Koskisen increased its turnover in the first half of the year. The wood processing company's turnover in January-March rose by a fifth to 105 million euros, the highest level ever, the company reports . The 100 million euro mark was now exceeded for the first time.
However, profitability weakened. Operating profit amounted to EUR 2.5 million, which is 60 percent less than a year ago. EBITDA fell to EUR 6.5 million.
The background is the war with Iran, which has led to rising energy prices and interest rates. This has slowed the recovery in construction, for example.
In sawmilling, EBITDA fell to EUR 2.9 million. Profitability was burdened by a weak market situation and high raw material costs.
In the panel industry, EBITDA fell slightly to EUR 4 million. Demand and prices for birch plywood remained stable during the period, while demand for particleboard remained weak.
The company emphasizes that the risks in the operating environment remain elevated. The prolongation of the energy crisis and the tightening of the interest rate environment may lead to a broader and longer-lasting economic downturn. In addition, the possible logging restrictions during the bird nesting season, which may come into effect this spring, threaten the supply of raw materials in the sheet metal industry in the spring and early summer.
Good, normal and challenging
According to CEO Jukka Pahta, the demand situation for plywood is good, the demand for sawn timber is normal, and the demand for chipboard, which is mainly a domestic product, is challenging.
The new sawmill is working well in terms of quantity, but there is still work to be done to ensure smooth operation. As production increases, drying will become a bottleneck, and the drying plant is one of the largest investments this year.
An interesting, but still small product launch is particleboard in which the fossil binder has been replaced with lignin.
Because winter ended suddenly, the company was left with unharvested winter reserves, but not significant amounts.
"Woodchip delivery prices have been falling, which from our perspective is not a positive development."
