Domtar Corp Q1 Earnings Down

(RTTNews) - Domtar Corp.(UFS) Thursday reported lower earnings for the first quarter of 2014, with sales almost flat year-over-year.

The company's net earnings for the quarter amounted to $39 million or $1.20 per share compared with $45 million $1.29 per share in the year-ago period. The company's recent results included closure and restructuring costs of $1 million and negative impact of purchase accounting of $3 million.

Excluding these items, earnings totaled $42 million or $1.29 per share. On average, 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $1.75 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

However, operating income for the period rose to $79 million from $49 million last year.

First-quarter sales reached $1.39 billion versus $1.34 billion last year. Analysts estimated revenues of $1.48 billion for the quarter.

Looking ahead, the company expects price realizations in paper segment to further improve from the first quarter, while it estimate volumes to remain relatively stable and input costs to return to more normal levels for the remainder of the year.