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LONDON (Alliance News) - Active Energy Group PLC Thursday said it has successfully relocated its Ukrainian operations, began establishing operations in Montenegro and Spain and has received an additional USD2 million in working capital finance.
The European supplier of woodchip and timber products for green energy biomass power generation said it has now relocated its Ukrainian MDF wood chip operations into a single dockside facility near Odessa, in the south-west of the country.
The company also said it is establishing a new processing and logistics operation in Montenegro and has signed a supply agreement with a well-established local partner, NK Energija DOO, which will enable the company to ship wood chip to its Italian power plant customers in less time and at less cost than has previously been possible from Ukraine.
Active Energy also said that following trials, it has now established a procurement and shipping centre in Spain, to source finished wood chip for onward delivery to power plants in Italy.
In addition, the company said it has agreed with its Turkish MDF customers to reduce deliveries whilst the current uncertainties in Ukraine continue. However, it said that contract revisions reflect both companies' intention to maintain and re-build the Black Sea trade in MDF-quality wood chip in the future.
Active Energy said, the arrangements have the potential to substantially reduce the group's overall reliance on crisis-hit Ukraine as its primary source for feedstock and should improve operating margins and ensure a stable and flexible supply channel for the firm's Biomass fuel business.
The company said that, in order to enable the changes, it has obtained working capital facilities of up to USD2 million from its largest shareholder, Gravendonck Private Foundation.
Active Energy shares were down 4.0% to 1.8 pence Thursday.
By Tom McIvor; tommcivor@alliancenews.com; @TomMcIvor1
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