CHILE – Masisa, the Chilean wooden panel manufacturer, reported consolidated sales revenue in 2019 was USD 402.0 million, a decrease of USD 210.4 million over 2018 sales.

This 34.4 percent drop is partly explained by the divestment of industrial plants in Mexico (-USD 125.6 million) and the deconsolidation of Venezuelan subsidiaries (-USD 21.2 million).

In FY2019 consolidated EBITDA reached USD 26.5 million, which represented a decrease of USD 59.7 million compared to FY2018.

Profit / loss reached -USD 127.1 million in 2019 due to the aforementioned impacts.

On April 5th, 2019, the Board agreed to initiate a sale process of the forestry assets that Masisa owns in Chile and Argentina. This led to the sale on March 20, 2020 of Masisa’s forestry assets in Chile, as it was communicated through an essential fact. The deal was priced at USD 350 million, which will be used primarily for the payment of financial debt.

These divestments will allow Masisa to focus its commercial activity in higher added value businesses, maintaining its productive capacity to supply the region from Chile, and at the same time decrease its debt levels and thus have a better financial position.

Masisa is a producer wood panels which are sold in Latin America and North America, being its main products: MDF panels, MDP panels, Particleboard panels and melamine panels. In addition, it sells other complementary products such as sawn wood and MDF moldings.

As of December 31, 2019, Masisa operated three industrial complexes distributed in Chile and Mexico and with an annual panel manufacturing capacity of 1’052,000 m3, an annual coating capacity of more than 538,000 m3, and an annual manufacturing capacity of 218,000 m3 of MDF moldings and a total annual capacity of 212,000 m3 of sawn wood.

Masisa products are sold through a network of 137 Placacentro stores, mostly under a franchise agreement, located in Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Mexico. These stores are aimed at carpenters and furniture makers, and offer the full range of Masisa products, as well as complementary products and accessories for furniture manufacture. The Placacentro network plays a key role in the Company’s business and growth strategy, as it supports Masisa’s focus on the panel business.