| Show A Look At Several Of The Forest Product Companies Following a year of excellent sales and earnings gains in most forest product companies continued to chalk up good results in the first half of THE COMMON stocks of lumber and plywood have come under pressure because of general market a falling off in export and a sagging domestic residential housing But 1974 should be a generally good year for forest and in our opinion long-term remain THE INDUSTRY should flourish when the housing field becomes more and export demand should pick up later the Research Department of Babson's Reports continues to recommend holding the issues of major firms in this For investors desiring representation in the we currently favor purchase of Champion Comments on some or the leading producers BOISE Management of this leading forest products company has made great strides in restoring profitability and strengthening its financial Last year special items-totaled a compared with 78 cents in 1972 and a deficit in Further strong earnings improvement was evident in the first half of this Although a month-long strike at several of Boise's paper mills and less robust lumber and plywood prices are restrictive 1974 earnings should compare favorably with last CHAMPION This is the third-largest paper and forest products company in the and its U.S. Plywood division is the nation's foremost distributor of that In 1973 net sales increased 18 per cent to a record million and net income rose 45 per reflecting excellent results in the building materials group and definite improvement in the company's fine paper In the first six months of this year sales advanced 16 per cent over the first half of and earnings rose 22 per For investors seeking capital purchase of the common is THE Convertible which provides a than the is also Readers may a free copy of a more detailed report on Champion International by writing to Babson's Reports Wellesley Earnings last year were a share versus gains are anticipated this with price increases in expected to help offset the drop In softwood plywood and lumber MANAGEMENT feels that any energy shortages benefit the forest products because of its raw low manufacturing energy and its high building insulation To meet future this concern intends to lay out billion on expansion over the In January this significant producer of and pulp was spun off from Georgia-Pacific In its first twelve months of independent it earned per share on sales of FOR THE first half of the current year sales moved up 27 percent above the comparable and earnings advanced 19 In spite of reduced demand and a slump in lumber and plywood generally good results are looked for during the months Second-quarter results fell below very strong 90 but the present year as a whole should compare favorably with when Weyerhaeuser earned a record-breaking a share versus the prior year's THE COMPANY feels that the housing markets in the U.S. and Japan constitute major near-term But the expectation is that demand for paper and pulp products will continue to be strong through the remainder of the while most of this corporation's other product lines will also contribute on the plus |
