Stockholm, 2013-11-29 08:05 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Reduced EBITDA loss by 60 percent from the comparable period

RusForest AB (publ) (“RusForest” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ OMX: RUSF), a Swedish forestry company with operations in Russia, today released its third quarter 2013 interim report.

Third Quarter Highlights

• Sawlogs: Harvested 192,158 cubic meters of sawlogs (2012: 226,790 cubic meters) during the three months ended September 30, 2013.
• Sawnwood: Produced 69,416 cubic meters of sawnwood (2012: 80,653 cubic meters) during the three months ended September 30, 2013.
• Revenue: Generated SEK 134.7 million of revenue (2012: SEK 148.0 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2013.
• EBITDA: Reduced operating losses as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) by 60 percent to SEK -11.2 million (2012: SEK -28.0 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2013.
• Net Loss: Recorded a net loss of SEK 46.0 million (2012: net loss of SEK 110.1 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2013.
• Working Capital: Closed the third quarter of 2013 with a cash balance of SEK 50.7 million and positive working capital of SEK 61.9 million.

Management Comments

Matti Lehtipuu, the Company’s CEO, commented, “During the third quarter, we saw a number of positive developments in the Company.  The focus of the company is now on cash flow and profitability instead of absolute volumes. In order to improve margins, we had to reduce production in some cases.  Our operations in Magistralny showed strong performance with $1.6 million in positive EBITDA for the quarter.  We were able to reduce the consolidated EBITDA loss by 60 percent from the prior year.  This was due to overall operational improvement and increasing sales to the more profitable Japanese market. The sawnwood sales to Japan increased to 22 percent of total sales from close to zero in the prior year.  We are making progress, and the entire organization is working hard to reach profitability.”

Conference Call

Management will host a telephone conference today at 11:00 a.m. CET in order to review the third quarter 2013 results.  Dial-in instructions and a presentation are available on the Company’s website at www.rusforest.com.

About RusForest AB

RusForest is a Swedish forestry company operating in Eastern Siberia and the Arkhangelsk region of Russia.  The Company controls long-term timber leases and utilizes these resources to produce a wide range of sawnwood products.  RusForest is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm First North (ticker symbol “RUSF”).

RusForest AB's Certified Adviser on First North is Pareto Securities AB.

For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at www.rusforest.com or contact:

Mia O’Connor, Investor Relations, telephone: +46 8 771 85 00