Summit Notebook
Exclusive outtakes from industry leaders
Paper makers bet on sector despite clouds ahead
Despite the dark cloud hanging over the forestry sector, most industry leaders said they still see the paper business as a good investment.
Overcapacity has kept a lid on paper prices for years, while increasing costs of wood and energy have eaten into the paper makers’ already low margins.
But when asked where they would invest 50,000 euros ($74,330) in stocks other than their own, the participants at the Reuters Paper Summit said the forestries is where they would put their money.
“The good companies will come out of the storm stronger than they were ever before,” said Jouko Karvinen, chief executive of the world’s top paper and board maker Stora Enso.
Karvinen said there has been a silver lining to the “perfect storm” of bad news.
“There may be a good thing with this storm; maybe we will finally get our act together and make decisions that need to be made and start making some real money one day,” he said.
The rapidly growing demand for paper products in China and Latin America’s wealth of fibre were a key argument, the executives said.
