MEXICO - Tecnotabla one of the main MDF manufacturers in Mexico closed the second quarter of 2019 (2Q-2019) with a sales volume of 51.9 thousand m3 and revenues of MXN 271 million.

These figures represent a decrease in the volume of -7 percent and in sales of -1 percent when compared to 2Q-2018, which the company attributed to the impact of the seasonality of Holy Week. Even so, in the first half of 2019 Tecnotabla registered a healthy growth of 17 percent in sales and 6 percent in volume compared to the same period of the previous year.

Tecnotabla also reports significant improvements in the mix of its value-added sales and exports to the United States. In 2Q19, the percentage of melamine sales was 11.8 percent of sales in Mexico, with a growth of 86 percent against 2Q18, and exports to the United States were 13.5 percent of the total volume, with a growth of 64 percent against 2Q18. So far this year, the volume of added value has grown 61 percent and exports 49 percent against 2018.

In the first half of 2019, the Mexican MDF market remained healthy, with growth in the last 6 months of 7 percent against the same period in 2018. However, the company warns, in the last quarter it begins to perceive a deceleration in demand generated mainly by the economic situation in general.

Tecnotabla currently maintains a 22 percent market share, occupying the second place after the Chilean Arauco but it is important to highlight that in the segment of value-added boards, the participation of Tecnotabla improved considerably, reaching 23 percent against 17 percent maintained in 2018.