TORONTO -- Norbord Inc., a manufacturer of composite wood panels, said it finished 2010 with a positive EBITDA of $105 million versus a break-even EBITDA in 2009.

The company said the year-over-year improvement was due largely to higher North American OSB and European panel prices and higher shipment volumes. However, the company said it continues business to remain challenging this year due to the sluggish U.S. housing market.

"Our 2010 results exceeded our expectations," said Barrie Shineton, president and CEO. "In North America, our customer and product strategy enabled us to run more capacity and to benefit from a stronger pricing environment throughout the year. In Europe, our EBITDA more than doubled on the back of particularly robust OSB markets. While I'm pleased that Norbord generated positive annual earnings for our shareholders this year, we recognize that we still have a long way to go before our financial performance is back to acceptable levels.

"We expect the overall business environment in 2011 to generally mirror Norbord's experience in the past year," Shineton added. "We are seeing the beginnings of a slow recovery for the U.S. housing market, which should start taking hold in the second half of the year. Norbord will be well-positioned to generate stronger results once that occurs."

Read more about Norbord's 2010 financial performance and 2011 expectations.

Posted by Rich Christianson