UPM recently published its Q4 and full year 2022 results. Jussi Pesonen, President and CEO, comments on the results:
“2022 was a pivotal year for UPM. We delivered all-time high annual sales and earnings, driven by success across all of our businesses. At the same time, our transformative growth projects proceeded as planned, getting ready to deliver growth already this year. This remarkable achievement shows UPM’s resilience in an exceptional environment marked by high inflation, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the European energy crisis. These challenges were met with commercial and operational agility. I am very proud of the company and all UPMers.
Results for Q4 were excellent, too. The quarter was the second best-ever quarter for the company, paling by comparison only to the previous quarter.”
Outlook for 2023
“UPM reached record earnings in 2022, and 2023 is expected to be another year of strong financial performance. UPM’s comparable EBIT is expected to increase in H1 2023 from H1 2022.
In 2023, UPM’s delivery volumes are expected to benefit from the ramp up of the UPM Paso de los Toros pulp mill and the OL3 nuclear power plant unit and having no strike impact when compared to 2022. In the early part of the year, however, demand for many UPM products is expected to be held back by destocking in various product value chains. The opening of the Chinese economy from the COVID lockdowns and easing inflation in other key economies represent potential for increasing demand as the year progresses.”