US-based Deltic Timber’s net profits for the second quarter rose to US$5.5m due to significantly higher sale prices for lumber.
Deltic’s mill segment reported operating profits of US$6.2m compared to an operating loss of US$1.9m for the same quarter of 2009.
The average lumber sales price was US$345 per thousand board feet for the second quarter of 2010 – a US$105, or 44%, increase compared to the same period a year ago.
With the strong lumber market that existed for most of the second quarter of 2010, the company operated additional hours in its sawmills and sold 69.8 million board feet during the current quarter, which was a 6% increase on the 66 million board feet sold during 2009’s second quarter.
The Woodlands segment earned US$6.4m in the second quarter of both 2010 and 2009. The pine harvest level was 169,290 tons, an increase of 2,684 tons on the second quarter of 2009.
Deltic’s equity in the earnings of Del-Tin Fiber was US$2.2m, compared to US$.8m of equity in earnings for the second quarter of 2009. The improvement was primarily due to increased demand in MDF resulting from an interruption in the supply of mouldings from Chile caused by the earthquake in February.
