CHILE – Wood panel manufacturer Masisa, with production operations in Chile and Venezuela, reached in the second quarter of 2018 profits of USD 17.7 million, an increase of USD 12.8 million compared to the same quarter of the previous year or 256.1% growth.

The increase in income is mainly explained by the savings in financial expenses as a result of the reduction of debt due to the funds received from the disinvestment plan in Argentina and Brazil, and to the savings in operational expenses defined in the company's restructuring plan. Another favorable effect was achieved with the decision to change the functional currency of the Venezuelan operation to US dollars as of January 1, 2018 mitigating the accounting distortions generated by hyperinflation in Venezuela.

As a result of the divestment process, gross financial debt decreased by USD 24.2 million in the second quarter of 2018 and USD 193.4 million since January 1, 2017, which has allowed a decrease in net financial expenses in USD 5.5 million in this quarter compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Excluding the effects of divestments in Argentina and Brazil, Masisa's sales in 2Q-2018 grew 16.1% and reached USD 149.4 million (2Q-2017: USD 128.6 million) driven mainly by Chile + Andean Region.

Regarding the volumes of the quarter by product, the growth of MDF Moldings stands out, + 30.2% compared to 2Q / 2017 while for MDF panels the volumes of the quarter contracted slightly (-0.9%) and in Particleboard / MDP, the volumes of the quarter grew only 1.6%. In contrast, the performance in value was notoriously positive for the three aforementioned products: MDF Moldings, USD 20.7 million (+ 29%), MDF Panels USD 36.0 million (+ 27.9%) and Particleboard / MDP USD 52.5 million (+20.8).