UPM’s Plywood division recorded a decline in third-quarter revenue and profitability even as the business completed its separation and began trading as WISA Group on Nasdaq Helsinki on 2 November 2026.
The plywood unit posted sales of €67m ($75m) in the three months to September, down from €72m in the corresponding quarter of 2025. Comparable earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell to €10m, yielding a margin of 14.6%, compared with €12m and a 16.0% margin a year earlier.
Across the first nine months of 2026, however, the business delivered a considerably stronger performance. Revenue grew to €231m from €204m, while comparable EBIT surged to €43m from €21m, more than doubling the margin to 18.6% from 10.1%.
Comparable return on capital employed for the nine-month period reached 29.2%, a sharp increase from 15.5% in the prior year.
The partial demerger was registered with the Finnish Trade Register on 31 October 2026, completing the transfer of all plywood-related assets and liabilities to WISA Group.
Nasdaq Helsinki approved the listing application, and shares now trade under the code “WISA” with ISIN code FI4000603345. UPM shareholders received one new WISA Group share for each UPM share held, with the new shares registered in book-entry accounts on or about 2 November.
UPM’s board had approved the demerger plan on 29 April 2026 and an Extraordinary General Meeting held in August endorsed the separation. The company first disclosed a strategic review of the plywood business in September 2025.
The demerger has no effect on the number of UPM shares, which continue trading under the existing code with a new ISIN of FI4000603337.
Turning to UPM’s continuing operations, the broader group also faced a softer third quarter. Sales edged down to €2.202bn from €2.226bn, and comparable EBIT fell 8% to €131m, a margin of 5.9%.
The company attributed the decline to reduced delivery volumes during a period of customer inventory drawdowns, compounded by rising variable costs, though pricing actions partially mitigated the impact.
On a nine-month basis, continuing operations performed ahead of the prior year, with comparable EBIT climbing 10% to €601m and the margin widening to 8.6% from 7.6%.
Group operating cash flow, covering both continuing and discontinued operations, reached €420m in the quarter, nearly double the €218m posted a year earlier, driven by working capital improvements. Net debt stood at €2.99bn at the end of September, bringing the net debt to EBITDA ratio down to 2.09 from 2.36.
