RMK’s Supervisory Board proposes to add EUR 35 million to the state budget 13.03
RMK’s Supervisory Board approved the 2019 audited annual report, according to which RMK’s turnover last year reached EUR 218.7 million (EUR 209.1 million in 2018) and operating profit reached EUR 75.6 million (EUR 88.9 million in 2018). The Supervisory Board proposed that EUR 35.64 million, i.e. about half of previous year’s earned profit, be paid into the state budget in the form of dividends.
The lion’s share of revenue earned by RMK came from the sale of timber. The sale price of timber remained high until the end of the first half of the previous year, as a result of which RMK earned a decent operating profit last year. In 2019, the volume of timber sales reached 3.9 million cubic metres. Timber was sold as follows: logs 47%, pulpwood 33%, fuel wood 16%, chips and cutting waste 5%.According to Marku Lamp, the Chairman of RMK’s Supervisory Board, the Supervisory Board considered RMK’s financial results for 2019 to be very good, which was confirmed by the earning of a profit that was nearly double the amount planned in the budget. ‘When the dividend payment proposal was made, all Supervisory Board members emphasised that, in addition to meeting state budget obligations, it is equally important to put the second half of the money back into the forest so it would be possible to be profitable in the future as well’, commented Marku Lamp on the Supervisory Board’s decision.
‘RMK plans to invest EUR 28.5 million of the remainder of the operating profit in forest plant production, roads and drainage systems. Moreover, RMK will purchase a total of EUR 5 million worth of protected land from private forest owners, on which economic activities have been limited to maintain rare natural values’, added Aigar Kallas, Chairman of the Management Board of RMK.
In the second half of last year, the selling price of timber fell by one-tenth in comparison with 2018, due to the extensive damage caused by the spruce bark beetle that is devastating Central Europe. Prices are projected to stabilise in the timber market: according to current estimates, turnover for 2020 will be EUR 177.1 million and the operating profit is estimated to be around EUR 25.2 million.
RMK, or the State Forest Management Centre, is responsible for taking care of nearly 30% of the total land area of Estonia, on which 47% of Estonia’s forests are located. RMK is the keeper, protector and manager of the forest and other natural biotic communities belonging to the Estonian state. RMK cultivates forests, preserves natural treasures, earns income for the state by managing the forest, creates opportunities for visiting nature, and provides nature awareness.
Further information:
Marku Lamp
Chairman of RMK’s Supervisory Board
E-mail: marku.lamp@envir.ee
Sille Ader
Head of the RMK Communications Department
E-mail: sille.ader@rmk.ee
Phone: +372-5666-5896
