Precious Woods Gabon
Margin deterioration with higher sales
The sawmills produced a total of 20 724 m3 of sawn timber, a reduction of 21.0 % (previous year: 26 241 m3). The reduction in volume is due on the one hand to the closure of one of the three sawmills, and on the other hand to the fuel-related interruptions of production. Most of the maintenance work in the sawmills was accordingly already carried out in January – during the production interruptions – and not in May as usual.
Net sales PWG
19.3
EUR million
Net sales in Gabon were 4.7 % above the same period of the previous year, reaching EUR 19.3 million (previous year: EUR 18.5 million). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 1.3 million (previous year: EUR 3.0 million). The EBITDA margin was 6.9 % (previous year: 16.2 %).
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. Although the capacity bottlenecks in rail transport will ease somewhat in the second half of the year, we will still be forced to switch increasingly to truck transport and bear the additional costs. Delays in restructuring also resulted in additional costs. Consequently, we do not expect any significant margin improvement from our business in Gabon.