Nordic’s big six timber companies endured a punishing first half to 2025, as soaring raw-material costs, tariff uncertainty, a sluggish building market, and volatile currencies squeezed margins, according to a Fast Markets report. It comes as wood prices climbed to all-time highs, rewarding vertically integrated firms and those that have recently expanded capacity, while leaving others scrambling to contain costs.
Finland’s Koskisen Corporation emerged as the standout performer, topping the Fast Markets rankings with revenue up 24.3% to €176.0 million and adjusted EBITDA rising 33.2% to €19.8 million. Its sawn-timber division accounted for much of that growth, with sales leaping 47.2% to €96.2 million and EBITDA jumping to €9.6 million from €2.2 million a year earlier. “The positive development of the sawn-timber segment continued,” said CEO Jukka Pahta, even as he warned that “current raw-material prices are not sustainable from the point of view of the industry’s profitability.”
In Sweden, SCA leaned on its self-sufficient supply chain—controlling timber supplies, energy generation and logistics—to grow net sales 7% to SEK 10.5 billion (€932 million) and maintain a 34.9% EBITDA margin. The company’s wood segment alone saw sales rise 24% to SEK 3.2 billion and EBITDA jump 35% to SEK 546 million, with shipment volumes up 19% at 1.09 million cubic metres.
Whilst fellow heavyweight Stora Enso also weathered the storm, lifting first-half sales by 5% and announcing plans to divest 175,000 hectares—12.4% of its Swedish forest estate—for €900 million. “We focused on areas within our control—enhancing sourcing, operational efficiency, commercial excellence, working capital and fixed costs,” said CEO Hans Sohlström.
At the same time, Södra reported a sharp reversal in Q2, swinging to an operating loss of SEK 389 million from a SEK 398 million profit a year earlier. Net sales dipped 4% to SEK 7.2 billion, hit by SEK 580 million in adverse currency swings and SEK 240 million in maintenance-shutdown costs. President and CEO Lotta Lyrå described “a triple external effect” that has prompted a wide-ranging action plan to restore competitiveness. Whilst UPM also saw first-half revenue slip 3% to €5.05 billion and EBIT fall 20% to €413 million. CEO Massimo Reynaudo attributed the decline to “tariff announcements that caused uncertainty in global trade, which weakened demand and the U.S. dollar,” particularly affecting pulp and communication-paper operations.
Metsä Group, meanwhile, lifted H1 sales by 4.5% to €3.07 billion but saw operating profit shrink to €44 million from €57 million, as President and CEO Jussi Vanhanen pointed to “higher wood-raw-material costs” and rolled out a €300 million cost-savings programme.
Despite the headwinds, most sawn-timber divisions managed modest volume gains—led by Koskisen’s 41.4% surge to 197,200 cubic metres —underscoring the industry’s resilience. Looking ahead, Nordic timber firms are bracing for a muted recovery in European construction and continued trade-policy turbulence. Those with diversified portfolios, integrated operations and recent capital investments appear best positioned to weather the storm through the remainder of 2025.
- To learn why forest values are now soaring in the Baltic states, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from March 2025.
