Prince George, B.C.- The third quarter results for the Canfor Pulp Limited Partnership have been announced and the numbers look good.

 

The Partnership reported sales of $202.0 million and net income of $18.3 million, for the quarter which

ended September 30, 2009. That’s up from the net income of $1.5 million recorded in the previous quarter and up from 3^rd quarter results of last year when the net income was $11.1 million.

 

NBSK pulp US dollar list prices increased by 14% in the third quarter, but were partially offset by a 6% strengthening of the Canadian dollar. Unit manufacturing costs decreased 7% when compared to the prior quarter due primarily to the absence of any scheduled maintenance downtime and lower chemical prices. The Partnership’s cash position increased $25.6 million during the third quarter of 2009 due to positive cash generated from operations and a reduction in working capital

 

Pulp markets showed further improvement in the third quarter of 2009 as continued reduction of supply and steady improvement in demand have resulted in further reductions in inventory stocks and subsequent price increases.

NBSK US dollar North American list prices were US$660 in June rising to US$770 in September with announced prices for October of US$800 and for November of US$830.

 

There was no scheduled maintenance downtime at the Partnership’s operations during the third quarter of 2009.

For the fourth quarter, a planned maintenance outage in October at the Northwood facility was extended for additional work on the recovery boiler, and resulted in total reduced production levels of approximately 31,000 tonnes.

 

On October 9, 2009 the Canadian federal government announced the allocation of credits from the billion dollar Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program (the Program). The Partnership has been allocated $122.2 million from

the Program which is designed as a reimbursement of funds to be spent on qualifying energy and environmental capital projects. Credits may be used until the Program end date of March 31, 2012.

 

A number of projects have been identified and will be submitted for program approval. These projects are expected to provide economic and environmental benefits to the Canfor Pulp operations.