Restructuring of timber operations began last year to “improve its competitive position at a time when earnings have been under significant pressure” and Boral’s chief Mike Kane said despite these changes, their timber division was under pressure from imported competition.

For the coastal hardwood forests, and more generally the viability of timber plantations throughout the shire, Bellingen Environment Centre’s Caroline Joseph said this boded well.

“The sale of Boral’s hardwood business, which is now being sought, could provide a safety net for coastal hardwood forests in NSW, and the koala and other unique native fauna that live within them,” Ms Joseph said.

“Boral has persisted with a flawed business model for far too long. The blackbutt timber they require for most of their flooring and decking is just not available in sustainable quantities and they have been told that for more than 20 years.

“The market into which they are trying to sell their flooring and decking is oversupplied with alternative products most of which are significantly cheaper than Boral’s solid hardwood line … these factors are long-term and largely independent of economic cycles,” she said.

It is understood Boral’s hardwood division generates revenue of around $80 million and earnings in the order of $10 million. Boral does not break out the business separately in its accounts but the timber division has a book value of around $100 million.

Corporate advisory Gresham has been charged with finding a buyer for Boral’s hardwood timber business as the construction materials group continues to reshape its building products portfolio.

In an article by the Australian Financial Review, published January 21 it said: “there are few logical buyers for the asset, which Boral has wanted to be rid of for some time” and “Gresham’s job could be made easier by the recent fall in the Australian dollar, which will ease some of the pressure Boral timber faces from import competition.”