West Fraser finds silver lining in “challenging” quarter

VANCOUVER — West Fraser Timber Co. said this week it drew $29 million in earnings, or $0.42 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2018 on sales of $1.274 billion. The results marked a significant decline from earnings of $207 million in Q4 of 2017, when sales came to $1.376 billion. “The fourth quarter was challenging on a number of fronts including soft lumber markets, difficult weather conditions in the U.S. South, production curtailments in British Columbia as well as planned and unplanned downtime,” said CEO Ted Seraphim, adding that the company nevertheless posted its all-time highest EBITDA last year.