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Canfor continues to cut lumber production

Forestry
TSX:CFP
10 April 2020 15:43 (EDT)
Canfor Corporation - President & CEO, Don Kanye

Source: International Forest Industries

Canfor Corporation (TSX:CFP) is further reducing production, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to decrease demand for lumber.

The company is reducing its Canadian lumber production by around 100 million board feet.

This will bring the production rate down to around 30 per cent of capacity and will be accessed by cutting operations at Canfor’s Sawmills in British Columbia.

The company is also expects to further adjust production at its Canfor Southern Pine and Swedish facilities, which are already running in a limited capacity.

The newly announced reductions will come into effect on Monday and run until May 1

President and CEO of Canfor, Don Kayne believes these steps are necessary, given the current circumstances.

“Canfor is experiencing a significant decrease in customer demand due to the global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the difficult decision to take additional downtime in Canada.

Our top priority continues to be supporting our employees through this challenging time. We are encouraged by the financial relief programs the provincial and federal governments are implementing to support all impacted workers,” he said.

These latest reductions will be applied onto of the substantial cuts made late last month.

Canfor stated that it is continually monitoring the situation but does not expect to announce further reductions until after releasing its first quarter results. Swedish facilities were similarly affected, due mainly to the lockout restrictions surrounding the UK.

Alongside the previous cuts, the company also slashed C$20 million off its capital expenditure budget. As of yet, no further budget cuts have been announced.

Canfor Corporation (CFP) is up 1.1 per cent, with shares trading for $8.26 at 3:03pm EST.

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