Domtar Q1 earnings

[Granitepost]

- Net earnings of $1.34 per share, earnings before items(1) of $1.59 per

     share

   - Higher pulp, paper and wood selling prices

   - Paper shipments increased 5.1% compared to the first quarter of 2009

 

http://www.domtar.com/en/investors/pressreleases/index.asp?ID=1420556

 

 

[Cardboard]

Thanks for the info.

 

Actually, I have taken another look at Domtar and they seem more positive about the pulp business than what I recalled. In the recent past, their goal was to dominate uncoated free sheets (pretty much there) and to sell off almost everything else. They actually sold some timber mills very recently.

 

Indeed, they are a very large producer of market pulp. Here is the capacity and breakdown of these facilities:

 

Dryden, Ontario: 319,000 ADMT

Kamloops, B.C.: 477,000

Plymouth, North Carolina: 444,000

Woodland, Maine: 398,000

 

They have very little operations in Quebec, so I don't see much synergies potential with SFK St-Felicien. It is a different story however with the U.S. plants which are right next door to theirs. RBK is probably also a big attraction to them based on that:

 

"In our manufacturing system, we have expanded Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody certification to our entire mill network. What does this mean? We can now produce FSC-certified products at any of our mills across North America. This will help us further develop our Domtar EarthChoice® line of sustainable papers. We are working on increasing the availability of FSC fiber to continue to grow this brand through various initiatives with industry partners and suppliers, namely the Carbon Canopy project."

 

Also, maybe that they now see market pulp as a good business on its own and that could make them interested in SFK St-Felicien too? I guess that the rumour may not be that far from reality.

 

Cardboard