By Lauren Pollock
Weyerhaeuser Co. said its second-quarter earnings dropped 51%,
hurt by the delayed arrival of the spring selling season and the
strong U.S. dollar.
Earnings easily beat estimates, but revenue declined slightly
more than expected.
The Washington state-based company is one of the world's largest
private owners of timberlands, and Chief Executive Doyle Simons
said the company is well-positioned to take advantage of the
improving U.S. housing market.
The company's profit slipped to $144 million, or 26 cents a
share, from $291 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier.
Sales declined to $1.81 billion from $1.96 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had guided for earnings of 20
cents a share and revenue of $1.82 billion.
The wood products segment posted 8.8% higher sequential sales to
$1 billion amid increased volumes across all product lines. The
segment's earnings are expected to grow in the current quarter on
strength in the lumber and oriented strand board divisions.
In the cellulose fibers division, meanwhile, sales increased
4.5% sequentially to $467 million, helped by lower energy costs.
The company projected significantly higher earnings in the segment
in the current quarter due to few maintenance outage days.
But in the timberlands segment, sales dropped 4.3% sequentially
to $336 million, and the company forecast lower earnings in the
current quarter thanks to lower fee harvest volumes in the West
because of a prolonged fire season.
Write to Lauren Pollock at lauren.pollock@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires