Stora Enso plans to close book paper line in Finland as demand falls (updated)

Metsa Board Oyj

12/04/2023 09:14

(Adds management quote, background)
       April 12 (Reuters) - Finnish forestry firm Stora Enso
 STERV.HE  said on Wednesday it planned to shut down one of its
two paper lines in Anjala, Finland, citing weak paper demand and
high costs.
    "The decline in newsprint and publication paper demand has
further accelerated, and has also reached the previously more
stable book paper market," said Hannu Kasurinen, the executive
vice president of Stora Enso's packaging materials unit.
    The company said it would start change negotiations
concerning all employees at the plant, which produces book
papers, with up to 110 people facing layoffs.
    No decision on the closure, which would take place in the
final quarter of 2023, will be made until the negotiations have
been concluded, it added.
    The Finnish company put four of its five paper mills up for
sale in 2022, after two years of operating losses in the paper
division amid declining demand.
    It has also struggled with soaring energy costs that
hampered its profits after Russian curbs on natural gas.
    Finnish peer Metsa Board  METSB.HE  on Wednesday also warned
of weakened demand and said its first-quarter operating result
would be roughly in line with the previous three months.

 (Reporting by Boleslaw Lasocki in Gdansk; Editing by Milla
Nissi)
 ((boleslaw.lasocki@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 00;))