“The wood products market continued to weaken during Q4 in terms of the general price level, while demand improved, which reduced our stocks to a normal level. However, low prices combined with rising costs have further weakened our margins during this quarter,” says Katarina Levin, Setra’s CEO.
Despite the difficult global economic situation, Setra is positive about the future of wood product consumption, in both the medium and long term. The increasing use of wood products in construction-related sectors, driven by a focus on sustainability, means that wood products continue to capture market share from other materials, while global production of wood products is not growing at the same rate, mainly due to the limited availability of raw material.
At the beginning of October, Setra announced that the company’s President and CEO Katarina Levin will leave her position at Setra’s Annual General Meeting in May 2023 for personal reasons. The recruitment process to find Katarina’s successor is ongoing and is expected to be completed in time for the AGM.
Setra entered into a collaboration with real estate company Vasakronan in the fourth quarter. Setra has been commissioned to supply locally produced cross-laminated timber and glulam for the Lumi district in Uppsala. There, Vasakronan is transforming a 1970s concrete building into state-of-the-art and more sustainable office space. Setra’s deliveries started in December and amount to a total of 1,200 cubic metres.
Sawdust from Setra is heating Swedish homes. Demand for bioenergy is high – and has increased due to the war in Ukraine. In Sweden, Setra is a leading supplier of raw materials, working with the energy company Stockholm Exergi, among others.
Cash flow from operating activities in the third quarter amounted to SEK -112 million (479). Net cash totalled SEK 1,484 million (1,643) at the end of the period. In May Setra paid out SEK 629 million in dividends to shareholders.
| Key figures* | Oct–Dec (3 mos) | Jan–Dec (12 mos) | |||||
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||
| Net sales, SEKm | 1,395 | 1,563 | 6,364 | 5,841 | |||
| Operating profit/loss, SEKm | -69 | 369 | 1,206 | 1,588 | |||
| Profit/loss after tax, SEKm | -54 | 300 | 952 | 1,258 | |||
| Operating margin, % | -4.9 | 23.6 | 19 | 27.2 | |||
| Return on operating capital, %, RTM | 56 | 84 | |||||
| Cash flow from operating activities, SEKm | -112 | 479 | 810 | 1,488 | |||
* Setra does not publish a complete period-end report.
