Tembec Inc. (TSX:TMB) is planning to sell its Skookumchuck pulp mill as part of a move to cut losses.
The Montreal-based forestry company posted a $10 million loss in its fourth-quarter earnings for the end of 2012. That's an improvement over the same period of 2011, which had a loss of $16 million.
While B.C. forestry companies have been enjoying a surge in business in recent months, due to a recovery in the U.S. housing market, Tembec has seen profits fall in its lumber, pulp and paper divisions, according to its recent fourth-quarter financials.
The Skookumchuck pulp mill north of Cranbrook employs roughly 280 workers. Tembec's only other B.C. asset was its Chetwynd pulp mill, which was idled indefinitely in September 2012, putting 115 mill workers out of work.
Linda Coates, vice-president of human resources and corporate affairs for Tembec, said the company is in discussion with a number of potential buyers for the Skookumchuck mill.
"The (Skookumchuck) pulp plant is the only NBSK pulp plant in the company's portfolio," Coates told Business in Vancouver. "That is a profitable plant, but probably would be better in a bigger company that concentrates on that sector."
Once the Skookumchuck mill is sold, Tembec would have no other significant assets in B.C. Last year, it sold its Elko and Canal Flats sawmills, along with its associated timber holds, to Canfor Corp. (TSX:CFP).
