Vitro Puts Protections in Place

Vitro America issued the following statement today:

The company's most recent financial report noted that the company has "restructured our portfolio to significantly reduce possible negative effects related to current volatility."

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Commenting on the results for the quarter, Enrique Osorio, Chief Financial Officer, said, "This was another strong quarter, with the highest EBITDA since 3Q'06. We see a challenging 2009, but we feel comfortable that we have a strong business with competitive advantages that will play an important role in our performance."

Consolidated EBIT for the quarter increased 15.0 percent YoY to US$61 million from US$53 million last year. On a LTM basis, consolidated EBIT increased 8.3 percent to US$225 million from US$208 million in LTM 2007.

Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter rose 11.4 percent to US$105 million from US$94 million in 3Q'07. The EBITDA margin grew 40 basis points YoY to 14.5 percent from 14.1 percent despite higher energy and raw materials costs and transition of production of our new cosmetics glass container plant.

Addressing the balance sheet, Mr. Osorio noted, "This was a good quarter and we generated US$74 million dollars in free cash flow before CapEx and dividends, which reflects the strength of our business and continued efforts to preserve cash.

He adds that "As of today, we have restructured our portfolio to significantly reduce possible negative effects related to current volatility. Our current mark-to-market on open positions is approximately US$98 million compared to the $227 million noted in the Bloomberg publication of a few days ago. Also it was mentioned during Vitro's October 29th Earnings Conference call, that Vitro is in the final steps of a negotiation that will allow us to cover this last open position.

Vitro is a global company with subsidiaries in 10 countries, exports to 50 more, and has been doing business for more than 100 years. Vitro's US subsidiary, Vitro America, services the architectural and automotive markets through its network of branch locations throughout the country. They have recently added capacity in many operations, offering products not available to its customers before.