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LP's 4Q losses to rise
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December 22, 2000: 6:44 p.m. ET
Forest products maker blames weakening prices, increased costs of energy
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Forest products company Louisiana-Pacific Corp. joined its major competitors Friday in warning its current quarter results would be well below forecasts.
But the Portland, Ore., company's warning means that it will be seeing larger than expected losses, rather than the smaller earnings being seen at International Paper Co. and Georgia Pacific Corp. LP also issued its warning after the market close Friday, when most investors had already begun the holiday weekend. Kelly Stoner, spokeswoman for the company, said the company just pulled the information together late Friday and decided it needed to issue the warning as soon as possible.
 The warning was short on specifics, the company saying that weaker demand and pricing as well as related plant closures and production curtailments, would cause problems, as would substantially higher energy costs. The company had already warned that it would take a charge of between $25 million to $30 million related to plant closures.
Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had forecast the company would lose 25 cents a share in the current quarter, compared with earnings of 31 cents a share in the year earlier quarter.
Louisiana-Pacific's troubles began in the third quarter this year when it reported a loss of 39 cents a share, as the company pointed to declining prices for building materials. Analysts have forecast losses in three of the four quarters next year for the company, with a third quarter profit forecast of 1 cent a share being the only quarter expected to be in the black.
International Paper (IP: Research, Estimates), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, warned Wednesday that it would earn about 30 cents a share rather than the forecasted 44 cents a share due to a slowing economy and rising energy costs. The warning from Georgia Pacific (GP: Research, Estimates) also did not give a new earnings range, saying that it would be substantially below the forecasted profit. It did say its building products division would lose money in a quarter for the first time since 1991.
Louisiana-Pacific is ranked as the 11th largest forest and paper products company by Fortune magazine. Shares of Louisiana-Pacific (LPX: Research, Estimates) gained $1.19, or 13 percent, to $10.50 in regular-hours trading Friday ahead of the announcement. 
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Louisiana-Pacific
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