Weyerhaeuser Misses Q2, Sees Q3 Pop In Cellulose Fibers Business

Weyerhaeuser

missed second-quarter earnings expectations, but said it expects "significantly higher" Q3 earnings driven by its cellulose fibers business. The long-time wood and paper company, now a real estate investment trust, added that it is seeing strong signs for the U.S. housing market and expects slightly higher earnings for its single-family homebuilding operations in Q3. "Our ongoing work to improve performance across all businesses is positioning us to capture the full benefit of the market recovery," said CEO Dan Fulton, in a statement. Excluding items, the company earned $47 million, or 9 cents a share, up 47 percent from $32 million, or 6 cents a share, in the second-quarter last year. Analysts had been expecting EPS of 10 cents a share, on average. Revenue rose 11 percent to $1.79 billion, slightly above analyst estimates of $1.5 billion. The company predicts lower earnings for its wood products segment in the third-quarter -- its largest unit by sales. Weyerhaeuser expects comparable sales volumes for most products, and a seasonal slump in lumber prices. Yet, management sees better results from its cellulose fibers business, driven by better productivity and lower costs. The company sells cellulose fibers for use in consumer products, including diapers. Weyerhaeuser closed Thursday at $22.91, up nearly 23 percent year-to-date.