Pellets and sawmill by-products generate revenue
Pellets and sawmill by-products helped the companies generate substantial revenue throughout the entire year 2022. This combination of market developments will probably make 2022 the second-best year in the past 100 years. This is particularly true for the six big Austrian timber groups, which are not only large, but also highly integrated, the unorthodox large sawmill of the Maresch timber industry in Lower Austria being the only exception (see box below).
Many remarkable developments
Several developments were particularly notable in 2022:
- Since the crisis year of 2013, sales have tripled within ten years, with EBT rising from €10 million to €744 million.
- Last year, average EBT accounted for 18% of sales – compared to 26% in 2021.
- Five of the six companies were able to further increase their sales.
- Binderholz’s sales grew by 80%, totaling almost €2.5 billion, thanks to the acquisition of BSW.
- Binderholz’s EBT amounted to €440 million. It is almost as high as the EBT of the Pfeifer Group, Mayr-Melnhof Holz and Holzindustrie Maresch taken together.
- It is also interesting that Holzindustrie Maresch was able to maintain its high operating margin, while that of other companies decreased compared to 2021.
- At integrated production sites, the further processing divisions performed better than the sawmills.
- Holzindustrie Maresch has by far the lowest proportion of personnel costs, i.e. 5%. At the other companies, it is 11% on average.
| of selected Austrian timber groups; EBT in million €, percentages represent year-on-year changes; *: EBT instead of revenue from ordinary activities | ||
| Company | in million € | Diff. in % |
|---|---|---|
| Binderholz* | 440 | –1 |
| Pfeifer Group | 267 | –10 |
| Mayr-Melnhof Holz* | 145 | +11 |
| Holzindustrie Maresch | 64 | ± 0 |
| Hasslacher Holding | 62 | –42 |
| Johann Offner Holzindustrie | 35 | –5 |
| of selected Austrian timber groups; sales in million €, percentages represent year-on-year changes | ||
| Company | in million € | Diff. in % |
|---|---|---|
| Binderholz | 2.493 | +80 |
| Pfeifer Group | 1.226 | +21 |
| Mayr-Melnhof Holz | 1.063 | +32 |
| Hasslacher Holding | 624 | +3 |
| Holzindustrie Maresch | 222 | ±0 |
| Johann Offner Holzindustrie | 149 | +9 |
| of selected Austrian timber groups; operating margins in %, percentages represent year-on-year changes | ||
| Company | in % | Year-on-year diff. in % |
|---|---|---|
| Holzindustrie Maresch | 29 | ±0 |
| Johann Offner Holzindustrie | 24 | –3 |
| Pfeifer Group | 22 | –7 |
| Binderholz | 18 | –14 |
| Mayr-Melnhof Holz | 14 | –2 |
| Hasslacher Holding | 10 | –8 |
Ambitious sales targets achieved
In 2022, Mayr-Melnhof Holz was the only selected timber group to increase its EBT (+11%) © holzkurier.com
In 2022, not only Binderholz but also Pfeifer Group and Mayr-Melnhof Holz reportedly generated more than €1 billion in sales. Already in December 2021, MM’s CEO Richard Stralz told the Holzkurier: “Having annual sales of €1 billion was a business goal that we will achieve with the Bergkvist deal in 2022.” He was right in the end.
Mayr-Melnhof Holz was the only company that was able to increase its EBT in 2022 (+11%), while the others recorded losses.
The cumulated annual profits of all six companies were around €50 million lower than they had been in 2021. At €744 million, however, they were still extremely high.
A year of acquisitions
2022 was also a year of major acquisitions in the industry. In January, Binderholz completed the takeover of BSW. Mayr-Melnhof Holz followed in February with the acquisition of the Bergkvist Siljan Group. The Hasslacher Group acquired as many as three companies in Austria: Gemson, Lau Forstservice and Holzbau Hofer.
Source: annual and group reports © Timber-Online
Source: annual and group reports © Timber-Online
Marked increase in liabilities
These investments and acquisitions resulted in a noticeable increase in liabilities. Binderholz’s liabilities increased by €626 million, those of Mayr-Melnhof Holz by €210 million. This year, interest rates rose sharply. Assuming interest rates of at least 6%, these companies will face significant additional expenses in the following years.
In contrast, the Pfeifer Group reduced its liabilities by €30 million to €55 million, thereby improving its equity ratio which is now at 70%.
Holzindustrie Maresch was able to maintain its impressive return on sales of 29% and was followed by the Johann Offner Holzindustrie and the Pfeifer Group with ROS of over 20%. Due to sales increasing while EBT remained constant, Binderholz's operating margin fell to 18%. Mayr-Melnhof Holz follows with a margin of 14%.
Russian sites in the balance sheets one last time
Finally, it should be noted that 2022 was the last year in which the Russian sawmill sites of Mayr-Melnhof Holz and Hasslacher Holding were part of their respective balance sheets following the divestment of both mills. In previous years, they had generated good revenue, but provisions for impending losses had to be recorded in the 2021 balance sheets already.
Analysis of corporate balance sheets in Austria in 2022
© holzkurier.com
In the past ten years, the balance sheets and annual reports of Mayr-Melnhof Holz, Pfeifer Group, Binderholz, Hasslacher Holding, Maresch Holzindustrie, Johann Offner Holzindustrie and Donausäge Rumplmayr were analyzed. Selection criteria were an annual cutting volume of at least 500,000 m³ and headquarters in Austria. (This is why Stora Enso and the HS Timber Group are not part of this analysis; they do not operate sawmills in Austria.) Since the balance sheet analysis of 2021, the Holzkurier will focus on only six companies: Pfeifer Group, Imst (1); Binderholz, Fügen (2); Hasslacher Holding, Sachsenburg (3); Offner Holzindustrie, Wolfsberg (4); Mayr-Melnhof Holz, Leoben (5); Holzindustrie Maresch, Retz (6).
In the case of Johann Offner Holzindustrie, KLH is not taken into account. The figures presented in this analysis are therefore purely sawmill figures. The same is true for Maresch Holzindustrie. The remaining four are fully integrated timber companies which operate production sites at an international level.
