Stella-Jones Inc. announced financial results for its 4Q 2021 and year ended December 31, 2021. Sales for the 4Q 2021 amounted to $545 million, up from sales of $533 million for the same period in 2020. This growth was partially offset by lower demand for residential lumber. The decrease in logs and lumber sales mainly stemmed from the lower market price of lumber.
Sales for the year ended December 31, 2021 were up 8% to $2,750 million, compared to sales of $2,551 million in 2020, despite a $127 million negative impact from currency conversion. The increase in sales was driven by organic growth across all product categories.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, Stella-Jones generated operating cash flows of $251 million. The Company invested $129 million in strategic acquisitions, $64 million in its property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, and returned $155 million of capital to shareholders through the payment of dividends and the repurchase of shares. As at December 31, 2021, the Company maintained a healthy financial position with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 2.2x and available liquidity of $329 million.
Éric Vachon, President and CEO of Stella-Jones, said: "Stella-Jones delivered a record performance on many fronts in 2021, resulting in increased sales, strong EPS growth and solid cashflows. We utilized our collective expertise and longstanding industry relationships to successfully navigate through complex procurement challenges and volatile lumber markets to produce yet another successful year.
"We remained focused on building on our strong fundamentals, completing two accretive acquisitions and investing in our network to strengthen our capability to supply the growing needs of our infrastructure customer base. The Company also continued to return capital to its shareholders and announced an 18th consecutive year of increased dividends."
Stella-Jones Inc. is North America’s leading producer of pressure-treated wood products.
