Coillte estimates Storm Éowyn damage to forests at €60m
Coillte has estimated that Storm Éowyn caused over €60m worth of damage to its estate in January.
The State-owned commercial forestry business manages over 14,500 hectares of the 26,000 hectares of forests in Ireland that were damaged by the storm.
Coillte said it has made significant progress in its response and is hoping to have the majority of its clean-up completed by the end of the next year.
Approximately 3m cubic metres of sustainable wood is produced by Coillte's harvesting operations each year for the construction of houses, fencing, decking pallets, and materials such as MDF and OSB.
The 14,500 hectares of damage sustained to Coillte forestry equates to over twice the company’s annual harvest area.
“While the full financial impacts of Storm Éowyn are still being assessed, our day-to-day focus is on mobilising supply chains to ensure the windblown material is harvested and brought to market as quickly as possible and on continuing to deliver the multiple benefits of forests for climate, nature, wood and people," said Imelda Hurley, CEO of Coillte.
Coillte's annual report shows EBITDA fell from €106m to €62m last year, while operating profit declined from €61m to €19m year-on-year due to inflationary pressures and lower end-market demand.
Overall, revenue decreases from €414m in 2023 to €390m in 2024.
The company said it remains focused on delivering on its forestry strategic vision and the multiple benefits of forests for climate, nature, wood and people.
The firm is also on track to increase the area of its estate managed primarily for nature from 20% (90,000 hectares) to 30% (134,000 hectares) by the end of 2025, with more than an additional 30,000 hectares of the estate classified by ecologists as having significant biodiversity value in 2024.
Cumulative dividends of €2.9m were paid to the State last year.
“Despite challenging market conditions in 2024, we made good progress on our forestry strategic vision ambitions," said Hurley.
Coillte has estimated the damage from Storm Éowyn to its forests at €60m.
"These ambitions see us focused between now and 2050 on creating new forests, managing our existing forests for greater carbon capture, redesigning 30,000 ha of peatland forests for climate and ecological benefits, enhancing and restoring biodiversity, and increasing the number of recreational spaces across Ireland for people to enjoy.
"In addition, these ambitions see us focused on continuing to deliver sustainable Irish wood and wood-based products which support the decarbonisation of our built environment, and on promoting the use of wood in the delivery of new homes."
Photo: Mote Park Forest in Co. Roscommon following Storm Éowyn in January. (Pic: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie)
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