Jul 27, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. UPM’s earnings per share excluding special items for the second quarter were Euro 0.28 compared to Euro 0.04 for the second quarter of 2006. EBITDA for the second quarter was Euro 411 million, 16.2% of sales compared to Euro 398 million, or 16.0% of sales in second quarter 2006. Operating profit excluding special items was Euro 225 million versus Euro 79 million a year before. Jussi Pesonen, president and CEO, comments on the result of the second quarter of 2007: "UPM's results have improved year on year. Our profitability programme contributed to the more efficient use of assets and the stringent cost control yielded savings in costs. Thus the overall cost increase during the first half of the year was only approximately 1% compared with last year." "Newsprint, fine and speciality papers and wood products divisions have improved results from last year whereas the result of the magazine papers division was unsatisfactory. To change this we have – in addition to our closures of last year – decided on a temporary shutdown of the Miramichi mill in Canada. Provided all the other announced closures will be implemented by the industry, we expect the coated magazine paper markets to be tighter towards the end of the year." "Demand for paper continued to grow in Europe and Asia. Our paper deliveries increased compared to last year but the average price of all paper deliveries was slightly lower. The weak US dollar impacted on the profitability of our paper exports." "In the third quarter, in Europe, demand for printing papers is forecast to grow slightly from the corresponding quarter of last year, while in North America demand is expected to decrease. Strong growth in demand is expected to continue in the emerging markets. We estimate that our paper deliveries will increase slightly from last year and that the average price for all paper deliveries will be about the same as in the second quarter of 2007." "Demand for self-adhesive label materials is forecast to continue to be good, and prices are expected to remain stable. In wood products, strong demand for plywood and sawn timber will continue during the third quarter. Shortage of birch logs may cause reduction in birch plywood production during the latter part of the year." "We estimate the overall cost inflation for 2007 to be approximately 2% including the expected cost savings from the ongoing profitability programme." UPM is one of the world’s leading forest products groups. UPM's businesses focus on magazine papers, newsprint, fine and speciality papers, wood products, self-adhesive label materials and RFID tags. The company has production in 15 countries and an extensive sales network around the world. UPM's main market areas are Europe and North America. UPM's sales in 2006 exceeded Euro 10 billion and the group employs approximately 28 000 people. UPM shares are listed on the Helsinki and New York stock exchanges.