Moelven earned NOK 296 million

In the results for the first nine months the Group has entered a total of NOK 46 million as costs as a result of the decision to discontinue activities at Moelven Norsälven AB and resolution of a dispute related to a larger project in the Building Systems division. The underlying operating improvement so far this year is NOK 71 million compared to the corresponding period last year.

Good underlying operations

In the year’s 3rd quarter the Group earned NOK 84 million compared to NOK 66 million in the corresponding period the previous year.

“Demand for the Group’s products and services developed as expected and was satisfactory overall,” says CEO Morten Kristiansen of Moelven Industrier ASA.

Increased sales

Revenues in the third quarter were NOK 2,441 million (NOK 2,359 million) and NOK 8 060 million (NOK 7 894 million) year to date.

“We increased sales in the latest quarter and year to date by NOK 82 millioner and NOK 166 million respectively compared to the same periods last year. There has been good demand for sawn timber internationally, satisfactory activity in the building materials trade in Scandinavia and a healthy level of activity and a good order backlog in the Building Systems project division,” Kristiansen says.

Climate-friendly wood

The CEO explains that the increasing interest in climate-friendly construction and in wood as a building material is notable in all three divisions.

“But the effect is most pronounced in the Building Systems division, which delivers small and large projects all over Scandinavia. This applies to both bridges and other projects where load-bearing structures in glulam dominate, in addition to module-based apartment buildings,” Kristiansen says.

Satisfactory timber inventories

In some areas the supply of sawlogs has been somewhat reduced due to the wet autumn, but at the end of the quarter sawlogs inventories were nevertheless satisfactory and on a par with the same time last year.

“In both Norway and Sweden prices for sawlogs have increased slightly compared to the same period last year. Prices for chip and fibre products were at the same level as the third quarter last year, but for the Norwegian units, currency conditions and costs related to logistics have had a certain negative impact,” Kristiansen says.

Increase in revenues

For the Group as a whole revenues are expected to increase somewhat. The programme for operational improvement and structuring of the Group in line with the long-term strategy plan continues unabated and will contribute to continued improved profitability for the underlying operations.

“The Group's composition, with divisions that experience different impacts from economic fluctuations and units that operate in different markets, provide us with a good starting point for further improvements. Overall, the result for 2017 is expected to be somewhat better than for 2016. We have a long-term goal of a return on capital employed of 13 per cent over an economic cycle. The Group has sufficient solidity and long-term access to liquidity to implement the restructuring and improvement projects required to achieve this goal,” Kristiansen says.