EL DORADO, AR – Ray C. Dillon, president and CEO of Deltic Timber Corp. announced a loss of $2 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to a net income of $1.7 million during the prior year period.
Operating income was $2 million, a $1.2 million reduction from the fourth quarter of 2007. The decrease was due largely to the prior-year period benefiting from $3.1 million of income from the settlement of property and business interruption insurance claims resulting from the third quarter 2007 fire at the company’s Waldo Mill. In addition, fourth quarter 2008 results were impacted by a reduction in residential sales activity and an increased effective income tax rate, partially offset by increased sales of non-strategic recreational hardwood timberland.
“The economic storm resulting from tightened credit availability and overall financial uncertainty wreaked havoc on the markets for lumber and real estate for the entire fourth quarter. While financial results for the quarter were a slight loss, Deltic actually generated positive operating income of $2 million for the period, despite the negative pressures, due to the quality and diversity of its assets. We continued to unlock the value of some of the non-strategic hardwood bottomland acreage that we own, by selling these lands at attractive prices and using the sales proceeds to add to our pine timber land base in a tax efficient manner,” Dillon said.
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Operating income was $2 million, a $1.2 million reduction from the fourth quarter of 2007. The decrease was due largely to the prior-year period benefiting from $3.1 million of income from the settlement of property and business interruption insurance claims resulting from the third quarter 2007 fire at the company’s Waldo Mill. In addition, fourth quarter 2008 results were impacted by a reduction in residential sales activity and an increased effective income tax rate, partially offset by increased sales of non-strategic recreational hardwood timberland.
“The economic storm resulting from tightened credit availability and overall financial uncertainty wreaked havoc on the markets for lumber and real estate for the entire fourth quarter. While financial results for the quarter were a slight loss, Deltic actually generated positive operating income of $2 million for the period, despite the negative pressures, due to the quality and diversity of its assets. We continued to unlock the value of some of the non-strategic hardwood bottomland acreage that we own, by selling these lands at attractive prices and using the sales proceeds to add to our pine timber land base in a tax efficient manner,” Dillon said.
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