Holmen reports Q2 revenue of 5,632 million SEK, beating expectations

Holmen reported second-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations despite challenging market conditions. The forestry company's revenue rose 1.1 percent to 5,632 million SEK, surpassing the Bloomberg consensus of 5,362 million SEK.

Operating profit reached 689 million SEK, which was higher than the anticipated 662 million SEK. While the Forest segment remained strong with a result of 460 million SEK, the Timber segment saw a reduced loss of 55 million SEK due to higher prices and lower timber costs. CEO Henrik Sjölund noted that the company is balancing production based on market conditions and has lowered production costs to position its sawmills for a market turnaround.

In the paper and carton segment, demand in Europe remained largely unchanged with stable prices. The segment's result increased by nearly 100 million SEK to 254 million SEK, aided by higher deliveries. Net profit after tax was 510 million SEK.