Increased demand for wood products: Moelven recorded a profit figure of NOK 163 million in the third quarter of 2020

“Demand for climate-smart products and solutions has been good in the third quarter, both at home and abroad. People are not travelling as much anymore due to the Corona pandemic, and we have noted that they are spending more money on maintenance and renovations, both in their homes and holiday homes. This has resulted in a good level of activity for the building materials trade in Scandinavia, and for the international timber industry. We are also delighted to report that our order backlog and level of activity within the glulam and building modules segments have seen an improvement,” confirms CEO Morten Kristiansen at Moelven Industrier ASA.

Moelven reported revenue of NOK 2,667.2 million in Q3 2020, up NOK 319.9 million from the revenue figures in Q3 2019. Operating profit amounted to NOK 163.4 million, up NOK 119.8 million from Q3 2019. This is our best interim result for a third quarter since 2007.

“In all honesty, we did not expect to see such figures when Scandinavia and most parts of the world went into lockdown this spring. And of course, we are extremely happy with these figures,” confirms Morten Kristiansen. 

Building Norway’s largest impregnation facility

Moelven has experienced significant growth in the sale of impregnated wood products in 2020. In September, the Group made the decision to invest NOK 170 million in the construction of Norway’s largest impregnation facility for royal-impregnated and CU-impregnated wood products. The new facility will be built at Moelven Soknabruket AS, and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022. Only one year ago, Moelven Pellets AS opened a new pellets factory and a bioenergy plant at the same industrial site. With the impregnation facility just next door, the entire value chain from raw material to finished product will be located on the same site. 

Praise for flexible workers

The Moelven Group can look back on three successful quarters in 2020, although the Corona pandemic makes planning for the future difficult.

“The solution to this problem lies with our employees. They have definitely shown an impressive capacity for change and flexibility during the pandemic. This has been decisive in the success we have achieved so far, and will continue to be so in the future. Over the months to come, Moelven will be focusing heavily on cost-efficient operations and a viable and forward-looking Group structure,” confirms Morten Kristiansen.

Read the interim report for Q3 2020 here (PDF).