West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE:WFG) Q3 2023 Earnings Conference Call October 26, 2023 11:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Ray Ferris – President and Chief Executive Officer

Sean McLaren – Chief Operating Officer

Chris Virostek – Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Hamir Patel – CIBC

Sean Steuart – TD Securities

Paul Quinn – RBC Capital Markets

Ketan Mamtora – BMO Capital Markets

Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to West Fraser’s Q3 2023 Results Conference Call. Please note that all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers’ remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions]

During this conference call, West Fraser’s representatives will be making certain statements about West Fraser’s future financial and operational performance, business outlook and capital plans. These statements may constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian and United States securities laws. Such statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which may cause West Fraser’s actual or future results and performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied in these statements. Additional information about these risk factors and assumptions is included both in the accompanying webcast presentation and in our 2023 annual MD&A and Annual Information Form, which can be accessed on West Fraser’s website or through SEDAR for Canadian investors and EDGAR for United States Investors. Thank you.

Mr. Ferris, you may begin your conference.

Ray Ferris

Well, thank you, operator. And good morning and thank you for everyone joining our third quarter earnings call. My name is Ray Ferris, President and Chief Executive Officer of West Fraser. And joining me today is Sean McLaren, our Chief Operating Officer, who we previously announced will be assuming the role of President and CEO, effective January the first, 2024; and Chris Virostek, our Chief Financial Officer; as well as Matt Tobin, our VP of Sales and Marketing, and several other members of our leadership team.

This quarter I am very pleased to inform you that Sean McLaren and I and Matt are joining the call from our OSB Mill in Chambord, Quebec. As I’m sure you are aware, our West Fraser team has been particularly busy this past period with the recently announced divestitures of three of our pulp mills and the acquisition of a sawmill and wood treatment operation and associated forest management agreements in Alberta.

All of these moves are aligned with our long-term strategy to be a premier low cost, sustainable and renewable wood building products producer and key supplier to our customers. Our team has been successfully processing and executing on these announced changes, all the while navigating uncertain, sometimes conflicting, difficult to predict demand fluctuations within the very product and geographic regions we serve.