Consumer confidence and spending is up in both North America and Europe said Suominen president and CEO Nina Kopola in announcing increased sales and profits for the first six months of 2014. 

Suominen has now completed its investment in a capacity expansion for the production of flushable nonwovens at its Windsor Locks plant in the US as planned. It has also this month announced the sale of its Flexibles business to a UK-based private equity firm and existing management of the operation.as the company hones its focus on nonwovens. 

“The transaction is a continuation of our efforts to clarify our group structure, the first step of  which was the divestment of Codi Wipes in July 2013,” said Kopola. “The purchase of the  Brazilian unit in February 2014 expanded our core business operations to emerging markets and the sale of Flexibles was the final step in our transformation into a purely nonwovens company with operations on three  continents. Our group structure is now clear – we are solely focused on  nonwovens. This will allow us to focus all of our resources on developing and globally growing this business.”

Suominen’s net sales for January-June 2014 increased by 2.4% to €95.3 million, while perating profit excluding non-recurring items increased by 19.1% at €5.5, compared to the first six months of 2014.