Weyerhaeuser’s Q4 loss widens on charges

Timber and forest product maker Weyerhaeuser Co has reported a wider fourth-quarter net loss, hit by goodwill and asset impairment charges. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a loss, compared with a profit last year, reflecting the impact of adverse market conditions.
The company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $1.21 billion, or $5.73 per share, compared with a net loss of $63 million, or $0.30 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The company’s third-quarter net earnings were $280 million, or $1.33 per share.
During the quarter under review, the company recognised estimated goodwill impairment charges of $827 million in its wood products and cellulose fibres segments, and after-tax asset impairments and other real-estate related charges of $313 million in its real estate and corporate and other segments.
Excluding items, net loss totaled $209 million, or $0.99 per share, in comparison with net income of $90 million, or $0.42 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.57 per share for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
Weyerhaeuser’s quarterly total net sales were $1.78 billion, down from $3.94 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts were looking for revenues of $1.85 billion for the quarter. For the sequentially preceding quarter, the company posted net sales. — RTTNews