Nashville, TN, July 28--Louisiana-Pacific Corp. swung to a second-quarter profit, the building products company said Wednesday, as robust activity in the housing and remodeling markets fed demand for wood, siding and decking.
Net income soared to $192 million, or $1.75 per share, compared to a year-ago loss of $17 million, or 16 cents per share.
Analysts polled by Thomson First Call projected, on average, earnings of $1.58 per share.
Sales in the second quarter climbed to $825 million, compared with $473 million in the same period in 2003.
"Our oriented strand board (OSB) business benefited from a strong, albeit volatile, pricing environment and our engineered wood, siding and decking businesses each had double-digit volume shipment increases compared to the same quarter last year," said CEO Mark Suwyn in a statement
"Based on conversations with builders, we believe this increased demand for our products will continue into next quarter."
