Federal Way, WA, Jan. 23--Weyerhaeuser Co. said fourth-quarter profit fell 27% from the year-earlier period, when timberland sales brought in more revenue.
The forest-products company Friday reported net income of $92 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with $126 million, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier.
Total revenue, including sales, real estate and related assets, rose 9.1% to $ 5.15 billion from $4.72 billion.
Results for the latest quarter include charges of $29 million, or 14 cents a share, for facilities closings; $17 million, or eight cents a share, to cover integration and restructuring expenses; and $5 million, or two cents a share, for settlement of litigation.
Weyerhaeuser also recorded a gain of $40 million, or 18 cents a share, from the sale of timberlands in Tennessee and the Carolinas. That compares with a gain of $95 million, or 42 cents a share, from timberland sales in the year-earlier quarter.
In addition to the gain, results for the fourth quarter of 2002 also include charges totaling $57 million, or 27 cents a share, for termination of a pension plan, costs related to the July 2002 acquisition of rival Willamette Industries Inc., and facilities closings.
For the full year, Weyerhaeuser reported net income of $277 million, or $1.25 a share, up 15% from $241 million, or $1.09 a share, for 2002. Total revenue rose 7.3% to $19.87 billion from $18.52 billion.
Weyerhaeuser said it reduced total company debt by about $1.1 billion during 2003, to $12.5 billion at the end of the year.
The company, which has been working to adjust to an evolving industry, reduced capital spending 35% to $626 million in 2003, excluding real-estate spending. During 2003, Weyerhaeuser closed 12 manufacturing facilities as part of its plan to streamline its manufacturing system, and said it improved productivity at the remaining plants.
The company expects earnings for the current, first quarter to be higher than the fourth-quarter results, adjusted for the sale of timberlands, partly because of higher volume and prices for logs in the West. Weyerhaeuser didn't provide specific estimates for first-quarter results.
