Coillte boosted by site sales
Land sales have helped to boost Coillte’s annual profits.
The State-controlled forestry company has reported operating profits before exceptional items of €48.51m, up 13% on 2004.
“Coillte’s land development businesses had a very good year as waste management sites were sold to Cork, Kerry and Wexford county councils and Coillte also completed the sale of a major wind farm site,” said a company statement.
However, the Christmas tree trade has fared badly in recent years.
Due to over-supply in the Irish and European markets Coillte, like many other growers, has incurred Christmas trading losses.
The group has decided to decrease its stock of trees by 4.3 million.
Coillte took a hit of €10.5m in costs associated with an early retirement/voluntary redundancy scheme under which 90 staff will leave by the middle of the year.
Coillte also had capital investment of €48.75m most of which was invested in reforestation of sites previously harvested; road building; improvement of the estates and afforestation of bare land.
Chief executive Martin Lowery said the net increase in value of forests and land during the year was €26.8m, bringing to €507m the increase since 1989, when Coillte was set up.
Chairman Brendan McKenna said: “Coillte is uniquely placed to meet the land requirements for major national infrastructure projects such as wind farms and will continue to identify innovative ways in which value can be added to the group’s land assets.”
