Weyerhaeuser Earnings: Missed It by That Much

For the full year, Weyerhaeuser posted EPS of $1.14 on revenues of $8.53 billion, compared with consensus estimates calling for EPS of $1.15 on revenues of $8.57 billion. Revenues rose about $1.5 billion year-over-year and EPS almost doubled.

Full year earnings include after-tax charges of $114 million for special items, primarily for a previously announced real estate impairment. Including these charges, EPS came to $0.95.

The company’s CEO said:

Our vision is to grow a truly great company for our shareholders, customers and employees. In 2013, we made initial progress toward this goal, as we doubled earnings before special items, increased our per share dividend by nearly 30 percent, announced an agreement to combine our real estate operation with TRI Pointe Homes, and acquired approximately 645,000 acres of outstanding timberlands in the Pacific Northwest through the purchase of Longview Timber.

Sales volumes declined in the Wood Products division in the quarter due in part to unusually severe winter weather. But construction markets in China drove increased demand in the Timberlands unit, and the recovery in the U.S. housing market boosted performance in the Real Estate division.

The company did not offer guidance, but the consensus forecasts so far call for EPS of $0.29 and revenue of $2.16 billion in the current quarter, as well as $1.41 per share and $9.46 billion for the full year.

Weyerhaeuser shares were inactive in premarket trading, after closing at $30.77 in a 52-week range of $26.38 to $33.24. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $33.32 before the report.