Clearwater Paper Q2 Loss Widens to $21.5M on Pricing Pressure, Outage
CLW sits 54% above its 52-week low of $11.73.
Summary
Clearwater Paper posted a Q2 net loss of $21.5 million, wider than the prior quarter's $0.80 per share loss, as lower market pricing and a major maintenance outage at its Lewiston, Idaho facility weighed on results. Sales of $375 million slightly beat the $374.8 million consensus, helped by an 8% volume increase, but negative adjusted EBITDA underscores the margin squeeze. The company restructured its Cypress Bend facility, targeting $8-12 million in annual savings, and noted early signs of SBS industry improvement including volume growth and lower imports. However, pricing remains below acceptable return levels, and the focus is on cost cuts and previously announced price increases. This follows a Q1 that was cushioned by a $17.5 million insurance settlement; without that, the underlying deterioration is starker. The stock closed at $17.22 on July 27, near the median analyst target of $18, leaving little room for error.
At the time of this announcement, CLW was trading at $18.05 on NYSE in the Manufacturing sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $282.4M. The 52-week trading range was $11.73 to $30.74. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Reuters.