Paper Maker Stora Enso Q3 Loss Widens To Euro520 Mln

HELSINKI (AP) — Paper maker Stora Enso Oyj said Thursday that third-quarter net loss widened to euro519.7 million ($775 million) from euro319 million a year earlier and warned it had "weak" expectations for the rest of the year.

Net sales fell to euro2.2 billion from euro2.7 billion a year earlier, the Finnish-Swedish company said.

Last week, Stora Enso warned that operating profit in the three-month period would be hit by a euro655 million charge due to provisions and write-downs on the values of assets.

In August, it announced 1,100 layoffs to reduce costs in the face of weaker demand.

Stora Enso is one of the world's largest forest product companies making magazine paper, newsprint, fine paper, pulp and packaging boards. It employs 29,000 people.

The company was formed in a 1998 merger between Finland's Enso and Stora of Sweden. The Finnish government holds more than 10 percent of the stock.

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On the Net:

http://www.storaenso.com