HELSINKI, July 22 Reuters Shares in Stora Enso skidded 9 on Friday after the FinnishSwedish forestry company blamed logistics bottlenecks and cooling pulp and timber markets for less buoyant than expected secondquarter earnings.

The maker of pulp, packaging, wood construction materials and other forestry products said its AprilJune comparable operating profit rose 39 to 505 million euros 513.08 million, reflecting strong demand for package material but well below forecasts from analysts polled by Refinitiv for a rise of 55.

Quarterly sales rose 18 to 3.05 billion euros, falling short of analysts39; expectations for revenue of 2.98 billion euros.

Difficulties in getting containers and cargo ships led to late deliveries and sales being moved from quarter to quarter, Chief Financial Officer Seppo Parvi told Reuters.

He added that the company has seen signs of inflation steadying but the outlook for energy prices remained an uncertainty. He also said demand for pulp should remain strong in Europe and China.

Stora39;s shares were down 9.12 at 0905 GMT. They have now fallen 26 from a 20year high touched in April.

The estimate miss came actually completely from the pulp business where volumes were hit by supply chain problems and what seemed like a slightly soft margin, Inderes analyst Antti Viljakainen said, adding it fed into investor worries about easing demand.

Stora maintained its earnings guidance published in June that 2022 operating profit should exceed last…