Weyerhaeuser’s wood products business is still taking heavy losses despite the best efforts of the timber giant to reduce costs.
The company’s wood products division recorded a loss of US$162m in the second quarter, which was actually an improvement on the US$266m losses in the first quarter.
It said the loss reduction was only US$29m when removing one-off first quarter charges of US$71m for closures and restructuring, plus US$19m to settle litigation in an alder case.
“Although we’ve begun to experience some recovery in housing sales and starts, it is not yet clear that the improvement is driven by sustainable shifts in market fundamentals, and therefore our timberlands, wood products and real estate businesses continue to operate in an environment of uncertainty,said chief executive and president Dan Fulton.
