VANCOUVER, BC, April 23, 2024 - West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. ("West Fraser" or the "Company") (TSX and NYSE: WFG) reported today the first quarter results of 2024 ("Q1-24").
All dollar amounts in this news release are expressed in U.S. dollars unless noted otherwise.
First Quarter Highlights
- Sales of $1.627 billion and earnings of $35 million, or $0.42 per diluted share
- Adjusted EBITDA1 of $200 million, representing 12% of sales
- Lumber segment Adjusted EBITDA1 of $10 million
- North America Engineered Wood Products ("NA EWP") segment Adjusted EBITDA1 of $188 million
- Pulp & Paper segment Adjusted EBITDA1 of $3 million
- Europe Engineered Wood Products ("Europe EWP") segment Adjusted EBITDA1 of $(1) million
- Repurchased 105,666 shares for aggregate consideration of $8 million
- Completed sale of Hinton pulp mill to Mondi Group plc
- Subsequent to quarter-end, completed sale of Quesnel River Pulp mill and Slave Lake Pulp mill to Atlas Holdings
- Subsequent to quarter-end, announced dissolution of Cariboo Pulp & Paper ("CPP") 50/50 JV with Mercer, and West Fraser's continuation as sole owner/operator of CPP
Sean McLaren, CEO"Our North American OSB, plywood and other engineered products had another strong quarter in Q1-24, with robust demand driven by strength in new home construction, which carried over from the fourth quarter. This was in contrast to ongoing demand softness in our European EWP business and North American lumber business, particularly for SYP lumber with its greater relative exposure to repair and remodelling applications," said Sean McLaren, West Fraser's President and CEO.
"While some of our wood building products still face near-term demand uncertainties, we remain optimistic in our ability to continue managing through current markets, executing on our strategy with the strong balance sheet, people and expertise to handle whatever comes our way. We continue to make progress optimizing our portfolio of assets and investing capital to modernize mills and lower costs across our platform, creating a more resilient organization. Of note, we are already seeing early financial benefits from the recent closures of some of our higher-cost lumber mills. Finally, we completed the disposition of three of our pulp and paper mills and are now the sole owner and operator of CPP following the dissolution of our joint venture. These developments took considerable effort and perseverance across the organization and are a key part of our ongoing optimization strategy, making the company stronger and benefiting all our stakeholders."
Source: West Fraser
