⁍ UPM saw pandemic-related uncertainty continuing into 2021.
⁍ Third-quarter sales tumbled 19% to 2.03 billion euros.
⁍ UPM announced vast cost and job cuts in the quarter.
– Pandemic-related uncertainty is taking a toll on paper and pulp markets, and UPM-Kymmene is no exception. The Finnish firm’s third-quarter profits fell by more than a third, and it warned that full-year earnings will be down a whopping 37%, reports Reuters. The company, which produces graphic papers and is the world’s biggest producer of uncoated free-weight paper, says prices for its papers used in advertisements and publications have dropped by 5%, and it expects them to remain low for the rest of the year as well. It also announced the closure of a paper mill in Finland and the sale of a paper mill in Wales. “While cost saving measures are positive, uncertainty remains in graphic paper given further industry capacity closures are needed,” an analyst at Jefferies wrote in a note.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/upm-kymmene-oyj-results/update-2-weak-paper-and-pulp-markets-hit-finlands-upm-idUSL1N2HI0L3