<B>Willamette Posts Strong Quarter</B>

Willamette Industries reported quarterly net earnings of $86 million, an increase from last year’s fourth quarter net earnings of $83.6 million.

Sales for the quarter were $1.1 billion, a slight increase from figures the same time last year.

Net earnings for the full year were $344.9 million up 33.9% from 1999 net earnings of $260.5 million. Sales for the year were $4.7 billion, up 8.9% from the $4.3 billion recorded in 1999.

Duane McDougall, president and CEO, said, "Willamette produced strong earnings results for the quarter despite weakening conditions in the general economy, sharply rising energy costs and a hostile takeover attempt by Weyerhaeuser. Our strong performance under these difficult circumstances is the result of our efficient high quality asset base, our leading customer service, and the exceptional dedication and efforts of our employees.

"Earnings were driven by improved pricing for white paper, and lower raw material costs for our brown paper operations. Volumes were down slightly due to normal seasonal softening," McDougall continued. "While the building materials market remains at the bottom of the cycle in terms of pricing across product lines, our plants continued to run efficiently and we began to see the benefits of increased timber availability on raw material costs."