São Paulo – The Middle East’s importance increased as a destination for auto parts manufactured by the Brazilian company Fras-Le. The region, which is where most Arab countries are located, received 3.7% of the company’s exports in Q1 2014 and 4.1% in the same period of this year, an increase of 4 percentage points, but Africa, where there also are Arab countries, dropped from 5.7% to 3% as a destination for the company’s products. <\/p>\n
In general, exports by the company dropped 10.2% from January to March of this year over the same months of 2014, according to data released by the company later on Tuesday (12th). The company posted US$ 21.1 million in revenues from foreign sales in Q1 2015 and US$ 23.5 million in the same period last year. <\/p>\n
The company stated that this oscillation in dollars occurred due to factors such as demand postponement in the North American market, structural factors such as strikes and shipments, international conflicts and economic instability in some countries. The Nafta nations answer for the majority of Fras-Le’s exports with 59.6% of the total, followed by South America with 23.3% and Europe with 5.1%. In a single country list, the United States is at the top with 45% of the exports.<\/p>\n
Fras-Le runs several operations abroad and its total revenue from international markets (exports and revenue from plants in foreign countries) also dropped in Q1. The decline of 3.9%, however, was lower than the one with individual foreign sales. Total revenue stood at US$ 34.2 million at the start of the year over US$ 35.6 million in Q1 of the previous year. Of the revenue, US$ 13.1 million came from the controlled plants. <\/p>\n
The company is headquartered in the Rio Grande do Sul state city Caxias do Sul and has a subsidiary in the United States, which is responsible for another industrial plant, besides a trade office and a distribution center. Fras-Le also has a plant in China and offices in Europe, Chile, South Africa and United Arab Emirates. <\/p>\n
According to the company’s report, the Q1 2015 was marked by a scenario of fragility in the domestic market, reflecting the industrial output decline verified since last year. The company states that, in the period, it focused its efforts on improving the performance of the sales portfolio, implementing operational and market restructuring actions to consolidate its position abroad, increasing gains in efficiency and margins, besides the return on investments done. <\/p>\n
Total gross revenues for Fras-Le stood at R$ 279.4 million (US$ 110.1 million) from January to March, an increase of 7.7% over the Q1 of last year. Consolidated gross profit reached R$ 56.5 million (US$ 22.2 million), an increase of 5.8%. The Ebitda (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) of the company stood at R$ 33.1 million (US$ 13.05 million) and also increased 16.1% over Q1 2014. <\/p>\n
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani<\/strong><\/p>\n