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Weyerhaeuser Declares Reduced Quarterly Dividend of 25 Cents; Authorizes $250 Million Share Repurchase; Expects Lower Fourth Qu

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  Published in Stocks and Investing on Friday, December 19th 2008 at 4:39 GMT by Market Wire
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FEDERAL WAY, Wash.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--The board of directors of Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) declared a dividend of 25 cents per share on the common stock of the corporation payable March 2, 2009 to shareholders of record at the close of business Jan. 30, 2009. This reduces the quarterly dividend payment from the previous level of 60 cents.

The company said that the continued housing slump and a weaker pulp market will result in significantly lower than expected fourth quarter earnings. Weyerhaeuser expects challenging market conditions to continue through 2009.

The company also announced the following strategic actions:

• Board authorization to repurchase up to $250 million of the company's outstanding shares.
• Board approval of a capital spending level for 2009 in the range of $200 to $250 million, down from approximately $425 million in 2008.
• A wage freeze at 2008 levels for executive and salaried employees.
• Board approval of an amendment to the company's bylaws to adopt a Dec. 31 fiscal year end.

"We are committed to making tough decisions as we manage through this downturn," said Dan Fulton, president and chief executive officer. "Through these actions, we are taking steps to preserve our financial strength, enhance our strategic flexibility, and position Weyerhaeuser to create shareholder value as the economy recovers."

ABOUT WEYERHAEUSER

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2007, sales were $16.3 billion. It has offices or operations in 13 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction, development and related activities. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser's businesses, products and practices is available at [ http://www.weyerhaeuser.com ].

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

Weyerhaeuser will hold a live conference call at 6 a.m. Pacific (9 a.m. Eastern) on Dec. 19 to discuss this announcement.

To access the conference call from within North America, dial 1-800-257-1836 at least 15 minutes prior to the call. Those calling from outside North America should dial 1-303-205-0044. Replays will be available until Jan. 9, 2009 at 1-800-405-2236 (access code - 11123757#) from within North America and at 1-303-590-3000 (access code - 11123757#) from outside North America. The call is being webcast through our website at [ http://investor.weyerhaeuser.com ] by clicking on the "Dec. 19 Investor Call" link.

The webcast is available through the Thomson StreetEvents Network to both institutional and individual investors. Individual investors can listen to the call at [ http://www.fulldisclosure.com ], Thomson's individual investor portal, powered by StreetEvents. Institutional investors can access the call via Thomson's password-protected site, StreetEvents ([ http://www.streetevents.com ]).