West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.: Rating Report

DBRS Limited (DBRS) confirmed the Issuer Rating and Unsecured Debentures rating of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (West Fraser or the Company) at BBB (low) and changed the trends to Positive from Stable. The confirmation actions and change in trends reflect West Fraser’s continued strong performance, ongoing commitment to maintaining a conservative financial profile and its solid business risk profile, which lead to credit metrics that are very robust for the current ratings, despite the current softwood lumber export duties. The Company’s low-cost operations, which have enabled positive operating cash flow generation even during market downturns, the good progress on the integration of Gilman Companies (Gilman) and its access to sufficient high-quality wood fibre also support the rating.