BRAZIL (Notifix).- The beginning of 2011 was characterized by a rhythm of activity below that of 2010, which translated in lower production volume of wood panels. Apart from normal seasonal effects, due to fewer workdays in the quarter, the year 2010 was benefited by the strong recovery trend in sales as a result of overcoming the crisis of 2009 and the IPI exemption for panels, which caused an anticipation of purchases by customers. Unlike 2010, the year 2011 had a difficult start due to the impact of macroeconomic measures adopted this year by the monetary authority along with the destocking trend observed in the furniture manufacturing segment. As a result, there was a decrease of 8% in volume shipped over the same period in 2010 and 9% in comparison to previous quarter, with consequent loss of scale. The improvement in prices offset lower volumes shipped, over the same period of 2010, allowing net income stability at R $ 413.7 million. The combination of lower volume shipped, lower net income and an increase in the cost of resins and labor (27% of the total costs) caused a lower EBITDA of R $110.2 million, with a margin of 26.6%.