METSÄ BOARD Annual review 2023
Report of the Board of Directors 2023
Key figures
Business operations and value creation 2 This is Metsä Board 4 CEO’s review 6
2023
2022
2021
Sales, EUR million EBITDA, EUR million
1,941.9
2,479.6
2,084.1
Metsä Board’s business Metsä Board produces recyclable premium fresh fibre paperboards and is Europe’s largest producer of folding boxboard and white kraftliners. The company’s folding boxboard is mainly used to package consumer products such as food and pharmaceuticals, while its white kraftliners are mainly used for various packaging needs in the retail sector. The total annual paperboard capacity is approximately 2.3 million tonnes. Metsä Board’s main market areas are Europe and North America. In addition to paperboard, the company produces chemical pulp and bleached high-yield pulp (BCTMP), which are used in its own paperboard production, with some sold as market pulp. The annual capacity for pulp and BCTMP is roughly 1.7 million tonnes. Metsä Board owns 24.9% of its associated company Metsä Fibre, a global leader in the production of softwood market pulp. Metsä Board covers its energy consumption with its own production and supplementary purchases from the market. Most of the electricity con- sumption is covered by the company’s own production and by electricity purchased from Pohjolan Voima and Metsä Fibre. Metsä Board has a 2.6% holding in Pohjolan Voima, from which it purchases electricity at cost price. Strategy and financial targets According to its strategy, Metsä Board aims to grow in fibre-based packaging materials and renew its industrial operations. The company implements its strategic programmes, including growth and development investments, to improve the mills’ production and resource efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of products. The company’s production is located near the most important raw material, high-quality northern fibre. Metsä Board aims to maintain high self-sufficiency in pulp and energy. Its decision-making is steered by profitability and sustainability targets and by the long-term increase of shareholder value. The company focuses on the continuous improvement of cost-effectiveness and on customer accounts which benefit from the high performance of the company’s products and services. The objective is to distribute a competitive dividend and retain a strong balance sheet.
According to the dividend policy, at least 50% of the result for the financial period is distributed as dividends. • In 2023: 95% (dividend: EUR 0.25 per share) Market environment ■ Paperboards Population growth, urbanisation and replacing plastics are global trends that will increase demand for fibre-based packaging in the long term. Consumer preferences favour fossil free packaging materials, and several brand owners are committed to ambitious targets to reduce plastic use in their packaging. Lightweight fresh fibre paperboards produced from renewable raw materials are material-efficient and have a smaller environ- mental impact than many corresponding packaging materials. Rising inflation and a higher price level have eroded consumers’ purchasing power and affected general demand for consumer products. In 2023, the demand for fresh fibre paperboards decreased rapidly, leading to considerable inventory adjustments in the value chain. In addition, the overall market balance for paperboards, especially in Europe, was affected by the discontinuation of sales to Russia and increased paperboard supply from Asia to Turkey, the Middle East and South America. In 2023, the deliveries of European folding boxboard and white kraft- liners to Europe decreased significantly from the previous year. Folding boxboard market prices remained stable, while those of white kraftliners declined. Metsä Board accounted for 32% (33) of the overall deliveries of Euro- pean folding boxboard producers and for 50% (57) of exports from Europe. At the end of 2023, Metsä Board accounted for 39% of folding boxboard production capacity and for 33% of white kraftliner production capacity in Europe (Sources: Fastmarkets FOEX, Fastmarkets RISI, CEPI Cartonboard, CEPI Containerboard, websites of benchmark companies). ■ Market pulp Metsä Board and its associated company Metsä Fibre sell mainly long-fibre pulp to Europe and Asia. Global demand for market pulp is supported by the global growth in demand for packaging and hygiene products made from renewable materials. In 2023, global demand for market pulp decreased, and the price level (PIX) declined from the previous year. In Europe, demand was constrained by production shutdowns by paperboard and paper producers due to the weak market situation. In China, demand picked up in the second half of the year. The global supply of long-fibre pulp was restricted by several production capacity closures, the limited availability of raw material in North America, and global production curtailments.
214.6 216.0
614.6 602.8
466.0 472.2
comparable, EUR million
Strategy and financial targets
EBITDA, % of sales
11.1 11.1
24.8 24.3
22.4 22.7
comparable, % of sales
8
Value creation
Operating result, EUR million comparable, EUR million Operating result, % of sales comparable, % of sales Result before taxes, EUR million
120.8 122.2
531.5 520.7
375.9 386.6
Financial development 10 Key figures 12
6.2 6.3
21.4 21.0
18.0 18.6
120.9 122.6 101.6 103.8
524.9 514.6 461.3 451.4
365.8 376.6 314.0 326.6
Report of the Board of Directors
comparable, EUR million
Result for the period, EUR million
20 72
• Sustainability statement • Sustainability statement assurance report
comparable, EUR million Earnings per share, EUR
0.27
1.15
0.82
comparable, EUR
0.27
1.13
0.85
74
Consolidated financial statements
Return on equity, %
4.7 4.8 5.0 5.1
22.5 22.0 21.4 20.9
19.4 20.2 18.2 18.7
comparable, %
78 Notes to the consolidated financial statements 126 Parent company financial statements 129 Notes to the parent company financial statements 142 The Board’s proposal to the Annual General Meeting for the distribution of funds 143 Auditor’s Report 147 Shares and shareholders 151 Ten years in figures 152 Taxes 153 Production capacities 155 Calculation of key ratios and comparable performance measures Corporate governance 157 Corporate governance statement 165 • Board of Directors of Metsä Board 168 • Corporate Management Team of Metsä Board
Return on capital employed, %
comparable, % Equity ratio 1) , % Net gearing 1) , %
67
66
63
7
4
-4
Interest-bearing net liabilities/comparable EBITDA Shareholders’ equity per share 1) , EUR Interest-bearing net liabilities 1) , EUR million
0.7
0.2
-0.2 4.78
5.35
5.86 94.5
144.0 228.7 342.8 2,240
-78.4 220.2 329.6 2,389
Total investment, EUR million
304.1 232.0 2,248
Net cash flow from operations, EUR million
Personnel 1)
at the end of the period
1)
Delivery and production volumes
1,000 tonnes
2023
2022
2021
Delivery volumes
Folding boxboard White kraftliner
906 467 394 684
1,208
1,296
609 503
627 496 762
Metsä Board’s market pulp 1) Metsä Fibre’s market pulp 2)
717
Production volumes Folding boxboard
859
1,272
1,272
White kraftliner
450
605
634
Metsä Board’s pulp 1) Metsä Fibre’s pulp 2)
996 685
1,409
1,362
Financial targets, dividend policy and actual figures for 2023: The comparable return on capital employed is at least 12%. • In 2023: 5.1%
731
747
170 Remuneration report 174 Investor relations and investor information
1) Includes chemical pulp and high-yield pulp (BCTMP). 2) Equal to Metsä Board’s 24.9% holding in Metsä Fibre.
The ratio of interest-bearing net liabilities to comparable EBITDA is at most 2.5. • In 2023: 0.7.
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Report of the Board of Directors | METSÄ BOARD ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
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