Domtar Corporation provided an update on its financial performance for the 4Q 2019. Domtar’s management expects 4Q 2019 sales to be $1.2 billion and the operating loss to be between $15 and $19 million. EBITDA before items is expected to be between $74 and $78 million.
The expected operating loss in the 4Q 2019 includes closure and restructuring costs of approximately $19 million and depreciation and amortization of $74 million. Adjusting the estimated operating loss for these two amounts yields EBITDA before items1.
During the 4Q, the company repurchased 2.1 million shares for a total cost of approximately $75 million under our stock repurchase program.
“Our 4Q results fell short of expectations. We increased market-related downtime to better balance our supply with our customer demand and to accelerate our inventory reduction plan,” said John D. Williams, President and CEO. “Our inventories are now at optimal levels and our expectation is that our business will return to a balanced level in early 2020 given recent capacity closures.”
Domtar is a leading provider of a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication, specialty and packaging papers, market pulp and absorbent hygiene products.
