Swedish wood products company Setra AB achieved SKr14m in operating profits in the second quarter, reversing a SKr17m loss recorded in the preceding period.
State forestry firm Sveaskog, which owns 50% of Setra, also posted improved earnings, with operating profits up to SKr529m from SKr371m in the first quarter.
Setra, which saw its sales jump to SKr1.44bn from SKr1.27bn, said the better results were due to a volume increase and stronger margins within its wood products business, as well as exchange gains in currency hedging contracts.
But its results for the first half of 2004 show an operating loss of SKr3m, compared with SKr110m in profits a year ago. The company blames the poor result on lower margins within its sawn products business.
Setra’s sawn products unit comprises 12 sawmills with annual sales totalling about SKr4.1bn, while the wood products division has five production facilities and eight distribution sites with annual sales of SKr1.4bn.
Sveaskog’s net sales totalled SKr2.32bn, up from SKr2.03bn in the first quarter, but first-half operating profits were down slightly on 2003.
It said the sawmill industry remained “weak”, with prices negatively affected by continued high production. The timber market in northern Sweden is showing a surplos of pine sawlogs but a shortage of spruce, it added.
