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西方林業宣佈2024年第三季度業績
溫哥華億.C.2024年10月23日 – West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.（"West Fraser"或"公司"）（tsx和紐交所：WFG）今天報告了2024年第三季度（"Q3-24"）的業績。本新聞稿中所有金額均以美元表示，除非另有說明。
第三季度亮點
•銷售額爲$14.37億美元，收益爲$(83)百萬美元，每股稀釋盈利爲$(1.03)
•調整後的EBITDA1 佔銷售額的4%，相當於6200萬美元
•木材部門調整後的EBITDA1 其中包括6200萬美元的出口關稅支出，歸因於AR5最終化
•北美工程木製品（「NA EWP」）部門調整後EBITDA1 的12100萬美元
•紙漿和造紙部門調整後的EBITDA1 達到200萬美元
•歐洲工程木製品（「歐洲EWP」）部門調整後的息稅折舊及攤銷前利潤1 的100萬美元
•重新購回446,460股，總價值爲3500萬美元
•宣佈在佛羅里達Lake Butler的木材廠停產時間不定。
•季末後，使用現金償還了到期的$30000萬美元高級票據本金和應計利息
「我們產品多元化策略的好處再次在2024年第三季度顯現，這一時期的特點是我們主要產品需求不均。北美的OSB、膠合板和其他工程木製品繼續保持健康需求，木材部門看到SPF需求出現意外改善，而SYP市場仍然具有挑戰性，部分原因是維修和翻新市場持續疲軟，」 西恩·麥克拉倫（Sean McLaren）, 西方林業公司的總裁兼首席執行官說。
West Fraser團隊一直在積極改善我們工廠組合的成本位置，特別是在我們的美國南方木材平台內部我們繼續取得進展。我們期待繼續努力執行我們的投資資本現代化工廠和降低成本的策略，幫助打造一個更具韌性的組織。我們還將繼續在合適時向股東返還過剩資本，保持我們強大的資產負債表，繼續使West Fraser擁有金融靈活性，以利用符合我們長期策略的機會。
1.調整後的EBITDA是一種非普遍會計準則的財務衡量指標。請參考本文件中關於該指標的「非普遍會計準則和其他特定財務指標」部分獲取更多信息。
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結果概要。
第三季度銷售額爲14.37億美元，相較於2024年第二季度的17.05億美元。第三季度收入爲(83)百萬美元，每股稀釋後(1.03)美元，相較於2024年第二季度的10500萬美元，每股稀釋後1.20美元。第三季度調整後的EBITDA爲6200萬美元，相較於2024年第二季度的27200萬美元。
流動性和資本配置
現金和短期投資從2023年12月31日的90000萬美元增加到2024年9月27日的99700萬美元。
第三季度的資本支出爲1.07億美元。
我們在第三季度支付了2600萬美元的分紅派息，每股爲0.32美元。
2024年2月27日，我們續訂了正常課程發行者買盤（"2024 NCIB"），允許我們從2024年3月1日起至2025年2月28日買入高達3,971,380股普通股以進行註銷。從2024年1月1日至2024年10月22日，總共1,487,694股股票已在前期NCIb和2024 NCIb下回購。
截至2024年10月22日，自2021年2月1日收購Norbord以來，我們通過在2021年完成大型發行購買（"SIB"），在2022年完成SIb和普通諾邦股份回購，已回購和註銷了公司股票中的43,064,289股，相當於諾邦收購所發行股份的79%。
2024年10月15日，我們使用現金償還了到期的30,000萬美元高級票據本金和應計利息。
展望
市場
最近幾年來作爲積極推動因素的幾項關鍵趨勢預計將繼續支撐北美新住宅施工需求的中長期發展。
我們北美木材、OSb板材和工程木製品的主要用途是住宅建築、維修和翻新以及工業應用。中期內，通脹和利率期貨穩定改善了住房的可負擔性，大量人口進入典型的購房階段，以及美國房屋存量老化預計將推動新的住宅建設、維修和裝修支出，從而支撐了木材、膠合板和OSb的需求。長期內，大量木質建築產品在工業和商業應用中不斷增加的市場滲透率也預計將成爲北美木製建築材料需求增長的更重要來源。
根據美國人口普查局的數據，2024年9月美國住房施工的季調年化率爲135萬套，發放的許可證爲143萬套。儘管新房施工面臨近期不確定性，這主要由於抵押貸款利率的水平和變化速度以及對房屋可負擔性的影響；美國失業率仍處於相對較低水平，儘管北美各地區央行此前曾表示利率可能會較長時間保持在較高水平，但最近的加息週期普遍認爲已經結束，因爲美國央行已開始減息，而聯邦基金期貨表明未來短期內可能會有減息的跡象。儘管存在這些情況，如果整體經濟和
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就業增長放緩或利率和抵押貸款利率走弱會對消費者信心和住房可負擔性產生負面影響。
在歐洲和英國，我們在2024年繼續經歷着對我們的OSb產品需求略有增加，但對MDF和刨花板等板材產品的需求相對較弱。我們預計歐洲產品的需求會隨着OSb作爲膠合板替代品的使用增長而在長期內增長。此外，房屋存量老化支持長期的維修和翻新支出以及對我們木建築產品的額外需求。在當前環境下，通脹似乎已經穩定，利率已經開始下降，這有利於住房需求。儘管如此，持續的地緣政治發展和之前通貨膨脹壓力的滯後影響可能會對英國和歐洲的板材產品短期需求產生負面影響。儘管存在這些風險因素，我們有信心能夠應對需求市場並利用即將到來的長期增長機會。
今年早些時候出售了一個UKP紙漿廠和兩個BCTMP紙漿廠，部分抵消了對CPP的獨立控制，我們預計紙漿與造紙部門的財務影響將變得不那麼重要，並且未來對我們的綜合業績貢獻度將會降低。
Operations
Although the demand environment for SYP has been relatively weak year-to-date, demand for SPF has exceeded our expectations. The acquisition of Spray Lake lumber mill and reliability and capital improvement gains across our lumber mill portfolio are still expected to be more than offset by capacity reductions from recently announced permanent closures and indefinite curtailments as well as shift reductions across select lumber mills. As such, we now expect 2024 SPF shipments to moderately exceed the top end of our guidance range of 2.6 to 2.8 billion board feet while we reiterate our previously revised SYP shipments guidance of 2.5 to 2.7 billion board feet.
In our NA EWP segment, despite expectations of a typical seasonal slowdown in Q4, we now anticipate 2024 OSB shipments will be modestly higher than 2023 levels, finishing the year closer to the higher end of the guidance range of 6.3 to 6.6 billion square feet (3/8-inch basis). Start-up of the Allendale mill continues to progress and we anticipate a ramp-up period for the mill of up to three years to meet targeted production levels. We expect our overall OSB platform to be better and lower cost with a modern Allendale facility operating, and as with all our wood products operations, demand is a key input in determining our operating schedules across our manufacturing footprint. Input costs for the NA EWP business are expected to be relatively stable through 2024. However, recent sawmill curtailments across the industry continue to create chip shortages for pulp producers, which is increasing demand tension for pulp logs, the primary fibre source for OSB production.
In our Europe EWP segment, we continue to expect soft near-term demand for our panel products, with 2024 shipments of MDF, particleboard and OSB expected to be similar or slightly better than 2023 levels. For OSB, with the latter part of Q4 expected to be seasonally slow, we reiterate full year shipments guidance in the range of 0.9 to 1.1 billion square feet (3/8-inch basis). Input costs for the Europe EWP business, including energy and resin costs, are expected to stabilize in 2024 but remain elevated.
On balance, we experienced relatively stable costs for inputs across our supply chain again in Q3-24, including resins and chemicals, although labour availability and some capital equipment lead times remained challenging. We expect these trends to largely continue over the near term.
Based on our current outlook, assuming no deterioration from current market demand conditions during the year and no additional lengthening of lead times for projects underway or planned, we are narrowing the range of anticipated capital expenditures to be approximately $475 million to $525 million in 20241.
1.This is a supplementary financial measure. Refer to the “Non-GAAP and Other Specified Financial Measures” section of this document for more information on this measure.
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Management Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A")
Our Q3-24 MD&A and interim consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are available on our website at www.westfraser.com and the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval + (“SEDAR+”) at www.sedarplus.ca and the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”) website at www.sec.gov/edgar under the Company’s profile.
Sustainability Report
West Fraser’s 2023 Sustainability Report is available on the Company’s website at www.westfraser.com. This report summarizes our Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") performance with a focus on our people, communities and role of our products in the carbon cycle. It is aligned with the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board ("SASB"), Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI"), the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD") and CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project).
Risks and Uncertainties
Risk and uncertainty disclosures are included in our 2023 Annual MD&A, as updated in the disclosures in our Q3-24 MD&A, as well as in our public filings with securities regulatory authorities. See also the discussion of “Forward-Looking Statements” below.
Conference Call
West Fraser will hold an analyst conference call to discuss the Company’s Q3-24 financial and operating results on Thursday, October 24, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time (11:30 a.m. Eastern Time). To participate in the call, please dial: 1-888-510-2154 (toll-free North America) or 437-900-0527 (toll) or connect on the webcast. The call and an earnings presentation may also be accessed through West Fraser’s website at www.westfraser.com. Please let the operator know you wish to participate in the West Fraser conference call chaired by Mr. Sean McLaren, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Following management’s discussion of the quarterly results, investors and the analyst community will be invited to ask questions. The call will be recorded for webcasting purposes and will be available on the West Fraser website at www.westfraser.com.
About West Fraser
West Fraser is a diversified wood products company with more than 60 facilities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, which promotes sustainable forest practices in its operations. The Company produces lumber, engineered wood products (OSB, LVL, MDF, plywood, and particleboard), pulp, newsprint, wood chips, other residuals, and renewable energy. West Fraser's products are used in home construction, repair and remodelling, industrial applications, papers, tissue, and box materials. For more information about West Fraser, visit www.westfraser.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes statements and information that constitutes “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of United States securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements include statements that are forward-looking or predictive in nature and are dependent upon or refer to future events or conditions. We use words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “seeks,” “intends,” “targets,” “projects,” “forecasts,” or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” and “could,” to identify these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally include statements which reflect management’s expectations regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook of West Fraser and its subsidiaries, as well as the outlook for North American and international economies for the current fiscal year and subsequent periods.
Forward-looking statements included in this news release include references to the following and their impact on our business:
•demand in North American and European markets for our products, including demand from new home construction, repairs and renovations and industrial and commercial applications;
•the impact of sustained elevated interest rates and inflationary pressures on mortgage rates and housing affordability;
•the anticipated growing market penetration of mass timber;
•the anticipated moderation of interest rates;
•our strategy of improving our cost position across our portfolio of mills and investing to modernize our mills;
•the anticipated continuation of relatively stable costs across our supply chain over the near term and continued challenges on labour availability and capital equipment lead times;
•operational guidance, including projected shipments and projected capital expenditures; and
•the continuation of investments in our assets and the maintenance of our financial flexibility and our low-cost position as competitive advantages.
By their nature, these forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, which contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, and other forward-looking statements will not occur. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
•assumptions in connection with the economic and financial conditions in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe and globally and consequential demand for our products, including the impact of persistently weak market conditions on our ability to meet our current lumber shipment guidance, and variability of operating schedules and the impact of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East;
•future increases in interest rates and inflation or continued sustained higher interest rates and rates of inflation could impact housing affordability and repair and remodelling demand, which could reduce demand for our products;
•global supply chain issues may result in increases to our costs and may contribute to a reduction in near-term demand for our products;
•continued governmental approvals and authorizations to access timber supply, and the impact of forest fires, infestations, environmental protection measures and actions taken by government respecting Indigenous rights, title and/or reconciliation efforts on these approvals and authorizations;
•risks inherent in our product concentration and cyclicality;
•effects of competition for logs, availability of fibre and fibre resources and product pricing pressures, including continued access to log supply and fibre resources at competitive prices and the impact of third-party certification standards; including reliance on fibre off-take agreements and third party consumers of wood chips;
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•effects of variations in the price and availability of manufacturing inputs, including energy, employee wages, resin and other input costs, and the impact of inflationary pressures on the costs of these manufacturing costs, including increases in stumpage fees and log costs;
•availability and costs of transportation services, including truck and rail services, and port facilities, and impacts on transportation services of wildfires and severe weather events, and the impact of increased energy prices on the costs of transportation services;
•the recoverability of property, plant and equipment ($3,819 million), goodwill and intangibles ($2,270 million), both as at September 27, 2024, is based on numerous key assumptions which are inherently uncertain, including production volume, product pricing, raw material input cost, production cost, terminal multiple, and discount rate. Adverse changes in these assumptions could lead to a change in financial outlook which may result in carrying amounts exceeding their recoverable amounts and as a consequence an impairment, which could have a material non-cash adverse effect on our results of operations;
•transportation constraints, including the impact of labour disruptions, may negatively impact our ability to meet projected shipment volumes;
•the timing of our planned capital investments may be delayed, the ultimate costs of these investments may be increased as a result of inflation, and the projected rates of return may not be achieved;
•various events that could disrupt operations, including natural, man-made or catastrophic events including drought, wildfires, cyber security incidents, any state of emergency and/or evacuation orders issued by governments, and ongoing relations with employees;
•risks inherent to customer dependence;
•impact of future cross border trade rulings or agreements;
•implementation of important strategic initiatives and identification, completion and integration of acquisitions;
•impact of changes to, or non-compliance with, environmental or other regulations;
•government restrictions, standards or regulations intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our inability to achieve our SBTi commitment for the reduction of greenhouse gases as planned;
•the costs and timeline to achieve our greenhouse gas emissions objectives may be greater and take longer than anticipated;
•changes in government policy and regulation, including actions taken by the Government of British Columbia pursuant to recent amendments to forestry legislation and initiatives to defer logging of forests deemed “old growth” and the impact of these actions on our timber supply;
•impact of weather and climate change on our operations or the operations or demand of our suppliers and customers;
•ability to implement new or upgraded information technology infrastructure;
•impact of information technology service disruptions or failures;
•impact of any product liability claims in excess of insurance coverage;
•risks inherent to a capital intensive industry;
•impact of future outcomes of tax exposures;
•potential future changes in tax laws, including tax rates;
•risks associated with investigations, claims and legal, regulatory and tax proceedings covering matters which if resolved unfavourably may result in a loss to the Company;
•effects of currency exposures and exchange rate fluctuations;
•fair values of our electricity swaps may be volatile and sensitive to fluctuations in forward electricity prices and changes in government policy and regulation;
•future operating costs;
•availability of financing, bank lines, securitization programs and/or other means of liquidity;
•continued access to timber supply in the traditional territories of Indigenous Nations and our ability to work with Indigenous Nations in B.C. to secure continued fibre supply for our lumber mills through various commercial agreements and joint ventures;
•our ability to continue to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting;
•the risks and uncertainties described in the MD&A and the 2023 Annual MD&A; and
•other risks detailed from time to time in our annual information forms, annual reports, MD&A, quarterly reports and material change reports filed with and furnished to securities regulators.
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In addition, actual outcomes and results of these statements will depend on a number of factors including those matters described under “Risks and Uncertainties” in our 2023 Annual MD&A and the Q3-24 MD&A and may differ materially from those anticipated or projected. This list of important factors affecting forward‑looking statements is not exhaustive and reference should be made to the other factors discussed in public filings with securities regulatory authorities. Accordingly, readers should exercise caution in relying upon forward‑looking statements and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward‑looking statements, whether written or oral, to reflect subsequent events or circumstances except as required by applicable securities laws.
Non-GAAP and Other Specified Financial Measures
Throughout this news release, we make reference to (i) certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA by segment (our “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”), and (ii) certain supplementary financial measures, including our expected capital expenditures (our “Supplementary Financial Measures”). We believe that these Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Supplementary Financial Measures (collectively, our “Non-GAAP and other specified financial measures”) are useful performance indicators for investors with regard to operating and financial performance and our financial condition. These Non-GAAP and other specified financial measures are not generally accepted financial measures under IFRS Accounting Standards and do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS Accounting Standards. Investors are cautioned that none of our Non-GAAP Financial Measures should be considered as an alternative to earnings or cash flow, as determined in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. As there is no standardized method of calculating any of these Non-GAAP and other specified financial measures, our method of calculating each of them may differ from the methods used by other entities and, accordingly, our use of any of these Non-GAAP and other specified financial measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities. Accordingly, these Non-GAAP and other specified financial measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. The reconciliation of the Non-GAAP measures used and presented by the Company to the most directly comparable measures under IFRS Accounting Standards is provided in the tables set forth below. Figures have been rounded to millions of dollars to reflect the accuracy of the underlying balances and as a result certain tables may not add due to rounding impacts.
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA by segment
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings determined in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards adding back the following line items from the consolidated statements of earnings and comprehensive earnings: finance income or expense, tax provision or recovery, amortization, equity-based compensation, restructuring and impairment charges, and other income or expense.
Adjusted EBITDA by segment is defined as operating earnings determined for each reportable segment in accordance with IFRS adding back the following line items from the consolidated statements of earnings and comprehensive earnings for that reportable segment: amortization, equity-based compensation, and restructuring and impairment charges.
EBITDA is commonly reported and widely used by investors and lending institutions as an indicator of a company’s operating performance, ability to incur and service debt, and as a valuation metric. We calculate Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA by segment to exclude items that do not reflect our ongoing operations and that should not, in our opinion, be considered in a long-term valuation metric or included in an assessment of our ability to service or incur debt.
We believe that disclosing these measures assists readers in measuring performance relative to other entities that operate in similar industries and understanding the ongoing cash generating potential of our business to provide liquidity to fund working capital needs, service outstanding debt, fund future capital expenditures and investment
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opportunities, and pay dividends. Adjusted EBITDA is used as an additional measure to evaluate the operating and financial performance of our reportable segments.
The following tables reconcile Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable IFRS measure, earnings.
Quarterly Adjusted EBITDA
($ millions)
| Q3-24 | Q2-24 | |||||||
| Earnings (loss) | $ | (83) | $ | 105 | ||||
| Finance income, net | (7) | (6) | ||||||
| Tax provision (recovery) | (26) | 34 | ||||||
| Amortization | 136 | 138 | ||||||
| Equity-based compensation | 15 | (4) | ||||||
| Restructuring and impairment charges | 18 | 5 | ||||||
| Other expense (income) | 8 | (1) | ||||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 62 | $ | 272 | ||||
The following tables reconcile Adjusted EBITDA by segment to the most directly comparable IFRS measures for each of our reportable segments. We consider operating earnings to be the most directly comparable IFRS measure for Adjusted EBITDA by segment as operating earnings is the IFRS measure most used by the chief operating decision maker when evaluating segment operating performance.
Quarterly Adjusted EBITDA by segment
($ millions)
| Q3-24 | Lumber | NA EWP | Pulp & Paper | Europe EWP | Corp & Other | Total | ||||||||||||||
| Operating earnings (loss) | $ | (126) | $ | 50 | $ | (2) | $ | (11) | $ | (19) | $ | (108) | ||||||||
| Amortization | 46 | 71 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 136 | ||||||||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | — | — | — | — | 15 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
Restructuring and impairment charges | 18 | — | — | — | 1 | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA by segment | $ | (62) | $ | 121 | $ | 2 | $ | 1 | $ | — | $ | 62 | ||||||||
| Q2-24 | Lumber | NA EWP | Pulp & Paper | Europe EWP | Corp & Other | Total | ||||||||||||||
| Operating earnings (loss) | $ | (100) | $ | 236 | $ | — | $ | (6) | $ | 2 | $ | 132 | ||||||||
| Amortization | 49 | 71 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 138 | ||||||||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | — | — | — | — | (4) | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| Restructuring and impairment charges (reversal) | (1) | 1 | 5 | — | — | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA by segment | $ | (51) | $ | 308 | $ | 9 | $ | 6 | $ | 1 | $ | 272 | ||||||||
Expected capital expenditures
This measure represents our best estimate of the amount of cash outflows relating to additions to capital assets for 2024 based on our current outlook. This amount is comprised primarily of various improvement projects and
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maintenance-of-business expenditures, projects focused on optimization and automation of the manufacturing process, and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This measure assumes no deterioration in current market conditions during the year and that we are able to proceed with our plans on time and on budget. This estimate is subject to the risks and uncertainties identified in the Company’s 2023 Annual MD&A and Q3-24 MD&A.
For More Information
Investor Contact
Robert B. Winslow, CFA
Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Development
Tel. (416) 777-4426
shareholder@westfraser.com
Media Contact
Joyce Wagenaar
Director, Communications
Tel. (604) 817-5539
media@westfraser.com
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