Barclays upgrades Stora Enso as forest asset sale unlocks value
** Barclays double upgrades Stora Enso STERV.HE to "overweight" from "underweight", expecting a boost to the Finnish forestry firm's balance sheet from its planned sale of forest assets
** "The potential sale of about 12% of Stora Enso's Swedish forest assets ... is higher than total forest land transacted in Sweden over the last five years," the brokerage says
** If the company can sell the forest assets at book value or higher, it would imply upward potential to forest valuation in general, and thus to Scandinavian forest companies, it adds
** It says the forest sale could improve Stora Enso's balance sheet, helping reduce debt and net debt/EBITDA by about 0.3x to about 2.3x as of December 2024
** Barclays adds Stora Enso is probably selling "at the right time" as there is a shortage of wood in the Nordics and wood costs are high
** It also downgrades DS Smith SMDS.L to "underweight" from "equal weight" citing limited potential returns on a relative basis, and says Smurfit WestRock SWR.L ("overweight") is more attractive at current valuations
Reporting by Marta Frąckowiak
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