Metsäliitto Group Financial Statements bulletin 2006  

Metsäliitto Group’s operating profit excluding non-recurring items EUR 254 million in 2006

Non-recurring items totalled EUR 276 million in 2006

Result for 2006
• Sales EUR 9,271 million (EUR 8,643 million in 2005), up 7 per cent on the previous year.
• Operating profit excluding non-recurring items EUR 254 million (EUR 110 million). Operating profit after non-recurring items EUR -22 million (EUR 50 million) 
• Result before taxes EUR -222 million (EUR -159 million), mainly due to non-recurring items relating to M-real’s restructuring programme.

Result for the fourth quarter of 2006
• Sales EUR 2,352 million (Q4/05: EUR 2,265 million), up 4 per cent on Q4/05.
• Operating profit excluding non-recurring items EUR 81 million (Q4/05: EUR 42 million). Operating profit after non-recurring items EUR -160 million (Q4/05: EUR -13 million).
• Result before taxes EUR -220 million (Q4/05: EUR -42 million).

Events in the fourth quarter of 2006
• M-real launched a new restructuring programme, including closures of production facilities, a new cost savings programme of EUR 100 million, divestments of asset items and an impairment charge of approximately EUR 200 million. Furthermore, a working capital reduction programme of EUR 100 million was launched.
• Metsäliitto Group sold its Norwegian subsidiary Moelven Industrier ASA.
• The Finnish Competition Authority completed its investigation into round wood pricing and violation of the restraint of price competition, initiated in 2004. Metsäliitto denies participation in price co-operation.

Kari Jordan, President and CEO of Metsäliitto Group
“In the latter half of 2006, Metsäliitto Group made important decisions to improve the Group's profitability. Even though the result turned negative, due to M-real’s restructuring programme, the Metsäliitto Group’s result of actual operation excluding non-recurring items improved clearly on the previous year. We are on the right track in our effort to build a new Metsäliitto Group, and we continue our systematic work to create a novel, profitable forest industry company under Finnish ownership.”

For further information, please contact:
Ilkka Pitkänen, Group CFO, Metsäliitto Group, tel. +358 10 469 4260
Lauri Peltola, Group CCO, Metsäliitto Group, tel. +358 50 570 5606