This means that the company has made up a significant part of the loss generated in the first half of this year.??Despite continuing lower demand for graphic fine paper in Europe, the company increased its sales volume in the 3rd quarter of 2011 compared to the 2nd quarter of 2011 by 6.1%. Nonetheless, it was 1.4% below the volume recorded in the 3rd quarter of 2010.??Thanks to the increase in sales volume, use of the company’s production capacity returned to the high level of 95%.The result was influenced by increased sales revenue and positive development in exchange rates, mainly emanating from valuation of the intra-group loan by Arctic Paper S.A. to Arctic Paper Investment AB.??Sales revenue of the AP Group in the 3rd quarter grew 2.3% compared to the 3rd quarter of 2010 and a growth of 11.1% compared to the 2nd quarter of 2011. Sales volume in the 3rd quarter of 2011 was 193,000 metric tonnes, representing an increase of about 6.1% compared to the 2nd quarter of 2011. However, the total market demand for graphic fine papers in Europe continued to decline and demand of coated and uncoated wood free paper for the first 9 months remained below the levels observed prior to the economic crisis in 2008–2009. In the first 9 months of 2011, sales volume was 574,000 metric tonnes, 3.2% higher than the volume achieved in the same period of the previous year.“In the 3rd quarter of 2011 there was a visible break in the negative trend for Arctic Paper in terms of currency exchange rates and variable costs which we observed to have an impact on the financial results of the Arctic Paper Group in the 1st half of this year. Despite the summer holidays and the low demand for paper in Europe continuing from the beginning of the year, we achieved high sales volumes of over 193,000 tonnes, and the use of production capacity at our paper mills returned to a high level of almost 95%. In the 3rd quarter we generated substantially better operating results, thanks to which we made up a major part of the loss generated in the 1st half of this year,” said Michal Jarczynski, CEO of Arctic Paper./KB