Stora Enso’s non-recurring items in fourth quarter 2012

1/18/2013 2:00 AM EST

Stora Enso Oyj
Company Announcement

Stora Enso’s non-recurring items in fourth quarter 2012

Helsinki, Finland, 2013-01-18 08:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STORA ENSO OYJ
STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 18 January 2013 at 9.00 EET 

Stora Enso will record non-recurring items (NRI) with a positive net impact of
approximately EUR 110 million on operating profit, a positive impact of
approximately EUR 11 million on financial items and a positive impact of
approximately EUR 56 million on income tax in its fourth quarter 2012 results.
The NRI will increase earnings per share by EUR 0.22. 

The NRI are:

  -- a NRI with approximately EUR 65 million positive net impact on operating
     profit as a result of fixed asset impairment testing. The net impact
     comprises an impairment charge related to Renewable Packaging and reversal
     of an impairment charge related to Printing and Reading.
  -- a NRI with approximately EUR 43 million negative impact on operating profit
     due to plans to restructure operations in all Business Areas, as announced
     on 23 October 2012. The NRI comprises a restructuring provision and a fixed
     asset and working capital write-down. The restructuring measures are
     planned to reduce annual costs by approximately EUR 36 million.
  -- these above-mentioned two NRI will have a negative tax impact of
     approximately EUR 7 million.
  -- a NRI with approximately EUR 18 million positive impact on operating profit
     due to pension adjustment in Finland. This NRI will be reported in the
     segment Other.
  -- a NRI with approximately EUR 11 million positive impact on net financial
     items due to the transfer of the lease holding of paper machine (PM) 35 at
     NewPage Corporation’s Stevens Point Mill. Stora Enso has been the guarantor
     of the PM 35 lease.
  -- a NRI with approximately EUR 132 million positive impact due to a tax rate
     change in Sweden. In November 2012 the Swedish Parliament enacted a tax
     rate change from 26.3% to 22.0%. As a result, the Group income tax includes
     a benefit of approximately EUR 63 million due to the application of the new
     rate to Swedish deferred tax assets and liabilities. The Group’s
     approximately EUR 69 million share of the effect of the new tax rate on the
     Group’s equity accounted investment Bergvik Skog AB will be recognised in
     operating profit in the segment Other.


Allocation of NRI* between segments



Segment               EUR million
---------------------------------
Printing and Reading         66.9
---------------------------------
Biomaterials                 -6.7
---------------------------------
Building and Living             -
---------------------------------
Renewable Packaging         -38.0
---------------------------------
Other                        87.5
---------------------------------
Operating profit            109.7
---------------------------------
Net financial items          10.5
---------------------------------
Profit before tax           120.2
---------------------------------
Income tax                   56.4
---------------------------------
Net profit                  176.6
---------------------------------


*NRI = Non-recurring items. These are exceptional transactions that are not
related to normal business operations. The most common non-recurring items are
capital gains, additional write-downs, or reversals of write-downs, provisions
for planned restructuring and penalties. Non-recurring items are normally
specified individually if they exceed one cent per share. 

Stora Enso will publish its fourth quarter and full year 2012 results on 5
February 2013 at 13.00 EET (12.00 CET). 

For further information, please contact:
Karl-Henrik Sundström, CFO, tel. +46 1046 71660
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, Head of Investor Relations, tel. +358 2046 21242

www.storaenso.com
www.storaenso.com/investors

Stora Enso is the global rethinker of the paper, biomaterials, wood product and
packaging industry. We always rethink the old and expand to the new to offer
our customers innovative solutions based on renewable materials. Stora Enso
employs some 30 000 people worldwide, and our sales in 2011 amounted to EUR
11.0 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV,
STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the
USA as ADRs (SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market. 

STORA ENSO OYJ