Industry News Markets
Canfor reports increases in first 2013 quarter

May 1, 2013, Vancouver, B.C. – Canfor's earnings for Q1 2013 are up slightly from the same quarter last year and are more than double those of its last quarter of 2012.

The increase primarily reflected modest gains in Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp sales coupled with a reduction in unit manufacturing costs.

Canfor showed a net income of $10.9 million, or $0.15 per share, for the first quarter of 2013, compared to a net income of $5.4(1) million, or $0.08(1) per share, for the fourth quarter of 2012 and net income of $10.0(1) million, or $0.12(1) per share, for the first quarter of 2012.

Outlook

Pulp

NBSK pulp markets are projected to remain fairly challenging through the second quarter of 2013, but annual spring maintenance downtime should allow for modest price increases. The outlook for the second half of the year is more uncertain given the new hardwood and softwood pulp capacity projected to come online. For the month of April, the Company announced an increase in the North American NBSK pulp list price of US$30 per tonne to US$930.

Maintenance outages are planned at the Intercontinental and Northwood Pulp Mills during the second quarter of 2013. The Intercontinental outage will result in approximately 6,000 tonnes of reduced production. The Northwood outage will be extended to complete upgrades to the recovery boiler with an estimated 40,000 tonnes of reduced production, of which approximately 15,000 tonnes will fall in the second quarter with the balance in the third quarter.

The Company will be completing the installation of a new precipitator at the Prince George Pulp Mill and upgrades to both Northwood turbines during the fourth quarter of 2013.

Paper

Kraft paper demand is slow heading into the second quarter and order files are light. However, customer inventories remain low and demand is projected to show some improvement in the coming months. Prices for bleached and unbleached papers in North America and Europe are projected to remain flat through the second quarter of 2013.

To see the full release visit, www.canforpulp.com.

May 1, 2013  By Canfor Pulp