VANCOUVER — West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. posted a net profit of US$762 million in its latest quarter as the acute transportation challenges facing the company in recent quarters showed signs of improvement.
The Vancouver-based company, which reports in U.S. dollars, said it earned US$7.59 per diluted share in the second quarter, down from US$12.32 per share or US$1.49 billion a year earlier.
Second quarter sales were US$2.90 billion, down from US$3.78 billion during the same period last year.
In a release, West Fraser’s chief executive Ray Ferris said its ability to ship products in a timely manner to meet the demands of customers is still “not where it needs to be and therefore transportation and logistics remain key focus areas for the company.”
“Inflationary cost pressures persist across our various supply chains, although an environment of strong demand and above-average product pricing has helped to absorb most of these cost increases,” he added.
The second quarter results come a week after speculation began swirling about Kronospan, an existing shareholder, and CVC Capital Partners being interested in making a bid for the company, which West Fraser quickly shut down in a release.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:WFG)
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