Half Year 2024 Metsa Board Oyj Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Paperboard delivery volumes increased by 7% year-over-year and 3% quarter-over-quarter.
- Market prices for pulp increased in both Europe and China, with strong demand in Europe.
- Metsa Board Oyj (FRA:MSRB) achieved the platinum level in EcoVadis sustainability rating.
- Investment in renewing the Simpele board machine to improve efficiency and move towards fossil-free production by 2030.
- Sales in Q2 amounted to EUR510 million, slightly higher than the same period last year.
- Political strikes in Finland led to production losses of 50,000 tonnes in paperboards and 30,000 tonnes in BCTMP.
- A gas explosion at the Kemi bioproduct mill significantly impacted kraftliner production and increased production costs.
- Operating result in Q2 was negative due to one-off events, with a EUR31 million loss.
- Lower sales prices of folding boxboard negatively impacted profitability.
- Net debt increased by EUR150 million due to poor cash flow and increased working capital.
Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the presentation of Metsa Board's results for January-June 2024. My name is Mika Joukio, and Iâm the CEO at Metsa Board. Here with me are CFO Henri Sederholm and the Head of IR, Kati Sundstrom. So, letâs go through the presentation first and then take the questions.
Let's start with the Q2 summary. To the positive trend in paperboard demand that we already saw in the first quarter, continued in the second. Our paperboard delivery volumes increased slightly from Q1 and average sales prices in both folding boxboard as well as white kraftliners remained stable.
Market prices for pulp increased, both in Europe and in China, compared to the previous quarter. Especially in Europe demand has been strong throughout the year. As always, the second quarter included more plant maintenance than the first, which is practically a maintenance-free quarter. The improved business momentum was disrupted by unfortunate events.
During March-April, the political
Access to All Earning Calls and Stock Analysis | |
30-Year Financial on one screen | |
All-in-one Stock Screener with unlimited filters | |
Customizable Stock Dashboard | |
Real Time Insider Trading Transactions | |
8,000+ Institutional investors’ 13F holdings | |
Powerful Excel Add-in and Google sheets Add-on | |
All data downloadable | |
Quick customer support | |
And much more... |