Woodfibre insulation board and engineered wood product manufacturer Steico AG has reported a 52% growth in its EBITDA to €45.9m for the first half of 2024.
Steico said its cost of materials fell to €92.8m in the first half of the year (H1, 2023: €118.1m) mainly due to gains from currency hedging totalling €19.8m (H1,2023: €4.3m) million). As a result, the cost of materials ratio fell to 49.2% (H1,2023: 62.7%).
H1 sales were €190.8m, almost at the previous year’s level, continuing the stabilisation trend.
Steico’s Management Board said these gains will not be generated to a comparable extent in the second half of 2024 or repeated in 2025.
“The demand situation has stabilised despite the weak economic environment in the first half of 2024,” said the company.
“The competitive situation nevertheless remains tense. Due to the recently created new production capacities at Steico and at competitors, the market for wood fibre insulation materials is currently characterised by overcapacity. Construction products (I-joists and laminated veneer lumber) continue to show stable development.”
Steico said the European construction industry remains in a “weak phase”. Current data from Eurostat available for April 2024 shows a year-on-year decline in production in the construction industry of 1.1% in the eurozone and 0.9% in the EU.
In Germany, the most important sales market for Steico products, the construction industry is also still in an economic slump. Current data from Destatis shows a 43.5% year-on- year decline in German building permits as a key early indicator from January to April 2024.
Elsewhere at Steico, the company’s new Gromadka production site in Poland is now in the commissioning phase. Production is to be expanded in stages.
