Aracruz Evaluating Effects of Volatile Economy


Sao Paulo, Brazile, 26 September 2008 -- Aracruz announced today that its internal monitoring and control bodies had noted that the company's financial exposure to derivatives had been strongly affected by the recent instability in the U.S. dollar exchange rate, due to the considerable volatility of the world's financial markets.

The announcement, signed by the chairman of the board of directors, explained that, despite the monitoring and control measures put in place by Aracruz to reduce the risks and minimize any negative effect, the forecast limits for this kind of financial operation may have exceeded those laid down in the company's financial policy.

This possibility, along with the present value of the company's outstanding financial positions and the size of the exposure, are being verified by a firm of experts hired for this purpose, and the results of their examination will be known shortly.

Despite these occurrences, Aracruz has a solid cash position, aligned with its historical level of approximately USD 500 million.

The notice released to the market also announced a request for leave of absence by Aracruz's CFO, Isac RoffĂ© Zagury. As a result, the company's investor relations area is being provisionally assumed by Aracruz's CEO, Carlos Aguiar.