Canaccord Morning Coffee Norbord* (NBD : TSX : $33.62), Net Change: 1.52, % Change: 4.74%, Volume: 480,555
O-S-B, O-S-B, O-S-B-!-!-!-! Shares of Norbord traded higher after the company announced Q1/13 earnings of $1.26 per share and EBITDA of $111 million, which was a fivefold increase from the same period last year. In North America, OSB shipment volumes increased 4% year-over-year and decreased 3% versus the prior quarter. The quarter-over-quarter decrease is due to scheduled annual maintenance shuts and fewer fiscal days in the first quarter. Norbord's OSB mills produced at approximately 70% of capacity, up 5% versus the first quarter of 2012 and unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2012. In response to increased customer demand for OSB, Norbord continues to staff up and prepare its curtailed mill in Jefferson, Texas for restart by mid-2013. The mill has been mothballed since the first quarter of 2009 and represents 9% of the Company's 4.4 billion square feet (3/8-inch basis) of North American OSB capacity. Norbord will continue to monitor market conditions, but does not currently expect to restart its curtailed mills in Huguley, Alabama or Val-d'Or, Quebec in 2013. The company also announced a new variable dividend policy which reflects the improvement in the company?s cash flow over the past year. NBD declared a $0.60 common share dividend, payable on June 21, 2013 to shareholders of record on June 1, 2013. Recently a Bay Street analyst commented that Q1/13 will represent the peak OSB price for this cycle and recommending switching into lumber names.