BRAZIL (Notifix).- In a scenario of marked by the slowdown in economic activity, Eucatex registered higher growth compared to the same quarter last year and the first quarter of 2013. This satisfactory performance is in line with the Brazilian panel manufacturer’s budget schedule.

The 21.3% growth in net revenue in 2Q13 reflects sales growth across practically all the segments. The top performer was the wood segment, where net revenue increased 22.7%, driven by the 11.9% increase in sales volume and the recovery of sale prices (which occurred in basically all product lines). According to ABIPA, the panels market in Brazil grew 5.6%, with the T-HDF/MDF panels segment growing by almost 7.9%. For Eucatex, MDP sales registered moderate growth, of around 5%, while the T-HDF/MDF segment registered growth of 37.8%, with the production line operating close to capacity. A few improvements are being implemented in this line to ramp up production in the coming quarters. In the 2Q-2013 sales of R$ 279.5 million (+21.3%) and a EBITDA of R$ 59.9 million (+38.3%), with a 21.4% margin were achieved. Net Income was R$ 25.0 million in the period compared to R$ 14.3 million in 2Q12 (+74.6%).

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