Rörvik Timber reported 3Q pre-tax losses of SEK 28 million ($4 million)

Nov 30, 2011. /Lesprom Network/. Swedish sawmiller Rorvik Timber has posted 3Q pre-tax losses of SEK 28 million ($4 million) and said the timber market was now going through the worst crisis since the 1970s. Pre-tax losses for the first nine months now amount to SEK 119 million ($17.6 million), as TTJ reported. However, Rörvik’s production capacity utilisation has risen. Production for the nine months was 375,000 cubic metres and is expected to reach 550,000-600,000 cubic metres by the end of 2011. The company will increase production capacity of its pressure-treated products by 50% by next spring, while finger-jointed products now make up 15% of output. “The industry’s export price index for sawn timber during the first nine months continued to fall by a further 7% for pine and 6% for spruce,” it said. Rörvik said uncertainty affected the important North African market, which accounts for about 20-25% of Swedish timber exports, mainly pine products. On the positive side, the sawmiller said wood raw material costs were going down, a development it said which “must continue” for the sawmilling sector to record a reasonable profit. Rörvik Timber AB (publ) conducts wood processing operations at ten production units in southern Sweden. The business operations are organized into two business segments. Business segment Timber comprises seven sawmills, a pressure impregnation unit, and a unit producing stable bedding. Business segment Raw materials consists of an organization purchasing raw material for our own sawmills and trading operation.