For the Finnish Koskisen Group, 2015 was largely similar to the previous year. The Group’s net sales totalled EUR 247 million, up 2.7% from 2014. The operating profit amounted to EUR 9 million, which is slightly weaker than in the previous year.
Plywood and Sawn Timber production made up 66% of the Group’s net sales. Total net sales of the parent company Koskitukki’s wood procurement was EUR 109 million, including intra-group sales. Exports accounted for 55% of the Group’s net sales and our products were delivered to 64 countries.
Overall, 2015 was a very mixed year: Plywood performed well, while the other business units saw their operations affected by weak domestic demand and a decline in the market prices of sawn softwood. However, the Finnish market price of softwood logs failed to flex correspondingly downward.
Of the EUR 5 million invested during 2015, most was used for replacement and upgrade investments in the plywood mill and the sawmill. In addition, a number of system projects were launched.
Plywood operations benefited from rising prices and improved productivity in the use of raw material. The plywood production increased by 2.36% compared to 2014, up to 737,000 m3. The objective of Koskisen is to ramp up production capacity by 15% this year.
Sawn Timber industry was burdened in particular by the decrease in global market prices and a decline in competitiveness, above all, with regard to Swedish and Russian competitors. Yet, production rose by 4.86%, compared to the previous year, reaching 353,400 m3. Demand for spruce timber seemed to recover somewhat in the latter part of the year, with deliveries to China and Japan in particular being on the rise.
“Koskisen’s year 2015 turned out to be satisfactory. Although we fell slightly short of our targets, we were able to avoid the worst-case scenarios by enhancing our operations. General expectations of growth in domestic demand or the recovery of the global economy are not high. Koskisen is nevertheless capable of developing and growing its sales through a customer-oriented approach, high quality products and successfully targeted investments in accordance with its strategy,” stated Markku Koskinen, Managing Director of the company.
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