BRAZIL – On April 27 Duratex announced the financial results for the first quarter of 2017. The company posted net revenue of R$ 952 million, a 5.6% improvement over the same period in 2016. The EBITDA margin - that is, the profit generated before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization - was 15.6%.

The good result is a reflection of the reactivation of the economy and the company's internal actions focused on efficiency and cost management. "We noticed that the confidence indexes are better and that there is a positive expectation of accelerating the recovery in the second half," says Antonio Joaquim de Oliveira, CEO of Duratex.

In order to further improve its results, in 2017 Duratex aims to reinforce its initiatives to increase efficiency and reduce costs, such as the Duratex Management System and the Zero Base Budget, in addition to implementing a new process, called S & OP (Sales and Operations Planning), which promises improvements in inventory management, customer service and industrial productivity.

"We are confident that with all the work done internally, coupled with the re-start of the economy, we will have an even stronger company to maintain market leadership," concludes Antonio Joaquim.