Irani Papel e Embalagem S.A

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What it is

Irani makes corrugated cardboard and packaging paper — the brown boxes and kraft wrapping that hold food, appliances, and consumer goods — and runs its own pine forests to supply most of its own raw fibre. With annual paper capacity of 327,000 tonnes, it ranks as Brazil’s fourth-largest producer of packaging paper, behind Klabin.

Founded in 1941 by Alfredo Fedrizzi, the company listed on what is now B3 as far back as 1977. Production plants sit in Vargem Bonita (SC), Indaiatuba (SP), Santa Luzia (MG), and Balneário Pinhal (RS), with forestry operations across Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.

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Who owns it

In 1994 control passed to Grupo Habitasul, a diversified Southern Brazilian family conglomerate with real-estate and hotel interests. Three Habitasul entities together hold roughly 57% of the shares — one vehicle alone at 44.6%, a second at 4.3%, and a third at 8.2% — leaving about 42.9% freely traded on the market.

Insiders collectively hold 56.4% and institutions a further 6.6%, per EODHD data, so the free float is genuinely thin and the family grip firm. There is no indication of any current plans to sell the stake; Habitasul has controlled the company since 1994.

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Who runs it

In January 2026, the board elected Odivan Carlos Cargnin as CEO. Cargnin spent 30 years at Irani, the last 21 of them as the head of administration, finance, and investor relations — making him the company’s own CFO turned chief executive.

André de Carvalho, formerly investor-relations manager, stepped up as the new CFO and finance director as part of the same planned succession.

Cargnin is both a lawyer and accountant by training. He was directly involved in the company’s 2020 re-IPO and in executing the multi-year Gaia investment programme.

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The money, in plain words

Revenue has grown steadily — from R$1.59 bn (US$309 mn) in 2023 to R$1.69 bn (US$328 mn) in 2025, a rise of about 5.8% over two years (our calculation) — but profit has moved in the other direction, falling from R$383 m (US$74 mn) in 2023 to R$242 m (US$47 mn) in 2025, as raw-material and energy costs bit harder. The TTM net profit margin — how many cents Irani keeps from every real of sales — sits at 12.1%, solid for an industrial company but below the 24% it achieved in peak year 2023.

For every real shareholders have invested, the business earns back about 15 cents a year — a return on equity of 14.7%, reasonable but under pressure. The shares trade at a price-to-earnings ratio of just 8.6×, cheap by most standards, and the dividend yield of 6.1% is high, paid quarterly; income-focused investors get paid well to wait.

The balance sheet carries net debt of roughly R$1.17 bn (~US$227 m) — total borrowings of R$2.01 bn (US$390 mn) minus R$840 m (US$163 mn) of cash on hand (our calculation). A R$120 m (US$23 mn) debenture issue was placed at IPCA plus 6.65% per year, with principal repayable in three equal instalments between 2038 and 2040, so the debt schedule is long-dated and manageable.

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What it is doing now

In May 2026 the board approved “Projeto Gaia XII,” a R$514 million (US$100 mn) expansion of the Minas Gerais paper unit that would add 36,000 tonnes per year of production capacity. Alongside it, the company announced “Plataforma Neos,” an ambition to double its share of the sustainable-packaging market from 4% to 8% by 2034, built on new plants and a focus on recycled fibre.

The resin business — pine-based chemicals sold mainly for export — was wound down in the first quarter of 2025, sharpening focus on the core packaging and paper operations. Revenue in Q2 2025 rose 11.6% year-on-year, with net profit of R$112 m (US$22 mn) for the quarter, per the company’s own investor release.

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What to watch

• Margin recovery. The drop from a 24% net margin in 2023 to 12% today is the central question; watch whether Gaia XII’s scale and price recoveries in paper markets rebuild profitability.
• Debt vs. expansion. Projeto Gaia XII adds R$514 m (US$100 mn) of capital spending to a balance sheet that already carries R$1.17 bn (US$227 mn) in net debt; the pace and terms of financing will matter.
• Habitasul intentions. The controlling group put Irani up for sale in 2018 but never completed a transaction. Any renewed strategic review would be a decisive share-price event.
• New leadership. Odivan Cargnin’s promotion from CFO to CEO is a planned succession, but the dual role he holds temporarily adds execution risk during the biggest investment cycle in the company’s recent history.

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This is news, not investment advice.