Eternit Rises in Sao Paulo as Weak Real Boosts Quarterly Exports

Eternit SA (ETER3) rose to the highest since October after the Brazilian construction materials manufacturer reported an increase in fourth-quarter sales as a weaker real boosted exports.

The shares rose 1.2 percent to 9.11 reais at 2:36 p.m. in Sao Paulo. A close at that level would be the highest since Oct. 26. The benchmark Bovespa index fell 0.4 percent.

Exports in the three months ended in December rose 62 percent to 54.1 million reais ($27.3 million) driven by “foreign exchange gains,” the company said in a regulatory filing today. Brazil’s real weakened 1.2 percent against the dollar in the quarter, the biggest drop after the Japanese yen and South African rand among 16 major world currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Eternit’s total revenue in the period was 255 million reais.

“Considering an increase in exports and the real’s decline, revenue from the external market were the main positive highlight of quarterly results,” Wesley Bernabe (BNBC), analyst at Banco do Brasil SA, wrote in a note to clients today.

Eternit rose 11 percent this year through yesterday while the Bovespa index fell 6 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Denyse Godoy in Sao Paulo at dgodoy2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net