PR & News

UPM will refurbish the Voikkaa hydropower plant located on the Kymi River in south east Finland. The refurbishment work will start up late 2011, and will take about two years.

Discussing the refurbishment, Mr Pekka Pollari, Hydropower Manager for UPM said: “We will renovate one generation unit, turbine and electrical system. In addition, we will renew all the control and automation systems.”

Located next to the Voikkaa business area the renovated hydropower plant will be ready by the end of 2013. UPM will use several million euros for upgrading the plant, some of which is more than 50 years old. As a result of the refurbishment, the power plant will produce more renewable electricity from the same amount of water.

The refurbishment of Voikkaa hydropower plant is part of UPM’s systematic modernisation programme of its hydropower plants in Finland.

In 2010, UPM completed refurbishment projects at Koivukoski and Ämmäkoski hydropower plants by the River Kajaani in Eastern Finland, and Keltti hydropower plant by the River Kymi in Kouvola, Finland. The total combined cost of these renovations was over 20 million ...

A total of 300 UPM-Kymmene Corporation new shares were subscribed for by 25 March 2011 under the company's stock option rights 2007A. The entire subscription price of EUR 3,720 will be entered in the invested unrestricted equity reserve. As a result of the share subscriptions, the number of UPM’s shares will increase to 519,970,388.

The shares subscribed for under the stock options were registered in the Trade Register on 12 April 2011, as of which date the new shares will establish shareholder rights.

Trading in the new shares will begin on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki on 13 April 2011.

The share subscription period for stock options 2007A is between 1 October 2010 and 31 October 2012. On 25 March 2011, a total of 4,252,700 stock option rights 2007A remained unexercised.

The terms and conditions of UPM’s stock options 2007 with additional information are available on the company's website www.upm.com.

For further information, please contact:
Olavi Kauppila, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, tel. +358 204 150 658

At the organisation meeting of UPM-Kymmene Corporation's Board of Directors, Mr Björn Wahlroos was re-elected as Chairman, and Mr Berndt Brunow was re-elected as Deputy Chairman. 

In addition, the Board of Directors re-elected from among its members Mr Karl Grotenfelt as Chairman of the Audit Committee, and Ms Wendy E. Lane and Mr Veli-Matti Reinikkala as members of the Committee. 

Mr Berndt Brunow was re-elected as Chairman of the Human Resources Committee, and Ms Ursula Ranin and Mr Robert J. Routs were re-elected as members of the Committee. 

Furthermore, Mr Björn Wahlroos was re-elected as Chairman of the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee, and Mr Matti Alahuhta and Mr Karl Grotenfelt were re-elected as members of the Committee. 

UPM-Kymmene Corporation
Pirkko Harrela
Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications

At the Annual General Meeting of UPM-Kymmene Corporation, held on 7 April 2011, the financial statements of the company for the year 2010 were approved and the members of the Board of Directors and the President and CEO were discharged from liability for the financial period of 1 January-31 December 2010.

 According to the proposal of the Board of Directors, the AGM decided that a dividend of EUR 0.55 per share will be paid on 20 April 2011. The dividend will be paid to the shareholders who are registered in the Company’s shareholder register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on 12 April 2011, which is the record date for the dividend payment. 

Composition and remunerations of the Board of Directors 

According to the proposal of the Board's Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee, the Board of Directors continues to be composed of nine (9) members. The current Board members: Björn Wahlroos, Berndt Brunow, Matti Alahuhta, Karl Grotenfelt, Wendy E. Lane, Jussi Pesonen, Ursula Ranin, Veli-Matti Reinikkala and Robert J. Routs were re-elected for a term continuing until the end of the next Annual General Meeting.

UPM’s President and CEO Jussi Pesonen confirmed his confidence in UPM’s continued positive development at the company’s Annual General Meeting today. “Following a strong performance in 2010, UPM is well positioned both in terms of business cycle and strategy”. 

“There has been a solid start to 2011. Deliveries and price increases have materialised as expected; however, unfortunately, cost pressures are accelerating”. 

“The outlook for 2011 continues to be favourable. Operating profit, excluding special items, is expected to improve on 2010 and the first half of the year will improve markedly on the first half of 2010”. 

“We have taken significant strategic steps by growing in cost-competitive pulp production and driving consolidation of the European paper industry. Now, our strategic aim is to shift the focus to markets and businesses with sustained growth and value creation. Each business area has a clearly defined strategic agenda supporting UPM’s renewal. A strong cash flow and balance sheet provide means to realise these growth opportunities”, says Peson ...

On 31 March 2011, Metsähallitus filed a claim for damages against UPM, Stora Enso Oyj and Metsäliitto Cooperative at the District Court of Helsinki. The claim relates to the Market Court decision of 3 December 2009 whereby UPM, Stora Enso Oyj and Metsäliitto Cooperative were deemed to have breached competition rules in the roundwood market.  

According to the application for summons, Metsähallitus claims jointly and severally from the three companies an aggregate capital amount of approximately EUR 282.6 million in maximum as damages allegedly incurred by Metsähallitus in connection with the competition infringements in question. In relation to the claims on capital amounts, Metsähallitus also claims for compensation relating to value added tax and interests.

UPM will review Metsähallitus’ application for summons in detail. However, as a starting point, UPM considers the claims unfounded in their entirety. UPM is of the view that it has not caused any damage to Metsähallitus in connection with the competition infringements. UPM emphasizes that the Market Court has not investigated the alleged damage ...

UPM ProFi Deck has been product tested by VTT Expert Services Oy. The experts examined a total of 15 material properties.

The entire process has taken more than three years. First, requirements to be met by the product were set. Then, the product was tested according to these requirements; after this, ETA approval could be issued. EU approval involved several rounds of comments.

”With the marking we can show that our product has been tested accordingly and that its properties fulfil the promises we make to our customers. The CE marking is a quantum leap for the entire industry as it enables reliable comparison between products. Thus, we hope that other manufacturers will follow suit. By being a pioneer in this area as well as others, we have a head start over competitors since no other manufacturer has accomplished this," states Director of UPM ProFi, Markku Koivisto.

UPM Raflatac has launched a new website for label and packaging designers. Pro Label Studio presents visual examples and valuable information about the numerous possibilities that self-adhesive label materials offer for building brands and enhancing the shelf-presence of consumer products.

On the website, designers can learn about the challenges and requirements that different packaging materials, special effects and printing techniques place on label design and the choice of label material.

Pro Label Studio helps designers select the right label materials for end-uses including wine, beverage and personal care labelling, and renders textured previews of selected designs and materials on various kinds of product packaging. By rotating the previews, users get a feel for how the selected combinations work in real life.

For designers who want to create something new and exciting, Pro Label Studio presents Innovations: new materials that offer fresh combinations of colour and texture for innovative label solutions.

UPM applies for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification for its forests in Finland. At the same time UPM also extends its forest service portfolio to cover FSC-certification services to Finnish forest owners. UPM’s forests and most of the privately owned forests in Finland are already certified under PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes).

“The FSC certification of company forests increases UPM’s possibilities to supply products produced from wood that is certified according to customers’ request. This way we can better match our offering with customers’ needs,” says Kari Ylönen, Director, Marketing.

“We study the environmental impacts of our products through the whole lifecycle. Sustainable forest management and wood sourcing is one part of this life-cycle approach. Forest certification, like FSC and PEFC, tells about the sustainability of product’s raw material to the customer,” says Timo Lehesvirta, Director, Environment.

UPM starts the FSC certification from its forests located in Southern Finland and decides upon next steps once it h ...