West Fraser Timber sees Q3 profit improve to $70M; revenue tops $1B

VANCOUVER – West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (TSX:WFT) has reported third-quarter net earnings of $70 million or 83 cents a share, up substantially from $55 million or 64 cents in the same 2013 quarter.

The integrated company whose products include lumber, plywood, pulp and newsprint among others, said after markets closed Monday that revenues advanced to $1.03 billion from $878 million in the quarter.

Lumber operations generated operating earnings of $101 million, up from $81 in the second quarter, largely as a result of reduced costs andmanufacturing productivity improvements related to capital investments, it said.

The panel segment generated operating earnings of $25 million, up from $10 million in the second quarter, as a result of substantially improved plywood prices.

Meanwhile, pulp and paper operations generated an operating loss of $2 million compared with operating earnings of $19 million in the previous quarter, largely the result of scheduled maintenance downtime at its Hinton pulp mill followed by a difficult startup.