* Stora Enso beats Q3 forecasts
* M-real turns to profit but misses forecast
* Both see weaker Q4, citing seasonality, forex, stoppages
* International Paper Q3 tops consensus, sees strong Q4
* Stora shares up 1.9 percent, M-real down 5.6 percent
(Adds International Paper, newsprint details, updates shares)
By Victoria Klesty
HELSINKI, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Nordic paper groups Stora Enso and M-real said current quarter earnings would dip from strong third-quarter levels due to a seasonal slowdown, exchange rates and stoppages.
Europe's largest paper and board maker, Stora Enso beat forecasts for third-quarter profit on the back of rising paper prices, a trend it saw continuing into the current quarter.
Smaller Finnish competitor M-real reported a return to quarterly profit but missed the forecast, sending its shares lower on Wednesday.
Stora Enso, which makes a wide range of paper and packaging products, said maintenance work and seasonally lower demand for some products meant fourth-quarter earnings would fall from the July-to-September quarter.
Stora has a tradition of giving cautious guidance, said one analyst who asked not to be named.
Also, recovered paper costs were expected to have a greater negative impact, the company said, adding the "market outlook remains generally favourable".
It reported underlying third-quarter operating profit rose 94 percent to 255 million euros ($356 million), beating all forecasts in a Reuters poll.
"The company is coming out of a difficult period stronger than ever before ... I think it is setting out on a very positive path," Chief Executive Jouko Karvinen told journalists.
TURNING THE CORNER
With the exception of planned maintenance stops, Stora's pulp mills were "flat out" in the third quarter, Karvinen said.
The industry has struggled to emerge from a near decade-long slump caused by weak demand and overcapacity, problems worsened by a global downturn that hammered advertising spending.
"It is definitely starting to turn around for the industry as we are starting to see price increases in the quarter," said one Stockholm-based analyst who declined to be named.
Stora Enso shares were up 1.9 percent at 7.59 euros at 1151 GMT, while M-real was down 5.6 percent at 2.72 euros, against a 1.2 percent lower Stoxx European base resources index.
The largest paper company in the world, International Paper, on Wednesday also reported a much bigger increase in third-quarter earnings than forecast, saying it was "well positioned" to achieve strong results in the current quarter and next year.
The operating profit margin at Stora newsprint unit dropped to zero in the third quarter from 10.5 percent a year ago, but improved from a loss in the previous quarter.
Newsprint prices fell roughly 20 percent in Europe this year from 2009 levels, in contrast with most other paper grades for which prices have ticked up from a year ago.
Stora has told customers it wants to get paper prices back up to 2009 levels, Karvinen said.
"Our newsprint business is very unsatisfactory to say the least," Karvinen said, adding European paper demand at the end of September was clearly below the pre-crisis level of 2007.
Newsprint prices in Europe are normally set every 12 months.
Paperboard producer M-real reported an underlying July-to-September operating profit of 54 million euros from a year-ago loss of 22 million, undershooting expectations this time for 58.5 million in a Reuters poll.
Finnish forestry group UPM-Kymmene's numbers are expected Thursday, with Norwegian group Norske Skog due on Nov. 4. ($1 = 0.7166 euro) (Additional reporting by Terhi Kinnunen and Tarmo Virki; Editing by Dan Lalor and David Hulmes)