The result is due to the sales volume of the Corrugated Cardboard Packaging segment, which was stable when compared to the same period last year, combined with better cost behavior.
Meanwhile, the Packaging Paper segment fell by 11.1%, totaling 17.7 thousand tons when compared with 1Q 2015 and 1Q 2014. In the first three months of the year, net sales grew 1.6% compared to the same period of 2014 and reached R$ 182.7 million ($57.8 million). The result reflects the good performance of the operations in the period due to cost control and by price increases, especially for exported products. The prices of exported products were helped by the stronger dollar.
The Net debt/EBITDA ratio was 4.37 times in March 2015, impacted by the appreciation of the dollar.
In the first three months of the year, the net income was R$ 3.1 million ($1 million) positive, compared to R$ 3.2 million ($1 million) negative in 1Q 2014. In the last twelve months the net income totaled R$ 62.9 million ($19.9 million) compared to R$ 60.6 million ($19.2 million) in the same period of the previous year.
Celulose Irani is one of the leaders in Corrugated Cardboard in Brazil, besides being a reference in the Packaging Paper industry (rigid and flexible).
