Sonae Industria reported 1Q consolidated turnover of Euro 361 million

May 10, 2012. /Lesprom Network/. Sonae Industria reports unaudited Consolidated Results for the 1Q 2012 which are prepared in accordance with IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). 1Q consolidated turnover totaled Euro 361 million, 3% higher than 1Q 2011. Recurrent EBITDA reached Euro 32 million which resulted in a recurrent EBITDA margin recovery of 3.8pp, achieving 8.8% of turnover. This margin improvement is the result of combined effects of volume, price, product mix and operational efficiency gains in several regions where we operate. Total EBITDA in 1Q reached Euro 30 million, which includes around Euro 2 million non recurrent costs. 1Q consolidated net losses attributable to Sonae Industria shareholders were Euro 3 million, an improvement of Euro 18 million compared with 1Q 2011. Net debt reached Euro 711 million, Euro 18 million lower than 1Q 2011. Nevertheless, net interest charges for 1Q 2012 are Euro 2 million above 1Q 2011, due to the higher interest rate. Belmiro de Azevedo, President of the Executive Committee, said: “Over the last quarters, we have been implementing a changing process at Sonae Industria, which started with the definition of 4 strategic directions, was supported by the elected Board of Directors and was strengthened by the new organization based on a more centralized business structure which consolidated Iberia, France and Germany in a “Continental Europe” Region. Volumes sold in 1Q remained at the same level as in 1Q 2011, but turnover increased by 3%, due to a combined effect of a better product mix and a recovery in average selling prices that was achieved during last year. Variable costs evolution played also an important role on these improvements through efficiency gains already achieved over the last quarters. These combined effects resulted in 3.8pp higher Recurrent EBITDA margin, which reached 8.8% of turnover, and led to a Net Debt to Recurrent EBITDA ratio of 5.8x.” Sonae Indústria is one of the largest wood based panels producers in the world. The product range includes: particleboard; MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard); hardboard; OSB (Oriented Strand Board).