Despite the poor performance, president and chief executive Hannu Anttila said he hoped to improve earnings by at least 20.5m, due to improved efficiency and the 137m annual cost savings plan.

"Our key objective this year is to achieve a turnaround in earnings and post a pre-tax profit," he said.

Anttila expected demand to improve during the first quarter, and remained optimistic about price increases.

Prices for both uncoated fine paper and coated magazine paper are predicted to rise this year.

"Because of the sharp rise in production costs, there is a considerable need for price increases in coated fine paper and paperboard products," he said.

Sales fell 5% to 3.5bn, with pre-tax losses increasing by 5.5% to 78m.

The firm's Map Merchant business improved performance, with sales up 1.6% to 953.5m. Operating result rose by nearly 6% to 12m, despite including 2.7m of non-recurring expenses.