Metsä Botnia’s considerable improvement in sales and operating result compared with the previous year came about from the market picking up and the pulp price rising steeply. The company's sales volumes were up eight percent year-over-year.Foreign-currency-denominated market prices for softwood pulp were, on average, 48 percent higher compared with the corresponding period last year. The average prices of hardwood pulp increased by 60 percent. Pulp prices decreased slightly in the third quarter, following the steady rise during the first half of the year.The utilization rate of Botnia's mills in the third quarter was very good. The Äänekoski and Rauma mills, among others, set new monthly production records in August. The third-quarter sales were 344 million Euros (219), and the operating result was 115 million Euros (-20). The annual maintenance shutdown of the Kemi plant was carried out in September with a corresponding shutdown at the Rauma mill in October.