West Fraser reports first quarter 2023 results
The company sales up to $1.627 billion, but it losses $42 million
West Fraser Timber reported sales of $1.627 billion and a loss of $42 million loss during the first quarter of 2023. Adjusted EBITDA of the company was $58 million, representing 4% of sales, with pulp and paper segment adjusted EBITDA of $7 million.
“In the first quarter of 2023, we faced challenging demand markets. As in the prior quarter, the product and geographic diversification of our European Engineered Wood Panels and Pulp & Paper segments provided positive EBITDA contributions that helped to offset some of the weakness in North American residential construction markets”, said Ray Ferris, West Fraser’s president and CEO.
“The West Fraser team is diligently managing through the market cycle and will continue to operate with financial discipline as we leverage our strong balance sheet to reinvest in our operations and return capital to shareholders. Importantly, our financial flexibility allows us to continue our core strategy of being a low-cost producer of wood building products while also positioning us to capitalize on opportunities as the demand environment becomes more favorable over the medium and longer term”, added Ferris.
Pulp and paper segment shipments are not expected to increase from 2022 levels this year as near-term supply and demand fundamentals are challenging. Recent demand weakness in China coupled with conversion of Russian NBSK pulp capacity to UKP has led to current oversupply conditions.
More information in https://www.westfraser.com/investors/news/news-releases/west-fraser-announces-first-quarter-2023-results.
