Finland Times

 

File Photo – Lehtikuva.

Finnish paper and pulp company Metsä Board, a part of Metsä Group, plans to fully exit paper production.

 

In a release, the company said it is also considering a right issue to partially finance the final steps of transformation to a paperboard company and investing approximately EUR 170 million in a new-folding boxboard machine at its Husum mill in Sweden. 

 

Metsä Board said Husum mill’s paper production is planned to be discontinued mostly at the end of 2015 and fully by the end of 2017.

 

The company is also planning new measures to eliminate losses of its Gohrsmühle mill in Germany.

 

In addition, Metsä Board’s associate company Metsä Fibre is planning to build a bioproduct mill with an investment cost of approximately EUR 1.1 billion to replace the current pulp mill in Äänekoski, Finland.

 

According to the company, the planned measures are expected to be financed by current liquidity, operating cash flow and potentially also by an approximately EUR 100 million right issue.

 

“These final steps of our transformation to a paperboard company allow us to grow significantly our core business and exit the weak paper production. Our profitability will be raised to a new improved level without compromising the solid balance sheet,” said Metsä Board CEO Mika Joukio.