Potlatch Corp. earnings down

Potlatch Corp. reported lower earnings Tuesday, but company officials said markets for logs and lumber products are starting to strengthen.

The Spokane-based real estate investment trust earned $1.2 million, or 3 cents per share, during the first quarter, compared to $24.8 million, or 62 cents per share, for the first quarter of 2009. Last year’s results included a $43 million sale of Arkansas timberland in January 2009, officials said.

Meanwhile, first quarter prices and sales of lumber were up by more than 25 percent, said Mike Covey, Potlatch’s chairman and CEO. The number of logs sold during the first quarter also increased. The company sold 2,435 parcels of rural recreational land during the first quarter for roughly $3.4 million.

Becky Kramer