"2013 was an excellent year for Norbord on several fronts," said Peter Wijnbergen, Norbord's recently appointed President and CEO. "The US housing recovery continued to gain traction, which positively impacted our OSB market through increased customer demand. This enabled us to run more of our capacity, including our Jefferson, Texas mill which safely resumed operations mid-year. In Europe, our panel business benefited as the UK housing sector rebounded strongly. Finally, the operating cash flow we generated this year significantly strengthened our balance sheet, even after reinvesting $83 million in our mills and returning $91 million in dividends to our shareholders."
"Looking ahead, I remain positive about the unfolding housing recoveries in all our core markets. In North America, we expect new home construction activity to support further OSB demand growth, keeping pace with the additional capacity that was brought back on-line in 2013. Meanwhile, our European business is poised for another year of improved earnings."
Norbord generated earnings of $149 million or $2.92 per share ($2.79 per share diluted) for the full year 2013 compared to $71 million or $1.63 per share ($1.56 per share diluted) in 2012.
The Company recorded earnings of $2 million or $0.04 per share (basic and diluted) in the fourth quarter of 2013 versus $38 million or $0.86 per share ($0.76 per share diluted) in the same quarter of 2012. Reported earnings included the following one-time items:
Norbord is one of the world's largest producers of oriented strand board (OSB). In addition to OSB, Norbord manufactures particleboard, medium density fibreboard (MDF) and related value-added products.