05:20 PM EDT, 07/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- West Fraser Timber ( WFG ) on Wednesday said its second-quarter profit tripled as it raised it dividend by 6.7%.

The company said it earned US$105 million, or US$1.20 per share, in the period, up from US$35 million. or US$0.42, in the year-prior quarter.

Revenue rose 4.8% to US$1.71 billion from US$1.63 billion.

"Once again our North American OSB, plywood and other engineered wood products demonstrated strong results and the value of our product diversification strategy. Q2-24 benefited from relative strength in new home construction demand that carried over from the prior quarter. Conversely, we continued to experience demand softness in our North American lumber business, particularly for SYP lumber with its greater relative exposure to repair and remodelling applications," chief executive Sean McLaren said in a release.

West Fraser said it is raising its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share from $0.30, with the higher payout coming in the third quarter.

The company's shares closed up $0.60 to $109.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.