Fitch affirms Masisa

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Masisa SA's foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings at BB, short-term rating at F1(cl), equity rating at Level 2 and long term national scale rating at A-(cl) and the national scale rating assigned to its bond lines at A-(cl). The outlook is stable.

The agency said Masisa's ratings reflect its sound business position within Latin America as a leading producer of wood boards and its ownership of 224,000 hectares of plantations in South America, which along with its forestry land, had an accounting value of $965 million as of Dec. 31, 2011.

The ratings also factor in the difficult operating environments of Venezuela and Argentina, Fitch said. According to the agency, challenges in these markets include non-stable currencies, political interference and foreign-currency transference risk.

Masisa's net debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 3.5 times as of March 31.

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