Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Please tell me something about Conifex Timber. Is it a buy or not? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Conifex Timber, $8.00, symbol CFF on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 20.9 million; Market cap: $171.2 million; www.conifex.com), owns three sawmills in the northern B.C. interior. In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Conifex’s revenue rose 1.5%, to $67.2 million from $66.2 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell sharply, to $0.08 from $0.30. The big earnings decline came as shipments fell due to higher prices for logs and weaker demand from a year ago. The company increased its revenue because it shipped more higher-priced—but less profitable—products to the U.S. Conifex holds cash of $5.9 million, or $0.28 a share. Its $94.9 million of debt is a high 55% of its $171.2-million market cap. The company is now undertaking a major capital spending plan aimed at cutting its operating costs to the same level as many of its competitors. Its strategy includes building a 36-megawatt bioenergy facility and possibly a major expansion at its Mackenzie plant. Conifex needs U.S. housing markets to grow, and it’s…