West Fraser Posts $80M Loss, Indefinitely Curtails Two Mills With $200M-$220M Impairment
WFG sits 20% above its 52-week low of $57.34.
Summary
West Fraser lost $80 million in Q3-26, or $1.03 per diluted share, on sales of $1.363 billion, down from $1.434 billion in Q2. Adjusted EBITDA fell to $38 million from $59 million, a 3% margin, with the North America EWP segment at negative $4 million. The bigger news is the indefinite curtailment of the Huguley OSB mill in Lanett, Alabama and the Leola, Arkansas lumber mill, effective in Q4 after orderly wind-downs. That removes 500 million square feet of annual OSB capacity and 225 million board feet of SYP capacity, and management expects a $200 million to $220 million impairment charge in Q4. The company also guided SPF, SYP and North American OSB shipments to the low end of prior ranges, citing soft housing demand and higher energy-related input costs. Balance sheet work is the offset: a new $500 million term loan due September 2029 refinanced the $300 million term loan due May 2028, leaving $1.2 billion of liquidity and an undrawn revolver. The analyst call is October 29 at 11:00 a.m. ET.
At the time of this announcement, WFG was trading at $68.66 on NYSE in the Manufacturing sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $5.4B. The 52-week trading range was $57.34 to $76.99. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: PR Newswire.