May 06, 2011. /Lesprom Network/. Myllykoski’s consolidated net sales for January-March 2011 totalled Euro 267 million, which is 9.3% more than in the corresponding period in 2010 (Euro 245 million). The increase in net sales was due to higher paper prices. Total deliveries in January-March 2011 amounted to 412,000 tonnes, compared to 408,000 tonnes in the corresponding period in 2010, as the company said in a press release received by Lesprom Network. The operating loss was Euro 6 million, which represents -2.1% of net sales. The operating profit for the first three months of 2010 was Euro 13 million, which includes a gain of Euro 18 million from the sale of a hydro power plant in Madison. The operating loss without non-recurring items for January-March 2011 was Euro 8 million. The price trend for paper had a positive impact on the result, whereas the result was correspondingly weakened by the high prices of pulp and recycled fibre, as well as energy. The loss before tax for January-March 2011 amounted to Euro 24 million, compared with a profit of Euro 9 million in January-March 2010. The loss before tax without non-recurring items for January-March 2011 was Euro 25 million. The loss for January-March 2011 was Euro 18 million, compared with a profit of Euro 10 million in the corresponding period in 2010. The result without non-recurring items for January-March 2011 was negative, representing a loss of Euro 20 million. The Group’s equity ratio on 31 March 2011 was 19.5%, compared with 27.3% a year earlier. The equity ratios with the capital loans included in the shareholders’ equity were 23.9% and 31.1%. Net sales for January-March 2011 (Euro 267 million) were lower than net sales for October-December 2010 (Euro 308 million). The operating result for the first quarter of 2011 without non-recurring items (Euro -8 million) was stronger than for the 4Q 2010 without non-recurring items (Euro -29 million). Production curtailments were made at Group mills both at the end of 2010 and at the beginning of 2011. Paper prices improved during the first months of 2011. Myllykoski is a family-owned international paper group with manufacturing in Finland, Germany and the United States and sales offices around the world. Myllykoski products consist of wood-containing uncoated and coated publication papers, including newsprint.