VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Western Forest Products Inc. (TSX:WEF) (“Western” or the “Company”) is pleased to confirm that a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share will be paid with respect to the Company’s first fiscal quarter of 2018 to shareholders of record as at the close of business on Thursday, March 1, 2018 and will be distributed on or about Friday, March 16, 2018.

The dividend will return a portion of the Company’s net cash to shareholders, after taking into consideration the Company’s liquidity and ongoing capital needs. The Board of Directors will review the amount of the dividend on a quarterly basis. This dividend qualifies as an “eligible dividend” for Canadian income tax purposes.

About Western Forest Products Inc.

Western is an integrated Canadian forest products company and the largest coastal British Columbia timberlands operator and lumber producer. The Company has an annual available harvest greater than 6 million cubic metres of timber, of which approximately 5.8 million cubic metres is from Crown lands. Western has a lumber capacity in excess of 1.1 billion board feet from seven sawmills. Principal activities of the Company include timber harvesting, sawmilling logs into specialty lumber, and value added remanufacturing. With operations and employees primarily on the coast of British Columbia and one location in Washington State, Western is a premier supplier of high-value, specialty forest products to markets worldwide.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements under the applicable securities laws. Readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, may be forward-looking statements and can be identified by the use of words such as “will” and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the fact that all conditions for the payment of the dividend will be met and that such dividend will continue to be an “eligible dividend”, as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada). Although such statements reflect management’s current reasonable beliefs, expectations and assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements are accurate, and actual results or performance may materially vary. Many factors could cause our actual results or performance to be materially different, including a change in the Company’s financial situation and other factors referenced under the “Risks and Uncertainties” section of our MD&A in our 2017 Annual Report dated February 15, 2018.

For further information, please contact:

Stephen Williams,
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
(604) 648-4500