Plum Creek Completes $50 Million of Share Repurchases

SEATTLE–(Business Wire)–
Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. (NYSE: PCL) announced today that it repurchased
$50 million of its common stock, completing its previously announced $200
million open-market share repurchase program. The company expects to seek
authorization of a new open-market share repurchase program at its next
scheduled Board of Directors meeting. During the second quarter, the company
repurchased approximately 1.37 million shares at an average price of $36.37 per
share. As of June 1, 2010, Plum Creek had approximately 161.6 million shares
outstanding.

“Disciplined capital allocation is at the heart of Plum Creek`s long-term
strategy for shareholder value creation. We are convinced that the most
compelling timber investment available in today`s market is our own stock,” said
Rick Holley, president and chief executive officer.

Plum Creek is the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in
the nation with approximately 7 million acres of timberlands in major
timber-producing regions of the United States and wood products manufacturing
facilities in the Northwest. For more information, visit www.plumcreek.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended. Some of these forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as
“believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seek,” “approximately,”
“intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” or “anticipates,” or the negative of those
words or other comparable terminology. The accuracy of such statements is
subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, but not
limited to, the cyclical nature of the forest products industry, our ability to
harvest our timber, our ability to execute our acquisition strategy, the market
for and our ability to sell or exchange non-strategic timberlands and timberland
properties that have higher and better uses, and various regulatory constraints.
These and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions are detailed from time to
time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended. It is likely that if one or more of the risks materializes, or if one
or more assumptions prove to be incorrect, the current expectations of Plum
Creek and its management will not be realized. Forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of performance, and speak only as of the date made, and neither
Plum Creek nor its management undertakes any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements.

Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc.
Investors:
John Hobbs, 1-800-858-5347
or
Media:
Kathy Budinick, 1-888-467-3751

Copyright Business Wire 2010

Cooperative factories must help in ensuring sugar availability: Pawar

New Delhi, Sep 10(ANI): Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday urged cooperative sugar factories to play a more pro-active role and shoulder the responsibility of importing more raw sugar, not only for better utilization of their processing capacity, but also to fulfill their obligation of providing adequate and affordable sugar to the nation.

Addressing the 50th Annual Meeting of the General Body of National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd. here, Pawar said the government has already taken steps to assist sugar factories to further help sugarcane farmers to improve productivity as well as sucrose content in sugarcane by way of soft loans at four per cent per annum from SDF.

Pawar said that in view of the significant drop in sugarcane production, there isn’t for increasing sugarcane producing area immediately. The Central Government has also decided to give a one time short term loan assistance from SDF at four per cent per annum for the purchase of inputs like seed, fertilizers and pesticides.

“The loan given to the sugar factories has to be passed on to the farmers at not more than four per cent interest in cash or kind, before March 31, 2010,” Pawar added.

Pawar also requested the delegates to assess their individual capability and capacity to pay during 2009-10 sugar season and give remunerative price to the farmers, keeping in view the long term requirement of sugarcane.

This will encourage them to increase acreage under sugarcane as well as invest more in the sugarcane crop by way of inputs like fertilizers and pesticides, he added.

Pawar further requested the sugar factories to utilize modernization and expansion loans before investing in projects for utilizing the by-products.

The minister also talked about two important aspects -increased availability of sugarcane by way of improvement in productivity as well as recovery of sugar and controlling the cyclical nature of the sugarcane and sugar economy- which need to be addressed not only by the Government, but also by the sugar factories as well as the sugarcane farmers.

Stating that the country is reeling under pressure of high sugar prices along with lack of availability of sugar, not only in the domestic market, but also in the international market, Pawar discussed some unprecedented steps taken by the Government to supplement the domestic production of sugar and also ensure availability of sugar to the more vulnerable sections of the society.

He expressed hope that these steps would not only increase availability of sugar in the market within September, 2009, especially during the festival season, but also have a positive impact in controlling the sugar prices. (ANI)