Holmen is changing how it manages the relationship between its forests and its industrial operations, creating a separate wood-supply business as its sawmills struggle to restore profitability.<\/p>\n
The Swedish group will divide its Forest business into two operations: one responsible for its own forest holdings, the other for purchasing and supplying wood to its mills. Announced alongside its nine-month results on October 22, the reorganisation will give each operation a place in group management.<\/p>\n
The decision comes as cheaper sawlogs provide some relief for Holmen\u2019s Wood Products division, but have yet to offset weak demand and lower income from sawmill by-products.<\/p>\n
Wood Products recorded an operating loss of SEK 170 million (EUR 15.3 million) in January\u2013September, against a SEK 70 million (EUR 6.3 million) loss a year earlier. Sales fell to SEK 2.92 billion (EUR 262.6 million) from SEK 3.11 billion (EUR 279.4 million), while production cuts reduced deliveries by almost 5% to 943,000 m\u00b3.<\/p>\n
Lower revenue from wood chips and biofuels, together with a weaker US dollar, weighed on earnings. Reduced sawlog costs softened the impact.<\/p>\n
The third quarter was less difficult. The operating loss narrowed to SEK 23 million (EUR 2.1 million), from SEK 55 million (EUR 4.9 million) in the second quarter and SEK 91 million (EUR 8.2 million) a year earlier. However, the improvement came from lower log costs rather than a recovery in selling prices. Holmen said demand remained subdued and sawn timber prices were unchanged during the quarter.<\/p>\n
Its five sawmills have a combined annual capacity of 1.5 million m\u00b3.<\/p>\n
Two businesses with different priorities<\/strong><\/p>\n Under the new structure, Holmen\u2019s forest-owning operation will concentrate on forest growth, cash generation and the long-term value of its land. The wood-supply business will focus on securing raw material for the group\u2019s industrial sites at competitive costs.<\/p>\n Chief executive Henrik Sj\u00f6lund said the change would bring wood supply closer to the industrial businesses, while allowing the management of Holmen\u2019s own forests to focus on developing those assets.<\/p>\n S\u00f6ren Petersson will head the forest-land operation, with Fredrik Holgersson taking responsibility for wood supply. Work starts immediately and is due to be completed during the third quarter of 2027. Holmen said the reorganisation would not involve redundancies.<\/p>\n The split gives separate management responsibility to two activities whose immediate priorities can differ: generating returns from forest ownership and controlling the cost of raw material entering the mills. Holmen\u2019s latest results show the pressure on both sides. Lower timber prices helped its sawmills, but reduced quarterly earnings from forestry.<\/p>\n Storm salvage disrupts normal harvesting<\/strong><\/p>\n Forest remained a substantial source of profit, earning SEK 1.41 billion (EUR 127.2 million) in the first nine months, down from SEK 1.55 billion (EUR 139.0 million) a year earlier. Third-quarter operating profit slipped to SEK 441 million (EUR 39.7 million) from SEK 460 million (EUR 41.4 million) in the preceding quarter, which Holmen attributed to lower selling prices.<\/p>\n The company described both demand and supply for sawlogs and pulpwood as weak during the quarter, with prices edging down.<\/p>\n Deliveries from its own forests fell to 1.766 million m\u00b3 under bark in January\u2013September, compared with 1.855 million m\u00b3 a year earlier. That was around 15% below the level implied by its long-term harvesting plan.<\/p>\n Salvage work has taken priority following the storm that hit central Sweden at the end of 2025. Holmen estimates that approximately 500,000 m\u00b3 of timber was blown down on its own land. Processing that wood has increased harvesting costs and restricted regular harvesting.<\/p>\n The result is a mixed picture for the group: lower log costs are helping the sawmills reduce losses, while falling timber prices and more expensive salvage operations are putting pressure on forestry earnings.<\/p>\n Across Holmen, nine-month operating profit declined to SEK 2.07 billion (EUR 185.9 million) from SEK 2.53 billion (EUR 227.8 million), on sales of SEK 16.05 billion (EUR 1.44 billion). Renewable Energy was the only business area to increase earnings.<\/p>\n For Wood Products, the latest quarter offers evidence of cost relief, but little indication of stronger demand. The new organisation will give wood procurement a clearer industrial focus; the immediate task remains turning lower raw-material costs into a sustained return to profit.<\/p>\n Holmen\u2019s earnings fall<\/p>\n January\u2013September. SEK million (EUR million), unless stated<\/p>\n Source: Holmen. *Under bark. Holmen is changing how it manages the relationship between its forests and its industrial operations, creating a separate wood-supply business as its sawmills struggle to restore profitability.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n
\n \n<\/th>\n 2025<\/th>\n 2026<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Produse din lemn<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Sales<\/td>\n 3,105 (279.4)<\/td>\n 2,918 (262.6)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Operating loss<\/td>\n 70 (6.3)<\/td>\n 170 (15.3)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Deliveries, \u2019000 m\u00b3<\/td>\n 990<\/td>\n 943<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Forest<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Operating profit<\/td>\n 1,545 (139.0)<\/td>\n 1,413 (127.2)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Own-forest deliveries, \u2019000 m\u00b3*<\/td>\n 1,855<\/td>\n 1,766<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Group<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Operating profit<\/td>\n 2,531 (227.8)<\/td>\n 2,066 (185.9)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Operating margin<\/td>\n 15%<\/td>\n 13%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nEUR equivalents at SEK 11.112 per euro, October 22, 2026; same rate for both years.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"