Interfor Anticipates Near Term Volatility in North American Lumber Markets

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Interfor Corporation reported results for first quarter of 2023. The company recorded net loss of $41.3 million, or $0.80 per share during the quarter, compared with $72.2 million, or $1.40 per share in the prior quarter and net earnings of $397.0 million, or $6.69 per share in the corresponding quarter a year before.

The adjusted EBITDA stood at $26.1 million, compared with negative adjusted EBITDA of $68.7 million in Q4 2022 and adjusted EBITDA of $570.1 million in Q1 last year. The sales recorded improvement from $810.3 million in Q4’22 to $829.9 million in Q1’23, but was down from $1.3 billion in Q1’22.

The lumber production increased by 157 million board feet quarter-over-quarter to total 1.0 billion board feet. The U.S. South and U.S. Northwest regions accounted for 473 million board feet and 142 million board feet, respectively. The Eastern Canada region produced 250 million board feet, while the B.C. region’s production increased from 123 million board feet to 166 million board feet quarter-on-quarter. The lumber shipments surged higher by 65 million board feet from the prior quarter to total around 1.0 billion board feet, said the company press release.

In its outlook, the North American lumber markets are expected to remain volatile in the near term. Over the medium term the lumber markets will continue to benefit from favourable underlying supply and demand fundamentals.