Nashville, TN, April 26, 2006--Louisiana-Pacific Corp., net earnings for the first quarter that were off 18 percent to $83.7 million, or $0.79 per share, from $101.7 million, or $0.91 per share, posted a year earlier.
The company said income from continuing operations was $89.9 million, or $0.80 per share, down from $105 million, or $0.95 per share, a year ago. Analysts were expecting a profit of $0.52 per share.
Revenue for the quarter was $678.3 million, above the analyst consensus estimate of $621.5 million and up 3 percent from $661.4 million posted a year ago.
Although sales of oriented strand board--an engineered wood product formed by layering flakes of wood in specific orientations--grew 14 percent, pricing was lower by 19 percent, according to chief executive Rick Frost.
"Raw materials costs did moderate from the high level experienced last quarter, but with the recent volatility of oil pricing, controlling and predicting these costs will be an ongoing challenge," Frost said.
