Coillte announces EBITDA (before exceptional costs) of €66.5m and an Operating loss of €33.5m for 2025 with Storm Éowyn continuing to impact the Group’s financial and operational performance
- Financial impact of Storm Éowyn now estimated to be in excess of €80m
- Coillte continues to manage the unprecedented damage caused by Storm Éowyn with windblow damage to approximately 14,500 hectares of Coillte managed forests
- In 2025 Coillte reforested almost 6,000 hectares of lands with 15 million trees planted
- The Group continued to make progress on its objective to develop 1GW of renewable energy by 2030 through its joint venture with ESB – FuturEnergy Ireland
Friday, 1 May 2026: Coillte today announced its financial and operational performance for 2025. The effects of the unprecedented levels of damage to the Coillte estate caused by Storm Éowyn in January 2025 continue to impact negatively on the business. It is currently estimated that the total cash impact of the storm to Coillte will be in excess of €80 million with the salvage of windblown sites expected to continue until mid-2027.
This estimated total cash cost is driven by a combination of (i) lower pricing due to increased supply of sawlog material; (ii) lower volumes of higher value sawlog material extracted from windblown sites; (iii) significantly increased harvesting and haulage costs; and (iv) general storm related clean-up costs.
The Group’s EBITDA for 2025 was €66.5 million, excluding the impact of storm related costs, which is slightly higher than the €62 million achieved in 2024. The impact of Storm Éowyn has resulted in an exceptional charge of €51.3 million in the 2025 P&L account. The Group recorded an Operating loss of €33.5m compared to an Operating profit of €18.7m in 2024.
During 2025, €1.5 million was paid as a final ordinary dividend to the Shareholder in respect of 2024. Due to the impact of Storm Éowyn, no ordinary dividend is payable to the Shareholder in 2025. Coillte has €150 million available in revolving debt facilities, of which none was drawn as of December 2025. At year end 2025 Coillte had net cash of €26 million.
In 2025, sawlog sales of circa 1.4 million M3 were behind 2024 volumes of circa 1.5 million M3, reflective of the increased availability of private material as a result of Storm Éowyn, while sales of MDF and OSB products were consistent with the previous year of circa 700,000 M3.
Coillte reforested almost 6,000 hectares of lands in 2025, with 15 million trees planted. In June 2025, in collaboration with South Dublin County Council, Coillte launched a sustainable housing project on Council land at Melrose Court, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. This innovative project will see the construction of 27 age-friendly homes to A1 BER performance this year, using low carbon home-grown timber from Ireland’s forests.
In 2025, Coillte continued to make progress on realising a key ambition to develop 1GW of renewable energy by 2030 by advancing €18 million of shareholder loans to its joint venture FuturEnergy Ireland in 2025 for the ongoing development of its wind-energy portfolio. The joint venture achieved a number of key milestones during the year including the sale of its first developed project (Lenalea – a joint venture with SSE Renewables) along with bringing its second project into the construction phase (Drumnahough Windfarm, also a joint venture with SSE).
Coillte also marked a significant environmental milestone in 2025, having increased the proportion of the estate managed primarily for nature from 20% to 30%, with 134,000 hectares of land – an increase of 44,000 hectares – now being managed primarily for nature and biodiversity across Ireland.
Coillte saw a 10% increase in the number of visits to its most popular recreational forests year-on-year, with its flagship destination, Beyond the Trees Avondale in Co. Wicklow, recording almost 350,000 visits.
Commenting on the results the Chair of Coillte, Vivienne Jupp, said: “There is no doubt that Storm Éowyn defined 2025 for Coillte and its effects will continue to impact the business for the next two years. To put the scale in context: the equivalent of more than twice Coillte’s annual harvest area - approximately 14,500 hectares - suffered windblow damage. When you consider that the total cash impact on the business is estimated at over €80 million, in a business delivering EBITDA of €66.5 million, the financial challenge becomes clear. The Board acknowledges the scale and complexity of the work ahead, and that this effort will continue throughout 2026 and 2027.
Looking ahead we remain committed to our long-term ambition of managing greater areas of our estate primarily for nature, while also ensuring the productive areas are carefully managed to optimise the long-term supply of sustainably grown, certified Irish wood, supporting the delivery of new low carbon homes and rural jobs.”
Coillte’s Chief Executive, Imelda Hurley, said: “Against the backdrop of one of the most challenging years on record for the organisation due to the unprecedented impact of Storm Éowyn, Coillte delivered a solid financial performance with EBITDA of €66.5 million before exceptional costs. The performance reflects a range of cost saving measures implemented throughout 2025. The market environment in 2025 continued to be challenging across all our core markets. Ongoing geo-political tensions have led to continued end market demand uncertainty, curtailing any expected demand recovery. At year-end, Coillte had net cash of €26 million, placing the business in a solid financial position as we manage the storm related recovery, and focus on optimising our operational, financial and strategic delivery.”
