Bord na Móna increased turnover by 11% to a record Eur426.1 million for the year ended March 2013. Operating profit (after exceptional items) increased to Eur23.5 million as compared to a loss of Eur3.7 million in 2012. Profit for the financial year (after exceptional items) of Eur9.2 million compares to a loss of Eur16.0 million in 2012.
Bord na Móna faced exceptional operating challenges in its feedstock business as a result of a 37% milled peat harvest during the 2012 summer, the wettest recorded in the company’s history. The management team responded by initiating a number of mitigating measures to ensure a profitable performance for the group. There will, however, be a requirement to rebuild the peat stocks over the next few years to provide adequate stocks to meet sales demand.
The results underpin the importance of the group’s balanced business portfolio including power generation, resource recovery and retail products and services. A significant focus during the year was the continued expansion of the wind energy portfolio in Oweninny (Co. Mayo) as well as Mount Lucas and Bruckana in the Midlands. The Edenderry Power Station ran as a co-fired station (peat/biomass) for the year further contributing to Ireland meeting its RES-E targets. Solid fuel sales were boosted by the extended winter season.
Bord na Móna CEO, Gabriel D’Arcy, comments: “The results owe a great deal to the resilience and diverse strengths of the group. They also reflect the fact that we took prompt action to reduce our costs, even as the impact of the poor harvest was becoming clear.”
Chairman John Horgan says: “In the coming year Bord na Móna will be progressing a number of significant projects as part of our investment programme in wind and other renewable energy sources. We will also continue to engage with other stakeholders in relation to the provision of a sustainable water source for the Eastern Region enabled by our strategically located land bank.”