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West Fraser\u00a0Timber Co. Ltd. said it expects key trends will support new home construction\u00a0demand in North America, adding demand for European products to remain robust.<\/p>\n
The company saw losses of $94 million US in the fourth quarter of 2022, down more than 128 per cent from earnings of $334 million US during the same quarter a year earlier.<\/p>\n
West Fraser says that in the fourth quarter, it faced dampened new home construction in the U.S. due to high interest rates, which weighed on its lumber business in particular.<\/p>\n
Sales in the fourth quarter were $1.62 billion US, down more than 20 per cent from $2.04 billion\u00a0US a year earlier, while earnings per diluted share were negative $1.13 US, down from $3.13\u00a0US a year earlier.<\/p>\n
The company says for the full financial year, it earned $1.98 billion US, down almost 33 per cent per cent from $2.95 billion in 2021.<\/p>\n
Outlook<\/strong><\/p>\n Several key trends that have served as positive drivers in recent years are expected to continue to support medium and longer-term demand for new home construction in North America, according to West Fraser.<\/p>\n The most significant uses for West Fraser's North America lumber, OSB and wood panel products are residential construction, repair and remodelling and industrial applications. Over the medium term, the company expects that an aging housing stock, the backlog of homes to be built due to lagging completions of previously started new home construction and greater entrenchment of work-from-home flexibility will help to offset near-term headwinds and spur repair and renovation spending that supports lumber, plywood and OSB demand. Over the longer term, growing market penetration of mass timber in industrial and commercial applications is also expected to become a more significant source of demand growth for wood building products in North America, West Fraser says.<\/p>\n The demand for West Fraser's European products is expected to remain robust over the longer term as use of OSB as an alternative to plywood grows. Further, an aging housing stock supports long-term repair and renovation spending and additional demand for the company's wood building products. Near-term challenges, including relatively high and rising interest rates, ongoing geopolitical developments and inflationary pressures, are expected to cause a temporary slowing of demand for West Fraser's products in Europe.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" West Fraser\u00a0Timber Co. Ltd. said it expects key trends will support new home construction\u00a0demand in North America, adding demand for European products to remain robust. The company saw losses of $94 million US in the fourth quarter of 2022, down … Continue reading