Weyco Earnings and Timberland Sale

Weyerhaeuser finally announced the results of the sale of the 82,000 acre block in SW Washington. The buyer is HTRG which payed about $200 million or $2,439 per acre. Weyerhaeuser says "While the land sold is high-quality, productive timberlands, it no longer fits our long-term strategic plan." Apparently the the species composition is low to Doug Fir, which is managements focus, and that is why this particular block was selected for sale. I suspect that the fact that the sale brought in $200 million with $150 million going to the bottom line was the real critical driver behind the sale. It has been a tough time for Weyco and they need to convince investors that they can pay a consistent and reliable dividend. Read the news release here.


Weyco also posted earnings this morning. Net earnings for Q4 were $171 million which illustrates just how significant the $150 million gain on the land sale is (note that the gain will not show up in the financials till Q1 of 2011). Earnings for the year were about $4.00 per share but a full 83% of that came from tax adjustments resulting from the conversion to the REIT. 


It looks as if Weyerhaeuser has turned the corner. It has been hard to analyze the numbers due to all of the asset sales, charges and REIT conversion but it does seem that they are now actually profitable. The timberland segment is slowly improving - mainly from improved stumpage prices in the Northwest. Wood products remain the major earnings drag but losses have been reduced somewhat. They have contained the bleeding from the Real Estate segment and are producing solid profits from the Cellulose Fibers group. Here are links to the earnings announcement and some supporting slides for the conference call.


Land sales will remain the ace in the hole to assure dividends but I am going to guess that Weyerhaeuser will play it sparingly. --Brian

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Visit me at Timberland Strategies.

A BRIEF TIMO BACKGROUNDER

In discussions with newcomers considering investments in timberland or the publicly traded timber REITs, I frequently find that there is substantial misunderstandings about what a TIMO is and what the TIMO role is in the investment community. This backgrounder is intended to answer those questions. For a much deeper understanding of TIMOs, here is a link to an outstanding and in depth report prepared by Cliff Hickman with the U.S. Forest Service. It was prepared in early 2007 so some of the numbers are out of date but, other than that, it is the best researched report on TIMOs and REITs that I have seen.

What is a TIMO?

A Timberland Investment Management Organization. Note that the first word is timberland, not timber as it is so often written. There is a big difference. Timber refers to trees, timberland is land with trees on it! Many news articles in well-known financial news publications (WSJ, Barron's) have confused the two in recent years, which has led to significant confusion surrounding pricing and values of timberland. The second key point is that TIMOs do not own land; they buy land, manage it and sell it for their clients. They have teams experienced in both forest management and portfolio management. For this advice and service, they charge a fee.

Some history…

During the 1980’s, institutional investors began recognizing the value of adding timberland to their portfolios. By the early to mid 1990’s, there was a call by many analysts in the investment community for the pulp and paper companies to monetize their timberlands to reduce debt. More favorable federal income tax rates and accounting policies applied to the TIMO’s clients than the pulp and paper companies, which made the timberland more valuable for the former compared to the latter. Growth of the TIMOs was rapid as investors sought to acquire timberland and the pulp and paper companies sought to dispose of it. The companies that did not sell their land generally converted to the REIT form of corporate structure to provide higher after-tax returns for their shareholders.

Who are the TIMO’s clients?

They are large institutional investors with a focus on financial objectives, many of which are tax exempt. Specifically:

• Pension funds
• Public retirement systems (CalPERS, the California public employee retirement system, was one of the first and largest timberland investors). European pension funds invest in U.S. timberland also and U.S. funds own timberland in other countries.
• Corporate pension funds
• University endowments (Harvard and Yale were among the first institutional timberland investors)
• High net worth individuals and families
• Hedge funds
• Foundations

Note that the clients are all large investors.  The largest clients generally acquire land in separate accounts while some of the smaller clients participate in accounts with commingled funds. TIMOs are not structured to accommodate most individual investors (there are other good options for individuals though).

How do TIMOs differ from the so-called Timber REITs?

TREITs, or Timber Real Estate Investment Trusts, own the timberland, TIMOs do not. The publicly traded TREITs are Plum Creek (PCL), Potlatch (PCH), Rayonier (RYN) and soon to be Weyerhaeuser (WY). The tax structure for REITs allows the profits to be passed through to the shareholders avoiding the double taxation associated with the C corporations. That tax efficiency is why Weyerhaeuser is converting to a REIT.

How much timberland do the TIMOs manage?

The TIMOs manage approximately 25 million acres worth more than $30 billion. The three REITs (not counting Weyerhaeuser) own about 11 million acres worth about $15 billion. Including Weyerhaeuser, the REITs own about 17 million acres worth about $28 billion.

Who are some of the TIMOs?

Below is a list, in alphabetical order, of some of the largest TIMOs. All of them have web sites that you can google to get additional information about them.

• Conservation Forestry
• Forest Capital Partners
• Forest Investment Associates
• Forest Systems
• Global Forest Partners
• GMO Renewable Resources
• Hancock Timber Resources Group
• Lyme Timber Company
• Molpus Woodlands Group
• ORM/Pope Resources
• Resource Management Services
• RMK Timberland Group
• The Campbell Group
• The Forestland Group
• Timberland Investment Resources
• TimberVest
• Wagner Forest Management

Are there differences between TIMOs?

Yes. They have different investment philosophies that appeal to investors with differing objectives. For example, The Forestland Group invests primarily in natural forests, particularly hardwood. The Hancock Timber Resources Group puts an emphasis on forest technology to improve timber yields and financial returns. Some TIMOs focus on acquiring “conservation land” or land that can have “conservation easements” quickly sold and separated from the fee ownership. Some TIMOs have good information systems with strong financial controls and some do not. Some conduct field audits, some do not. Some have outstanding technical groups in-house, some contract it outside. Some manage the timberland themselves and some contract with consulting foresters. All of these issues should be weighed by investors and the right TIMO selected based on the objectives of the investor.

This post can be downloaded as a pdf here. Visit  the Timberland Strategies web site here. --Brian

Email: jbfiacco@gmail.com

Timberland Transaction Update

Major timberland transactions have slowed considerably but some continue to close. I wrote an article for Forest Landowners Magazine (THE TREND IN TIMBERLAND PRICES) that was supposed to be published in October but the publishing date was postponed until late November so I thought I would do a little update on transactions to date for this year. From the list below, you can see that there are quite a few transactions but relatively few large ones.

Here is an insightful comment from Plum Creek's 3rd Quarter Earnings Conference Call.  "We have not noted any significant changes to our rural land markets since the last quarter's call. In general, rural land values were off approximately 25% in higher value regions such as Florida, portions of Georgia, and Montana. Rural land sales in lower priced markets such as Mississippi and Northern Wisconsin remain fairly active. Prices in these markets have been more resilient and appear to be off 15% or less from their peaks." The comment is supported by the Rayonier sale above for $1,200 per acre which is a conglomerate of sales showing that Florida is definitely a soft area. Some of the other companies are reporting very little decline in the rural/recreational market.

In spite of these stated declines, there remains little sale activity supporting significant declines in institutional timberland values. Several of the larger timberland sales were at a solid price but there are too few to say prices have not declined. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this list is the names of the sellers. They are almost ALL public companies selling land to try to protect their dividends (or in Forestar's case, the entire company!). The one TIMO sale was at a very good price.

If I have missed any sales, and I probably have, send me an email to jbfiacco@gmail.com. As always, comments and differing opinions are appreciated (especially if supported by facts).

My last post had an error in a link. Click here if you would like to see the PDF of the presentation The Forest Industry of the Future: What will it look like. . --Brian

Temple-Inland to Sell 1.55 Million Acres of Timberland for $2.38 Billion

Sorry for the long absence folks but here is something to start the week off with. The news release below is from Temple-Inland's web site. On another note, Cambium bought 6,100 acres in Hawaii from Hancock. Read about that. --Brian
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AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 2007--Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE: TIN) today announced that it entered into a definitive agreement with an investment entity affiliated with The Campbell Group, Inc. to sell 1.55 million acres of timberland for $2.38 billion. The acreage included in the sale consists of 1.38 million acres of land owned in fee and leases covering 175,000 acres.
The transaction is expected to close in fourth quarter 2007. The total consideration is expected to consist almost entirely of installment notes. Roughly 30 days after the sale is closed, the Company expects to pledge the installment notes as collateral for a non-recourse loan. The net cash proceeds from these transactions, after current taxes and transaction costs, are anticipated to be approximately $1.8 billion. Following the pledge of installment notes, the Company expects to use the majority of these proceeds to pay a special dividend, which is currently estimated to be approximately $1.1 billion, or $10.25 per share, to its common stockholders. The remaining approximately $700 million of the cash proceeds will be used to reduce debt.
The transaction includes a 20-year fiber supply agreement for pulpwood and a 12-year fiber supply agreement for sawtimber, the terms of which are both subject to extension. Fiber will be purchased at market prices. The agreements further require that the timberlands will continue to be managed and third-party certified under the requirements of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative(R) Standard. In addition, The Campbell Group and its investors have agreed to continue Temple-Inland's high conservation standards and focus on environmental stewardship.
"The sale of our timberland is a milestone in the execution of our previously announced transformation plan," said Kenneth M. Jastrow, II, chairman and chief executive officer. "The fiber supply agreements will enable us to capture a significant portion of the fiber grown on these lands. The quality of our forest is a tribute to our forest team's superb management of these timberlands for many years. We are pleased that many of our current forest employees will have the opportunity to continue managing these lands under new ownership."
John Gilleland, president of The Campbell Group, said, "The Temple-Inland forests represent some of the best managed, highest quality industrial timberlands in the world. Acquiring these forests enables our firm to further its strong commitment to timberland as a long-term asset class, and to continuing our history of sound environmental stewardship. We are looking forward to managing these lands responsibly and to producing the best product for our customers and quality results for our clients."
Transformation Update
As previously announced, Temple-Inland's transformation plan includes: -- Retaining its manufacturing operations - Corrugated Packaging
and Building Products - as Temple-Inland Inc.;
-- Spinning off its financial services operation, Guaranty
Financial Group, in a tax-free distribution to shareholders;
-- Spinning off its real estate operation, Forestar Real Estate
Group, in a tax-free distribution to shareholders; and
-- Selling the Company's strategic timberland.
Temple-Inland reiterated that it is on track to complete its transformation plan by the end of 2007.
Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. served as financial advisers and Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan LLP served as legal advisor to Temple-Inland in connection with the transaction. Morrison & Foerster LLP and Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt served as legal advisors to The Campbell Group in connection with the transaction.
Temple-Inland Inc. operates four business segments: corrugated packaging, forest products, real estate and financial services. Temple-Inland's common stock (TIN) is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Temple-Inland's address on the World Wide Web is www.templeinland.com.
The Campbell Group, LLC (www.campbellgroup.com) is a full-service timberland investment management company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The company is focused exclusively on acquiring and managing high quality, investment grade forestland on behalf of institutional investors to produce superior risk-adjusted returns.
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements reflect management's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risk and uncertainties. We note that a variety of factors and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors and uncertainties that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: general economic, market, or business conditions; the opportunities (or lack thereof) that may be presented to us and that we may pursue; fluctuations in costs and expenses including the costs of raw materials, purchased energy, and freight; demand for new housing; accuracy of accounting assumptions related to pension and postretirement costs, impaired assets, and the allowance for credit losses; competitive actions by other companies; changes in laws or regulations and actions or restrictions of regulatory agencies; our ability to execute certain strategic and business improvement initiatives, including the Transformation Plan; closing the transactions described in this report; and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.
CONTACT: Temple-Inland Inc., AustinChris L. Nines, 512-434-5587SOURCE: Temple-Inland Inc.

Hancock in New Zealand

The following is from yesterday's Manulife's earning announcement:

"The Hancock Timber Resource Group (HTRG) announced the acquisition of approximately 200,000 hectares (494,000 acres) of New Zealand timberland and forestry rights. The properties are plantation forests that bring the total under HTRG management in New Zealand to approximately 296,000 hectares (731,000 acres)."