Precious Woods Gabon
Margin deterioration with higher sales
The sawmills produced a total of 26 241 m3 of sawn timber, an increase of 2.5% (previous year: 25 594 m3). The increase in volume is mainly due to the capacity increase in the hardwood sawmill, given that full productivity was achieved in April. As in the previous year, maintenance work in the sawmills was carried out as planned in May.
Net sales PWG
18.5
EUR million
Net sales in Gabon were 3.6 % above the same period of the previous year, reaching EUR 18.5 million (previous year: EUR 17.8 million). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 3.0 million (previous year: EUR 3.7 million). The EBITDA margin was 16.2% (previous year: 20.8%).
Despite the increase, sales were below expectations because the transport problems to the port are ongoing, entailing significantly increased costs. In addition, there was a shortage of diesel fuel, leading to further restrictions. The capacity bottlenecks in rail transport will persist until the end of the year, and we will have to accept these additional costs. Consequently, we do not expect any significant margin improvement from our business in Gabon.