Canada’s largest forestry companies continued to suffer from US duties during the second quarter, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows.
The Global Forest & Paper Industry study says nine of the largest timber firms in Western Canada reported losses of C$20m during the period, down from net profits of C$242m a year ago, with US countervailing and anti-dumping duties totalling C$73m.
In Eastern Canada, the biggest five companies saw their profits dip to C$266m from C$384m during the same period in 2002. They paid C$34m in duties during the quarter, while after-tax foreign exchange gains on the translation of US dollar denominated debt were C$330m, up from C$205m last year.
A depreciation in the US dollar contributed to the falling earnings.
