Forests of Ukraine to allocate over UAH 500 mln to raise base salaries of lower-tier employees – Chair of Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board of SOE Forests of Ukraine held its second meeting last week in Lviv and reviewed the company's financial report for the first quarter of 2025. The company's performance was assessed for the first time by an independent corporate governance body. In an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, Chairman of the Supervisory Board Oleksiy Kucher, who heads the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine, spoke about the decisions made by the board.

By Oksana Ruzhenkova

- Forests of Ukraine reported on the increase in timber prices. How has this affected the company's financial condition?

- One of the key issues of the meeting was hearing the company's financial report for the first quarter of 2025. The financial plan was exceeded. The income of Forests of Ukraine in the first quarter amounted to UAH 5.82 billion, which is UAH 500 million more than in the first quarter of 2024. Profit reached UAH 1.24 billion, that is, over 50% higher year-over-year. Profitability almost tripled the planned figure. My colleagues and I even had a discussion about what such growth is connected with.

- Did you find out?

- One of the reasons is the increase in the average selling price of timber. With the exception of military supplies, providing for the population and the public sector, the company sells products exclusively at open auctions. Last year, the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine implemented a number of critical measures to block illegal timber schemes. Photo documentation of timber loaded onto trucks was introduced with the addition of photos to the consignment note, and the Electronic Timber Accounting System was secured against unauthorized interference. The gray market has shrunk, respectively, since the end of 2024,