Stora Enso Financial Statements Release 2025: Sharpened strategic focus

On the fourth quarter of the 2025 Stora Ensos sales decreased by 3% to EUR 2,254 (2,322) million, mainly due to lower board and pulp prices, partly offset by the impact from acquisition of Junnikkala and the consumer board line ramp-up at the Oulu site. Adjusted EBIT decreased by 17% to EUR 100 (121) million, driven by lower pulp prices and adverse currency effects, as well as the ramp-up of the new line in Oulu, which impacted the Q4 result negatively by EUR 31 million. The adjusted EBIT margin decreased to 4.5% (5.2%). Operating result (IFRS) was EUR 476 (-279) million, including items affecting comparability of EUR -90 (-768) million, and fair valuations and other non-operational items of EUR 466 (368) million mainly driven by an increase in the fair value of biological assets in Sweden and Finland.

Stora Enso’s President and CEO Hans Sohlström comments on the results:

2025 was a pivotal year for Stora Enso, marked by decisive actions to sharpen our strategic focus and unlock long-term value for our stakeholders. In the fourth quarter, we reached a significant milestone by completing the strategic review of our Swedish forest assets.

We are separating our Swedish forest assets to unlock value creating two champions with distinctive business dynamics and return profiles: A globally leading renewable materials company with sharpened focus on packaging, and Europe’s largest listed pure-play forest company.

Also, we initiated a strategic review of our Central European sawmills and building solutions operations to further sharpen our business focus reflecting our commitment to active portfolio management and ensuring that all our operations are aligned with our long-term value creation goals.

During the quarter, we also hosted a successful Capital Markets Day (CMD), where we introduced new financial targets, strategic priorities, and a clear roadmap for the coming years.

Our strategy positions us as a global leader in renewable materials, with an increasing focus on packaging. We are committed to cost efficiency, profitable growth, expanding margins through systematic profit improvement actions, and generating strong cash flow with disciplined capital allocation.

We also introduced a new reporting structure where packaging business areas will be regrouped into Consumer Packaging and Integrated Packaging, alongside Biomaterials and Other. The new reporting segments will be applicable starting in the first quarter of 2026.

Despite a challenging macroeconomic and market environment, Stora Enso delivered resilient results. Group sales for the year were EUR 9.3 billion, with adjusted EBIT of EUR 528 million. Underlying performance improved across all business areas except Biomaterials, which was impacted by lower pulp prices. The ramp-up of the new line at Oulu had an adverse impact on the results. Our net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio improved to 2.8, reflecting the positive impact of the Swedish forest asset divestment of approximately 175,000 hectares of forest land in Sweden, at a value of EUR 900 million, and our ongoing focus on cash flow and cost competitiveness.

Operationally, we progressed in ramping up the new consumer board line at Oulu, which is central to our strategic focus on renewable packaging. While the ramp-up weighed on profitability in the short term, we remain confident in the long-term value and industry-leading quality this investment will deliver. The acquisition of Junnikkala Oy further strengthened our wood supply chain and supports the competitiveness of our Oulu site.

Our ongoing cost and efficiency actions, combined with a leaner and more business-focused organisational structure with six P&L responsible business areas including the new business area Wood and Energy, and 23 P&L responsible business units, have positioned us well to navigate continued market volatility.

For the second consecutive year, Stora Enso has been included on CDP’s Climate Change ‘A List’, highlighting our strong transparency and performance in climate action. This recognition affirms our dedication to sustainable growth through emission reduction, renewable material innovation, and advancing the circular bioeconomy.

Additionally, in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), we completed a pioneering project that offers the forest sector a science-based framework for achieving net-positive biodiversity impact. This collaboration helps forestry operations focus on the most effective actions to reduce species extinction risk while maintaining long-term economic value.

By the end of 2025, we cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 61% and Scope 3 emissions by 38% from 2019 levels, surpassing our 2030 target. Additionally, 94% of our products are technically recyclable, and we maintain 99% forest certification coverage.

As we enter 2026, we expect market conditions to remain subdued and volatile, shaped by ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. We will continue to execute our strategy and drive proactive, systematic, and determined work across the whole Group.

Our strategic priorities, as set forth in our CMD, are clear: We want to lead in customer value creation, grow our business, expand margins, and generate strong cash flow over the cycle. We will achieve this through our continued actions in sourcing, operational efficiency, commercial excellence, working capital, and fixed costs, while maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation.

Customer centricity is now at the forefront of our strategy, driving us to pursue innovation, quality, and sustainability across all aspects of our operations. By delivering superior customer offering and leveraging advanced technologies, we are dedicated to setting new industry standards for excellence.

The demerger and listing of our Swedish forest assets will be a key focus, as will the ongoing strategic review of our Central European wood products business and ramping up the new production line in Oulu, Finland.

At the core of everything we do is people – our customers, employees, shareholders and partners. I want to thank you all for the dedication and resilience during this transformative year. Together, we are building a stronger, more focused, and more sustainable Stora Enso.