(Montreal) Rising lumber prices benefited Resolute Forest Products in the first quarter of 2022, as the company posted an operating profit of $235 million.
Posted at 8:30 a.m.
The company, whose head office is in Montreal, therefore rebounded after suffering an operating loss of 101 million for the fourth quarter of last year.
In its interim financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, released on Thursday, the company explains that this turnaround reflects the increase in selling prices in all of its business sectors and the favorable impact of the the indefinite shutdown of pulp and paper manufacturing activities at the Calhoun mill in Tennessee.
Resolute posted net income of $210 million in the quarter, or $2.68 per diluted share. For the corresponding period last year, the company had obtained a net profit of 87 million, or $1.06 per share, after dilution.
Sales for the quarter reached 945 million, up 72 million from the same period last year.
The Wood Products sector, the most important for the company, in particular generated an operating profit of 219 million for the quarter, up 137 million from the previous quarter.
The average selling price was increased to $1,022 per thousand board feet (bfm), up $410 per thousand board feet, or 67%, from the prior quarter.
The company was able to increase production for the Wood Products segment by nearly 50 million board feet in the quarter, but its shipped volumes declined by 86 million board feet due to the lack of railcar and truck availability.
Resolute also posted an operating profit in market pulp ($22m) and paper ($25m), but suffered an operating loss in tissue paper ($9m).
In addition, the company prides itself on having succeeded in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 34% compared to 2015 levels.
Company named in this dispatch: Resolute Forest Products (TSX: RFP)