Nashville, TN, February 8--Louisiana-Pacific reported fourth-quarter net earnings that dropped 92 percent due to higher raw material costs, planned and unplanned downtime, movement of the Canadian dollar and a higher-than-expected effective tax rate.
The building products company said it earned $13.7 million, or 12 cents a share, on revenue of $588.3 million in the fourth quarter. In the previous year, it earned $163.7 million, or $1.52 a share, on revenue of $730.3 million.
Excluding discontinued operations, a loss on a sale or impairment of long-lived assets and other items, earnings from continuing operations fell to $21.7 million, or 20 cents a share, from $120.6 million, or $1.12 share, a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 36 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call.
Louisiana-Pacific chief financial officer Curt Stevens said the 70 percent tax rate was due to the effect of the strengthening Canadian dollar on inter-company loans.
For 2005, the company said it expects to have a strong year in building product sales.
For the full year ended Dec. 31, the company earned $420.7 million, or $3.84 a share, on revenue of $2.85 billion.
In the previous year, it earned $272.5 million, or $2.56 a share, on revenue of $2.28 billion.
