The Finnish Industrial Union strike in February was the main reason for Metsä Wood’s drop in sales. However, the plywood market has been in a downward trend since 2017. Right after the February strike ended, the Corona pandemic started to stir the market. Furthermore, Metsä Wood’s sales to the UK declined due to British lockdown measures in the end of March.

Metsä Wood reports that sales prices of spruce plywood and Kerto LVL remain at 2019 levels, while prices of birch plywood have declined. Profitability plummeted during the 1st quarter of 2020. The comparable EBITDA was 1.6 million euros, which makes it only 1.8% of the company’s turnover. The operating result was negative: -3.3 million euros.