Weyerhaeuser posts record loss

Battered by continued low demand for lumber and wood panels, Weyerhaeuser reported a net loss of $1.21 billion for its fourth fiscal quarter, compared to a $63 million net loss in the same quarter of 2008. It was the worst quarter ever for the Federal Way, Wash., wood products firm.

Sales for the fourth quarter fell to $1.8 billion, down from $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter a year ago.

For fiscal 2008, Weyerhaeuser reported a loss of $1.18 billion, compared to net earnings of $790 million in fiscal 2007. Sales dropped from $10.8 billion in 2007 to $8.0 billion in 2008.

Weyerhaeuser’s wood products business, which produces lumber, plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) and engineered wood products, posted a loss of $960 million in the fourth quarter. Its real estate business, which includes its home-building operation, lost $630 million after posting a gain of $22 million in the year-earlier quarter.