West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. reported its first quarter 2023 sales of $1.627 billion and earnings of $42 million, or 52 cents per diluted share.

“In the first quarter of 2023, we faced challenging demand markets due in part to seasonal effects as well as higher mortgage rates that continued to moderate new home construction activity in the U.S.,’’ said Ray Ferris, West Fraser’s president and CEO. ‘‘Our Lumber and North America EWP businesses were most impacted by these factors. As in the prior quarter, the product and geographic diversification of our European Engineered Wood Panels and Pulp & Paper segments provided positive EBITDA contributions that helped to offset some of the weakness in North American residential construction markets.”