Annual report 2023
Part of the global bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a business-to-business company and a leading provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials, and wooden construction, and one of the largest private forest owners in the world. Sustainability is integral in Stora Enso’s business strategy, it is at the core of what we do. We publish a combined Annual Report, covering our strategy, financials, sustainability reporting, corporate governance and remuneration.
CEO's review
Hans Sohlström on his appointment as Stora Enso’s President and CEO:
A challenging year for Stora Enso and the whole sector:
2023 was a challenging year for the whole industry, with lower demand and volumes in general. During the year, we experienced a decline with a speed and magnitude not seen for a couple of decades, with deteriorating market conditions and price pressure for all segments.
Stora Enso's response to the weak market and company-related challenges:
A restructuring programme was initiated in June 2023 to strengthen the Group’s long-term competitiveness, improve profitability and focus capital allocation on strategic growth markets. We closed several production units with low long-term competitiveness. The restructuring actions will improve our operational EBIT by approximately EUR 110 million annually and affected approximately 1,150 employees. Last year’s restructuring programme initiated in June 2023 identified synergy opportunities.
In February of this year, 2024, we initiated a profit improvement programme resulting from those findings which would improve the Group’s operational EBIT by EUR 80 million annually, with the majority of these savings realised during 2025. This profit improvement initiative includes a potential reduction of approximately 1,000 employees without any new production site closures.
Progress made towards the Company’s long-term strategic objectives in 2023:
Our strategy yielded significant progress in 2023. We began the year by discontinuing our Paper division, which had been in a market-related structural decline for many years. Instead, we focused on growing in our key areas, most notably renewable packaging, our largest growth area. In January, we completed the acquisition of De Jong Packaging Group, a leading corrugated packaging producer in the Netherlands, which reinforced our position in West Europe. Furthermore, we continued converting a paper line into growing consumer board segments at our Oulu production site in Finland, with production set to commence in early 2025.
Expectations and focus for 2024 onward:
Hans Sohlström
President and CEO
ESEF Annual Financial Statements 2023
| Language | Name | Download as XBRL | View as XBRL |
| English | Annual Financial Statements 2023 | Download | View |
| Finnish | Tilinpäätös 2023 | Lataa | Avaa |
