The Nordic forest industry has never had as much money as it does now, says Danske Bank's forest sector newsletter.<\/p>\n
Danske Bank has analyzed the situation of six large Nordic listed forest industry companies. The Swedish companies Billerud, Holmen and SCA, the Finnish-Swedish Stora Enso and the Finnish companies UPM and Mets\u00e4 Board are involved in the analysis.<\/p>\n
The companies' combined debt amount of 78.5 billion kroner (7.2 billion euros) may seem large, but is exceptionally low in relation to the income generation and the balance sheet. Net debt in relation to equity was only 18 percent in September. Mets\u00e4 Board has the strongest financial position.<\/p>\n
The investment strategy path at a crossroads<\/strong><\/p>\n A strong cash position enables investments. Danske Bank sees the forest sector as being at a crossroads and there are at least three strategic paths to choose from \u2013 invest in the sawmill industry and strengthen its position as a wood buyer, invest in energy and bioproducts, and thirdly seek growth abroad.<\/p>\n For example, Billerud is involved in a chemical pulping project in Norway and has bought the North American company Verso, which mainly produces coated special papers, thus strengthening its position as a wood buyer outside of Sweden.<\/p>\n Danske Bank of the Holmen company expects to continue building wind power on its own lands as well as its sawmill investments.<\/p>\n SCA's investments in wind power have so far been relatively small, but Danske Bank considers it significant and a predictive signal for further investments that SCA reports energy as its own business area.<\/p>\n Danske Bank reminds that it is a matter of reduction and in practice the strategy options are intertwined.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Nordic forest industry has never had as much money as it does now, says Danske Bank’s forest sector newsletter. Danske Bank has analyzed the situation of six large Nordic listed forest industry companies. The Swedish companies Billerud, Holmen and … Continue reading