Domtar Reports Preliminary Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results
(USA, July 27, 2016) Domtar Corporation (UFS) (UFS.TO) today reported net earnings of $18 million ($0.29 per share) for the second quarter of 2016 compared to net earnings of $4 million ($0.06 per share) for the first quarter of 2016 and net earnings of $38 million ($0.60 per share) for the second quarter of 2015. Sales for the second quarter of 2016 were $1.3 billion.
“We had a solid performance given the extensive scheduled maintenance outages and the Ashdown conversion. Our focus on costs and execution resulted in below-plan maintenance spending, and we benefited from higher pulp and paper prices with the implementation of recently announced price increases,” said John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The conversion of the Ashdown paper machine to fluff pulp continues to progress, with the start-up scheduled over the next few days. This is another milestone within our strategic roadmap of pursuing growth opportunities that capitalize on our core competencies.”
Mr. Williams added, “In Personal Care, our sales momentum continues to build, with sales increasing 6% year-over-year as a result of new customer wins. During the quarter, we continued to reinvest in growth, mostly to complete our product assortment, enhance consumer and category insights and deliver innovation to secure additional sales expansion.”
OUTLOOK
Domtar paper shipments are expected to trend with market demand in the second half of 2016. Our paper business should continue to benefit from recently announced price increases while we expect some short-term pricing volatility in pulp. Lower maintenance activity and better productivity should positively impact results in Pulp and Paper. Personal Care results are expected to benefit from the new customer wins, market growth and cost savings from the new manufacturing platform. Raw material unit costs are expected to moderately increase.
Domtar is a leading provider of a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication, specialty and packaging papers, market pulp and absorbent hygiene products.
To learn more, please visit: www.domtar.com (Source: Domtar Corp.)
