Active Energy says wood chip volumes will be hit by delays

(ShareCast News) - Wood chip supplier Active Energy said delays in installing new handling equipment will result in a reduction in forecast hardwood wood chip volumes for 2015.The group said that as a result of delays in ordering the necessary equipment and a longer-than-expected lead time for installation and commissioning at its wood chip facilities in Yuzhny Port, the new production line will now be fully operational in late August.Still, Active Energy expects overall volumes for the year to be more than double the 154,103 tonnes achieved in 2014.Chief executive officer Richard Spinks said: "Our considerable investment in new equipment for our well-established hardwood product offering and an entirely new production facility for softwood wood chip will enable us to establish a firm foundation for the future to satisfy the continually-growing demand from our Turkish MDF manufacturing customer base."Although the timing of these facilities upgrades has been delayed due to circumstances beyond our control, the Board and I remain very confident that we will end 2015 with more than twice the production volumes achieved in 2014 - at improved margins due to the efficiencies we have implemented - and we anticipate that 2016 will show a further substantial growth in volumes, in line with our long-term business strategy."At 10:59, shares were down 2.9% at 6.40p.