VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Nov 04, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX News Network) --

PRT Forest Regeneration Income Fund (the "Fund") (TSX: PRT.UN) today announced results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2009. The Fund's interim financial report is enclosed as part of this release.

For the nine month period, the Fund reported operating earnings of $1,271,000 and Cash Available for Distribution of $636,000 ($0.07 per unit) as compared to operating earnings of $3,269,000 and Cash Available for Distribution of $2,355,000 ($0.25 per unit) respectively for 2008. Operating Earnings and Cash Available for Distribution decreased year-over-year due to approximately 27% lower seedling volumes in 2009. Operating Earnings and Cash Available for Distribution are terms which do not have standardized meaning under Canadian generally accepted accounting principles, and may not be comparable to similar measures provided by other reporting entities. Cash Available for Distribution is the Fund's measure of free cash flow from operating activities; however, in the current economic environment, the Fund is not making distributions in order to preserve cash flow for debt coverage. Standardized Distributable Cash - a comparable measure of cash flow prepared under guidance issued by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants - totaled $0.50 per unit for the first nine months of 2009, as compared to $0.96 per unit in 2008.

The reported net loss for the nine month period was $1,317,000 or ($0.14) per unit compared to a net loss of $19,000,000 for the comparable period in 2008 which was impacted by a $19.2 million non-cash write-down of goodwill. Excluding the write down, the net earnings for the 2008 nine month period would have been $175,000 ($0.02 per unit).

For the three months ended September 30, 2009, the Fund reported a net loss of $1,404,000 ($0.14 per unit) and Cash Available for Distribution of ($762,000) or ($0.07) per unit. Quarterly results were in line with management's expectations given consideration for the current economic recession and the seasonal nature of PRT's business. The third quarter is typically the lowest seasonal revenue period in PRT's business cycle.

Revenues in the nine month period decreased by $6.3 million or 21.7%, with lower contract volumes and prices being the primary cause. Of note however, is that despite the lower volumes, management estimates that market share remained relatively stable. While production expenditures were scaled to the lower volumes, margins declined due to lower efficiencies of scale and higher relative materials and utility costs. Selling, general and administration costs were 13.5% lower than the first nine months of 2008 due to cost reduction efforts as a response to the economic downturn.

Commenting on the PRT's performance this year, President and CEO, Rob Miller, said, "Despite the significant challenges posed by the forest industry downturn, our employees have been executing well on our operating plan. This was aided by above average growing conditions in several regions this summer. We remain on track to reliably deliver quality crops to our customers' specifications, with good value and a high level of service. These factors are core to our operating philosophy, and together with innovation, cost control and prudent balance sheet management, are essential to running our business successfully for the long term."

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