1. | In this News Release, reference is made to Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted earnings and Adjusted basic EPS (collectively “these measures”). We believe that, in addition to earnings, these measures are useful performance indicators. None of these measures is a generally accepted earnings measure under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and none has a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Investors are cautioned that these measures should not be considered as an alternative to earnings, EPS or cash flow, as determined in accordance with IFRS. As there is no standardized method of calculating any of these measures, our method of calculating each of them may differ from the methods used by other entities and, accordingly, our use of any of these measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities. Reconciliations of our Non-IFRS measures to our earnings statement are shown in the various tables of our year-end 2019 Management’s Discussion & Analysis. |
Operational results
Our lumber segment generated an operating loss of $23 million (Q3-19 - $53 million loss) and Adjusted EBITDA of $69 million (Q3-19 - $39 million). This quarter’s results were favorably impacted by an increase in lumber prices, cost controls around log procurement, variable operating schedules and the impact of the closure of our Chasm, B.C. lumber facility in the prior quarter. Realized lumber prices improved slightly from the third quarter which impacted Adjusted EBITDA for the segment by $13 million. Lumber shipments declined approximately 10% from the third quarter due to variable operating schedules, shift reductions, mill closures and holidays in the fourth quarter. The decline in shipment volumes negatively impacted Adjusted EBITDA by $8 million compared to the third quarter of 2019. A higher proportion of our lumber shipments came from Alberta and the U.S. South in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter.
Our panels segment generated operating earnings in the quarter of $8 million (Q3-19 - $9 million) and Adjusted EBITDA of $13 million (Q3-19 - $13 million). Increased plywood volumes and lower costs were not able to fully offset lower plywood pricing, and reduced MDF and LVL volumes.
Our pulp & paper segment generated an operating loss of $12 million (Q3-19 - $8 million loss) and an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $1 million (Q3-19 - $3 million income). BCTMP and NBSK shipments improved partially mitigating the fall in pulp prices.
Outlook
The fourth quarter was a slight improvement over the prior two quarters in what has been a very difficult year.
We expect lumber production for 2020 to increase by approximately 350 MMFBM over 2019 production and reach approximately 6,250 MMFBM. Pulp production is expected to be slightly improved in 2020. Capital expenditure is planned to be in the range of $275 to $325 million with a large portion of that dedicated to the Dudley complex. Our focus in 2020 is on realizing the benefits of the capital that we have deployed to our operations in the last two years. Log costs have shown signs of starting to moderate in B.C. but remain well above historical levels and it will likely take until 2021 for stumpage to change materially in B.C.
Recent U.S. new housing data has been encouraging and with the significant reduction of capacity in B.C. over the past year, supply and demand may be in better balance going forward. We remain convinced of potential for further improvement in all our operations. Our consistent business approach, diversified operating footprint, continued reinvestment in our business and development of high-performance teams puts us in a strong position to compete in our sector and product markets.
Annual Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion & Analysis (“MD&A”)
The Company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 and related MD&A is available on the Company’s website: www.westfraser.com and on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval at www.sedar.com under the Company’s profile.
Dividend Declared
The Board of Directors of the Company has declared a dividend of $0.20 per share on the Common
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