PROFILE

Brazil’s market leader in the production of reconstituted wood panels, laminated floors and bathroom fixtures and fittings, Duratex S.A. has also been gaining in terms of its presence in the vitreous china segment. A private listed company, its shares have been traded on the São Paulo Stock Exchange since 1951. The company is also included in the Ibovespa, the index that reflects the performance of the most-traded shares on BM&FBovespa, and the IBRX50, comprising a portfolio of the 50 most-traded shares in the market. Duratex has also been included in the Bovespa’s Level 1 corporate governance classification since 2005, and, in 2008, became a member of its Business Sustainability Index (ISE). (GRI 2.1 ; 2.6)

Soundness, innovation and leadership are concepts strongly associated with the company’s way of doing business, along with the sophistication and beauty of its products, and their wide acceptance with its main consumers: the furniture industry and building sector. The company’s products are sold nationwide as well as to various other countries, mainly in Europe, the U.S. and Central America. Duratex is controlled by Grupo Itaúsa – Investimento Itaú S.A., which also controls Banco Itaú Holding Financeira and the Elekeiroz companies, Itautec and Itaúsa Empreendimentos. (GRI 2.7)

Duratex operates in two business areas, the Wood and Deca divisions. The Wood Division produces reconstituted wood panels, such as hardboard, particle board (MDP), high, medium and super-density fiberboards (MDF, HDF and SDF), as well as laminated floors sold under the Durafloor brand name. The company has four industrial units in the State of São Paulo, in the cities of Agudos, Botucatu, Itapetininga and Jundiaí. All the wood used as a raw material for its production is supplied by its own forests, which total approximately 120,000 hectares. The company was the first to receive the Green Seal certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in 1995, which attests to the sustainability of its forest management practices, as well as being one of the first hundred to be awarded ISO 14001 certification for its system of environmental management. The company’s Deca Division, by the end of 2008, had been operating for 61 years, manufacturing and selling products with the Hydra and Deca brand names, in metal and vitreous china, and their respective accessories. Along with Deca Piazza, in Argentina, Deca also has seven industrial units in Brazil: Metais São Paulo, in the state capital; Metais Planidil and Cerâmica II, located in Jundiaí, in the State of São Paulo; Cerâmica III, in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul; as well as new and strategic acquisitions made in the second semester of 2008. To better serve the markets in the north and northeast, Deca acquired Cerâmica Monte Carlo, a producer of vitreous china in the municipality of Cabo de Santo Agostinho (PE), and Ideal Standard, to expand its presence in the southeast, with plants in Jundiaí (SP) and Queimados (RJ). (GRI 2.2 ; 2.9)

Duratex’s administrative main office is in the capital of São Paulo state, and the company has sales offices in most main Brazilian cities as well as abroad, in the U.S., Belgium and Argentina, through its subsidiaries Duratex North America, Duratex Europe and Deca Piazza. Vitreous china and metal bathroom fixtures and fittings are exported to approximately 35 countries, where they are sold in around 1.4 million points of sale. (GRI 2.3 ; 2.4 ; 2.5)

On December 31, 2008, Duratex had an active client portfolio of approximately 21,000 and 7,886 employees. The company’s gross revenue totaled R$1,913.6 million, net earnings of R$313.8 million, and EBITDA R$559.4 million, equivalent to an EBTIDA margin of 29.2%. The company’s market value (capitalization) was R$1.8 billion, obtained by multiplying the price of the most liquid share at the end of the year (PN) by the number of shares in circulation. (GRI 2.8)