Trading
Precious Woods Trading
Realised increase in sales
Net revenues from the trading business in the 2023 reporting year amounted to EUR 6.8 million, corresponding to an increase of 4.1 % from the previous year (2022: EUR 6.6 million).
Trading in logs and sawn timber from Europe complements the current product range of Precious Woods and expands our knowledge in the sales and procurement market. Trading supplements our core business, namely the processing and trading of tropical sawn timber and veneer from Brazil and Gabon.
| in EUR million | 2023 | 2022 | Index | Change | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net revenues | 6.8 | 6.6 | 104.1% | +0.3 | ||||
| EBITDA | 0.1 | 0.6 | 17.1% | –0.5 | ||||
| EBIT | 0.1 | 0.6 | 17.1% | –0.5 |
The main sales market for our traded logs and sawn timber is China. The demand for our product range fell in 2020 but increased again slightly in 2021 and recovered in 2022. The shortage of raw materials led to price increases, but transportation costs rose disproportionately. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 0.1 million (2022: EUR 0.6 million). The EBITDA margin was 1.5 % (previous year: 9.1 %).
For Precious Woods, trading activities in Europe are strategically important, because this activity secures expertise in the sales and procurement market and creates synergies with our other business areas in production. With this in mind, we now also work together with other suppliers in Gabon, some of whose production we market and thus also ensure part of our round timber sales.
Precious Woods Trading in brief
After the decision to shut down the trading activities of PW Europe, the administration of that Dutch company was taken over by PW Holding in Zug from 2014, and goods were delivered directly from the production plants in Brazil and Gabon. In 2014, activities were expanded to include the trading of certified European logs and sawn timber. This now complements our diverse range of products.