AbitibiBowater, Inc. (fka ABWTQ)

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The Canadian Press

Date: Monday Nov. 15, 2010 5:36 PM ET

MONTREAL — Insolvent newsprint giant AbitibiBowater's net loss nearly doubled to US$829 million in the third quarter due to soaring restructuring costs.

The Montreal-based company's loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was equal to US$14.35 per share, compared with a loss of US$511 million or 8.85 per share a year earlier, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

AbitibiBowater, which reports in U.S. dollars, has been operating under court protection from creditors in Canada and the United States for about 18 months.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Delaware could soon sanction a restructuring plan despite objections from some creditors.

A majority of AbitibiBowater's creditors in Canada and the United States approved the restructuring plan in September, but Bowater Canada Finance Corp., a special purpose subsidiary with no operating assets, failed to win approval and may be excluded from the restructuring.

AbitibiBowater faced $731 million in restructuring costs during the quarter, compared with $301 million a year ago.

Excluding the charges, it lost $93 million compared with a loss of $184 million in the same period of 2009.

Sales increased 9.2 per cent to $1.2 billion from $1.09 billion.


http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20101115/abitibibowater-loss-101115/