Plum Creek takes a hit in Q4

Plum Creek Timber Company has a merger with Weyerhaeuser waiting in the wings. But in the meantime, the company didn't have the most encouraging fourth quarter.

The company reported fourth quarter earnings of $34 million on revenues of $323 million. That's compared to earnings of $68 million on revenues of $428 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

However, this year's results also include approximately $8 million worth of transaction costs directly related to the pending merger with Weyerhaeuser.

The full fiscal year told a similar story. Earnings of $197 million on revenues of $1.45 billion for 2015 didn't stack up very high against 2014's earnings of $214 million on revenues of $1.48 billion.

At the moment, the merger with Weyerhaeuser requires the approval of shareholders of both companies. The shareholder votes are scheduled for February 12, 2016.