Metsä Group reports comparable operating result of 849 million euros for 2018
Metsä Group reported a full-year 2018 operating result of 843 million euros, with sales rising to 5.7 billion euros. The company expects profit to weaken in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the end of 2018.
Metsä Group announced a comparable operating result of 849 million euros for 2018, an increase from 566 million euros in 2017. Total sales for the year reached 5,709 million euros, up from 5,040 million euros in the previous year.
CEO Ilkka Hämälä stated that while the full-year result was strong, the market environment became more challenging toward the end of the year. Falling pulp prices in China and seasonal declines in paperboard deliveries negatively impacted the fourth quarter. Consequently, the company provided guidance expecting a weaker comparable operating result for the first quarter of 2019.
Operational activity remained high throughout 2018, with the company completing multiple investments in its mills across Finland and Europe, including the Kaskinen, Žilina, and Raubach facilities. Additionally, construction began on a textile fiber demo plant in Äänekoski.
The board has proposed an interest distribution of approximately 74.1 million euros to its members. Metsä Group significantly improved its balance sheet during the year, reducing its interest-bearing net liabilities to 463 million euros from 993 million euros in 2017.