Stiga RM group turnover reached almost EUR 95 million last year
Last year, Stiga RM, one of Latvia’s leading logging and wood processing companies, and its five affiliated group companies* continued their targeted growth, closing the year with a consolidated group turnover of almost EUR 95 million, which amounts to almost 12% or EUR 10 million growth from 2022. The consolidated EBIDTA of the Group companies reached EUR 30.2 million last year, while the total profit of the Group companies amounted to EUR 22.2 million, demonstrating net profitability of 23%. A significant portion of profits are invested in further operational development, with the total investment in development projects last year amounting to EUR 31 million. The Group paid EUR 7.4 million in taxes to the state budget and provided 563 jobs in the Kuldīga and Tukums regions.
“Last year was one of the most successful in the history of Stiga RM. A significant increase in the sales price of plywood on international markets in the first half of the year contributed to a significant increase in revenues and surplus profits, which we almost entirely earmarked for further development. Being clearly aware that such favourable market conditions are not a long-term phenomenon, it is important for us to continuously strengthen our resilience and adaptability to different market conditions. This would not be possible without investment in the production of high added value products, renewal of equipment, machinery and fleet, as well as expansion of operations, which have enabled us to successfully withstand market fluctuations and be more competitive on a global scale,” says Andris Ramoliņš, owner and Chairman of the Management Board of Stiga RM.
Implementation of both ongoing and new development projects has resulted in EUR 31 million of total investments made by the Group companies in 2023, representing almost half of the total investments in 2022, when they amounted to €20.2 million. “This is a significant investment in the long-term success of the company, strengthening our ability to cushion less favourable market conditions and ensure good performance parameters in the future, including periods of potential downturn, as the investments made involve minimal leverage,” says Mr Ramoliņš.
This year, the company will continue its focus on creating high-quality wood products and expanding its activities, while strengthening its independence on the availability of raw materials, as well as promoting the education of young professionals.
Creating high added value
In pursuit of its strategic goal of creating a worldwide offer of quality wood products with high added value manufactured in Latvia, Stiga RM continued the expansion and upgrading of its Kuldīga birch plywood plant with new, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly equipment. Furthermore, as the construction of the new Wood Wool Cement Board (WWCB) in Tukums continues, a major phase of construction work has been completed over the past year – laying the foundations and erecting the steel structures of a nearly 15,000 square metre production building, creating access roads, providing water and power supply, laying asphalt on the wood yard and constructing the masonry frame for the office building and boiler house.
Earlier this year, the company publicly announced plans to develop another wood processing plant. In the next few years, a new, modern, technologically advanced production plant of high-quality engineered wood products will be built in Ogre on the site of the existing sawmill “Norupe”, thus contributing to the development of the Latvian wood processing industry, its competitiveness and growth of export volumes.
Sustainable forest management
In an effort to strengthen its independence regarding the availability of raw materials in order to further develop the production of high-quality products, Stiga RM has acquired forest properties of almost 1,400 hectares in 2023. Last year, the company invested almost EUR 13 million in acquiring forest properties. At the end of the year, the company owned more than 11,000 hectares of land. Most of the land is covered with forests and the company is involved in full-cycle forest management on its land by using the principles of sustainable forest management.
Support for education and science
With the rapid development of technology, there is an increasing need for knowledgeable professionals and sustainable change in the timber processing sector. Therefore, Stiga RM has defined support for education and science as one of its priorities. At the beginning of the year, cooperation with Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technology (LBTU) and Ventspils Technical School was initiated, by addressing educational content issues in collaboration with teaching staff, implementing work-based learning, providing internships, as well as participating in the organisation of various events related to the learning process, as well as those related to the sector.
* Stiga RM group consists of six companies: SIA Stiga RM, SIA Stiga RM Nami, SIA Stiga RM Distribution, SIA Stiga RM Transports, SIA Stiga RM Metāls, and SIA Stiga RM Mežs. This Communication summarises the collective performance indicators of all six Group companies. Further information on the activities of each company is available on the company website: https://stigarm.lv/en/about-us .