Stora Enso streamlines reporting to spotlight renewable packaging growth from 2026

FINLAND – Stora Enso, a leading provider of renewable materials in the pulp and packaging sector, will roll out a streamlined four-segment financial reporting model starting January 1, 2026. 

This shift aims to sharpen the company’s operations around sustainable packaging solutions, following decisions to spin off its Swedish forest assets into a separate listed entity and initiate a strategic review of its Central European sawmilling and building products units.

The new structure consolidates the previous six-segment setup into consumer packaging, integrated packaging, biomaterials, and other. 

Consumer packaging will encompass cartonboard production, foodservice items, and liquid board operations, grouping activities that serve end-user demands for eco-friendly alternatives to plastics. 

Integrated packaging will combine containerboard manufacturing with downstream solutions, creating a cohesive chain from raw materials to finished goods.

Biomaterials will carry over unchanged, focusing on chemical and biochemical products derived from wood fibers. 

The “other” category will include wood and energy operations, along with the Swedish forests and Central European businesses pending review. 

Wood products in Northern Europe outside the review scope will shift to packaging or biomaterials based on their direct profit contributions, ensuring clear accountability across units.

Stora Enso expects to release restated historical data under the new model during the first quarter of 2026, providing investors with consistent benchmarks for performance tracking. 

In parallel, the company has outlined updated financial goals for the upcoming business cycle.

These targets feature an adjusted earnings before interest and taxes margin above 10%, annual revenue expansion exceeding 4%, and a dividend payout ratio surpassing 50%t.

The group also aims to maintain a net debt to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ratio under 1 times, allowing temporary increases to 2 times for key investments in capacity or technology.

These changes come amid recent challenges in the third quarter of 2025, when adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell 28 percent to US$135 million from US$187 million the prior year. 

The margin slipped to 5.5%  from 7.8%, partly due to a US$48 million drag from ramping up a new consumer board production line at the Oulu mill in Finland. Market pressures, including softer demand for certain paper grades, added to the strain.

“This refined reporting framework positions our packaging divisions at the forefront, driving innovation in renewable solutions,” Stora Enso CEO Hans Sullman said in a statement. 

He noted that the adjustments would enable quicker responses to customer needs in sustainable formats. 

Complementing this focus, the company recently introduced an uncoated solid bleached sulfate paperboard optimized for high-end printing in premium packaging, enhancing recyclability for brands seeking plastic-free options. 

Earlier this year, Stora Enso teamed up with German firm Novapor to commercialize Papira, a foam material made from wood cellulose that offers biodegradable cushioning for e-commerce shipments, expanding its portfolio of low-carbon alternatives.

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