Stora Enso Interim Report January-September 2026: Introducing Bergslagets Skogar while building a stronger Stora Enso

Q3/2026 (year-on-year)

·      Organic sales increased by 2%, supported by higher board deliveries and containerboard prices. Reported sales decreased by 2% to EUR 2,240 (2,283) million due to divestments.

·      Adjusted EBIT increased by 28% to EUR 161 (126) million, driven by higher board volumes and lower variable costs, as well as the ramp-up of the new consumer board line at the Oulu site. The adjusted EBIT margin increased to 7.2% (5.5%).

·      Operating result (IFRS) was EUR 47 (231) million, including items affecting comparability of EUR -63 (117) million, mainly related to impairments, restructuring and disposals, and fair valuations and other non-operational items of EUR -51 (-11) million, mostly related to fair valuation of biological assets.

·      Earnings per share was EUR 0.01 (0.25) and earnings per share excl. fair valuations (FV) were EUR 0.06 (0.26).

·      The fair value of the forest assets was EUR 8.4 (8.3) billion, equivalent to EUR 10.66 per share.

·      Cash flow from operations amounted to EUR 245 (223) million. Lower cash spending on fixed assets contributed to cash flow after investing activities, which increased to EUR 132 (57) million.

·      The net debt to adjusted EBITDA (LTM) ratio improved to 2.1 (2.7), primarily due to repayment of debt with proceeds from the hybrid bond, classified as equity.

January-September 2026 (year-on-year)

·      Sales were EUR 7,021 (7,072) million.

·      Adjusted EBIT was EUR 479 (427) million.

·      Operating result (IFRS) was EUR 148 (466) million.

·      Earnings per share (EPS) were EUR 0.02 (0.42) and EPS excl. fair valuations (FV) was EUR 0.14 (0.44).

·      Cash flow from operations amounted to EUR 457 (560) million. Cash flow after investing activities was EUR 113 (-26) million.

Key highlights

·      Preparations continue for the planned separation of Stora Enso's Swedish forest assets business into a new publicly listed company, expected during the first half of 2027. Stora Enso's Board of Directors has approved a Demerger Plan concerning the demerger.

·      The Veitsiluoto sawmill in Kemi, Finland, was permanently closed, and sawmill production was centralised at the company's other sawmills.

·      Stora Enso will permanently close the Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) unit at Gruvön, Sweden by the end of 2026. The site will focus on sawn goods operations.

·      Stora Enso will centralise its corrugated packaging production in Finland at its Lahti site and close the Kristiinankaupunki site.

·      In October, Stora Enso and Shanshan Technology partnered to accelerate the development and industrialisation of sustainable battery materials, including construction of a demonstration line for lignin-based hard carbon anode materials.

·      The strategic review of the Central European sawmills and building solutions operations is ongoing.

·      The ramp-up of the consumer board line at the Oulu site in Finland continues and is expected to be completed during 2027.

Outlook Q4/2026

Market conditions remain mixed and uncertain. Demand across several end markets continues subdued, while pricing has improved in certain packaging grades. Geopolitical tensions and uncertainty are expected to put further pressure on variable costs, particularly energy, logistics and chemicals. The wood costs are expected to increase somewhat in the fourth quarter. Stora Enso continues to focus on actions within its control while proactively adapting to market developments.

Consumer Packaging will be impacted by significant planned annual maintenance, resulting in higher maintenance costs and lower volumes. The lower share of consumer board volumes will also have an adverse price/mix impact. In addition, the fourth quarter is low season for Consumer Packaging.

The ramp-up of the new production line in Oulu continues to progress. The financial performance of the line is expected to improve somewhat year-on-year in the fourth quarter. The ramp-up is expected to be completed during 2027.

The divestment of 175,000 hectares of forest assets in Sweden, completed in 2025, will result in a reduction of annual adjusted EBIT of approximately EUR 20 million, with an estimated quarterly effect of approximately EUR 5 million.

The operating income from emission rights in 2025 was about EUR 72 million, distributed evenly throughout the year. For 2026, the income from the sale of emission rights is projected to decrease to EUR 10-20 million. This decline reflects changes to the EU ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) rules: several sites will lose their free CO₂ allowance allocations from 2026 onward, as their emissions are more than 95% biogenic and therefore no longer qualify for free allocations under the revised ETS framework.

Capital expenditure for 2026 is estimated at approximately EUR 500 million, down from the previous estimate of below EUR 550 million.

Key figures

1 Total forest assets value, including leased land and Stora Enso's share of forest assets in associated companies

2 LTM=Last 12 months
 

Stora Enso's President and CEO Hans Sohlström comments the results:
We have now formally decided to proceed with the planned separation of Bergslagets Skogar. In just a few days, we will host Capital Markets Day, where we present Bergslagets Skogar's financials and showcase a business with a unique asset base, a strong foundation and long-term value creation potential. The separation will unlock value and sharpen the strategic focus of both companies.

In the third quarter, we continued to make steady progress, with organic growth of 2% year-on-year, supported by our own actions. AI is increasingly helping us accelerate our Value Creation Programmes and identify further opportunities to improve performance. Despite high planned annual maintenance activity, as well as higher costs related to the conflict in Iran, we delivered an adjusted EBIT margin above 7%. This is further evidence that our strategic priorities and portfolio optimisation are gradually strengthening the quality and resilience of our earnings and cash flow.

I am particularly pleased with the continued performance of our packaging businesses, which remain a key area of focus for us. Consumer Packaging delivered another strong quarter, supported by increased deliveries, good operational execution and continued progress in Oulu. In Integrated Packaging, the underlying profitability remained solid despite significant annual maintenance at several key sites, with improved containerboard pricing and successful post-maintenance ramp-ups supporting performance. The development in both segments demonstrates the increasing resilience of our packaging business and the tangible impact of our own actions. Furthermore, Biomaterials continued to demonstrate strong competitiveness with solid margins despite a challenging operating environment.

During the quarter, we continued to take decisive actions to strengthen the competitiveness and focus of our portfolio by divesting our Packaging Solutions units in Germany and consolidating sawmilling in the Oulu region in Finland. We streamlined our CLT production through the closure of the Gruvön unit in Sweden, enabling more efficient utilisation of our three CLT units in the Czech Republic and Austria. We also announced plans to centralise our Packaging Solutions operations in Finland. Furthermore, we reduced our ownership in a Swedish wood supply company. These actions are aligned with our ongoing efforts to simplify our portfolio, improve competitiveness and allocate capital to areas where we see the greatest opportunities to create value.

Our recently announced partnership with Shanshan Technology, a leading producer of battery anode materials, is an important step in accelerating the development and commercialisation of renewable, lignin-based battery materials.

Market conditions remained mixed. Demand in some end markets continued to improve while others stayed subdued. The external environment remained marked by uncertainty and geopolitical tensions. The conflict in Iran continued to increase energy, logistics and other input costs. We continue to focus on the factors within our control and respond proactively and with agility to changing market conditions.

Our strategic priorities remain unchanged: 

·      Lead in customer value creation through innovation, quality and sustainability

·      Grow faster than market with superior customer offering, leading technology and operational efficiency

·      Expand margin through business focus, a positive performance culture and systematic value creation

·      Generate cash with high conversion ratio and disciplined capital allocation

I am encouraged by the progress we are making. We have many exciting and important steps ahead, with the Bergslagets Skogar Capital Markets Day being the next one.

I would like to thank our shareholders, customers and other stakeholders for the trust they place in us. And most importantly, I would like to thank our employees for their commitment, hard work and determination throughout this journey.

Together, we are actively shaping our future and building a stronger, more focused, and more sustainable Stora Enso.

Webcast for analysts, investors, and media
Stora Enso's President and CEO Hans Sohlström and CFO Niclas Rosenlew will present the results in a webcast today starting at 11:00 am EET (10:00 CET, 9:00 GMT, 4:00 EST). The live the webcast can be accessed using the following link: https://stora-enso-q3-earnings-presentation-2026.open-exchange.net/ 

During the webcast presentation, analysts and investors will also have the possibility to ask questions. To participate in the teleconference, please choose the "Teleconference" option on the homepage of the webcast. Recording of the webcast will be available shortly after the event at the same address and at storaenso.com.

Media representatives who wish to ask questions after the publication of the report may contact Hanna Rutanen, SVP Communications at Stora Enso on +358 41 507 1361

This release is a summary of Stora Enso's Interim Report January-September 2026. The complete report is attached to this release as a pdf file, and it is also available on the company website.

Media enquiries:
Hanna Rutanen
SVP Communications
tel. +358 41 507 1361

Investor enquiries:
Jutta Mikkola
SVP Investor Relations
tel. +358 50 544 6061

Stora Enso is a global leader in renewable materials with a strong focus on packaging. Our purpose is to replace non-renewable materials with renewable solutions. Together with our customers, we design and deliver competitive, high-quality packaging materials and solutions, made from fresh and recycled fibers, accelerating the transition to a circular bioeconomy. Stora Enso has approximately 19,000 employees and our sales in 2025 were EUR 9.3 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy (STEAV, STERV) and Nasdaq Stockholm AB (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA on OTC Markets (OTCQX) as ADRs and ordinary shares (SEOAY, SEOFF, SEOJF). storaenso.com/investors

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