UPM reports an operational result of 1,025 million Euros for the first nine months of 2010, or 15.6 percent of sales (700 million Euros, 12.5 percent of sales the same period last year). Earnings per share were 0.80 Euros (-0.24).Demand and delivery volumes increased in all businesses, UPM reports, and sales grew by 17 percent."UPM's consistent and strong performance continued in the third quarter. Our delivery volumes and sales prices increased in all businesses during the third quarter, and sales grew by 21 percent compared with third quarter last year," said UPM's CEO, Jussi Pesonen."In recent years, one of our targets has been to strengthen the balance sheet, so that we are ready for strategic manoeuvres. Today, our business structure and the quality of our asset base work well for us. They secure good quality cash flow with moderate investments. The fact that our current net debt is lower than before the Uruguay acquisition underlines this point," Pesonen said.