Stockholm, 2014-03-31 08:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RusForest AB (publ) (“RusForest” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ OMX: RUSF), a Swedish forestry company with operations in Russia, today released its year end report 2013.
Fourth Quarter Highlights
As of December 31, 2013, the Boguchany operating segment was classified as held for sale and its 2012 and 2013 results were included in the financial results as discontinued operations.
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Sawlogs from continuing operations: Harvested 119,889 cubic meters of sawlogs (2012: 99,212 cubic meters) during the three months ended December 31, 2013.
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Sawnwood from continuing operations: Produced 52,470 cubic meters of sawnwood (2012: 47,064 cubic meters) during the three months ended December 31, 2013.
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Revenue from continuing operations: Generated SEK 105.9 million of revenue (2012: SEK 117.0 million) for the three months ended December 31, 2013.
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Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations: Reduced operating losses as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and non-recurring items by 83 percent to SEK -6.4 million (2012: SEK -38.8 million) for the three months ended December 31, 2013.
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Loss from discontinued operations: Recorded a loss of SEK 265.6 million from discontinued operations (2012: loss of SEK 290.8 million), mainly due to the impairment of SEK 220.8 million recognized in the three months ended December 31, 2013, related to the Boguchany unit.
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Net Loss: Recorded a net loss of SEK 355.0 million (2012: net loss of SEK 675.5 million) for the three months ended December 31, 2013.
- Working Capital: Closed the fourth quarter of 2013 with a cash balance of SEK 23.7 million and positive working capital of SEK 65.9 million.
Management Comments
Matti Lehtipuu, the Company’s Group CEO, commented: “2013 was a turning point for RusForest. The restructuring transaction brought-in Nova Capital as a Russian strategic shareholder in March 2013 and accelerated the turnaround. A number of things have changed and improved over the past year. The new 100,000-ton/year wood pellet mill in Arkhangelsk, the sale of non-core assets and the turnaround in Magistralny all increase our likelihood of reaching positive cash flow later this year. RusForest is beginning the year with a clean slate and clear potential. Unfortunately, recent events between Russia and Ukraine have overshadowed the solid fundamentals of our business. Improving global sawnwood markets, growing wood pellet demand in Europe and the weakening Russian ruble gives RusForest strong momentum for 2014.”
Conference Call
Management will host a telephone conference today at 11:00 a.m. CET in order to review the 2013 Year End 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:
Gustav Wetterling, Group CFO, telephone: +46 8 771 85 00
