CANADA – Norbord Inc., a global leader in OSB production reported Adjusted EBITDA of USD 138 million for the full-year 2019 compared to USD 724 million in record year 2018.

This performance was explained by significantly lower North American oriented strand board (OSB) prices and shipment volumes, as well as lower European panel prices.

North American operations generated Adjusted EBITDA of USD 85 million compared to USD 652 million in the prior year and European operations delivered Adjusted EBITDA of USD 64 million compared to USD 86 million in the prior year.

For the fourth quarter of 2019, Norbord recorded Adjusted EBITDA of USD 27 million versus USD 33 million in the third quarter of 2019 and USD 70 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. The quarter-over-quarter decline was primarily due to lower shipment volumes attributed to higher downtime, partially offset by modestly higher North American OSB prices. The year-over-year decline was primarily due to lower North American OSB prices as well as lower shipment volumes.

“2019 was a challenging year for Norbord,” said Peter Wijnbergen, Norbord’s President and CEO. “Our financial results were disappointing relative to our record performance in 2018, as the slowdown in US housing starts through most of 2019 decreased North American OSB demand and a slowing of German industrial production put downward pressure on European panel prices. In the face of these challenges, we focused on reducing both costs and production, by indefinitely curtailing operations at our 100 Mile House, British Columbia mill and Line 1 at our Cordele, Georgia mill.”