Asia stocks edge higher as tech meanders on Nvidia; Hong Kong hit by soft earnings
NEW YORK - Shares of Mercer International Inc. (NASDAQ:MERC) surged 11.3% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the forest products company reported fourth quarter earnings that easily beat analyst expectations.
Mercer posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.25 for Q4, significantly higher than the $0.02 per share analysts were expecting. Revenue came in at $488.4 million, also topping the consensus estimate of $483.4 million.
The company’s fourth quarter Operating EBITDA increased to $99.2 million from $21.1 million in the same quarter last year, driven by higher pulp sales realizations and no planned maintenance downtime at its pulp mills.
"With strengthened pulp markets, our operating results for the year improved significantly," said CEO Juan Carlos Bueno. He noted that softwood pulp prices remained strong in Q4, decreasing only slightly from recent record levels.
Pulp segment revenues rose 3% year-over-year to $375.5 million, while lumber revenues jumped 23% to $58.6 million on higher sales volumes and realizations.
For the full year 2024, Mercer reported Operating EBITDA of $243.7 million, up sharply from $17.5 million in 2023. However, the company still posted a net loss of $85.1 million for the year.
Looking ahead, Bueno said Mercer expects "modestly higher softwood pulp sales realizations" in Q1 2025 due to stable demand and continued global supply constraints. The company also anticipates lumber prices to increase modestly in both Europe and North America.
Mercer declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, payable on April 2, 2025 to shareholders of record on March 26, 2025.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.