
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 24, 1995                   TAG: 9508240054
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WESTVACO SPLITS STOCK, SETS DIVIDEND AFTER RECORD SALES

Westvaco Corp., a New York-based maker of paper, packaging and chemicals, has announced record sales and earnings for the third quarter and first nine months of its 1995 fiscal year.

The company's board of directors also announced a 3-for-2 stock split and a 20 percent increase in the quarterly dividend.

Westvaco produces bleached paperboard and chemicals at a paper mill in Covington and operates packaging and printing plants in Richmond.

Tuesday's announcements reflect the company's fundamental strength, said John A. Luke Jr., Westvaco's president and chief executive officer. Demand for the company's products remains good despite signs of a slowing economy, he said.

Backlogs of orders are coming down from the almost unsustainably high levels of late last year, but are still higher than in previous years and can be attributed to the company's emphasis on new and differentiated products, Luke said.

Westvaco's earnings for its third quarter, ended July 31, were a record $78 million, or 77 cents per share of common stock adjusted for the stock split, compared with earnings of $20 million, or 20 cents per share, last year. The quarter's record sales of $855 million were 93 percent ahead of sales for the same quarter last year.

Earnings for the nine months ended July 31 were a record $192 million, or $1.90 per share after the stock split, compared with earnings of $52 million, or 52 cents per share, during the same period of 1994. Sales for the period were a record $2.4 billion, 30 percent ahead of last year.

The stock split and dividend will be distributed Oct. 2 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 1.

The dividend is Westvaco's 400th consecutive dividend over the past 100 years, which the company says is one of the longest periods of consecutive quarterly cash dividends among companies on the New York Stock Exchange.

by CNB