Domtar Corporation Reports Preliminary Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2017 Financial Results; Announces Increase to its Quarterly Dividend

(All financial information is in U.S. dollars, and all earnings per share results are diluted, unless otherwise noted).

• Fourth quarter 2017 net loss of $5.42 per share; earnings before items¹ of $0.64 per share
• Price increases announced for pulp and several uncoated freesheet grades
• Announced a 4.8% dividend increase

FORT MILL, S.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 8, 2018– Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) today reported a net loss of $340 million ($5.42 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to net earnings of $70 million ($1.11 per share) for the third quarter of 2017 and net earnings of $47 million ($0.75 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2016. Sales for the fourth quarter of 2017 were $1.3 billion.

Excluding items listed below, the Company had earnings before items¹ of $40 million ($0.64 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to earnings before items¹ of $65 million ($1.03 per share) for the third quarter of 2017 and earnings before items¹ of $47 million ($0.75 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2016.

Fourth quarter 2017 items:

• Non-cash goodwill impairment charge associated with Personal Care of $578 million ($573 million after tax);
• Closure and restructuring costs of $2 million ($1 million after tax);
• Deferred tax benefit of $186 million related to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (U.S. Tax Reform); and
• Net gain on disposal of property, plant & equipment of $9 million ($8 million after tax).

Third quarter 2017 items:

• Gain on disposal of property, plant & equipment of $4 million ($3 million after tax); and
• Partial reversal of contingent consideration related to an acquisition of $2 million ($2 million after tax).

Fourth quarter 2016 items:

• Closure and restructuring impact of $(1) million ($(1) million after tax); and
• Negative impact of purchase accounting of $1 million ($1 million after tax).

FISCAL YEAR 2017 HIGHLIGHTS

As a result of its annual goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets impairment tests, the Company recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $578 million associated with Personal Care. Growing competitive market pressures in the healthcare and retail markets over the last year, including the entry of new competitors in the private label category, excess industry capacity and the decline of healthcare spending by governmental agencies, are expected to result in lower than previously anticipated sales and operating margins. In light of this weakened market outlook, our current business forecast was not sufficient to support the carrying value of the goodwill associated with Personal Care, leading to the impairment.

Commenting on the full-year results, John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer said, “We generated nearly $450 million of operating cash flow and continued our solid track record of rewarding shareholders with a high payout ratio while maintaining financial flexibility. Our performance, combined with our confidence in our cash flow generating capabilities, enable us to announce a 4.8% dividend increase. Looking ahead, we remain focused on maximizing long-term profitability and value creation.”

QUARTERLY REVIEW

“As expected, higher maintenance and seasonally higher operating costs impacted our fourth quarter Pulp and Paper results,” said John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Nevertheless, pulp price realizations were higher and we shipped record volumes of tissue grade and fluff pulp. Recently announced price increases across a number of pulp and paper grades are expected to drive continued momentum into 2018.”

Commenting on Personal Care, Mr. Williams added, “While we had good results in 2017, we have concluded that the performance of our Personal Care business will continue to be impacted by an increasingly competitive market. We remain optimistic about the long-term growth trajectory of the absorbent hygiene market; however, this increasingly competitive market will negatively impact our sales, and we expect the environment to remain challenging for the foreseeable future. Importantly, the goodwill impairment charge is non-cash. It does not alter our current financial flexibility, and our overall cash generating capabilities remains strong.”

Operating loss was $512 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to operating income of $89 million in the third quarter of 2017. Depreciation and amortization totaled $82 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Operating income before items¹ was $59 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to an operating income before items¹ of $83 million in the third quarter of 2017.

The operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2017 was a result of the goodwill impairment charge, higher maintenance and raw material costs, lower productivity and higher costs, when compared to the operating income in the third quarter of 2017. These factors were partially offset by higher selling prices and volume and favorable exchange rates.

When compared to the third quarter of 2017, manufactured paper shipments were up 1% and pulp shipments increased 9%. The shipments-to-production ratio for paper was 100% in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to 97% in the third quarter of 2017. Paper inventories increased by 1,000 tons and pulp inventories decreased by 50,000 metric tons when compared to the third quarter of 2017.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL

Cash flow from operating activities amounted to $125 million and capital expenditures were $71 million, resulting in free cash flow¹ of $54 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Domtar’s net debt-to-total capitalization ratio¹ stood at 28% at December 31, 2017 compared to 26% at September 30, 2017.

In 2017, cash flow from operating activities amounted to $449 million and capital expenditures were $182 million, resulting in free cash flow¹ of $267 million.

DECLARATION OF DIVIDEND

The Board of Directors approved a 4.8% increase to its quarterly dividend (from $0.415 per share to $0.435 per share) on its common stock. The Board of Directors declared a dividend payable on April 16, 2018 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on April 2, 2018.

OUTLOOK

In 2018, costs, including freight, labor and raw materials, are expected to marginally increase. Our paper shipments should benefit from expected industry capacity closures, while paper prices should improve following the recently-announced price increases and pulp will benefit from volume growth in fluff. Personal Care is expected to be negatively impacted by an unfavorable tender balance, resulting in lower volume and operating margins.

EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL

The Company will hold a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. (ET) to discuss its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2017 financial results. Financial analysts are invited to participate in the call by dialing 1 (800) 499-4035 (toll free – North America) or 1 (416) 204-9269 (International) at least 10 minutes before start time, while media and other interested individuals are invited to listen to the live webcast on the Domtar Corporation website at www.domtar.com.

The Company will release its first quarter 2018 earnings results on May 1, 2018 before markets open, followed by a conference call at 10:00 a.m. (ET) to discuss results. The date is tentative and will be confirmed approximately three weeks prior to the official earnings release date.

About Domtar

Domtar is a leading provider of a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication, specialty and packaging papers, market pulp and absorbent hygiene products. With approximately 10,000 employees serving more than 50 countries around the world, Domtar is driven by a commitment to turn sustainable wood fiber into useful products that people rely on every day. Domtar’s annual sales are approximately $5.2 billion, and its common stock is traded on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges. Domtar’s principal executive office is in Fort Mill, South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.domtar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release about our plans, expectations and future performance, including the statements by Mr. Williams and those contained under “Outlook,” are “forward-looking statements.” Actual results may differ materially from those suggested by these statements for a number of reasons, including changes in customer demand and pricing, changes in manufacturing costs, future acquisitions and divestitures, including facility closings, and the other reasons identified under “Risk Factors” in our Form 10-K for 2016 as filed with the SEC and as updated by subsequently-filed Form 10-Qs. Except to the extent required by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances or otherwise.

Domtar Corporation
Highlights
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

Domtar Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss)
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

Domtar Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheets at
(In millions of dollars)

Domtar Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In millions of dollars)

Domtar Corporation
Quarterly Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

The following table sets forth certain non-U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) financial metrics identified in bold as “Earnings before items”, “Earnings before items per diluted share”, “EBITDA”, “EBITDA margin”, “EBITDA before items”, “EBITDA margin before items”, “Free cash flow”, “Net debt” and “Net debt-to-total capitalization”. Management believes that the financial metrics are useful to understand our operating performance and benchmark with peers within the industry. The Company calculates “Earnings before items” and “EBITDA before items” by excluding the after-tax (pre-tax) effect of specified items. These metrics are presented as a complement to enhance the understanding of operating results but not in substitution for GAAP results.

“Earnings before items”, “Earnings before items per diluted share”, “EBITDA”, “EBITDA margin”, “EBITDA before items”, “EBITDA margin before items”, “Free cash flow”, “Net debt” and “Net debt-to-total capitalization” have no standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and therefore should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for Net earnings (loss), Operating income (loss) or any other earnings statement, cash flow statement or balance sheet financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. It is important for readers to understand that certain items may be presented in different lines by different companies on their financial statements, thereby leading to different measures for different companies.

Domtar Corporation
Quarterly Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures – By Segment 2017
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

The following table sets forth certain non-U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) financial metrics identified in bold as “Operating income (loss) before items”, “EBITDA before items” and “EBITDA margin before items” by reportable segment. Management believes that the financial metrics are useful to understand our operating performance and benchmark with peers within the industry. The Company calculates the segmented “Operating income (loss) before items” by excluding the pre-tax effect of specified items. These metrics are presented as a complement to enhance the understanding of operating results but not in substitution for GAAP results.

“Operating income (loss) before items”, “EBITDA before items” and “EBITDA margin before items” have no standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and therefore should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for Operating income (loss) or any other earnings statement, cash flow statement or balance sheet financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. It is important for readers to understand that certain items may be presented in different lines by different companies on their financial statements, thereby leading to different measures for different companies.

Domtar Corporation

Quarterly Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures – By Segment 2016

(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

The following table sets forth certain non-U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) financial metrics identified in bold as “Operating income (loss) before items”, “EBITDA before items” and “EBITDA margin before items” by reportable segment. Management believes that the financial metrics are useful to understand our operating performance and benchmark with peers within the industry. The Company calculates the segmented “Operating income (loss) before items” by excluding the pre-tax effect of specified items. These metrics are presented as a complement to enhance the understanding of operating results but not in substitution for GAAP results.

“Operating income (loss) before items”, “EBITDA before items” and “EBITDA margin before items” have no standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies and therefore should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for Operating income (loss) or any other earnings statement, cash flow statement or balance sheet financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. It is important for readers to understand that certain items may be presented in different lines by different companies on their financial statements, thereby leading to different measures for different companies.

⁽¹⁾ On October 1, 2016, the Company acquired 100% of the shares of Home Delivery Incontinent Supplies Co. in the United States.

Domtar Corporation
Supplemental Segmented Information
(In millions of dollars, unless otherwise noted)

^(a) Figures represent Pulp Shipments to third parties.
^(b) Percentages include Pulp Shipments to our Personal Care segment.

Note: the term “ST” refers to a short ton and the term “ADMT” refers to an air dry metric ton.

¹ Non-GAAP financial measure. Refer to the Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures in the appendix.

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Source: Domtar Corporation

Domtar Corporation
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Nicholas Estrela, 514-848-5049
Director
Investor Relations
or
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David Struhs, 803-802-8031
Vice-President
Corporate Services and Sustainability