Swedish state forestry company Sveaskog made a SKr12m loss on its wood product operations during the third quarter, due to seasonally lower sales volumes and reduced margins.

The company, which has a 50% stake in wood products firm Setra Group AB, said its share of profits in Setra were down from SKr7m a year ago. It blamed the result on a strong surplus of sawn timber, primarily redwood products, which led to a fall in prices.

Sveaskog recorded an overall pre-tax profit of SKr116m for the quarter, compared to SKr110m a year earlier. Sales totalled SKr1.86bn, up from SKr1.72bn.

Meanwhile, the company’s new calculations for future, long-term harvesting volumes show present felling levels are unsustainable. This is due to heavy felling by former owners, ongoing property sales and the setting aside of land for nature reserves.

Harvesting in its own forests in Norrbotten and Västerbotten will be reduced by 15%. The reduction will be carried out in stages and be completed by 2007.