RusForest Releases Third Quarter Report 2016


Stockholm, 2016-11-29 08:05 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RusForest AB (publ) (“RusForest” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq First North: RUSF), a Swedish forestry company with operations in Russia, today released its third quarter report 2016.

Third Quarter Highlights

  • Harvesting: Own harvesting of 109,618 m3 of logs in Magistralny and Ust-Ilimsk in Q3 2016 (Q3 2015: 68,100 m3).
  • Sawnwood: Produced 23,356 m3 of sawnwood in Magistralny in Q3 2016 (Q2 2015: 22,912 m3).
  • Revenue: Generated revenue of USD 6.4 million in Q3 2016 (Q3 2015: USD 5.1 million).
     
  • EBITDA: Reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) of USD 1.7 million in Q3 2016, including non-recurring income from non-core forest lease sales of USD 0.5 million (Q3 2015: USD 0.7 million).
     
  • Profit for the period: Recorded a net profit of USD 1.3 million in Q3 2016 (Q3 2015: net profit of USD 1.6 million).
     
  • Cash and Working Capital: Closed the third quarter of 2016 with a cash balance of USD 14.1 million (Q4 2015: USD 8.4 million) and positive working capital of USD 1.5 million (Q4 2015: USD 2.5 million).

Nine months 2016 Highlights

  • Harvesting: Own harvesting of 262,509 m3 of logs in Magistralny and Ust-Ilimsk in 9M 2016 (9M 2015: 172,108 m3).
  • Sawnwood: Produced 64,215 m3 of sawnwood in Magistralny in 9M 2016 (9M 2015: 63,157 m3).
  • Revenue: Generated revenue of USD 19.6 million in 9M 2016 (9M 2015: USD 15.6 million).
     
  • EBITDA: Reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) of USD 7.7 million in 9M 2016, including non-recurring income from non-core forest lease sales of USD 3.0 million (9M 2015: USD 3.0 million).
     
  • Profit for the period: Recorded a net profit of USD 3.9 million in 9M 2016 (9M 2015: net profit of USD 1.8 million).

Management Comments

As previously reported the increased volumes of sawlogs from Ust-Ilimsk and wood pellets from Magistralny contributed to increased revenue and gross profit in Q3 2016, compared with Q3 2015. The Company also experienced higher average sawnwood and sawlog prices in Q3 2016 than in the previous quarter and in Q3 2015. Our short-term outlook assumes a mostly unchanged market situation in Q4 compared with Q3 2016. The financial result in Q3 2016 and for nine months 2016 benefit from non-recurring income related to the sale of non-core forest leases, while the Russian rouble continue to strengthen and among other give rise to foreign exchange losses in Q3 2016 and for nine months 2016.

The Company continues to evaluate options for necessary modernisation of the sawline in Magistralny.

Conference Call

The Company will hold a telephone conference today at 11:00 a.m. CET where management will be available to comment on the report and the latest developments.    

To participate in the conference call, please dial the following numbers at least five minutes before the scheduled event:

From Sweden: +46 (0) 8 50556474

From United Kingdom: +44 203 3645374

From North America: +1 (855) 7532230

To take part in the interactive presentation, please use webcast link: http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/6wv4c89k or visit RusForest’s website at www.rusforest.com and click on the link for the third quarter report 2016 telephone conference. A presentation will also be available for download from the website.

A replay of the telephone conference will be available on RusForest’s website approximately one hour after the completion of the event through the same links as for live participation.          

This information is information that RusForest AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on 29 November 2016, 08:05 CET.

About RusForest AB

RusForest is a Swedish forestry company operating in Eastern Siberia. The Company controls long-term timber leases and utilizes these resources to produce a wide range of sawnwood products. RusForest is listed on Nasdaq First North (ticker “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


Attachments

RUSF Q3 report 2016.pdf