"2010 was a year of improving demand for UPM," the company's CEO Jussi Pessonen said in his opening comments when presenting the 2010 results. Indeed, his assessment was borne out by a 16% year-on-year growth in sales. Net earnings surged from the crisis year of 2009 (€169m) to stand at €561m last year. Despite these positive developments, the year also had a darker side. Like all other paper producers, UPM battled spiralling raw material costs. The company's variable costs for pulp, recovered paper and timber rose by €350m compared with 2009 and trimmed its paper operations' margins considerably.
