A huge boost in wood products earnings helped Potlatch Corp, the US forest products company, to rebound from a near US$1m trading loss to a US$24.2m profit.
Wood products earned US$26.4m in the third quarter, up from US$5.6m a year ago, due to higher selling prices of lumber, plywood and particleboard.
The figures were adjusted to switch OSB results to discontinued operations following the sale of three OSB mills in Minnesota to Ainsworth Lumber. Before the deal, OSB generated US$37.3m in the quarter. Potlatch also earned a US$269m pre-tax gain from the sale.
