Sdra has announced record profits for 2000 but made further cuts in the price of hardwood and softwood pulp as tough market conditions persist.


It has cut the price of Northern Bleached Soft-wood Kraft (NBSK) by a further $30 per tonne to $650, while hardwood has dropped to E670 per tonne.


A source said pressure on prices and inventory levels were particularly tough.


Sdras net profit for 2000 jumped to 171m from 8.6m in 1999 due to rises in both volume and pulp prices.


Even if the price level slows down, Sdra Cell and the group expect to achieve good results in 2001, said president and chief executive Anders Wahroln.


Net sales increased 45% to 782m, while capital expenditure was 46.5m excluding acquisitions.


Over the year, the number of forest owners that were members of Sdra and thereby owners of the group rose 2% to 33,740.


All of Sdras mills registered production records in 2000, with production increasing 30% to 1.6m tonnes. This was despite a 10-week stoppage at Tofte after a boiler explosion.


Prior to the acquisition of Norwegian pulp mills Tofte and Folla, Sdra formed Baltic Pulp to look at the possibilities for a new sulphate pulp mill in Latvia.


By the end of this year we should know whether the project has been given the green light, said Sdra Cell UK managing director Nigel Holland.


Story by Andy Scott