More new recipe provides Alpargatas factory

With the beginning of the operation of a new Hawaiian plant in Montes Claros (MG), next week, the Sneakers will improve its performance in revenue in the second half, said Márcio Utsch, President of the company, to the value.
The company has two other factories of sandals, both in the Northeast. The unit of Montes Claros, which demanded total disbursement of $ 250 million, was built to remedy the problem of capacity constraint is hurting sales Sneakers since last year.
The manufacturer ended the first quarter with one of the lowest volumes of stocks of the last five quarters, sandals in Brazil. "Just do not sell more because we have not been able to meet all requests," said Utsch.
The new factory begins operating in day 20, in an experimental basis, and should reach its full capacity within three months, according to the Executive. The unit has the potential to produce 350 million pairs a year.
In the first quarter, the company reported net income of r $ 92.3 million, up more than 18%. In the same comparison, net revenue grew by 17.9% to almost r $ 765 million compared to a year earlier.
Before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), profit totaled r $ 122.8 million, 15.3% higher than the amount of a year earlier.
Gross margin and Ebitda remained virtually stable compared to the same period in 2012, performance that Utsch considered "excellent", since the business environment is "more difficult".
According to the Executive, three factors weighed against the company: high inflation, rubber price higher than the year-ago quarter and Exchange pressure on the price of imported items.
However, said Utsch, Alpargatas managed to compensate for the adversities with good results of its projects cost management and fixed expenses.
For Utsch, inflationary pressures in the country are weighing on the consumer's pocket, but are not reflecting sales of the products of the Sneakers. "We are not with problem of demand and we do not believe that we will have," he said.
The company's performance in the international market, however, was better than in Brazil in the first quarter. Domestic net revenue of Sneakers grew 13%, to r $ 522,6 million. Revenues from exports and sales subsidiaries in Europe and United States, in turn, increased 72.6% to r $ 132,7 millions.
"Unlike many consumer companies, Alpargatas has obtained an exceptional growth in Europe," said Utsch.
In Argentina, the Sneakers had net revenues of r $ actuarial million, the same as a year earlier.