Exhibit 99.1


                                              Media contact:
                                              Gordon R. Manuel
                                              864-282-9448

                                              Analyst contact:
                                              William G. Harvey
                                              864-282-9413



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2003

                    BOWATER COMMENTS ON THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

     GREENVILLE,  SC - Bowater  Incorporated (NYSE: BOW) today announced that it
expects a third  quarter  loss of $0.85 to $0.95 per share before gains on asset
sales,  severance  charges and foreign  exchange.  This  corresponds to a second
quarter loss of $0.86 per share before these items.

     Compared to the second quarter, improvements in newsprint, coated paper and
lumber  prices were offset by lower  market pulp pricing and higher costs at the
Catawba,  South Carolina mill. This site incurred  additional  costs  associated
with  the  third  quarter  start-up  of its  fiberline  and the  second  quarter
conversion of its newsprint machine to coated groundwood papers.

     The  reported  net loss for the third  quarter is  expected  to be $0.80 to
$0.90 per share as  compared  to a  reported  net loss of $0.45 per share in the
second quarter.

     Bowater  Incorporated,  headquartered  in  Greenville,  SC,  is  a  leading
producer of newsprint and coated  groundwood  papers.  In addition,  the company
makes uncoated groundwood papers,  bleached kraft pulp and lumber products.  The
company has 12 pulp and paper mills in the United States, Canada and South Korea
and 13 North  American  sawmills  that  produce  softwood  lumber.  Bowater also
operates two facilities that convert a groundwood base sheet to coated products.
Bowater's  operations  are  supported  by  approximately  1.4  million  acres of
timberlands owned or leased in the United States and Canada and 32 million acres
of timber  cutting  rights in  Canada.  Bowater  is one of the  world's  largest
consumers of recycled  newspapers and magazines.  Bowater common stock is listed
on the New York Stock  Exchange,  the  Pacific  Exchange  and the  London  Stock
Exchange.  A special class of stock  exchangeable  into Bowater  common stock is
listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE:BWX).

     All amounts are in U.S. dollars.


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     Statements in this news release that are not reported  financial results or
other historical information are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of the Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform Act of 1995.  They  include,  for
example, statements about our business outlook, assessment of market conditions,
strategies, future plans, future sales, prices for our major products, inventory
levels,  capital  spending and tax rates.  Words such as  "expect,"  "estimate,"
"believe,"  "intend,"  "plan,"  "anticipate" and other similar  expressions also
identify these statements.  These forward-looking  statements are not guarantees
of future performance.  They are based on management's expectations that involve
a number of business  risks and  uncertainties,  any of which could cause actual
results  to  differ  materially  from  those  expressed  in or  implied  by  the
forward-looking   statements.  The  risks  and  uncertainties  relating  to  the
forward-looking  statements in this news release  include those  described under
the caption  "Cautionary  Statement  Regarding  Forward-Looking  Information" in
Bowater's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2003, and
from time to time, in Bowater's  other filings with the  Securities and Exchange
Commission.


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