Vapo Oy’s financial statements 1.1.-31.12.2012
October–December 2012
- Group turnover was EUR 155.6 million (EUR 174.3 million).
- Operating margin (EBITDA) was EUR 8.0 million, or 5.1% of turnover (EUR ‑10.4 million, -6.0%).
- Operating loss was EUR 3.2 million, or -2.1% of turnover (EUR -31.2 million,-17.9%). The impact of one-off items was EUR 4.1 million.
- Free cash flow before taxes was EUR -10.9 million (EUR -31.2 million).
- Gross investments were EUR 12.9 million (EUR 27.0 million).
- Net investments were EUR 11.4 million (EUR 18.9 million).
-
4.7 TWh of energy peat was supplied (5.9 TWh).
January–December 2012
- Group turnover was EUR 652.9 million (EUR 705.0 million in 2011).
- Operating margin (EBITDA) was EUR 48.9 million, or 7.5% of turnover (EUR 41.9 million, 5.9%).
- Operating profit was EUR 5.8 million (operating loss of EUR 41.9 million in 2011, EUR 4.5 million before impairments). The impact of one-off items was EUR 15.3 million.
- Free cash flow before taxes was EUR 64.2 million (EUR 20.5 million).
- Gross investments were EUR 48.0 million (EUR 94.5 million).
- Net investments were EUR 26.9 million (EUR 81.2 million).
- The balance sheet total was EUR 804.8 million (EUR 869.3 million).
- Equity ratio was 37.1% (33.8%) on 31 December 2012.
- The efficiency improvement program launched in the autumn of 2011 has been successful. The program includes cutting investments costs, improving working capital turnover and selling non-core assets.
- Shortage of new approved peat production areas, difficulties in the sawmill industry, low electricity prices and additional costs due to poor peat harvest had a significant negative impact on profit.
-
14.8 TWh of energy peat was supplied (18.9 TWh).
Turnaround program generated strong cash flow despite difficult market situation
The group’s main focus in 2012 was on improving its efficiency and cash flow by selling non-core assets, cutting costs, increasing working capital turnover and cutting all investments except those related to reducing environmental impact of peat production. Due to these measures, the EUR 40 million cash flow target set for 2012 was exceeded, balance sheet strengthened, and the company made a profit. The program continues and, for example, a separate program was launched to improve Vapo Timber’s profitability.
Vapo Group’s operating profit was clearly below target, especially due to the poor peat harvest and the poor market conditions in the sawmill business. The 2012 peat harvest was exceptionally poor due to weather conditions, and the company only managed to produce 47% of its production target. Energy peat supplies in 2012 were 14.8 TWh, down 22% compared to 2011. Vapo’s sawmill business made loss throughout the year and operating loss for the year was more than EUR 10 million negative. Measures taken during the previous year improved pellet business’ results, but the business continued to make a losses. The Bioheat business also made a loss, partially due to increased fuel costs and low electricity prices and partially due to losses incurred from the sale of assets as part of restructuring. These transactions will improve the business area’s profitability in the long term. Kekkilä Group’s profitability improved.
The Group’s turnover for 2012 was EUR 652.9 million, or seven percent below 2011 (EUR 705.0 million). Operating profit was EUR 5.8 million (operating loss of EUR 41.9 million in 2011, EUR 4.5 million before impairments). Free cash flow before tax was EUR 64.2 million (EUR 20.5 million).
Consolidated key figures
|
MEUR |
10–12/2012 |
10–12/2011 |
|
1–12/2012 |
1–12/2011 |
1–12/2010 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Turnover |
155.6 |
174.3 |
|
652.9 |
705.0 |
719.5 |
|
Operating profit (EBITA) |
-3.1 |
-31.2 |
|
5.8 |
-41.9 |
39.4 |
|
% of turnover |
-2.0 |
-15.0 |
|
0.9 |
-5.9 |
5.5 |
|
Operating profit (EBITA) before impairments |
-2.8 |
-21.5 |
|
6.5 |
-4.5 |
45.7 |
|
% of turnover |
-1.8 |
-10.4 |
|
1.0 |
-0.6 |
6.3 |
|
Result for the period |
-1.1 |
-20.1 |
|
2.8 |
-39.1 |
30.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating margin (EBITDA) |
8.0 |
-10.4 |
|
48.9 |
41.9 |
89.3 |
|
+/- Change in working capital |
-7.5 |
-1.9 |
|
42.2 |
59.7 |
-26.2 |
|
– Net investments |
-11.4 |
-18.9 |
|
-26.9 |
-81.2 |
-74.6 |
|
Free cash flow before taxes |
-10.9 |
-31.2 |
|
64.2 |
20.5 |
-11.4 |
|
Gross investments |
12.9 |
27.0 |
|
48.0 |
94.5 |
80.9 |
|
Return on invested capital % |
|
|
|
0.9 |
-5.8 |
5.4 |
|
Return on invested capital % before impairments |
|
|
|
1.0 |
-0.6 |
6.3 |
|
Return on equity % |
|
|
|
0.9 |
-11.9 |
8.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance sheet total |
|
|
|
804.8 |
869.3 |
922.7 |
|
Shareholders’ equity |
|
|
|
291.6 |
285.8 |
347.0 |
|
Interest-bearing net debt |
|
|
|
355.9 |
416.7 |
414.8 |
|
Equity ratio % |
|
|
|
37.1 |
33.8 |
38.3 |
|
Gearing % |
|
|
|
122.0 |
145.8 |
119.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average number of employees |
|
|
|
1,154 |
1,226 |
1,333 |
The year 2012 by business segment
Vapo Biofuels
In 2012, the business segment includes Vapo Oy’s energy peat and environmental peat businesses in Finland as well as wood and energy crops businesses. The business segment also includes the peat and energy wood businesses of Vapo’s Swedish subsidiary Neova AB and the peat business of Vapo’s Estonian subsidiary AS Tootsi Turvas.
Demand for Vapo’s biofuels, i.e. peat and wood, was strong at the beginning of the year, but the shortage of peat damaged sales considerably in the autumn of 2012. Demand for environmental peat exceeded supply. Business area’s turnover was EUR 285.7 million (EUR 321.3 million) and operating profit EUR 26.7 million (EUR 29.0 million). The impact of one-off items was EUR 13.7 million, mostly from the sale of land areas. Gross investments were EUR 26.0 million (EUR 40.5 million).
The volume of peat produced during the summer of 2012 was only 47% of the target set for the production season due to weather conditions and the shortage of new production areas. In addition to Finland, weather conditions were also poor in Sweden and in the Baltic countries. The Group only produced 12.8 million m3 (20.7 million m3) of peat, of which 10.3 million m3 (17.1 million m3) was produced in Finland. Environmental peat was approximately 2.4 million m3, i.e. almost 19%, of the total volume of peat produced. The energy peat shortage is approximately 10 TWh, which equates to the annual heating consumption of approximately 400 000 detached houses.
Turnover from energy peat sales was EUR 178.0 million (EUR 204.4 million) and operating result was EUR 23.2 million (EUR 31.5 million). A total of 13.0 TWh (16.9 TWh) of energy peat was sold in Finland, 1.3 TWh (1.3 TWh) in Sweden and 0.5 TWh (0.7 TWh) in the Baltic countries. Demand for energy peat was down in the spring due to low electricity prices, which made peat an unattractive fuel for condensing power generation. Customers also lowered their peat consumption towards the end of the year in order to save their dwindling stocks for the colder peak consumption season. Another factor contributing to the drop in profitability was the fact that overheads were unusually high relative to earnings due to the low production volumes during the last quarter of the year.
Turnover from environmental peat was EUR 37.2 million (EUR 37.9 million) and operating result was EUR 3.7 million (EUR 3.9 million). Demand for litter peat, in particular, exceeded supply.
Turnover from wood and energy crops was EUR 66.1 million (EUR 74.0 million). The segment made a loss of EUR 0.1 million (EUR -6.1 million). The figure includes EUR 3.1 million of extraordinary items, mostly revenue from the sale of fields. The Swedish forest fuel business was sold at the end of June, which meant that turnover from wood energy sales was down on the previous year during the latter half of 2012. Wood-based fuels sales amounted to 2.2 TWh (2.0 TWh) in Finland and to 0.9 TWh (1.5 TWh) in Sweden.
Vapo Bioheat
The business segment includes Vapo Group’s electricity, steam and district heating production as well as heating distribution in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Poland. Electricity and heating are produced in seven power plants and 140 heating plants, in addition to which heating is distributed to end customers via 20 district heating networks.
The turnover of the business area in 2012 was EUR 105.5 million (EUR 110.6 million), and the segment made a loss of EUR 1.2 million (EUR 1.0 million). The impact of one-off items was EUR 3.0 million. Gross investments were EUR 7.0 million (EUR 15.0 million).
Deliveries of heat and steam to customers in 2012 were 1.8 TWh (1.8 TWh). The profitability of the heating business suffered from high prices of fuels as a result of the poor peat harvest and from increased use of imported fuels due to problems with the availability and quality of Finnish fuels. Mild weather at the beginning of the winter caused the volume and profitability of heating sales to fall short of targets especially in Sweden. Three new heating plants were commissioned in Finland and one in Sweden during 2012. Electricity sales in 2012 amounted to 0.2 TWh (0.3 TWh).
Efforts to boost cash flow and profitability were continued by selling non-core assets. In 2012, Vapo sold its shares in Biokraft Oy, Jyväskylän Voima Oy, Koillis-Satakunnan Sähkö Oy and Mäntän Energia Oy, in addition to which the Kuivaniemi wind farm was sold to Leppäkosken Energia Oy and real estate in Forssa to Forssan Verkkopalvelut Oy.
Vapo Wood Products
The business area includes Vapo’s sawmill and pellet businesses.
The turnover of business area in 2012 was EUR 212.7 million (EUR 227.2 million), and operating loss was EUR 16.3 million (EUR -56.6 million, including write off EUR 33.7 million of write downs from the pellet business). Gross investments were EUR 3.0 million (EUR 17.0 million).
Vapo Timber’s turnover in 2012 was EUR 112.5 million (EUR 121.3 million), and operating loss was EUR 10.9 million (EUR -9.3 million). The economic situation in Finland and the entire Eurozone remained weak throughout the year, which kept demand and the price of timber at low levels. The average sale price of products dropped by 2% and raw material costs increased by 1% compared to the previous year. Timber volume dropped by 8% on the previous year to 491,000 m³ (533,000 m³). Production was curtailed in all three sawmills towards the end of 2012. Measures aimed at boosting the cash flow and profitability of the sawmill business continued, and the company expects to see impact from these measures during 2013.
Vapo Pellet’s turnover in 2012 was EUR 100.2 million (EUR 108.1 million). Operating loss was EUR 5.4 million (EUR -47.3 million). The impact of one-off items was EUR 2.1 million from the sale of assets. Wood pellet sales volume was 521,000 tonnes (540,000 tonnes) and peat pellet 39,000 tonnes (31,000 tonnes). In Sweden, the pellet industry suffered from the strengthening of the Swedish krona and high raw material prices, although the market improved towards the end of the year. In Finland, raw material prices remained stable. A number of positive developments took place in the Finnish pellet market, the most notable was Tampereen Energiantuotanto Oy’s decision to use pellets in its district heating production. Despite this, Vapo’s pellet plants were still not operating at full capacity, which – together with low export prices – resulted in the pellet business’ operating loss.
Overheads were cut and stocks lowered in the pellet business in both Finland and Sweden. Peat pellet production was curtailed in Finland due to raw material shortages. The Danish resale business, which had been operating at a loss, was discontinued in 2012.
Vapo Environment and Kekkilä Group
Vapo Environment includes Kekkilä Group and the compost producer Mustankorkea Oy. The products are marketed under the Hasselfors Garden brand in Sweden and other Nordic countries. The business consists of garden product sales to consumers, professional growers and landscapers as well as compost production and environmental management services. Vapo Environment products are sold in a total of approximately 60 countries.
Kekkilä Group’s turnover in 2012 was EUR 92.1 million (EUR 91.1 million). The operating profit was EUR 3.9 million (EUR -0.4 million). The positive impact of one-off items was EUR 2.3 million.
Turnover in the consumers business in 2012 was EUR 43.7 million (EUR 42.6 million). Sales in Finland and Sweden remained at the previous year’s levels, while turnover in Norway increased.
The turnover of the professional growing business in 2012 was EUR 26.6 million (EUR 24.7 million). The wet summer across the Nordic countries and the Baltic countries lowered the availability of peat and increased raw material costs.
The turnover of the landscaping business in 2012 was EUR 12.8 million (EUR 15.0 million). Sales increased slightly in Sweden but were down significantly on the previous year in Finland.
Turnover in environmental management business in 2012 was EUR 8.1 million (EUR 8.1 million). The market remained stable throughout the year.
Despite the modest growth of turnover and the limited availability of peat as well as price pressure, profitability developed favourably. Attempts to focus sales efforts on products with higher profit margins and on strategically promising markets have yielded good results. Extensions to the Mosås plant in Sweden and the Disenå plant in Norway were completed during the year. All Vapo companies relating to the Kekkilä business were consolidated under Kekkilä Oy to form Kekkilä Group in 2012. Kekkilä’s raw material self-sufficiency was boosted by buying environmental peat businesses from Vapo in Finland, Neova in Sweden and Tootsi Turvas in Estonia.
A transaction for Kekkilä to buy Lassila & Tikanoja’s garden composter and eco-toilet businesses was announced in August and completed in December. The acquisition adds to Kekkilä’s product selection and is expected to bring new customers in the growing market. The acquisition also expanded Kekkilä’s operations to Russia, where a subsidiary called L.L.C. Kekkilä RUS was set up. Annual turnover of these businesses is approximately EUR 4 million.
Group shared and other operations
In 2012, Group shared and other operations generated operating loss of EUR 8.8 million (EUR ‑13.9 million).
Turnover by segment
|
MEUR |
10–12/2012 |
10–12/2011 |
Change, % |
1–12/2012 |
1–12/2011 |
Change, % |
|
Biofuels |
69.0 |
85.2 |
-19.0 |
285.7 |
321.3 |
-11.1 |
|
Enegy peat |
43.0 |
51.9 |
-17.1 |
178.0 |
204.4 |
-12.9 |
|
Wood energy and energy crops |
17.0 |
23.0 |
-26.1 |
66.1 |
74.0 |
-10.7 |
|
Environmental peat |
9.0 |
9.7 |
-7.2 |
37.2 |
37.9 |
-1.6 |
|
Others |
0.6 |
0.5 |
16.4 |
6.0 |
5.6 |
8.7 |
|
Bioheat |
31.5 |
29.4 |
7.1 |
105.5 |
110.6 |
-4.6 |
|
Wood Products |
52.7 |
56.8 |
-7.3 |
212.7 |
227.2 |
-6.4 |
|
Timber |
25.5 |
24.1 |
5.6 |
112.5 |
121.3 |
-7.3 |
|
Pellets |
27.6 |
33.0 |
-16.4 |
100.2 |
108.1 |
-7.3 |
|
Environment |
18.0 |
18.1 |
-0.8 |
101.9 |
101.9 |
0.0 |
|
Kekkilä businesses |
15.4 |
15.5 |
-0.3 |
92.1 |
91.1 |
1.1 |
|
Mustankorkea |
2.6 |
2.7 |
-3.5 |
9.8 |
10.8 |
-9.2 |
|
Inter-segment turnover |
-15.6 |
-15.3 |
-2.4 |
-51.8 |
-55.9 |
7.3 |
|
Group total |
155.6 |
174.3 |
-10.7 |
652.9 |
705.0 |
-7.4 |
Turnover by segment includes internal sales to other segments.
Operating profit/loss by segment
|
MEUR |
10–12/2012 |
10–12/2011 |
Change, % |
1–12/2012 |
1–12/2011 |
Change, % |
|
Biofuels |
3.6 |
-6.6 |
155.0 |
26.7 |
29.0 |
-7.9 |
|
Energy peat |
2.5 |
-2.8 |
189.5 |
23.2 |
31.5 |
-26.3 |
|
Wood energy and energy crops |
1.2 |
-3.0 |
140.2 |
-0.1 |
-6.1 |
98.5 |
|
Environmental peat |
0.5 |
-0.6 |
171.3 |
3.7 |
3.9 |
-4.5 |
|
Others |
-0.5 |
-0.2 |
-167.4 |
-0.1 |
-0.2 |
39.3 |
|
Bioheat |
1.2 |
-0.9 |
244.4 |
-1.2 |
1.0 |
-219.0 |
|
Wood Products |
-2.9 |
-15.6 |
81.3 |
-16.3 |
-56.6 |
71.2 |
|
Timber |
-3.0 |
-5.1 |
42.2 |
-10.9 |
-9.3 |
-17.4 |
|
Pellets |
0.0 |
-10.5 |
100.4 |
-5.4 |
-47.3 |
88.6 |
|
Environment |
-2.5 |
-2.4 |
-3.2 |
5.9 |
2.4 |
149.7 |
|
Kekkilä businesses |
-3.1 |
-3.1 |
-0.8 |
3.9 |
-0.4 |
1 077.6 |
|
Mustankorkea |
0.6 |
0.7 |
-14.8 |
2.1 |
2.8 |
-25.5 |
|
Other operations |
-2.4 |
-4.2 |
43.8 |
-8.8 |
-13.9 |
36.9 |
|
Eliminations |
-0.2 |
-1.5 |
86.7 |
-0.5 |
-3.8 |
86.6 |
|
Group total |
-3.1 |
-31.2 |
90.2 |
5.8 |
-41.9 |
113.8 |
Intragroup, intersegment transactions are shown at market value in the segments’ operating profit/loss.
Investments and financing
Free cash flow before taxes was EUR 64.2 million (EUR 20.5 million). The operating margin (EBITDA) was EUR 48.9 million (EUR 41.9 million), and working capital decreased by EUR 42.2 million (in 2011, working capital decreased by EUR 59.7 million).
Net investments in 2012 were EUR 26.9 million (EUR 81.2 million). Largest investments were related to reducing environmental impact of peat production. Gross investments were EUR 48.0 million (EUR 94.5 million), of which Biofuels for EUR 26.0 million (EUR 40.5 million), Bioheat for EUR 7.0 million (EUR 15.0 million), Wood Energy for EUR 3.0 million (EUR 17.0 million) and Environment for EUR 29.0 million (EUR 10.7 million). Other investments were EUR 0.6 million (EUR 11.0 million).
Interest-bearing net debt dropped by EUR 60.8 million and was EUR 355.9 million (EUR 416.7 million) at the end of 2012. The equity ratio was 37.1% (33.8%) and the gearing ratio was 122.0% (145.8%) at the end of the year. The consolidated balance sheet total was EUR 804.8 million (EUR 869.3 million). The Group’s net financial expenses amounted to EUR 6.4 million (EUR 8.3 million). Net financial expenses accounted for 1.0% (1.2%) of turnover.
Biodiesel project
Vapo is investigating the viability of producing transport fuels on a commercial scale from wood-based raw materials by means of the Fischer-Tropsch process. In the summer of 2012, Vapo’s biodiesel project was selected to be the best in the biodiesel category of the EU’s NER300 funding programme for renewable energy and the fifth of all renewable energy projects. The plan is to build a plant with capacity to produce 100,000 tonnes of transport-grade biodiesel.
Success in the NER300 programme has helped Vapo to secure funding for the next stage of the project, and contracts concerning the principal technologies were signed towards the end of 2012. Vapo Oy also set up a company called Forest BtL Oy to commercialise and expand the use of the technology. The final decision on whether the plan will go ahead will be made in the spring of 2014. Due to large size of the project, Vapo needs external investors and/or industrial partners.
Changes in the organisation
According to the strategy confirmed at the beginning of 2012, Vapo focuses primarily on the Finnish, Swedish and Estonian markets. The core of the business comprises fuel and energy operations. A new, more customer-orientated operating model was adopted in these core business segments in Finland and a joint regional organisation set up for customer relations in these segments. Vapo Timber Oy and Kekkilä Group are being developed as independent businesses.
As of the beginning of 2013, Vapo Oy has three business areas in Finland: Vapo Peat Products, Vapo Wood Energy, and Vapo Heat and Power. Vapo Peat Products is headed by Pasi Koivisto, Vapo Wood Energy by Juhani Ylä-Sahra, and Vapo Heat and Power by Markus Hassinen. The joint regional organisation is headed by Customer Relations Director Mikko Osara, who joined Vapo on 1 June 2012.
Individuals from outside the company were invited to join the Boards of Directors of Vapo Timber Oy and Kekkilä Group. The new Board of Directors of Vapo Timber Oy is composed of three representatives from Vapo Group (Tomi Yli-Kyyny (chair), Jyrki Vainionpää and Pasi Koivisto) and Antti Kivimaa and Hannu Linna (Managing Director of Vaasan Sähkö Oy) as external members. As of 1 August 2012, the new Board of Directors of Kekkilä Oy is composed of four representatives from Vapo Group (Tomi Yli-Kyyny (chair), Kari Poikolainen, Ahti Martikainen and Jyrki Vainionpää) and Sirpa Ojala (CEO, Digita Oy) and Tiia Tuovinen (General Counsel at Telia-Sonera) as external members.
Management and personnel
In 2012, Vapo Group employed 1,154 people (1,226 people) on average. A total of 770 (783) employees worked in Finland and 384 (443) in other countries. Codetermination negotiations were launched in January 2012 across Vapo Group’s Finnish businesses with a view to cutting human resources costs and restructuring the company’s operations due to production-related and financial reasons. Vapo Oy gained 62 employees and Vapo Timber 13 employees as a result of the termination of an outsourcing agreement between Vapo Oy and Maintpartner Oy on 1 August 2012.
Torbjörn Claesson was appointed as the Managing Director of Vapo Oy’s Swedish subsidiary Neova AB on 1 June 2012.
Tomi Yli-Kyyny, Vapo CEO:
“The turnaround program we launched in the autumn of 2011 has been a great success. We exceeded the EUR 40 million cash flow target by 60%. Nevertheless, we cannot be satisfied with profitability, because we fell considerably short of our target of a EUR 40 million operating profit. Our sawmills’ performance, for example, was a disappointment, and this area of our business is now under special scrutiny.
We cut our investments heavily with exception of environmental investments relating to peat production and sold non-core assets. Due to these actions, our net investments dropped to a third of the previous year’s figure of EUR 81.2 million. The company’s free cash flow before tax was EUR 64.2 million, which is three times the 2011 figure of EUR 20.5 million. Although cutting human resources costs was not the main priority of our cost-effectiveness programme, the turnaround resulted in reduction of more than 60 person-years of work.
Our focus in 2013 will be on turning Vapo into an increasingly profitable and customer-orientated supplier of local fuels and energy as well as the most responsible peat producer.
In December 2012, we published a new set of tangible criteria that we consider must be satisfied for Vapo’s peat production to be responsible. The criteria commit us to not seeking environmental permits for Class 4 and 5 peat bogs, which are considered to have high natural value, and to only commissioning new production areas in peatlands that have already been altered by human activity, mostly by means of drainage. We are also committed to ensuring that levels of impact of peat production to lakes and rivers downstream from any production areas that we commission after 2016 will be less than what they were before the area was commissioned for peat production. Thirdly, we will adopt an intensive measuring system to collect information about the real impacts of peat production on nearby lakes and rivers in all of our production areas and throughout each production season, and this information will also be made available to the general public.
We believe that by investing heavily in sustainable, responsible business, by minimising the environmental impacts of our production processes, and by communicating openly with all our interest groups we can maintain the image of peat as a local and sustainable form of energy and the industry as an important employer in Finland. We also hope that by acting more responsibly, we can influence the environmental permit process. We have struggled to secure environmental permits for new production areas in recent years, which has made our peat business increasingly vulnerable to weather conditions. New production areas are essential for ensuring a successful harvest even during summers with high rainfall and shorter spells of dry weather. At the moment the authorities are processing 13,000 hectares of production areas for which Vapo has applied for production permits. The peat energy in 13,000 hec-tares has an estimated worth to customers of over one billion euros and an employment effect of over a thousand persons. The oldest applications were submitted for processing in 2007. For the sake of the business of Vapo’s customers, Vapo’s existence and Finland’s security of supply, bringing these into production as quickly as possible is essential. Gross imports of energy to Finland have increased by seven billion euros within the last seven years.
According to our new strategy that we adopted at the beginning of 2012, Vapo focuses primarily on the Finnish, Swedish and Estonian markets. The core of our business comprises fuel and energy operations. We have adopted a new, more customer-orientated operating model in these core business areas in Finland and set up a joint regional organisation for customer relations in these segments. We intend to develop Vapo Timber and Kekkilä Group as independent businesses.
The year 2013 is also important from the perspective of our next generation of biofuels. Vapo continues to prepare for building a biodiesel plant in Kemi. The EU has promised us a support package worth EUR 88.5 million if the project goes ahead. We have recruited engineers to design the plant, and the designs are due to be ready towards the end of 2013. In order to make the final decision for the plan to go ahead in the spring of 2014, Vapo needs to attract both external investors and industrial partners.
We expect to make a profit during the first half of 2013. As last summer showed, we are highly vulnerable to weather conditions. If weather conditions in the summer are normal, we expect our operating profit for the whole year to improve from the previous year”.
Vapo Oy’s financial statements 1.1.-31.12.2012 (pdf)
For further information please contact:
Tomi Yli-Kyyny, CEO, Vapo Oy, tel. +358 20 790 5605
Jyrki Vainionpää, CFO, Vapo Oy, tel. +358 20 790 5609
Ahti Martikainen, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, Vapo Oy, tel. +358 20 790 5608