Global wood-based panels producer Arauco has reported a decrease in sales and profits for its most recent financial results.
The Q1, 2025 update by Arauco, which produces panels, pulp and sawn timber, shows group net income down by US$131.3m to a net loss of US$-26.5m, compared to Q4, 2024. Adjusted EBITDA was 14.3% lower at US$348.3m in the same comparison period.
Arauco’s wood products division recorded a 7.6% decrease in revenue, mainly due to an 8.5% fall in sales volume. The division posted revenues of US$730.2m.
The division’s adjusted EBITDA was US$118m, an 18.6% fall compared to the previous quarter.
For composite wood-based panels specifically, sales volumes decreased 6.5%, partially due to lower sales in Brazil, driven by oversupply and devaluation of the Brazilian Real.
In the US, the particleboard market remained active since the previous the last quarter, with stable demand. For MDF, oversupply persisted during the quarter, alongside a weak construction sector.
In Latin America, the market showed slow sales, with a slow MDF segment. In Brazil, MDF is in oversupply while PB plants are operating at full capacity.
Panel production volumes in Q1 reached 1,274,000m3.
Sawn timber sales volumes decreased by 12.5% in Q1, while plywood registered an 11.4% decrease.
Meanwhile, Arauco said its project to increase production at its MDF plant in Zitácuaro, Mexico is expected to be operational in 2026. Capacity will be 300,000m3 and the investment is US$250m.
Another project at the Alacrán site consists of two new paper impregnation lines and a new melamine line, which will supply Arauco’s plants in Mexico, the US and Canada. The investment is US$40m.
A further US$100m project – a new OSB line at the Trupán-Cholguán complex in Chile’s Nuble region, is expected to start operating in Q2, 2026, producing raw and siding OSB panels.
