Forests NSW
Facts and Figures
2011–12
Forests NSW is a public trading enterprise within NSW Department of Primary Industries
ISSN 1839-8863
© State of New South Wales through Forests NSW 2012. You may copy, distribute
and otherwise freely deal with this publication for any purpose, provided that you
attribute Forests NSW as the owner.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge
and understanding at the time of writing (November 2012). However, because of
advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information
upon which they rely is up to date and to check currency of the information with the
appropriate officer of Forests NSW or the user’s independent adviser.
www.forests.nsw.gov.au
Cover image: Raw photos: Howard Spencer (main) and Forests NSW Image Library
2
Facts and Figures 2011–12
Contents
4
Our history
6
Our customers
7
Forests in context
8
Economic benefits
13
Environmental benefits
15
Social benefits
17
Sustainability benefits
19
Raw image sources: Forests NSW Image Library and © iStockphoto
Our organisation
Facts and Figures 2011–12
3
Our organisation
Our vision
To be the best and safest commercial forest manager in Australasia.
Our mission
To provide safe and commercially sustainable forest management services to the
Government and people of New South Wales and independent investors while
increasing the value of their investment.
Forests NSW is the largest manager of native and plantation forests in New South
Wales (NSW). We manage more than two million hectares of native and planted
forests across NSW to the internationally recognised Australian Forestry Standard
(AS 4708:2007) delivering a range of economic, environmental and social benefits
to the people of NSW and future generations.
Forests NSW primary focus is sustainable forest management and ensuring the
sustained supply of timber to our customers. As a public trading enterprise, this
is undertaken within the context of running a profitable business and returning a
dividend to the NSW Government.
Forests NSW employs over 700 people throughout NSW. In addition to this, Forests
NSW engages more than 100 contract companies employing about 1400 people,
primarily in the harvesting and haulage of timber products.
Our operations are distributed across regional NSW and include planting and
regeneration, planning and managing timber harvesting and marketing and
delivering timber to a wide range of customers located within NSW, across Australia
and overseas. Forests NSW currently harvests more than 2.5 million m3 of sawlogs and around
2 million tonnes of pulpwood from State forests annually, with sales of these products
generating almost $300 million a year. The State’s timber industry contributes nearly
$1 billion to the NSW economy each year.
4
Facts and Figures 2011–12
329
294
327
318
286
350
300
250
REVENUE
$318 million
150
100
50
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
0
50
34
35
20
14
14
20
($M)
OPERATING
PROFIT
$14 million
($M)
200
5
-10
(16)
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
-25
Key financial data
Year ended 30 June
Revenue1
$M
Operating profit1
$M
1,2
EBIT
$M
Dividend payable $M
Borrowings
$M
Biological assets
$M
Key ratios
Return on assets
EBIT 2 margin1
Liquidity ratio
Debt ratio
Interest cover
1
2
%
%
times
%
times
2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12
294
286
329
327
318
14
(16)
20
34
14
26
(4)
32
43
23
1
0
10
14
5
169
165
141
132
133
625
670
662
751
734
0.8
8.7
1.6
27.8
2.3
(0.9)
(1.5)
1.0
30.1
(0.3)
1.1
9.7
1.4
42.9
2.6
1.8
13.2
1.0
42.1
4.6
0.7
7.3
1.1
45.3
2.5
Excludes significant items e.g. revaluation impact, impairments and impact on superannuation funds, before taxes.
EBIT – Earnings before interest and tax
Facts and Figures 2011–12
5
Our history
Year 1913
0500 000
00 005
00
01 500 000
00 005 1
01 000 000
00 000 1
02 000 000
00 000 2
02 500 000
00 005 2
Hectares
03 000 000
00 000 3
1913 – First State forest dedicated – Acacia Creek
and Koreelah State Forest No. 1
Forests NSW estate 1913–2012
03 500 000
00 005 3
1871 – First NSW forest reserves proclaimed to
preserve the timber resources of the colony
04 000 000
00 000 4
A log in time
1916 – Forestry Commission of NSW established by
the Forestry Act 1916
1939 – First eucalypt plantations established
1946 – After World War II, the pine plantation program
recommenced at an ever increasing rate
1959 – First use of a computer to undertake timber
resource assessments
1979 – Forest protests held against logging in
rainforest. The NSW Government later gazetted
the remaining rainforest in NSW as national park
1993 – Commission began trading under the name
State Forests of NSW
1999 – First NSW Regional Forest Agreement or
20-year plan for the sustainable management
and conservation of native forests completed
2004 – Organisation established as a public trading
enterprise under the new brand name Forests
NSW within NSW Department of Primary
Industries
2012 – Announced that Forests NSW will become a
State-owned corporation.
6
Facts and Figures 2011–12
2012
2006 – Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management
plans published. Forests NSW achieved
certification to the Australian Forestry Standard
Our customers
Area
Major
species
Customer
Products/Services
Plywood
Softwood/
Hardwood
Big River Group
Plywood
Major
sawmillers
Hardwood
Boral Timber, Australian Solar
Timbers, Blue Ridge Hardwoods,
Coffs Harbour Hardwoods, Grants
Holdings, Gunnedah Timbers/
Baradine Sawmilling, Hurfords
Building Supplies, Koppers, J
Notaras & Sons, Thora Sawmilling,
Newells Creek Sawmilling and SA
Relf & Sons
Structural timber;
flooring, furniture
and joinery timber;
plywood products
Softwood
Carter Holt Harvey, Highland Pine
Products, Hyne Timber, Tarmac,
Dongwha,
Allied Timber Products
Structural timber
MDF and
particleboard
Softwood
Borg Panels, Carter Holt Harvey
Panel products
Woodchip and
log export
Softwood/
Hardwood
Boral Timber Fibre Exports,
Pentarch, South East Fibre Exports
International fibre
markets
Pulp and
paper
Softwood/
Hardwood
Norske Skog, Visy Pulp and Paper
Newsprint,
cardboard
Investors
N/A
AgriWealth, ST Microelectronics
and Snowy Mountains Forests
Plantation
investment
Utilities and
infrastructure
N/A
Origin Energy, Crown Castle,
National Broadband Network,
Optus, Essential Energy, Telstra,
Vertel, Vodafone
Telecommunications
and electricity
supplier
Facts and Figures 2011–12
7
Forests in context
Description
Australia
Total land area (million ha)
770
Total population (million)
21
Forests as a percentage of land area
19%
Total forest area (million ha)
149
Native forest area (million ha)1
147
Native forest area in formal nature conservation
22
reserves (million ha)
Area of forest not legally restricted from timber
113
harvesting
Multiple-use public native forests (million ha)
9.4
Area of native production forest harvested annually2
<1%
Net plantation forest area (million ha)
2
Number of people employed in forestry & forest
65 700
product industries3
Net amount of carbon sequestered (million tonnes)
43.5
by managed native forests per annum (e-CO2)
Value of turnover in forest products industries
$22 000
(million)
Description
Total exports of wood products
Major exports to
Total imports of wood products
Major imports from
Forests contribution to GDP
NSW Forests NSW
80
2.2
7
n/a
33%
96%
26.5
2.2
26.2
1.9
5.1
0.02
19.9
1.5
2.2
n/r
0.37
1.3%
0.24
12 744
733
n/r
13.8
n/r
$318
Australia
$2.5 billion
Japan (30%), China (22%) & New Zealand (13%)
$4.4 billion
New Zealand (16%), China (15%) & Indonesia (8%)
0.6%
Includes native forest remnants within planted forest estate for Forests NSW
Forest NSW only removes a proportion of the trees over the harvested areas, except in cypress pine forests
(28% of total area reported)
3
B ased on forestry and primary processing industries selected from the 2006 Census data for the state
figure and ABARES (May 2012) for the national figure.
1
2 Sources: ABARES Australian and Wood Products Statistics (May 2012), Forests NSW, DAFF State of the Forests Report
2008 and National Plantation Inventory Update 2009
8
Facts and Figures 2011–12
Forests NSW estate 2 201 709 ha
Indicative map only – not to scale
Native hardwood forests1
Native cypress forests
Native river red gum forests
1 707 911 ha
161 489 ha
35 308 ha
Softwood plantations2
210 349 ha
Hardwood plantations2
34 175 ha
Remainder of the plantation estate3
Total estate
52 477 ha
2 201 709 ha
Includes Cumberland State Forest (41 ha) and retained vegetation primarily made up of native forests
managed within the planted forest estate (141 862 ha).
2
The net stocked area of plantations.
3
Unplanted areas as at 30 June 2012. Includes exclusions, the area of the plantation estate that was
clearfelled and the potential plantable area (e.g. purchased land not yet planted). The retained
vegetation component has been included in native forests, refer to footnote 1.
1
Facts and Figures 2011–12
9
Forests NSW Native and Planted Forest Operations
Native Forest Operations
Area of native forest and hardwood plantation estate (ha)
Area available for harvest (%)
Area of native forest harvested (ha)
Area of hardwood plantation harvested1 (ha)
Revenue ($M)
2011–12
1 813 465
69
22 921
908
112
Volume
- Sawlog (‘000m3)
- Pulp (‘000 tonnes)
Earnings before interest and tax2 before overheads ($M)
Operating profit after overheads before tax2 ($M)
612
503
(3)
(16)
Native Forest Operations
Planted Forest Operations
North East
482 016 ha
Western
483 649 ha
Central
415 042 ha
Corporate
Office
Southern
432 757 ha
Northern
42 569 ha
Cumberland State
Forest 41 ha
Macquarie
146 121 ha
Corporate
Office
Hume
144 600 ha
Monaro
54 912 ha
10
Facts and Figures 2011–12
Planted Forest Operations
Area of softwood plantation estate (ha)
Area available for harvest4 (%)
Area of softwood plantation harvested1 (ha)
Revenue ($M)
2011–12
388 203
60
14 024
198
Volume
- Sawlog (‘000m3)
- Pulp (‘000 tonnes)
Earnings before interest and tax2 before overheads ($M)
Operating profit after overheads before tax2 ($M)
1933
1486
49
32
1
Includes clearfall and thinning operations.
2
Excludes significant items such as revaluation impact, impairments and impact on superannuation funds, before taxes.
4
I ncludes net stocked plantation area and the area available to be stocked (clearfall, potential plantable and
undefined areas).
Regional timber revenue1 2011–12
100 000 000
Timber revenue1 ($)
80 000 000
60 000 000
40 000 000
20 000 000
0
Central Western Nth East South. Hume
Sawlog
1
Veneer
Macq.
Pulp
Monaro North.
Other
products
Includes timber harvesting and haulage.
Facts and Figures 2011–12
11
Raw image sources: Australian Solar Timbers and Forests NSW Image Library
Economic benefits
2010–11
Australia1
2011–12
New South Wales1
Forests NSW
’000 m3
$Million
’000 m3
$Million
’000 m3
Hardwood native
6372
460
1081
74
1088
Hardwood plantation
5121
401
174
19
46
Softwood2 plantation
15 042
982
4785
280
3710
Total
26 490
1842
6040
373
4844
Timber production
Source: ABARES.
2
Includes cypress pine.
1
Forest productivity
6000
6000
140 000
140 000
5000
5000
120 000
120 000
4000
4000
100 000
100 000
80 000
80 000
3000
3000
60 000
60 000
2000
2000
40 000
40 000
1000
1000
Revenue from timber
royalties ($’000)
Total volume harvested
(‘000 m3)
Forest estate (‘000 ha)
11–12
10–11
09–10
08–09
07–08
06–07
05–06
04–05
03–04
02–03
01–02
00
00–01
20 000
20 000
Estate area (‘000 ha) / Volume (m3 ‘000)
Harvested area (ha) / Revenue ($‘000)
160 000
160 000
0
Area actually
harvested (ha)
Facts and Figures 2011–12
13
Raw image sources: Forests NSW Image Library and Boral Timber
Environmental benefits
Area of State forest harvested (37 853 ha)
as a percentage of total estate
Area subject to harvesting operations
1.7% – 37 853 ha
Wildfires and prescribed burns trend as
percentage of Forests NSW estate
88
77
55
44
3
22
11
Wildfire as
percentage
of total area
Linear – wildfire
as percentage
of total area
Prescribed burning
as percentage
of total area
11–12
10–11
09–10
08–09
07–08
06–07
05–06
04–05
03–04
02–03
01–02
00–01
99–00
98–99
97–98
96–97
95–96
94–95
93–94
00
92–93
Percentage of area
66
Linear – prescribed
burning as percentage
of total area
Facts and Figures 2011–12
15
Raw image source: Forests NSW Image Library
Social benefits
Safety is our first priority for our people, contractors, visitors and users of State forests. In all our
forest management activities, the observance of safe work practices is the guiding principle by
which we operate and we work towards achieving a world’s best practice safety record.
Recordable incident rate1
12
12
11.3
10
10
8.8
7.8
88
7.3
66
5.6
4.9
44
3.1
1
11–12
10–11
09–10
08–09
07–08
05–06
00
06–07
22
T he recordable incident rate (aka all frequency rate) is the measure of all recordable incidents, including
medical treatment only incidents and lost time incidents. A medical treatment only Incident is any incident
that requires medical intervention such as stitches, a prescription or a referral. A lost time incident results in
time lost from work of one day/shift or more.
Permits for organised recreation activities1 2011–12
34
35
35
30
30
25
22
25
20
17
20
17
15
4
4
Bow
hunting/
archery
Bushwalking
5
5
8
7
Education
10
10
Ecotourism
/4x4 tours
15
9
9
0
1
Other
Training/
exercises
Orienteering/
running events
Mountain
bike rallies
Horse rides
Car and bike
rallies
0
f the total 406 permits issued, 275 were for fossicking. Fossicking permits have been excluded from
O
the above chart to enable the other categories to be more clearly illustrated.
Facts and Figures 2011–12
17
1.496 million hectares of native State forest available for timber
harvesting
n
412 500 hectares in State forest reserves
n
206 hectares of new softwood plantation established
n
9355 hectares of plantations re-established
n
12% of softwood plantation requiring re-stocking after one year
n
9 million plantation seedlings planted
n
Certification to AFS (AS 4708:2007) and EMS Standard
(ISO 14001:2004) maintained
Raw image sources: Forests NSW Image Library and © iStockphoto
n
Sustainability benefits
Native forest sustainability
100
100
80
80
1 500 000
1 500 000
60
60
1 000 000
1 000 000
40
40
500 000
500 000
20
20
00
Percentage / Volume per hectare (m3/ha)
Native forest available for harvesting (ha)
2 000 000
2 000 000
Native forest
available for
harvesting (ha)
Percentage
of hardwood
allowable cut
11–12
10–11
09–10
08–09
07–08
06–07
05–06
04–05
03–04
02–03
01–02
00–01
99–00
0
Average volume per
hectare harvested
(m3/ha)
State forests – here
today, here tomorrow
Facts and Figures 2011–12
19
Forests NSW forest management is independently certified as
meeting the internationally recognised Australian Forestry Standard
(AS 4708:2007).
Forest management certification is a market-based, voluntary forest
management tool designed to recognise and promote environmentally
responsible forestry and sustainability of forest resources.
PO Box 100, Beecroft 2119
121–131 Oratava Ave
West Pennant Hills 2125
Ph: (02) 9872 0111 Fax: (02) 9871 5341
Email: cumberland@sf.nsw.gov.au
For further information, refer to Forests NSW Annual Report 2011–12
available online at www.forests.nsw.gov.au
Forests NSW is a public trading enterprise within NSW Department of Primary Industries