State-owned commercial forestry operator, Coillte saw profits slide as market conditions affected revenue and input costs rose. The company estimates that more than €60 million in damage was caused to its forests by Storm Éowyn.
In its full year accounts on Friday, the group recorded pretax profits of €18.95 million, a 70.7 per cent decrease on its 2023 performance of €64.9 million
Coillte’s total turnover stood at €389.9 million, an almost 6 per cent decrease on its financial performance in 2023 (€413.9 million) and a significant 18.5 per cent drop from the heights of €478.8 million earned in 2022.
Logs from Coillte’s forests go to sawmills that produce timber for building and other uses. The group also owns the Medite Smartply plants in counties Tipperary and Waterford which make boards used mainly in construction.
The company said global market conditions had lead to lower pricing during the year and that its financial results were impacted by “inflationary cost pressures continuing to challenge the business” relating to input costs. Operating costs at the forestry company rose by €15 million or 4 per cent.
Chief executive Imelda Hurley said that of the 26,000 hectares of Irish forestry estimated to have been damaged by wind during Storm Éowyn almost 14,500 hectares of that were on the Coillte estate.
The State-owned company said the cost of dealing with the damage to its forestry is “in excess of €60 million” but it would not know the full impact of the storm’s financial impact until later this year.
She described the level of damage as “unprecedented” and said the aftermath of the storm “marks a difficult period for the organisation. The road ahead will undoubtedly be challenging.”
Coillte’s net cash position at the end of 2024 was €57 million, which it described as a “solid financial position”. The company recorded biological assets of €942.5 million, an increase on the €927.8 million recorded in 2023. Total assets increased to €1.64 billion. The damage caused by Storm Éowyn will show in their 2025 accounts.
Ms Hurley received a total compensation package of €301,000 – a salary of €224,000 combined with €21,000 in benefits and €56,000 in pension contributions.
The number of employees in receipt of total compensation in excess of €150,000 increased by more than 50 per cent last year, from nine to 14. Those in the €125,000-€149,999 band also increased, from 13 in 2023, to 21 last year.
Ms Hurley said Coillte is “on target” to increase the area of its estate managed primarily for nature from 90,000 to 134,000 hectares by the end of 2025. More than 30,000 hectares of the estate were classified by ecologists as having significant biodiversity value in 2024, the company said.
During the year, the forestry operator launched the first fully operational FuturEnergy Ireland onshore wind farm at Lenalea, Co Donegal as part of a joint venture with SSE Renewables. The company said it had a role in enabling more than 50 per cent of Ireland’s onshore wind energy generation.
