulted in the termination of approximately 310 jobs. These decisions were
difficult and painful, but necessary to ensure the company's long-term
competitiveness.
Our eyes are on the future, and the foundation for building it is strong:
skilled personnel, long‑term customer relationships, sustainable operations and
competitive products. In recent months, we have significantly enhanced our
commercial capabilities. Furthermore, we operate in a market with significant
long‑term growth potential, driven in particular by the replacement of plastics
and stricter regulation. The renewed strategy will be published in the coming
weeks and will clarify our direction towards sustainable growth.
Our financial position remains strong. Through our holding in Metsä Fibre, we
are more than self-sufficient in pulp, and our shareholding in Pohjolan Voima
improves our self-sufficiency in energy. These investments bring stability to
our operations.”
Near-term outlook
Outlook for the operating environment for the next 3-6 months
Consumers' cautious purchasing behavior continues to weigh on packaging demand,
making sales development less predictable. In Europe, excess capacity
intensifies competitive pressure, while in North America, import tariffs are
impacting the demand for paperboard.
Global demand for market pulp continues to be constrained by low utilisation
rates in the paper and paperboard industry. In Europe, market-based production
curtailments may continue due to weak demand, and cost and currency pressures.
The declining trend in pulpwood prices in Finland and Sweden that started last
summer will support Metsä Board's profitability from 2026 onwards.
Exchange rate fluctuations, including hedging, are expected to have a clearly
negative impact on earnings compared to last year. For the first quarter of the
year, the estimated impact on results is around EUR -20 million compared with
the fourth quarter of 2025.
Company-specific outlook for January-March 2026 (October-December 2025)
Metsä Board's operational steering remains cash-flow-based. Production
adjustments based on the market situation will continue if demand does not
improve The adjustments are expected to focus particularly on the Husum
integrated mill, reflecting the subdued demand for market pulp and paperboard in
North America
Working capital management remains key to securing cash flow for business
operations. In the first quarter, working capital will increase due to
seasonality and lower accounts payable compared with the previous quarter.
Delivery volumes of folding boxboard are expected to increase, while volumes of
white kraftliners are expected to remain stable
Variable costs are expected to decrease significantly. This development is
driven by the decline in pulpwood prices and the measures implemented under the
company's transformation programme. In addition, reduced personnel and ICT costs
will bring down fixed costs.
There will be fewer planned maintenance and investment shutdowns at mills than
in the fourth quarter.
The result for October-December 2025 included approximately EUR14 million of
insurance compensations related to the gas explosion at Metsä Fibre's bioproduct
mill in Kemi in the spring of 2024. The compensation negotiations have now been
finalised.
Key figures
2025 2024 2025 2024
Q4 Q4 Q1-Q4 Q1-Q4
Sales, EUR million 393.5 446.0 1,775.7 1,938.6
EBITDA, EUR million -37.4 26.5 -3.9 175.9
comparable, EUR million -9.4 24.6 29.6 175.0
EBITDA, % of sales -9.5 5.9 -0.2 9.1
comparable, % of sales -2.4 5.5 1.7 9.0
Operating result, EUR million -99.2 -1.7 -169.5 62.3
comparable, EUR million -34.7 -3.6 -80.2 69.0
Operating result, % of sales -25.2 -0.4 -9.5 3.2
comparable, % of sales -8.8 -0.8 -4.5 3.6
Result before taxes, EUR million -105.0 -5.6 -186.9 51.4
comparable, EUR million -40.5 -7.5 -97.5 58.2
Result for the period, EUR million -94.8 -2.4 -164.6 39.4
comparable, EUR million -42.1 -4.4 -92.2 44.6
Earnings per share, EUR -0.25 -0.02 -0.44 0.07
comparable, EUR -0.10 -0.03 -0.24 0.09
Return on equity, % -21.0 -0.5 -9.0 2.0
comparable, % -9.3 -0.9 -5.0 2.3
Return on capital employed, % -16.5 0.0 -6.9 2.9
comparable, % -5.6 -0.3 -3.1 3.2
Equity ratio, % 60 64 60 64
Net gearing, % 15 18 15 18
Interest-bearing net 8.6 2.0 8.6 2.0
liabilities/comparable EBITDA, 12
months rolling
Shareholders' equity per share, 4.48 4.91 4.48 4.91
EUR
Interest-bearing net liabilities, 254.8 344.9 254.8 344.9
EUR million
Total investment, EUR million 75.8 55.0 139.5 175.4
Net cash flow from operations, EUR 155.6 49.7 239.6 37.8
million
Personnel 1,939 2,290 1,939 2,290
METSÄ BOARD CORPORATION
Further information:
Anssi Tammilehto, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913
Katri Sundström, VP, Investor Relations, tel. +358 10 462 0101
The webcast and the conference call for analysts and investors in English will
be held on 5 February 2026 at 3:00 p.m. EET. CEO Esa Kaikkonen and CFO Anssi
Tammilehto will present the results. The webcast and conference call can be
followed online on the company's website at
https://metsaboard.events.inderes.com/q4-2025. Questions can be submitted in
writing through the question form during the webcast or by sending them in
advance immediately after publication of the results.
Participation in the conference call requires registration through the following
link: https://events.inderes.com/metsaboard/q4-2025/dial-in. After the
registration, the participant will be provided with a phone number, a User ID
and a Conference ID to access the conference.
Metsä Board
metsagroup.com/metsaboard (http://www.metsagroup.com/metsaboard/)
Metsä Board is a producer of lightweight and high-quality folding boxboards,
foodservice 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 phase out the use of fossil energy in our
production by 2030. We promote a culture of diversity, equality and inclusion.
Metsä Board's shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.
In 2025, our sales totalled EUR 1.8 billion, and we employ about 2,000 people.
Metsä Board is part of Metsä Group, whose parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative
is owned by approximately 90,000 Finnish forest owners. The sales of the whole
Metsä Group were EUR 5.8 billion.
Follow Metsä Board:
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/metsa
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YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF6CD152EF0DA1E61)