The papermaker attributed the fall in profits to seasonal and market-related production curtailments due to weak markets, plus downtime for machine rebuilds.

Chief executive Jukka Hrml said a pick-up in paper and board demand was conditional on "a firm improvement in the global economy".

Pre-tax profits for the year fell to 747m (SEK1.2bn) and dropped 18% in the fourth quarter to 152m. Sales for the year rose 3.8% to 8.2bn

mainly due to Stora Ensos acquisition of Consolidated Papers in September 2000.

* AssiDomn has reported a 54% fall in net turnover for the full financial year to 748m.