Apr 23, 2008. /Lesprom.com/. Botnia's Uruguay pulp mill announces 1Q 2008 results. Sales for the 1Q 2008 were up by 11% on the same period last year at Euro 397.9 million (357.1 million). Pulp sales were 749,600 tonnes, an increase of 16%. Operating profit was Euro 75.3 million, 18% higher than for the 1Q of last year (63.7 million). Sales and operating profit benefited from the successful start-up of the Uruguay mill and from the continued positive trend in pulp prices. The financial result was adversely affected particularly by the weakening of the dollar against the euro and by the rise in the price of wood raw material. Foreign currency market prices for softwood pulp were on average 16% higher than during the first quarter of last year. Average prices for hardwood pulp strengthened by 18%. The exchange rate for the dollar was more than 14% weaker than at the same time last year. Pulp trading is in dollars, which means that prices on translation into euros rose only very slightly. Operating profit was almost three times higher than for the final quarter of 2007, while the sales volume was up by 13%, or 85,000 tonnes. Foreign currency market prices were four per cent higher for both softwood and hardwood pulp.