CMPC MAINTAINS SOLID FINANCIAL POSITION AND COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY IN THE MIDST OF THE HEALTH AND ECONOMIC CRISIS
During the third quarter of this year, Empresas CMPC continued responding positively to the consequences of the COVID-19 health crisis in the country and its impact on economic activity.
The company has redoubled its efforts to protect its employees to ensure the operational continuity at all of its plants and subsidiaries and maintain a solid financial position.
This allowed the company to continue developing initiatives that support the residents of its neighboring communities, affected by the health and economic crises.
Among the projects developed is the Arriba Todos Juntos program that seeks to support the economic reactivation of entrepreneurs and small businesses in 14 municipalities in the Biobio and Araucania regions. In addition, the CMPC Solidaria (Solidarity) initiative has been delivering lunches to adults in municipalities across southern Chile and in Puente Alto.
And, as a way to help ensure a safe referendum in Chile, CMPC donated 400 thousand masks and 42 thousand bottles of hand sanitizer to Cenabast (the Government Supply Center), which delivered them to the Servel (the Electoral Service) for final distribution to the voting stations and centers.
The ability to adapt to the continuing global uncertainty has allowed CMPC to remain committed to the execution of its long-term strategy, which includes maintaining a conservative financial structure and an investment grade rating.
This scenario marked the results of the third quarter that just passed, during which Empresas CMPC continued to observe a weak trajectory in pulp prices compared to the previous quarter, but reported an increase in sales in its various businesses.
Results for the period
Consolidated sales in the quarter analyzed reached USD 1,290 million, increasing 4% compared to the second quarter of this year and decreasing 8% compared to the same period in 2019.
The Biopackaging results stand out, as the subsidiary reported an increase in its sales of 6% as a result of the higher demand for paper sacks, corrugated paper and cardboard, while in comparison with the same period last year, Biopackaging registered a 2% increase in its sales as a result of higher sales of corrugated paper in Latin America, paper sacks in Mexico and corrugated boxes in Chile.
In the reported period, Softys, experienced a 1% sequential increase in its sales and a 5% drop on an annual basis.
The company’s consolidated EBITDA reached USD 254 million between July and September, which is in line with the previous quarter and, compared to the same period in 2019, decreased by 11%. This annual result is mainly explained by the lower pulp prices.
In addition, in this past third quarter, the company’s net income totaled USD 0.6 million compared to an income of USD 18 million in the second quarter this year and a loss of USD 16 million reported between July and September 2019. The quarterly decrease is mainly explained by the negative effect of the exchange rate in the period.
The company will continue working towards consolidating its leadership position in the markets in which it participates and monitoring the evolution of this pandemic in the different markets where it operates in order to be able to implement any measures necessary to address the situation quickly and responsibly.
