Bernardo Larraín Matte, CMPC board president since April 2025, released his first shareholder letter focusing on that year's challenges and future strategies. Company profits halved from 2024 to 2025 amid market deterioration. He highlighted resilience measures and global cellulose demand opportunities.
Bernardo Larraín Matte took over as CMPC board president in April 2025 and in his first shareholder letter described the adverse context. "When I assumed the board presidency in April 2025, we were experiencing deterioration in the various markets we operate in. These trends deepened and, along with some internal factors, explain CMPC's low results in 2025," he wrote.
The cellulose business faced lower demand from trade wars, global overproduction, price drops, and rising costs. Factors like US tariff policies and self-sufficiency shifts indirectly affected the sector. Larraín Matte noted the Middle East war could impact energy and global markets.
The company enacted a resilience plan to cut fixed expenses, logistics costs, capex, and optimize working capital. It also strengthened its balance sheet via a hybrid bond and asset monetization analysis.
Looking ahead, he anticipates higher demand in emerging markets, e-commerce packaging, and innovative uses like bioplastics and textiles. He highlighted Brazil's Natureza project, a US$4.5 billion investment to double short-fiber cellulose capacity by 2.5 million tons annually. China's fifteenth five-year plan will boost demand for forest products.
