Nashville, TN, July 27, 2006--Building products maker Louisiana-Pacific Corp., said its second-quarter profit fell, because of lower pricing for key building materials.
Louisiana-Pacific, the world's largest producer of oriented strand board (OSB), reported net income of $55.1 million, or 52 cents per share, versus a prior-year profit of $100.3 million, or 90 cents per share. Revenue totaled $652.7 million versus $692 million in the year-earlier period.
Wall Street forecast profit of 46 cents per share, the average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on projected sales of $634.8 million.
Louisiana-Pacific chief executive Rick Frost said earnings were affected by lower OSB pricing and the stronger Canadian dollar. Pricing for OSB, a product made of wood fibers that is used for siding and other building materials, "has come off hard" due to the uncertain construction market, he said.
"We are seeing some regional weakening in new residential construction, which has caused a broad softening in the housing market," Frost added. "However, we continue to rely on our assumptions that solid demographic trends support strong housing and repair and remodel markets in the mid-to-long term."
