2018

Profit of JSC "Latvia's State Forests" Reaches 60.2 Million Euros in the First Half of the Year

JSC "Latvia's State Forests" (LVM) revenue in the first half of 2018 amounted to 157.6 million euros, and the company's profit reached 60.2 million euros.

2.75 million cubic metres of roundwood assortment and 0.18 million cubic metres of growing trees were sold during this period. In the first six months of the year, 11.6 thousand hectares of young forest stands were cultivated, and 46 million forest tree seedlings were sold. The company commissioned 23 km of forest roads and restored 3.3 thousand hectares of forest drainage systems.

"The first half of the year 2018 is characterised by favourable development of prices and demand in the global markets for virtually all products manufactured by our customers. To a large extent, this very good market situation in the global markets has also determined the demand for timber in Latvia. Moreover, the favourable weather conditions - the winter with frost, the short spring and dry summer - have made it possible to create felling areas on low bearing capacity soils and provide timber-processing companies in Latvia with raw materials. The aforementioned, as well as the continuous well-planned investments in forestry construction, have allowed us to achieve good financial results in the first half of 2018," says Dainis Reķelis, Head of LVM Corporate Planning Division.

In the first six months of 2018, investments totalled 15.4 million euros, of which 11.8 million euros were invested in forest infrastructure: road construction, restoration of forest drainage systems, bridge construction and the construction of wood roads.

Since its foundation in 1999, LVM by implementing sustainable forest management has paid one billion euros to state and local government budgets. LVM's economic activities are carried out by maintaining and recovering forests, taking care of nature conservation, recreation opportunities and increasing timber volumes, as well as investing in expanding the forest land and developing forest infrastructure - renovation of drainage systems and forest road construction. The volume of timber in the forests managed by LVM increases by 12 million cubic metres annually.