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Resolute Reports Preliminary Fourth Quarter and 2019 Results

Resolute Reports Preliminary Fourth Quarter and 2019 Results

Article ID:

22768

Year-end liquidity at $583 million

Montréal, Jan. 30, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ – Resolute Forest Products Inc. (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP) today reported a net loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, of $71 million, or $0.79 per share, compared to net income of $36 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, in the same period in 2018. Sales were $668 million in the quarter, a decrease of $264 million from the year-ago period. The fourth quarter of 2018 included sales from the Catawba (South Carolina) and Fairmont (West Virginia) facilities, which were sold in that period. Excluding special items, the company reported a net loss of $53 million, or $0.59 per share, compared to net income of $4 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2018.

For the year, the company reported a GAAP net loss of $47 million, or $0.51 per share, compared to net income of $235 million, or $2.52 per diluted share, in 2018. Sales were $2.9 billion, down by 22% from the previous year, or 11% after removing sales from disposed assets. Excluding special items, the company reported a net loss of $46 million, or $0.50 per share, compared to net income of $183 million, or $1.96 per diluted share, in 2018.

"Our fourth quarter results reflect bottom-of-the-cycle conditions in market pulp, ongoing pricing pressures in paper grades and the slow pricing recovery in lumber," said Yves Laflamme, president and chief executive officer. "The pending acquisition of three sawmills in the U.S. South is an important step in our transformation strategy; it will give us immediate scale in an attractive region, with quality assets in a rich fiber basket, close to growing end-markets. Our financial position will remain strong after this acquisition, and will support us as we continue to progress with our transformation strategy. We're pleased with the quarterly improvement in tissue EBITDA and the progress around sales growth and productivity gains. We're also excited about our recently-announced project to modernize the paper machine at Kénogami to produce high-grade SCA+ supercalendered paper and our plans to grow in biomaterials with the construction of a cellulose filament plant at that mill, in both cases taking advantage of synergies within our network of operations in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. While the paper project is focused on nearer-term competitiveness, the cellulose filament project highlights the added value we can bring to fiber through our role in its transformation as we look to build the forest products industry of the future.

Non-GAAP financial measures, such as adjustments for special items and adjusted EBITDA, are explained and reconciled below:

https://resolutefp.mediaroom.com/2020-01-30-Resolute-Reports-Preliminary...

Author

Michael Spinner-Just's picture

Michael Spinner-Just

Date

2020-02-03 09:32

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