Domtar Corporation reports preliminary fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 financial results

The conversion to specialty and packaging paper at the Marlboro mill nearing completion
(All financial information is in U.S. dollars, and all earnings per share results are diluted, unless otherwise noted.)

• Fourth quarter 2012 net earnings of $0.54 per share, earnings before items¹ of $1.31 per share
  
• Closed the sale of the Ottawa/Gatineau hydro assets for CDN$46 million
  
• Free cash flow¹ payout of 68% in 2012 through regular dividends and share buybacks

TICKER SYMBOL 
(NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS)

MONTREAL, Feb. 1, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) today reported net earnings of $19 million ($0.54 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to net earnings of $66 million ($1.84 per share) for the third quarter of 2012 and net earnings of $61 million ($1.63 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2011. Sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 amounted to $1.3 billion.

Excluding items listed below, the Company had earnings before items¹ of $46 million ($1.31 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to earnings before items¹ of $67 million ($1.87 per share) for the third quarter of 2012 and earnings before items¹ of $93 million ($2.49 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2011.

Fourth quarter 2012 items:

• Closure and restructuring costs of $27 million ($18 million after tax);
• Charge of $12 million ($8 million after tax) related to the impairment and write-down of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets; and
• Net losses on the sale of property, plant and equipment of $2 million ($1 million after tax).

Third quarter 2012 items:

• Closure and restructuring costs of $2 million ($1 million after tax).

Fourth quarter 2011 items:

• Closure and restructuring costs of $38 million ($23 million after tax); and
• Charge of $12 million ($9 million after tax) related to the impairment and write-down of property, plant and equipment.

"Our paper and pulp businesses performed largely in-line with expectations from a sales standpoint in the fourth quarter," said John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Higher costs for fiber and energy and unexpected costs incurred at a pulp mill following a planned maintenance outage affected results."

FISCAL YEAR 2012 HIGHLIGHTS

For fiscal year 2012, net earnings amounted to $172 million ($4.76 per share) compared to net earnings of $365 million ($9.08 per share) for fiscal year 2011. The Company had earnings before items¹ of $233 million ($6.45 per share) for fiscal 2012 compared to earnings before items¹ of $452 million ($11.24 per share) for fiscal 2011. Sales amounted to $5.5 billion for fiscal year 2012.

Commenting on the year, Mr. Williams said, "The down cycle in pulp prices contributed to the majority of the decline in Domtar's earnings. We accomplished a great deal again in 2012 nevertheless. We completed two acquisitions in our Personal Care business, we announced the conversion of a world-class commodity paper mill to manufacture specialty papers and launched several innovative projects that provide alternative uses for our wood fiber and the by-products of our manufacturing process. Our journey to build a growing fiber-based business is well underway," added Mr. Williams.

QUARTERLY REVIEW

Operating income before items¹ was $84 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to an operating income before items¹ of $111 million in the third quarter of 2012. Depreciation and amortization totaled $96 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The decrease in operating income before items¹ in the fourth quarter of 2012 was the result of lower average selling prices for pulp and paper, higher unit costs for fiber and energy, higher SG&A, freight, and maintenance costs and lower volumes for pulp and paper. These factors were partially offset by high productivity and lower costs for lack-of-order downtime in paper.

When compared to the third quarter of 2012, paper shipments decreased 2.5% and pulp shipments decreased 7.2%. Paper deliveries of Ariva^® decreased 10.4% when compared to the third quarter of 2012. The shipments-to-production ratio for paper was 97% in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to 105% in the third quarter of 2012. Lack-of-order downtime and machine slowdowns in papers totaled 23,000 short tons in the fourth quarter of 2012. Paper inventories increased by 27,000 tons while pulp inventories increased by 3,000 metric tons as at the end of December, compared to September levels.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL

Cash flow provided from operating activities amounted to $551 million and capital expenditures amounted to $236 million, resulting in free cash flow¹ of $315 million for fiscal year 2012. Domtar's net debt-to-total capitalization ratio¹ stood at 16% at December 31, 2012 compared to 12% at December 31, 2011.

Domtar returned a total of $215 million to its shareholders through a combination of dividends and share buybacks in 2012. Under its stock repurchase program, Domtar repurchased 2,000,925 shares of common stock throughout 2012 and a total of 8,660,703 shares of common stock at an average price of $80.04 since the implementation of the program in May 2010. At the end of the year, Domtar had $304 million remaining under this program.

OUTLOOK

In 2013, we expect market demand for uncoated freesheet paper to decline at a 3 to 4% rate in North America, but our shipments are expected to trend slightly better than market due to an exposure to stable specialty and packaging papers and the incremental volume from the supply agreement signed with Appleton. Paper prices are expected to trend at levels similar to year-end while we expect a slow and steady recovery in pulp prices. The implementation of our growth plans in the Personal Care segment are expected to yield incremental earnings beginning in the fourth quarter of 2013.

EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL

The Company will hold a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. (ET) to discuss its fourth quarter 2012 financial results. Financial analysts are invited to participate in the call by dialing at least 10 minutes before start time 1 (866) 321-8231 (toll free - North America) or 1 (416) 642-5213 (International), while media and other interested individuals are invited to listen to the live webcast on the Domtar Corporation website at www.domtar.com.

The Company will release its first quarter 2013 earnings on April 25, 2013 before markets open, followed by a conference call at 10:00 a.m. (ET) to discuss results. The date is tentative and will be confirmed approximately three weeks prior to the official earnings release date.

About Domtar

Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers and adult incontinence products. The foundation of its business is a network of world class wood fiber converting assets that produce papergrade, fluff and specialty pulps. The majority of its pulp production is consumed internally to manufacture paper and consumer products. Domtar is the largest integrated marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America with recognized brands such as Cougar^®, Lynx^® Opaque Ultra, Husky^® Opaque Offset, First Choice^® and Domtar EarthChoice^®. Domtar is also a leading marketer and producer of a complete line of incontinence care products marketed primarily under the Attends^® brand name. Domtar owns and operates Ariva^®, an extensive network of strategically located paper and printing supplies distribution facilities. In 2012, Domtar had sales of US$5.5 billion from nearly 50 countries. The Company employs approximately 9,300 people. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this news release that are not based on historical fact are "forward-looking statements." While management has based any forward-looking statements contained herein on its current expectations, the information on which such expectations were based may change. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are outside of our control that could cause actual results to materially differ from such statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not necessarily limited to, those set forth under the captions "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" of the latest Form 10-K filed with the SEC as periodically updated by subsequently filed Form 10-Q's. Unless specifically required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances.

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¹  Non-GAAP financial measure. Refer to the Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures in the appendix.

Domtar Corporation
Highlights
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

Domtar Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Earnings
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

Domtar Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheets at
(In millions of dollars)

Domtar Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In millions of dollars)

Domtar Corporation
Quarterly Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

The following table sets forth certain non-U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") financial metrics identified in bold as "Earnings before items", "Earnings before items per diluted share", "EBITDA", "EBITDA margin", "EBITDA before items", "EBITDA margin before items", "Free cash flow", "Net debt" and "Net debt-to-total capitalization." Management believes that the financial metrics presented are frequently used by investors and are useful to evaluate our ability to service debt and our overall credit profile. Management believes these metrics are also useful to measure the operating performance and benchmark with peers within the industry. These metrics are presented as a complement to enhance the understanding of operating results but not in substitution for GAAP results.

The Company calculates "Earnings before items" and "EBITDA before items" by excluding the after-tax (pre-tax) effect of items considered by management as not reflecting our current operations. Management uses these measures, as well as EBITDA and Free cash flow, to focus on ongoing operations and believes that it is useful to investors because it enables them to perform meaningful comparisons between periods. Domtar believes that using this information along with Net earnings provides for a more complete analysis of the results of operations. Net earnings and Cash flow provided from operating activities are the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

"Earnings before items", "Earnings before items per diluted share", "EBITDA", "EBITDA margin", "EBITDA before items", "EBITDA margin before items", "Free cash flow", "Net debt" and "Net debt-to-total capitalization" have no standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and therefore should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for Net earnings, Operating income or any other earnings statement, cash flow statement or balance sheet financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. It is important for readers to understand that certain items may be presented in different lines by different companies on their financial statements thereby leading to different measures for different companies.

Domtar Corporation
Quarterly Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures - By Segment 2012
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

The following table sets forth certain non-U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), financial metrics identified in bold as "Operating income (loss) before items", "EBITDA before items" and "EBITDA margin before items" by reportable segment. Management believes that the financial metrics presented are frequently used by investors and are useful to measure the operating performance and benchmark with peers within the industry. These metrics are presented as a complement to enhance the understanding of operating results but not in substitution for GAAP results.

The Company calculates the segmented "Operating income (loss) before items" by excluding the pre-tax effect of items considered by management as not reflecting our ongoing operations. Management uses these measures to focus on ongoing operations and believes that it is useful to investors because it enables them to perform meaningful comparisons between periods. Domtar believes that using this information along with Operating income (loss) provides for a more complete analysis of the results of operations. Operating income (loss) by segment is the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

"Operating income (loss) before items", "EBITDA before items" and "EBITDA margin before items" have no standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and therefore should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for Operating income (loss) or any other earnings statement, cash flow statement or balance sheet financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. It is important for readers to understand that certain items may be presented in different lines by different companies on their financial statements thereby leading to different measures for different companies.

Domtar Corporation
Quarterly Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures - By Segment 2011
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

The following table sets forth certain non-U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), financial metrics identified in bold as "Operating income (loss) before items", "EBITDA before items" and "EBITDA margin before items" by reportable segment. Management believes that the financial metrics presented are frequently used by investors and are useful to measure the operating performance and benchmark with peers within the industry. These metrics are presented as a complement to enhance the understanding of operating results but not in substitution for GAAP results.

The Company calculates the segmented "Operating income (loss) before items" by excluding the pre-tax effect of items considered by management as not reflecting our ongoing operations. Management uses these measures to focus on ongoing operations and believes that it is useful to investors because it enables them to perform meaningful comparisons between periods. Domtar believes that using this information along with Operating income (loss) provides for a more complete analysis of the results of operations. Operating income (loss) by segment is the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

"Operating income (loss) before items", "EBITDA before items" and "EBITDA margin before items" have no standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and therefore should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for Operating income (loss) or any other earnings statement, cash flow statement or balance sheet financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. It is important for readers to understand that certain items may be presented in different lines by different companies on their financial statements thereby leading to different measures for different companies.

⁽¹⁾ On September 1, 2011, the Company acquired 100% of the shares of Attends Healthcare Inc. 

Domtar Corporation
Supplemental Segmented Information
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

SOURCE: DOMTAR CORPORATION