Jouko Karvinen, Stora Enso CEO until 31 July 2014, said: “The second quarter came out at the high end of our expectations, essentially driven by the better than expected performance of Renewable Packaging and by the Company’s 22% overachievement of the EUR 200 million annual structural cost reduction target. Those achievements combined with the significant improvements in earnings in Printing and Reading and in Building and Living are yet another proof point of the resilience and fighting spirit of the Stora Enso people. As regards Biomaterials, I am happy to see that the ramp-up of Montes del Plata is at, if not beyond, the industry standards.

Karl-Henrik Sundström, Stora Enso CEO from 1 August 2014 commented: “One of my short-term priorities is to build a winning team which can take us forward. Due to the strategic importance of sustainability issues, I will also put more resources into the corporate responsibility area. Currently, I am deepening my knowledge of Stora Enso’s packaging and biomaterials offering, as this business is partly new to me.

Stora Enso’s transformation into a company with increased customer focus goes on. We will continue to deliver value through the Montes del Plata Pulp Mill in Uruguay and our consumer board machine investment in Guangxi, China. The acquisition of the biotechnology company Virdia and the conversion of the Varkaus Mill fine paper machine in Finland to produce virgin-fibre-based containerboard are yet further examples. It is all about winning, together with our customers, today and tomorrow.”