4 minute read
CEO’s review
A strong year for Metsä Board
2021 was a successful year for Metsä Board despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our profitability was on a record high level and we promoted our growth and development projects successfully. With our products and services, we helped our customers to create increasingly sustainable packaging and deliver better consumer experiences. We continued our efforts to mitigate climate change, with the target of completely fossil free mills and products by the end of 2030.
Metsä Board’s business was in a strong shape in 2021. Demand for our fresh fibre paperboards was at a record high in all our market areas, and price increases improved our profitability. Our paperboard delivery volumes grew by 6% from the previous year and exceeded 1.9 million tonnes. Our comparable return on capital employed was 18.7%, which is clearly above the long-term target level. With our strong performance, we were able to meet the challenges of rapid cost inflation and complications related to logistics. The cooperation agreement signed early in the year with Norra Skog, a Swedish forest owners’ cooperative, made Metsä Board a net debt-free company and strengthened our sustainable wood management, particularly in Sweden.
A clear strategy yields results
We have a clear strategy which has proved its effectiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic and made us increasingly competitive. We focus on sustainable and premium paperboards, develop our services, and innovate new packaging solutions in cooperation with our partners. Our growth is profitable and sustainable. We enable and monitor to ensure that our personnel have the needed competence to implement the strategy. We also make sure that our personnel have the opportunity to develop and advance in their careers. We aim for zero accidents at work, but based on last year’s development, we have room for improvement.
Sustainable and profitable growth through investments
We want to respond to the rapid growing demand for sustainable, high-quality packaging materials. In 2021, we made decisions on two investments, which together will increase our annual paperboard capacity by around 240,000 tonnes. We expect additional capacity to be fully available in our main markets from 2026 onwards. With these investments we strengthened our leading position in Europe and continue to grow in North America, where our sales are supported by competitive products, an efficient supply chain and excellent customer service. In 2022, we will start up a new recovery boiler and turbine at Husum. This will increase our self-sufficiency in electricity production, and further strengthen Husum’s position as a sustainable platform for the development of first-class paperboard production.
Global leader in sustainability
We have set ourselves ambitious sustainability targets, which we aim to achieve by the end of 2030. Among other things, we are aiming for fully fossil free production and products. Achieving these targets requires investments and close cooperation with our partners. Combating climate change and securing forest biodiversity call for measures and development projects which we are implementing as part of Metsä Group.
Our determined sustainability work received valuable recognition when CDP, the global non-profit organisation, added Metsä Board to its ‘A List’ for combatting climate change and sustainable use of water resources and forests.
I am very proud of our achievement of the highest ‘A List’ in all three of CDP’s environmental themes. It is an acknowledgement for our leadership in the fight against climate change and our uncompromising commitment to sustainability.
Long-term and focused R&D work in cooperation with customers
As the amount of packaging increases, we need resource-efficient and easily recyclable packaging solutions that we develop together with our customers and partners. Our high-quality lightweight paperboards help to reduce the carbon footprint of packaging throughout the packaging chain. Growth in the sales of our dispersion coated barrier paperboard, which reduces the use of plastic, has been rapid and we expect this trend to continue. Our Excellence Centre in Äänekoski, Finland, and our 360 Services deepen the R&D work we are carrying out with our customers.
A good outlook
As we head into 2022, the outlook for the global economy is favourable, although a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the functionality of the logistics chain are a source of uncertainty. I believe that the demand for our sustainably produced paperboards will remain strong as the circular economy and plastic reduction stay on the agenda of brand owners and consumers. This has been visible through our strong order book and the increased prices of our paperboards.
Metsä Board’s Board of Directors proposes that a dividend of EUR 0.41 per share be distributed for 2021. The proposal is in line with our dividend policy and reflects the trust in our ability to keep generating a strong cash flow.
Success starts with people. I wish to extend my sincere thanks to our entire personnel for their work under the exceptional circumstances, and to all our partners for their excellent collaboration.
Mika Joukio
CEO
