Charge to Be Taken By International Paper for Quarter
International Paper Co. expects to take fourth-quarter pretax charges of $70 million largely to cut about 1,300 jobs and write off assets as the company refines its operations after a string of acquisitions.</br></br>International Paper, which in the past year has boosted its production capacity through acquisitions in the U.S. and abroad, said the charges are part of a plan to continue to boost profit through increasing productivity and cutting costs.</br></br>The Purchase, N.Y.-based company made its announcement late in the day. In New York Stock Exchange composite trading, International Paper closed at $39.25 a share, up 12.5 cents.</br></br>International Paper, along with the rest of the paper industry, has benefited from more than two years of buoyant paper prices. But flattening prices and demand have left several companies lowering their profit projections.</br></br>"This looks like a way of tidying up," said Mark Rogers, an analyst with Prudential Securities. "This is a company that has been growing rapidly through acquisitions, and when companies are in that mode, there are more opportunities to reduce costs."