Metsa Board falls on Q3 profit miss, prospects for Q4

Metsa Board Oyj

26/10/2023 12:01

** Shares in Finnish forestry firm Metsa Board  METSB.HE 
fall 7.9% to the bottom of the Helsinki blue-chip index
 .OMXH25  after it posted Q3 earnings miss below expectations
and warned of weak Q4
    ** Its Q3 sales and adjusted EBIT came below IBES estimates,
1.34% below and 45.54% below estimates respectively
    ** The co also said that outlook for near-term development
of paperboard sales continues to be weak, and that it expects
demand to remain below normal in Europe
    ** It also noted that production volumes remained well below
capacity levels
    **"Consensus expected Metsa Board's earnings to bottom in
Q3, but based on Q4 guidance, the bottom will be further eroded
in the rest of the year," Inderes analyst Antti Viljakainen says
    ** Earlier on Thursday, it announced starting change
negotiations on possible temporary layoffs in Finland, involving
about 1,100 employees
    ** "Change negotiation announcement does not promise a quick
recovery in the demand outlook either," Viljakainen says


($1 = 0.9480 euros)

 (Reporting by Elviira Luoma)
 ((Elviira.luoma@thomsonreuters.com))