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SANTIAGO, Chile, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MASISA S.A. (NYSE:MYS) (hereinafter referred to as "Masisa" or "the Company"), a leading wood board for furniture manufacturing and marketing company in Latin America, today posted its consolidated financial statements for the fourth quarter of 2007. Q4'07 HIGHLIGHTS -- Sales in the fourth quarter of 2007 amounting to US$259.7 million, they were 16.6% up on the same period of 2006, driven by higher prices of wood boards for furniture (MDF and PB), which offset the lower sales of MDF and finger joint mouldings and sawn wood, mainly due to the slowdown of the housing sector in the United States. -- The gross margin on sales improved, from 24.2% to 26.9% compared with the same quarter in 2006, mainly driven by the Company's ability to rice prices above its cost increases, specially in the wood boards business. Also, the Company has been successful in its commercial efforts of opening new markets such as Vietnam (for sawn lumber exports) and re-routing exports that were initially oriented to the United States towards other markets, which is specially true for OSB boards. -- The ratio, of sales and administrative expenses to sales, improved in the fourth quarter of 2007, representing 15.3% of sales, which was lower than the fourth quarter of 2006 when they were for 16.1 % of sales, thus showing a more efficient operation. -- Operating income increased by US$12.1 million (+66.6%) when compared to the same quarter in 2006, reaching to US$30.2 million, boosted by higher sales margins (as a result of successful commercial efforts). -- Fourth quarter net income reached US$14.6 million, a 40.2% increase compared to the same quarter of 2006. This higher net income is the result of the good operational results that more than offset lower non operational results. -- The Company's solid operating performance is also reflected in an operating working capital to sales ratio for the period ended on December 31 of 2007, of 31.1%, down from 32.3% as of December 31, 2006. -- On December 20, 2007, Masisa and Louisiana-Pacific ("LP"), executed a binding agreement for Masisa to sell to LP 75% its OSB plant located in Ponta Grossa, Brazil. The production capacity of such OSB plant is 350,000 cubic meters per annum. The price for the 100% of the fixed assets is approximately US$75,000,000, which is similar to the book value, thus this sale should not have significant earning effect. The proceeds will mainly be used to reducing indebtedness. Final closing is subject to due diligence, which is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2008. Masisa's decision to sell its OSB assets is aligned with its intention of focusing on its core business, which is PB and MDF wood boards for furniture in Latin America. -- On January 15, 2008, Masisa and Brascan Brazil Ltda., executed a share purchase and sale agreement, whereby Masisa indirectly acquired, 37% of the shareholding of Tafisa Brazil S.A. Tafisa Brazil's main line of business is the manufacturing of wood boards and owns an industrial plant in the state of Parana, Brazil, with production capacities of 380,000 m(3) of MDF, 260,000 m(3) of MDP and 300,000 m(3) of melamine boards. The price was US$70,000,000. The ultimate controller of Tafisa is Sonae Industria, SGPS, S.A., a Portuguese publicly-traded corporation. Additionally, Sonae Industria and Masisa have committed to work in the implementation of the combination of the businesses of Tafisa Brazil and of Masisa do Brazil Ltda. with the objective of positioning the combined entity as a leading company in the Brazilian market. Quarter ended Dic 31, Mar 31, Jun 30, Sep 30, Dic 31, 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 (in millions of US$, except per share information in %) Sales 222.7 216.5 241.9 247.7 259.7 Gross margin 53.9 53.5 57.7 62.2 69.9 % over sales (2) 24.2 % 24.7 % 23.9 % 25.1 % 26.9 % Selling and Administrative Expenses (35.8) (30.8) (32.6) (33.4) (39.7) % over sales (2) -16.1 % -14.2 % -13.5 % -13.5 % -15.3 % Operating Income 18.1 22.7 25.1 28.8 30.2 %over sales (2) 8.1 % 10.5 % 10.4 % 11.6 % 11.6 % EBITDA(3) 35.4 39.0 43.5 46.2 47.8 %over sales 15.9 % 18.0 % 18.0 % 18.7 % 18.4 % Net Income for the Period 10.4 3.2 16.3 7.0 14.6 Earnings per Share (US$) 0.0018 0.0006 0.0029 0.0012 0.0026 Earnings per ADS (US$) (1) 0.09 0.03 0.14 0.06 0.13 (1): An ADS equals 50 common shares. (2): As % of Sales for the quarter. (3): EBITDA represents Operating Income + Depreciation + Amortization + Depletion. For further information on Masisa's Q4'07 results please go to http://www.masisa.com/ Masisa S.A Announces Conference Call to Discuss Q4 2007 Results Masisa S.A. (NYSE:MYS) a leading Latin American producer of wood boards for furniture, will hold its quarterly conference call on Thursday February 21, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. New York Eastern Time. The Company will discuss results for the quarter ended December 31, 2007. To participate on the conference call, please dial 888-680-0869 (domestic, USA) or 617-213-4854 (international) five to ten minutes before the call and reference the pass code 81192975. A simultaneous live Webcast of the call will be available over the Internet at http://www.masisa.com/, under the Investor Relations heading. Participants may pre-register for the call at anytime, including up to and after the call start time, at https://www.theconferencingservice.com/prereg/key.process?key=PYW696QJW. Pre- registrants will be issued a pin number to use when dialing into the live call, which will provide quick access to the conference. A replay of the call will be available beginning on Thursday, February 21 2008 at 11:00 a.m. (New York Eastern Time) by dialing 888-286-8010 (domestic, USA) or 617-801-6888 (international) and providing the following replay code: 40705598. In addition, the Webcast will be available on the Company's web site at http://www.masisa.com/. CONTACT: Rodrigo Hahn Investor Relations (56 2) 707 8608 Investor Relations (56 2) 350 6038 Internet: http://www.masisa.com/ Forecasts and Estimates This press release may contain forecasts, which are different statements from historical facts or current conditions, and include the management's current vision and estimates of future circumstances, industry conditions and the Company's performance. Some forecasts may be identified by the use of terms such as "may," "should," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "forecasts" and other similar expressions. Statements about future market share, projected future competitive strengths, the implementation of significant operating and financial strategies, the direction of future operations, and the factors or trends affecting financial conditions, liquidity, or operating income are examples of forecasts. Such statements reflect the current management vision and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. These statements are made based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could lead to the current results of Masisa, and the projected Company activities, to materially differ from current expectations. DATASOURCE: Masisa S.A. CONTACT: Rodrigo Hahn, Investor Relations, (56 2) 707 8608, , Investor Relations, (56 2) 350 6038, , both for Masisa S.A. Web site: http://www.masisa.com/

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