Jacksonville (FL) Daily Recorder,
Hurricane Laura in Louisiana and Oregon fires result in nearly $8 million in damages to the timber company.
by: Mark Basch Contributing Writer
November 5, 2020,
Every company is dealing with the impact of COVID-19, but Rayonier Inc. was hit by two unrelated disasters in the third quarter.
Rayonier last week said it wrote off $6 million in damages to timberland in Louisiana caused by Hurricane Laura in August, and wrote off another $1.9 million in timber damage caused by wildfires in Oregon.
As a result, the timber and real estate company headquartered in Wildlight in Nassau County reported a net loss of 1 cent per share in the third quarter.
Excluding one-time charges, Rayonier said net income was 6 cents a share in the quarter. That was 2 cents higher than the consensus forecast of analysts, according to Zacks Investment Research.
“Despite facing some ongoing challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, we benefited from robust new residential construction activity, continued strong repair and remodel spending, improved demand from key export log markets, and strong market dynamics for our pulpwood customers,” CEO David Nunes said in Rayonier’s third-quarter conference call with analysts.
Revenue rose 27% to $199 million.