Metsä Group approves EUR 25m packaging line and drops Kuura textile fibre mill as Q3 EBITDA rises
Metsä Group has approved about EUR 25m for a Muoto fibre-based packaging line at Äänekoski, designed to replace fossil-based materials including plastics and due to start in 2028. It has abandoned plans for a Kuura textile fibre mill because conditions for a commercially viable business were not present. Third-quarter comparable EBITDA rose to EUR 100m from EUR 39m a year earlier, helped by a EUR 300m savings programme that reached a EUR 200m profit impact at the start of the fourth quarter, ahead of schedule. The group still made a nine-month net loss of EUR 113.0m, and CEO Jussi Vanhanen said profitability in all businesses remained well below target.
Why this mattersMetsä is directing money towards fibre packaging that replaces plastics and cutting projects outside it, while every business remains below target profitability.
- About EUR 25m approved for a Muoto fibre-based packaging line at Äänekoski, scheduled to start in 2028.
- Plans for a Kuura textile fibre mill abandoned because conditions for a commercially viable business were not present.
- Q3 2026 comparable EBITDA was EUR 100m against EUR 39m; Q3 sales were EUR 1,267m against EUR 1,440m.
- The EUR 300m savings programme launched in July 2025 reached a EUR 200m profit impact at the start of Q4, ahead of schedule.
- Nine-month comparable EBITDA was EUR 357m against EUR 305m; the nine-month net loss was EUR 113.0m against EUR 91.6m.
- A planned CO2 capture plant at Rauma received EUR 21m in aid from Finland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
- Sweco engaged for process, ICT, electrical, automation, layout and piping design of the Muoto production plant at Äänekoski
- Sweco previously worked on the Muoto technology pilot plant at the same Äänekoski site
- Sweco has also worked on Metsä's Äänekoski bioproduct mill and Kerto LVL plant projects