International Forest Products Ltd. (TSX:IFP.A) plans to buy back and cancel 2.8%, or 1.3 million, of its outstanding Class A shares over the next 12 months in a bid to enhance shareholder value.
Over the past year, the company has spent roughly $9.8 million to buy back more than 1.2 million shares, which has reduced its total to 46.1 million shares issued and outstanding.
A slumping U.S. housing market, however, has continued to dampen the company's top and bottom lines. Third-quarter revenue for the period ending September 30, 2007, fell 35% to $135.6 million compared with 209.2 million in 2006's third quarter.
Interfor reported a net loss of $1.5 million in 2007's third quarter compared with a net profit of $1.5 million in the previous year's third quarter.
For the nine-month period ending September 30, 2007, the company's revenue has fallen 23.7% to $495.6 million compared with $649.9 million in the same period in 2006. Interfor reported a net loss of $4.4 million compared with a net profit of $18.3 million in the nine-month period in 2006.
Interfor's share price range during the past week: between $6.02 and $6.18; 52-week high: $9.84; 52-week low: $5.02.