Cedar planks are stacked at a lumber yard in Montreal on April 25, 2017.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Shares of Resolute Forest Products Inc. dropped to an all-time low Thursday after the pulp, paper and lumber producer missed expectations as it swung to a third-quarter loss.
The Montreal-based company’s shares fell to a low of $4.51 before closing down $1.27 or 21.2 per cent to $4.72 in Thursday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Resolute says its net loss attributable to shareholders was US$43-million or 47 cents per diluted share for the period ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of US$117-million or $1.25 per share a year earlier.
The results last year included sales from facilities in Catawba, S.C., and Fairmont, W.Va., that were sold in the fourth quarter.
Resolute which reports in U.S. dollars, says its adjusted net loss was US$34-million or 37 cents per share. That compared with an adjusted profit of $96-million or $1.03 per share in the prior year.
Sales fell 27.6 per cent to $705-million from $974-million in the third quarter of 2018.
Resolute was expected on average to post an adjusted loss of four cents per share on $796-million of revenues, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.