Finnish packaging company Metsä Board has posted a comparable operating loss of €45.6m in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, reversing its €41.9m profit of one year previously.
Sales declined to €441.2m in the three months to September 2025, from €499m in Q3 2024.
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The company reported net cash flow from operations of €122m for Q3 2025, up from €4.6m in the same period of 2024.
Working capital releases in the quarter totalled about €120m. Metsä Board is targeting a further €150m release in working capital by the end of 2025.
Paperboard deliveries in the quarter amounted to 332,000 tonnes, down from 388,000 tonnes in Q3 2024. Average paperboard prices continue to be at the previous quarter’s level.
Metsä describes the paperboard market as challenging, citing weak consumer demand, US tariffs and overcapacity. Its production of paperboard, BCTMP and pulp have been curtailed for market reasons and to free up working capital.
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By GlobalDataProduction volumes and profitability were also significantly affected by the annual maintenance shutdown at the Husum integrated mill and an investment shutdown of the Simpele paperboard machine.
Market pulp demand has been weak in Europe and China and pulp prices have fallen. Pulp production at associated company Metsä Fibre’s Joutseno mill has been paused for the four months since June.
Metsä stated that the overall impact of pulp on its performance for the third quarter of 2025 was “clearly negative” and has launched a cost savings and profitability improvement programme, aiming to raise its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation run‑rate by €200m by the end of 2027. The programme progressed as planned in Q3.
No specific operating result guidance was provided for coming quarters. The company anticipates that cash flow from operations will remain positive and that it will see a “slight seasonal decrease” in paperboard delivery volumes from the previous quarter.
Results for October to December 2025 may include insurance claims related to a gas explosion at Metsä Fibre’s bioproduct mill in spring 2024 and recovery boiler damage in autumn 2024.
Falling pulpwood prices in Finland and Sweden should support profitability from 2026. Exchange rate movements, including hedge effects, are projected to have a slightly negative impact in Q4 2025 and a clearly negative impact in Q1 2026.
Metsä Board CEO Esa Kaikkonen stated: “The business environment in the paperboard market remains challenging. In addition, the high pulpwood price level and weak dollar are burdening the competitiveness of European paperboard and pulp producers, including Metsä Board. As there are no quick solutions to these challenges, we are focusing on the things we can influence.”
