Sign of the Times: Louisiana-Pacific Suspends Dividends

PORTLAND-The timber and building materials company Louisiana-Pacific Corp. this morning suspended its quarterly dividend and canceled its stock buyback program because of the stock market and the company’s financial condition.

Portland-based Lousiana-Pacific, which has cut more than 20% of its staff in the past 18 months, said it will think about paying dividends again dividend payment once its financial condition improves. The suspension of the $0.05-per-share dividend is expected to save the company $20 million per year.

Shares of Louisiana-Pacific closed at $7.19 on Friday on the NYSE. In early afternoon trading Monday, shares had rebounded to $7.28. The stock is off nearly 100% from its 52-week high of $13.95 on May 21, and off 23% since Sept. 10, the day before trading was suspended for a week in response to the terrorist attacks.