Tag Archives: West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. is reporting a loss of $17 million on sales of $681 million in the first quarter of 2012.

Lumber operations in the quarter generated a loss of $29 million and EBITDA of negative $6 million. The improvement over the prior quarter was smaller than anticipated due to continued weakness in offshore prices for low-grade SPF lumber.

The panel segment, which includes plywood, LVL and MDF, generated $1 million of operating earnings and EBITDA of $5 million in the quarter, a marginal increase over the prior quarter.

Pulp and paper operations generated operating earnings in the quarter of $17 million and EBITDA of $30 million. The improvement over the prior quarter occurred despite the decline in pulp prices as the previous quarter’s results were negatively affected by the Hinton Pulp maintenance shutdown.

CEO Hank Ketcham said, “Although there are some improvements in our markets, we will continue to monitor capital spending and focus on maintaining a strong balance sheet as the North American and Asian economies remain fragile.”

Source: West Fraser (read release)

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has appointed Edward (“Ted”) R. Seraphim to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer.

Seraphim joined the company in 1997 and has held the positions of Vice-President, Pulp & Paper Sales, Vice-President, Pulp & Paper and was most recently Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer.

Hank Ketcham, who continues as the company’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, and who served as West Fraser’s President for 26 years, said, “I am delighted that Ted has accepted this important role and I am looking forward, together with our entire senior executive team, to working together to achieve continued success for our investors, our employees and our communities.”

Source: West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. reported earnings after discontinued operations of $6 million on sales of $650 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, and earnings after discontinued operations of $73 million, on sales of $2,762 million for 2011.

In the fourth quarter, West Fraser Timber reported an operating loss of $30 million in its lumber operations due to weaker prices for lower-grade SPF lumber and wider-dimension SYP lumber and reduced shipments.

The panel segment did not generate any operating earnings in the quarter as Canadian dollar plywood and MDF prices showed some improvement.

Pulp and paper operations generated operating earnings in the quarter of $13 million and EBITDA of $27 million. Pulp prices weakened during the quarter with the NBSK benchmark averaging 7% lower than in the third quarter.

“We ended a challenging year with a difficult quarter as markets for our products continue to be unsettled.” said Hank Ketcham, West Fraser’s Chairman, President and CEO. “We are very encouraged with the results of our capital investment program as well as the continued commitment of our employees to West Fraser’s long-term success.”

Source: West Fraser Timber (see full release)

West Fraser Timber Company is considering building identical, biomass-powered generation plants at two of its subsidiaries in British Columbia.

The plants are being planned in response to BC Hydro’s “Bioenergy Call to Power” program to acquire and provide cost-effective, clean, renewable energy.

Source: Industrial Info Resources

West Fraser Timber has reported its third quarter results today.

Net profit for the quarter was $6 million from continuing operations, or $37 million in profit after discontinued operations (sale of the company’s Eurocan deep-sea wharf).

After adjusting for certain non-operational items, adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $3 million. For the first nine months of 2011, similarly adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $37 million on sales of $2.1 billion.

“Political and economic turmoil has increased global risk and uncertainty and may further delay the recovery of our key U.S. housing market,” said Hank Ketcham, the company’s Chairman, President and CEO. “We plan on completing our previously-announced capital program and will continue to focus on cost control which will enable us to take full advantage of the eventual market recovery.”

Read more:
Full third quarter results

West Fraser Timber has reported earnings of $10 million and a diluted loss per share of $0.09 on sales of $720 million in the second quarter of 2011.

“Historic low housing starts and economic uncertainty continue to negatively affect lumber and panel prices,” said Hank Ketcham, the Company’s Chairman, President and CEO. “On a positive note, lumber shipments to Japan are stable while shipments to China are continuing to grow at a steady rate.”

Full analysis:
West Fraser (“WFT”) Announces Second Quarter Results

West Fraser Timber‘s dormant Eurocan linerboard mill in Kitimat, B.C. has ben sold to Kitimat LNG.

The industrial site will be used as a work camp and lay-down and storage area while Kitimat LNG prepares to start clearing and grading the location for a new liquefied natural gas export plant that will be located several kilometres south of the old mill.

The Eurocan mill has been closed since January 2010.

Kitimat LNG, a consortium that includes Apache Canada Ltd., EOG Resources Canada Inc., and Encana Corp., is aiming to complete by 2015 its $3-billion plant, which will compress and cool natural gas in liquid form so it can be shipped by tanker to offshore markets.

The plant, being built on Haisla First Nation land, is being designed to liquefy up to 700 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Read more:
Kitimat LNG buys dormant West Fraser mill site (The Vancouver Sun)

The Climate Change and Emissions Management Corp. (CCEMC) is an arm’s-length corporation created by the Alberta province government.

CCEMC collects money in from emissions violations and invests the money in renewable-energy projects.

Yesterday the CCEMC announced $15 million of investments for the following 3 projects:

• $5 million for West Fraser Timber in Slave Lake. The company will integrate an anaerobic digestion system into an existing effluent-treatment system to generate a methane-rich biogas. The biogas will be used to generate electricity and heat for the pulping process. This system will reduce energy and chemical use and cut sludge generation.
• $5 million for High North BioResources L.P. in High Level. This project is a partnership of forest products company Tolko Industries Ltd. and Ensyn Technologies, a company specializing in pyrolysis, a means of extracting energy from biomass. It will be the world’s largest commercial fast pyrolysis plant, capable of producing 75 million litres ofpyrolysis oil a year from 400 tonnes per day of sawmill residual biomass, currently being burned with no energy recovery. The oil will be used to produce renewable energy in Tolko’s High Level sawmill.
• $5 million for Growing Power Hairy Hill L.P. for what CCEMC calls the world’s first large-scale carbon-neutral biofuel plant. This plant will use agricultural waste to power its systems and produce ethanol and high-nutrient cattle feed as a byproduct, it achieves net zero status.

Read more:
Three projects get $15 million from Alberta climate corporation – Latest round of funding brings total to $113 million in greenhouse-gas penalties reinvested in CO2 reduction (Edmonton Journal)

West Fraser Timber has posted a profit of $19 million in its first quarter of 2011 on sales of $687 million.

“We are pleased with our operating performance which produced another quarter of positive
results despite a lack of recovery in U.S. housing and a strengthening Canadian dollar.” said
Hank Ketcham, the company’s Chairman, CEO and President. “We continue to focus on efficiency and cost control at every level of our business.”

The company’s lumber and pulp operations were significant contributors to earnings in the
quarter. Current quarter earnings were adversely affected by the stronger Canadian dollar and a $27 million charge for long-term equity-based compensation.

SPF and SYP lumber prices have weakened dramatically since the end of the first quarter of
2011, likely the result of the restarting of some previously-curtailed production without a
balancing increase in demand.

Prices for the company’s construction products are expected to remain volatile until the U.S. housing industry experiences sustainable recovery. The strong NBSK pulp markets should continue as economic growth in the consuming regions continues to support a reasonable pulp price.

Mr. Ketcham noted: “We expected a slow and uneven recovery of the North American lumber
industry, and that seems to be playing out. Fortunately, we continue to experience the benefits of strong NBSK pulp markets.”

Source: West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has entered an agreement to sell its Skeena Sawmills Division to ROC Holdings Ltd.

The Skeena Sawmills Division includes the Terrace sawmill and related Crown timber tenures. The Terrace sawmill has a single shift capacity of 90 million board feet per year.

The sale is expected to be completed in 2011.

The sale price has not been disclosed.

Source: West Fraser Timber