VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Western Forest Products reported a net loss of $1.2 million for the fourth quarter as compared to a net loss of $14.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, and a net loss of $19.6 million in the third quarter of 2024.

During Q4 2024 Western Forest Products produced 135 million board feet of lumber compared to 125 mfbm in Q4 2023. The company also reported a year-over-year improvement in lumber shipments -- 146 mfbm in Q4 2024 versus 135 million board feet in Q4 2023.

For all of 2024, Western Forest Products reported a net loss of $34.5 million of total revenue of $1,063.8 million compared to a net loss of $70.1 million on sales of $1,017l.5 million in 2023.

The company continues to work on transitioning to higher value products. Western Forest Products said its Salair continuous dry kiln commissioned last April operated at 99.2% of full capacity utilization and produced 42 million board feet of higher value kiln-dried lumber. Advanced pre-engineering and permitting of two more continuous dry kilns is proceeding with both kilns expected to be operational in early 2026.

At Duke Point, Western Forest Products said it commissioned new automated grading equipment, which is assisted by artificial intelligence, in September 2024, that has led to increased product and value recovery. In early January 2025, the company commissioned a new slabber head to support increased production and improvements in chip recovery.

“Despite challenging markets, we were successful in returning our business to positive EBITDA in 2024,” said Steven Hofer, president and CEO of Western Forest Products. “Over the last year, we also demonstrated success in executing on our strategic priorities to support repositioning our business and balance sheet, providing for a strong foundation to continue to build on in 2025.”