Coillte has announced its financial and operational performance for 2024, which also revealed that the damage as a result of Storm Éowyn amounted to an estimated €60 million.

The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of €62 million and Operating Cash of €9 million were down significantly on the prior year.

Coillte stated that this followed a second consecutive year of highly challenging market conditions, impacted by inflationary pressures and lower end-market demand resulting in lower prices,

Cumulative dividends of €2.9 million were paid in respect of 2024 to the state, comprising an interim dividend of €1.4 million, and a final dividend of €1.5 million which was paid subsequent to year end.

Coillte’s ongoing challenging market conditions have been further exacerbated by the dramatic impact of Storm Éowyn which hit Ireland in January 2025, according to the company.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Coillte estimate that the total area of windblown damage to forests in Ireland is over 26,000ha, of which 14,500ha are managed by Coillte. This equates to over twice the company’s annual harvest area.

The financial cost to Coillte to deal with the storm damage is currently estimated to be in excess of €60 million.

This estimate is based on a range of assumptions and challenges associated with the efficient mobilising of windblow material, harvesting, haulage, and clean-up costs.

Coillte said it has made significant progress in its windblow response and is targeting to have the majority of its windblow ‘clean-up’ completed by end 2026.

Approximately three million cubic metres of sustainable wood is produced by Coillte’s harvesting operations each year which is used in the construction of houses, for fencing and decking, for pallets to transport goods around the world and to produce MDF to make furniture and OSB used in construction.

Coillte’s added that its continued commitment to biodiversity is evidenced by the fact that the company is on target to increase the area of its estate managed primarily for nature from 20% (90,000ha) to 30% (134,000ha) by the end of 2025 with more than an additional 30,000ha of the estate classified by ecologists as having significant biodiversity value in 2024.

In May 2024, the first fully operational FuturEnergy Ireland onshore wind farm (Coillte’s joint venture with ESB) was officially launched at Lenalea, Co. Donegal, as part of a joint venture with SSE Renewables.

This 30MW windfarm is expected to support Ireland’s 2030 renewable energy targets and assist in security of supply. To date, Coillte stated that it has had a role in enabling over 50% of Ireland’s onshore wind energy generation.

Revenue of €390 million, down from €414 million in 2023;
EBITDA of €62 million, down from €106 million in 2023;
Operating profit of €19 million, down from €61 million in 2023;
Dividend to state in respect of 2024 was €2.9 million;
Approximately three million cubic metres of sustainable wood produced annually;
First FuturEnergy Ireland windfarm fully operational.

Commenting on the results, chair of Coillte, Vivienne Jupp, said: “2024 was a year focused on optimising financial delivery against the backdrop of challenging market conditions and continuous cost management, and on significantly progressing our forestry strategic vision ambitions to 2050.

"As we entered 2025, we were confronted by the stark reality of the impact of Storm Éowyn.  Productive forests, biodiversity areas and recreation trails and parks across the Coillte estate have been extensively impacted.

“Against this backdrop, Coillte is participating in the Forest Windblow Taskforce which was established by Ministers Martin Heydon and Michael Healy-Rae," she added.

The chair stated that Coillte is now focused on engaging with the government and the sector to navigate the challenges that the scale of windblow has created.

"It is clear that this is a very challenging time for Ireland’s forestry sector and that the recovery operation will take considerable time," she continued.

“Through 2025, we will continue to focus on delivering on the objectives of our future forestry strategic vision while continuing to carefully manage our cost base.”

Coillte chief executive, Imelda Hurley, added: “Despite challenging market conditions in 2024, we made good progress on our forestry strategic vision ambitions.

"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.

“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," she concluded.