Stora Enso's Q4 report was weaker than expected and the company's near-term outlook is also weak in many areas due to sluggish demand and inflationary challenges. We slightly lowered our estimates for Stora Enso this year, but otherwise our estimates for the coming years were largely unchanged. In addition, we raised our required return by a notch, especially in view of the company's high volatility and earnings performance that is hurting again. The valuation of Stora Enso isn’t unreasonable despite the downward earnings trend this year, but we still prefer UPM and Metsä Board, which offer slightly more attractive short-term expected returns than Stora Enso.
Trade. (Stora Enso)
Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper on global markets. Our aim is to replace fossil based materials by innovating and developing new products and services based on wood and other renewable materials. We employ some 26 000 people and are publicly listed in Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R).