CSAV strengthens its managerial structure

• A Strategic Development and Planning management area will be created under Rafael Ferrada, currently CSAV’s Senior Vice President, Administration and Finance.
• The Administration and Finance management will be taken over by Nicolás Burr, currently the General Manager of Indalum, a subsidiary of Madeco.
• The company has also reached an agreement with the international consultants McKinsey to explore improvements in the processes that impact on the company’s results.

Santiago, April 25, 2012. - To make Compañía Sudamericana de Vapores (CSAV) a more competitive and efficient company. That is the objective behind the company’s decision to strengthen its management team.

At its first meeting following the ordinary shareholders meeting last Friday, the board approved the creation of the Strategic Development and Planning management area. The new division will start operating on May 1 and its function is to lead CSAV’s transformation project in a way consistent with the restructuring implemented in 2011 and the company’s new strategic guidelines.

Heading up this new management area will be Rafael Ferrada, currently CSAV’s Senior Vice President, Administration and Finance. Mr Ferrada is a commercial engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Boston, USA.

In line with the drive and importance that the board and the current management want to give to the company’s new strategy, CSAV has reached an agreement with the international consultancy McKinsey. Starting in the middle of next May, and under the supervision of the new Strategic Development and Planning management, the consultants will explore all the possibilities for the improvement of CSAV’s different internal processes which have an impact on the company’s profitability.

At the same time, the Administration and Finance management area will be led by the Luksic group executive, Nicolás Burr, who is a civil industrial engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Boston, USA. Mr Burr (37) is currently the General Manager of Indalum and his responsibilities prior to that included the Manager, Administration and Finance, of Madeco.

The restructuring of CSAV

In order to improve its competitive and financial position, and also to prepare the company for meeting future challenges, CSAV implemented a deep and complete restructuring in 2011.

Within this process, the company reduced its container-carrying capacity by around 50% with respect to that operated in the first months of 2011. Under agreement with important shipowners, it also increased the volume of joint operations from around 30% at the beginning of last year to over 90% at present. The company is also increasing its own fleet which will rise from 9% in early 2011 to 37% in July 2012.

In addition, it has made two capital increases, one for US$ 500 million in July 2011 and the second for US$ 1,200 million completed successfully in February this year. The latter led to the formal division of the company and the creation of SM – SAAM, a company holding the shares of CSAV’s former subsidiary, SAAM. Both companies are today trading separately on the stock market.