Weyerhaeuser Company (Federal Way, Wash.) announced an earnings increase of 96 percent during the third quarter of 2018 compared with the same period last year, growing from $130 million to $255 million.
Weyerhaeuser Company (Federal Way, Wash.) announced an earnings increase of 96 percent during the third quarter of 2018 compared with the same period last year, growing from $130 million to $255 million.
The $255 million in reported earnings includes a $41 million tax benefit received by the company.
Weyerhaeuser’s net sales grew 2 percent to $1.9 billion during the quarter, and its diluted earnings per share climbed from $0.17 to $0.34.
“In the third quarter, our business delivered solid operating performance despite significant headwinds from severe weather, trade policy and unusually volatile wood products markets,” Weyerhaeuser President and CEO Doyle Simons said in a statement.
The company’s wood products segment suffered a 9 percent decline in sales of lumber and a 13 percent decline in its sales of OSB during the quarter.
“Operating rates and sales volumes declined and unit manufacturing costs increased, primarily due to mill downtime related to severe weather in the U.S. South and a scheduled press replacement at our Grayling, Mich., oriented strand board mill,” the company stated. “Canadian log costs also increased.”
The company also said it anticipated its wood products segment’s fourth quarter earnings will be “significantly lower than the third quarter.”
“Based on current pricing, the company anticipates average sales realizations for lumber and oriented strand board will be substantially lower than third quarter averages,” the company said. “This will be partially offset by lower Western and Canadian log costs, improved unit manufacturing costs for lumber, and higher sales volumes for oriented strand board due to completion of the Grayling press replacement.”