UPDATE 3-Chilean forestry giant Copec bounces back to profit in final quarter

(Adds analysts comment in paragraph 6)

By Sarah Morland

Feb 29 (Reuters) - Chilean industrial conglomerate Empresas Copec leapt back into profit in the last three months of 2023 after a tough year marked by lower prices for its wood products and extreme weather hitting its forests.

The company posted a net profit of $166 million, compared to a loss of $31 million the previous quarter and a loss of $9 million a year earlier. Revenues climbed 3% from a year earlier to $7.3 billion.

Analysts polled by LSEG had predicted a net profit of $125 million from revenues of $7.6 billion. For all of 2023, profits plunged 76% while revenues were up 2%.

Copec said the quarterly results were helped by a re-evaluation of biological assets and insurance compensation for losses sustained at its Valdivia and Constitucion mills, as well as higher margins in some energy operations.

But it also flagged higher costs linked to the start-up of its MAPA project, a major pulp mill expected to hit a capacity of 2.1 million tons per year.

Analysts at Santander said the quarter's results were solid and predicted little market reaction when trade opens on Friday.

The results come after Copec's forestry arm, Arauco , was hit by floods, droughts and forest fires in 2023 - events linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon and climate change.

Arauco, a major world supplier of wood pulp, reported a quarterly loss of $84 million, narrower than the $177 million loss reported a year earlier. Over the year, Copec said, it suffered from a fall in pulp prices and higher fiber selling costs.

The forestry sector accounts for the bulk of Copec's earnings, largely through wood panels and pulp shipped to Asia and North America. It also has a significant fuel distribution business as well as mining stakes and a fleet of fishing ships and factories. (Reporting by Sarah Morland, Kylie Madry and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Anthony Esposito, David Gregorio and Edwina Gibbs)