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Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 1 - Accounting Principles
 Principal Activities
Basis of Preparation
Use of Estimates
Consolidation Principles
Foreign Currency Transactions
Foreign Currency Translations - Subsidiaries
Derivative Financial Instruments
Revenue Recognition
Research and Development
Computer Software Development Costs
Environmental Remediation Costs
Discontinuing Operations
Income Taxes
Goodwill
Intangible Assets
Investment Properties
Property, Plant and Equipment
Impairment
Accounting for Leases
Inventories
Trade Receivables
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Investments
Borrowings
Provisions
Employee Benefits
Executive Share Options
Restricted Equity
Government Grants
Earnings per Share
New Accounting Standards
Dividend
Principal Activities
Stora Enso Oyj ("the Company") is a Finnish limited liability company organised under the laws of the Republic of Finland, domiciled in Helsinki. The operations of Stora Enso Oyj and its subsidiaries (together "Stora Enso" or the "Group") are organised into core product areas and supporting areas. The core product areas are Magazine Paper, Newsprint, Fine Paper, Packaging Boards and Timber Products with the supporting areas being Merchants, Forest and Other, the latter comprising Energy and Head Office together with other corporate functions. The Group's main market is Europe, though it has an expanding presence in North America.
Basis of Preparation
The Consolidated Financial Statements of Stora Enso have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), including International Accounting Standards ("IAS") and Interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB"). They include the Financial Statements of Stora Enso Oyj and its subsidiaries and have been prepared under the historical cost convention except as disclosed in the accounting policies below; for example, available-for-sale investments and derivative financial instruments are shown at fair value. The carrying amount of recognised assets and liabilities that are hedged is adjusted to record changes in the fair value attributable to the risks being hedged. In addition, the Group consistently applies trade date accounting.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
Consolidation Principles
Stora Enso was formed as a combination of Enso Oyj and Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags Aktiebolag (publ) ("Stora") in December 1998 and, as a result of the merger, Stora is a subsidiary of Stora Enso Oyj (formerly Enso Oyj). The Stora Enso merger was accounted for as a uniting of interests under IAS.
The Consolidated Financial Statements include the parent company, Stora Enso Oyj, and all companies in which it holds, directly or indirectly, over 50% of the voting rights. The Financial Statements of some companies, which Stora Enso controls through management agreements with majority shareholders, but in which Stora Enso holds less than 50% of the voting rights, are also consolidated. The principal subsidiaries are listed in Note 23.
Associated companies, where Stora Enso holds voting rights of between 20% and 50%, are accounted for using the equity method, which involves recognising in the Income Statement the Group's share of the associate's profit or loss for the year less any amortised goodwill. These companies represent undertakings in which the Group has significant influence, but which it does not control; the most significant such companies are listed in Note 12. The Group's interest in an associated company is carried in the Balance Sheet at an amount that reflects its share of the net assets of the associate together with goodwill on acquisition, as amortised, less any impairment. When the Group share of losses exceeds the carrying amount of an investment, the carrying amount is reduced to nil and any recognition of further losses ceases unless the Group is obliged to satisfy obligations of the investee which it has guaranteed or is otherwise committed to.
Acquired companies are accounted for under the purchase method whereby they are included in the Consolidated Financial Statements from their acquisition date, whereas, conversely, divestments are included up to their date of sale.
All intercompany transactions, receivables, liabilities and unrealised profits, as well as intragroup profit distributions, are eliminated. Accounting policies for subsidiaries have been adjusted where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted by Stora Enso. Minority interests have been disclosed separately from the consolidated shareholders' equity and are recorded as a separate deduction in the Consolidated Income Statement.
Foreign Currency Transactions
Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate of exchange prevailing at the transaction date. An approximate exchange rate is used for transactions entered into during a month, but at the end of the month, foreign currency-denominated receivables and liabilities are translated using the month end exchange rate. Foreign exchange differences for operating business items are entered in the appropriate income statement account before operating profit, and, for financial assets and liabilities, are entered as a net amount in the financial items of the Income Statement.
Foreign Currency Translations - Subsidiaries
The Income Statements of subsidiaries, whose measurement and reporting currencies are not euros, are translated into the Group reporting currency using the average exchange rates for the year, whereas the Balance Sheets of such subsidiaries are translated using the exchange rates ruling on 31 December. Exchange differences arising from the retranslation of the net investments in foreign subsidiary and associated undertakings and of financial instruments, which are designated as and are hedges of such investments, are recorded directly in shareholders' equity in the Cumulative Translation Adjustment ("CTA"). The cumulative translation differences of divestments are combined with their gain or loss on disposal.
Derivative Financial Instruments
Financial derivatives are initially recognised in the Balance Sheet at cost and subsequently measured at their fair value on each Balance Sheet date, though the method of recognising the resulting gains or losses is dependent on the nature of the item being hedged. When derivative contracts are entered into, the Group designates them as either hedges of the fair value of recognised assets or liabilities (fair value hedge), hedges of forecast transactions or firm commitments (cash flow hedge), hedges of net investments in foreign entities or as derivative financial instruments not meeting the hedge accounting criteria.
Changes in the fair value of derivatives designated and qualifying as fair value hedges, and which are highly effective, are recorded in the Income Statement, alongside any changes in the fair value of the hedged assets or liabilities attributable to the hedged risk.
Changes in the fair value of derivatives designated and qualifying as cash flow hedges, and which are effective, are recognised in equity to the Hedging Reserve within Other Comprehensive Income ("OCI"). The cumulative gain or loss of a derivative deferred in equity is transferred to the Income Statement and classified as revenue or expense in the same period in which the hedged item affects the Income Statement.
When a hedging instrument no longer meets the criteria for hedge accounting under IAS 39, any cumulative gain or loss deferred in equity at that time remains in equity and is accounted for as an adjustment to revenue or expense when the committed or forecast transaction is ultimately recognised in the Income Statement. However, if a committed or forecast transaction is no longer expected to occur, the cumulative gain or loss reported in equity is immediately transferred to the Income Statement under financial items.
Certain derivative transactions, while providing effective economic hedges under Group risk management policies, do not qualify for hedge accounting under the specific rules in IAS 39 and therefore changes in the fair value of such non-qualifying hedge instruments are immediately recognised in the Income Statement under financial items. All derivatives not qualifying for hedge accounting are considered to be speculative and are also fair valued at each Balance Sheet date with the result immediately recognised in the Income Statement under financial items.
Hedges of net investments in foreign entities are accounted for similarly to cash flow hedges. Where the hedging instrument is a derivative, any gain or loss thereon relating to the effective portion of the hedge is recognised in equity in the Cumulative Translation Adjustment ("CTA"); the gain or loss relating to the ineffective portion is immediately recognised in the Income Statement. However, the exchange gains and losses arising on the translation of a borrowing that hedges such an investment, including any ineffective portion of the hedge, are also recognised in the CTA.
At the inception of a transaction the Group documents the relationship between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk management objective and strategy for undertaking various hedge transactions. This process includes linking all financial instruments designated as hedges to specific assets and liabilities or to specific firm commitments or forecast transactions. The Group also documents its assessment, both at the hedge inception and on an ongoing basis, whether the derivatives used in hedging transactions are highly effective in offsetting changes in fair value or cash flows of hedged items.
The fair values of publicly traded derivatives, along with trading and available-for-sale securities, are based on quoted market prices at the Balance Sheet date; the fair values of interest rate swaps are calculated as the present value of the estimated future cash flows while the fair values of forward foreign exchange contracts are determined using forward exchange market rates at the Balance Sheet date. In assessing the fair values of non-traded derivatives and other financial instruments, the Group uses a variety of methods and makes assumptions based on market conditions at each Balance Sheet date. Quoted market prices or dealer quotes for identical or similar instruments are used for long-term debt. Other techniques, such as option pricing models and estimated discounted value of future cash flows, are used to determine fair values for the remaining financial instruments. The face values, less any estimated credit adjustments, for financial assets and liabilities with a maturity of less than one year are assumed to approximate their fair values. The fair values of financial liabilities for disclosure purposes are estimated by discounting the future contractual cash flows at the current market interest rates available to the Group for similar financial instruments.
Revenue Recognition
Sales comprise products, raw materials, energy and services, less indirect sales tax, discounts and exchange differences on sales in foreign currency. Sales are recognised after Stora Enso has transferred the decisive risks and rewards connected with ownership of the goods sold to the buyer and the Group retains neither a continuing right to dispose of the goods, nor effective control of those goods; in the great majority of cases, this means that Sales are recorded upon shipment of goods to customers in accordance with agreed terms of sale. Revenues from services are recorded when the service has been performed. The income from services provided in connection with longer term contracts is realised according to the percentage completion method, provided that the degree of completion can be assessed reliably and the amount of the income and costs related to the contract can also be determined reliably.
Research and Development
Research and development costs ("R & D") are expensed as incurred and included in other operating expenses in the Consolidated Income Statement.
Computer Software Development Costs
Development costs or acquisition costs of new software clearly associated with an identifiable and unique product, which will be controlled by the Group and has probable benefit exceeding its cost beyond one year, are recognised as an intangible asset and depreciated over the software's expected useful life. Associated costs include staff costs of the development team and an appropriate portion of overhead, but exclude the cost of maintaining the software, which is expensed as incurred. Website costs are expensed as incurred.
Environmental Remediation Costs
Environmental expenditures resulting from the remediation of an existing condition caused by past operations, and which do not contribute to current or future revenues, are expensed as incurred. Environmental liabilities are recorded, based on current interpretations of environmental laws and regulations, when it is probable that a present obligation has arisen and the amount of such liability can be reliably estimated. Amounts accrued are not discounted and do not include third-party recoveries. Decommisioning costs, being the costs of closing the site and preparing it for future use , are capitalised at the outset of a development and amortised over its expected life so that the full cost of environmental reinstatement will have been expensed by the end of the project.
Discontinuing Operations
A discontinuing operation results from a decision, pursuant to a single disposal plan, to divest an operation comprising a separate major line of business for which the assets less liabilities and net financial results may be distinguished physically, operationally and for financial reporting purposes. The pre-tax gain or loss on disposal of discontinuing operations is shown as a separate item in the Consolidated Income Statement.
Income Taxes
The Group income tax expense includes taxes of Group companies based on taxable profit for the period, together with tax adjustments for previous periods, the change in deferred income taxes and share of tax of associated companies.
Deferred income taxes are provided using the liability method, as measured with enacted tax rates, to reflect the net tax effects of all temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities. Principal temporary differences arise from depreciation on property plant and equipment, revaluation of net assets in acquired companies, fair valuation of available-for-sale investments and financial derivatives, intercompany inventory profits, untaxed reserves and tax losses carried forward; the latter is recognised as an asset to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be available against which unused tax losses can be utilised.
Temporary differences for accumulated depreciation and untaxed reserves (appropriations) are recorded in shareholders' equity and deferred tax liability in the Consolidated Balance Sheet, but under both Finnish and Swedish Companies Acts, such items in equity are excluded from distributable funds.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquisition over the fair value of the Group share of net assets of the acquired subsidiary/associated undertaking at the acquisition date. Goodwill arising on the acquisition of foreign entities is treated as an asset of the foreign entity and translated at the closing rate. Goodwill is tested periodically for impairment but is otherwise amortised on a straight-line basis over its expected useful life, which may vary from 5 to 20 years depending on the nature of the acquisition. Expected useful lives are reviewed at each Balance Sheet date and where these differ from previous estimates, amortisation periods are adjusted accordingly.
Intangible Assets
Intangible assets include trademarks, patents, copyrights and software licenses; they are stated at historical cost and are amortised on a straight-line basis over expected useful lives which may vary from 3 to 10 years.
Investment Properties
Investment properties are deemed to be those held for long-term rental yields, but at present Stora Enso considers that it holds no such property.
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment acquired by Group companies
are stated at historical cost, augmented where appropriate
by terminal environmental reinstatement costs; assets
coming into the Group on the acquisition of a new
subsidiary are stated at their fair values at the
date of acquisition. Depreciation is computed on a
straight-line basis, as adjusted for any impairment
and disposal charges; the Balance Sheet value represents
cost less accumulated depreciation and any impairment
charges. Interest costs on borrowings to finance the
construction of these assets are capitalised as part
of the cost during the period required to complete
and prepare the property for its intended use. Other
tangible assets include capitalised charges arising
from the planting and care of forest holdings.
Under the current forest accounting policy, timber
and timberlands are recorded at cost, with reforestation
costs, less depletion for the cost of timber harvested,
being capitalised; depletion is computed by the units-of-production
method.
Land is not depreciated as it is deemed to have an indefinite life, but otherwise depreciation is based on the following expected useful lives:
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Asset class
Buildings, industrial
Buildings, residential
Buildings, office
Groundwood mills
Hydro-electric power
Paper mills, main machines
Board mills, main machines
Pulp mills, main machines
Heavy machinery
Converting factories
Sawmills
Computers
Vehicles
Office equipment
Railway, harbours
Forest roads
Roads, fields, bridges |
Depreciation Years
10-50
20-50
20-50
15-20
40
20
20
20
10-20
10-15
10-15
3-5
5
3-5
20-25
10-35
15-20 |
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Ordinary maintenance and repair charges are expensed as incurred, however, the costs of significant renewals and improvements are capitalised and depreciated over the remaining useful lives of the related assets. Retirements, sales and disposals of property, plant and equipment are recorded by removing the cost and accumulated depreciation from the accounting records with any resulting terminal depreciation adjustments reflected in impairment charges in the Income Statement; capital gains are shown in Other Operating Income.
Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount and the fair value less selling costs.
Impairment
The carrying amounts of assets are reviewed at each Balance Sheet date to determine whether there is any indication of impairment. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount is estimated as the higher of the net selling price and the value in use with an impairment loss being recognised whenever the carrying amount exceeds the recoverable amount.
A previously recognised impairment loss on plant and equipment is reversed if there has been a change in the estimates used to determine the recoverable amount, however not to an extent higher than the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised in prior years. For goodwill, a recognised impairment loss is not reversed unless the impairment loss was caused by a specific external event of an exceptional nature that is not expected to recur and subsequent external events have occurred which reverse the effect of that event.
Accounting for Leases
Leases of property, plant and equipment where the Group has substantially all the rewards and risks of ownership are classified as finance leases. Finance leases are capitalised at the inception of the lease at the lower of the fair value of the leased property or the estimated present value of the underlying lease payments. Each lease payment is allocated between the capital liability and finance charges, so as to achieve a constant interest rate on the finance balance outstanding. The corresponding rental obligations, net of finance charges, are included in interest-bearing liabilities with the interest element of the finance charge being taken to the Income Statement over the lease period. Property, plant and equipment acquired under finance leasing contracts are depreciated over the lesser of the useful life of the asset or lease period.
Leases of assets, where the lessor retains all the risks and benefits of ownership, are classified as operating leases and payments made there under, and under rental agreements, are expensed on a straight-line basis over the lease periods. When an operating lease is terminated before the expiry of the lease period, any obligatory payment to the lessor by way of penalty is recognised as an expense in the period in which termination takes place.
Inventories
Inventories are reported at the lower of cost and net realisable value with cost being determined by the first-in first-out (FIFO) method or, alternatively, weighted average cost ("WAC") where it approximates FIFO. The cost of finished goods and work in progress comprises raw material, direct labour, depreciation, other direct costs and related production overhead but excludes interest expenses.
Trade Receivables
Trade receivables are reported at their anticipated realisable value, an estimate being made for doubtful receivables based on a review of all outstanding amounts at year-end.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks and other liquid investments with original maturity of less than three months. Bank overdrafts are included in short-term borrowings under current liabilities.
Investments
The Group classifies its investments into three categories of trading, held-to-maturity and available-for-sale. Investments acquired principally for the purpose of generating a profit from short-term fluctuations in price are classified as trading investments, to be classified as current assets, whereas investments with fixed maturity, which management has the intent and ability to hold to maturity, are classified as held-to-maturity, to be disclosed in non-current assets; during the period the Group held no investments in these categories. Investments intended to be held for an indefinite period of time, but which may be sold in response to liquidity needs or changes in interest rates, are classified as available-for-sale; these are included in non-current assets unless management has the express intention of holding the investment for less than 12 months from the Balance Sheet, in which case they are included in current assets. Management determines the appropriate classification of its investments at the time of the purchase and re-evaluates such designation on a regular basis.
Prior to the adoption of IAS 39 on 1 January 2001 the Group accounted for investments in marketable equity securities at the lower of cost and market value determined on a portfolio basis. The Group evaluated the carrying amount of its long-term investments and recognised declines, other than temporary ones, in the value of the investments on an individual basis. Under IAS 39 investments are recorded on the Balance Sheet at their fair value with the difference between fair value and acquisition cost recorded direct to equity in the Available-for-sale Reserve in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI), from where it is released to the Income Statement when the investments are sold or when the assets are impaired.
Borrowings
Borrowings are recognised initially as proceeds received, net of transaction costs incurred. In subsequent periods, borrowings are stated at amortised cost using the effective yield method; any difference between proceeds, net of transaction costs, and redemption value is recognised in the Income Statement over the period of the borrowings.
Interest expenses are accrued for and recorded in the Income Statement for each period.
Provisions
Provisions are recognised when the Group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of past events, it is probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation and a reliable estimate of the amount of the obligation can be made. Environmental provisions for site reinstatement are made when a project starts production, the capitalised cost of the provision, along with the historic cost of the asset, being amortised over the useful life of the asset.
Employee Benefits
The Group operates a number of defined benefit and contribution plans throughout the world, the assets of which are generally held in separate trustee administered funds. The pension plans are generally funded by payments from employees and by the relevant Group companies, taking into account the recommendations of independent qualified actuaries. Group contributions to the defined contribution pension plans are charged to the Income Statement in the year to which they relate.
For defined benefit plans, pension accounting costs are assessed using the projected unit credit method. Under this method, the cost of providing pensions is charged to the Income Statement so as to spread the regular cost over the service lives of employees in accordance with the advice of qualified actuaries who carry out a full valuation of the plan every year. The pension obligation is measured as the present value of estimated future cash outflows using interest rates of government securities that have maturity terms approximating the terms of the related liability. All actuarial gains and losses are spread forward over the average remaining service lives of employees.
Executive Share Options
The costs of all option plans, synthetic option plans and other executive remuneration or incentive plans, are charged to the Income Statement as personnel expenses in the period in which the options are exercised or the costs crystallise. The synthetic option programmes 1999-2002 are hedged by Total Return Swaps ("TRS").
Restricted Equity
The components of restricted equity include the share premium account, the translation adjustment for foreign subsidiaries (CTA), Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) and the legal reserves required by law in certain countries where subsidiaries are incorporated.
Government Grants
Government grants relating to the purchase of property, plant and equipment are included in non-current liabilities as deferred income and are credited to the Income Statement on a straight-line basis over the expected life of the related assets.
Earnings per Share
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the net profit attributable to shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year, excluding ordinary shares purchased by the Group and held as treasury shares. Diluted earnings per share has been computed by applying the "treasury stock" method, under which earnings per share data is computed as if the warrants and options were exercised at the beginning of the period, or if later, on issue and as if the funds obtained thereby were used to purchase common stock at the average market price during the period. In addition to the weighted average number of shares outstanding, the denominator includes the incremental shares obtained through the assumed exercise of the warrants and options.
The assumption of exercise is not reflected in earnings per share when the exercise price of the warrants and options exceeds the average market price of the common stock during the period. The warrants and options have a dilutive effect only when the average market price of the common stock during the period exceeds the exercise price of the warrants and options.
New Accounting Standards
The new accounting standard, IAS 41 Accounting for Biological Assets, under which Stora Enso's biological assets in the form of standing trees are shown on the Balance Sheet at market value, came into effect on 1 January 2003. The initial valuation surplus, net of related deferred tax, will be entered directly on the Balance Sheet in equity, the gross amount being added to assets. Periodic future changes resulting from growth, price and other premise changes will be entered in the Income Statement.
IAS 41 requires biological assets, such as forests, to be accounted for at fair value less estimated point-of-sale costs at harvest, there being a presumption that fair values can be measured for these assets. That presumption can be rebutted only on initial recognition for a biological asset for which market-determined prices or values are not available and for which alternative estimates of fair value are determined to be clearly unreliable.
There is limited guidance in the IAS Statements on how to value forest assets with long growth cycles of 60 to 120 years, but the consensus is to use generally accepted methods for valuing forest assets as in arms lengths transactions. Such market transactions have recently been based on discounted cash flow models whereby the fair value of the biological assets was calculated using cash flows from continuous operations, that is, based on sustainable forest management plans taking into account growth potential. The yearly harvest made from the forecasted tree growth is multiplied by actual wood prices and the cost of fertiliser and harvesting is then deducted. The fair value of the biological asset is measured as the present value of the harvest from one growth cycle based on the productive forestland, taking into consideration environmental restrictions and other reservations. Biological assets that are physically attached to land are recognised and measured at their fair value separately from the land.
Dividend
The dividend proposed by the Board is not deducted from distributable shareholders' equity until approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting.
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