Weyerhaeuser Q1 Adj Profit Tops View, But Sales Miss

(RTTNews) - Forest products company Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) reported Friday a profit for the first quarter that increased from last year, despite unusually severe weather, reflecting revenue growth.

Adjusted earnings per share topped analysts' expectations by two cents, while quarterly sales missed their estimates. The company also said it expects sequentially comparable to significantly higher earnings in the second quarter.

"Despite unusually severe winter weather, we delivered strong operating results in the quarter. Our Timberlands business is realizing increasing benefits from the Longview Timber acquisition and reported its highest quarterly earnings excluding land sales since 2006," President and CEO Doyle Simons said in a statement.

The Federal Way, Washington-based Real estate investment trust, posted net earnings of $183 million or $0.31 per share for the first quarter, higher than $144 million or $0.26 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net earnings for the quarter was $153 million or $0.26 per share, compared to $144 million or $0.26 per share in the prior-year quarter.

On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.24 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total net sales for the quarter grew to $1.98 billion from $1.95 billion in the same quarter last year, but missed nine Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $2.08 billion.

Timberlands net sales grew to $377 million from $293 million last year. It reported the highest quarterly earnings since 2006, excluding land sales.

Wood products net sales declined to $898 million from $988 million, and cellulose fibers net saless decreased to $461 million from $474 million in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, real estate net sales grew to $248 million from $196 million last year.

Operating income for the first quarter was $324 million, higher than $256 million in the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, Weyerhaeuser anticipates sequentially comparable earnings from the timberlands segment, significantly higher earnings from the wood products and cellulose fibers segments, and improved earnings from single-family homebuilding.

In Friday's regular trading session, WY is currently trading at $29.35, up $0.61 or 2.11% on a volume of 0.79 million shares.