MONTREAL — Domtar Corp. reported a fourth-quarter loss of US$59 million compared with a loss of US$34 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
The pulp and paper company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says the loss amounted to US$1.07 per diluted share for the quarter ende Dec. 31 compared with a loss of 59 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Sales in the quarter totalled US$920 million, down from US$1.03 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.
Excluding discontinued operations and other items, the company said it earned US$19 million or 34 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with a loss of US$9 million or 16 cents per share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Domtar says paper demand remains uncertain and dependent upon the recovery from the pandemic.
It expects near-term pulp markets to gradually improve driven by better demand, maintenance outages and restocking in China. Raw material and freight costs are expected to rise.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2021.
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