US timber products giant Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) saw an improvement in its third-quarter results and thinks recent housing statistics bode well for the 2010 building season.
LP recorded a US$12.7m loss from continuing operations, an improvement from a US$100.4m loss a year ago. Sales were US$309m, down from US$390m.
Losses for the first nine months of 2009 now stand at US$82.8m, compared with a mammoth US$277.4m loss a year ago.
Four of LP’s eight OSB mills are indefinitely curtailed due to market conditions. The OSB division reported a US$6m loss (2008: US$27.7m loss), from US$123m sales (2008: US$183m).
Siding business fared better, with US$16.1m operating profits (2008: US$4.6m) from US$111m sales.
LP’s engineered wood products division, which makes I-joists, LVL and LSL, saw a US$6.3m loss from US$48m sales, compared with a US$11m loss and US$63m sales a year ago.
“2009 continues to be challenging for al of our businesses,” said LP CEO Rick Frost. “Looking forward, we believe that some recent improvements in housing statistics may bode well for the 2010 building season.”
