Thank you for standing by. I'm Constantinos, your Chorus Call operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the ElvalHalcor conference call and live webcast to present and discuss the 9-month 2024 trading update. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Angelos Giazitzoglou, Deputy Group Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Giazitzoglou, you may now proceed.
Thank you for joining in our webcast for the financial results over the Q3 of 2024. As always, we will give you an overview of our performance, and at the end, we will hold the Q&A session. The presentation will be later uploaded on our website. Allow me to begin by highlighting some key figures. Beginning with the sales volume. Despite subdued demand across most markets, we achieved an increase by 4.4% from the respective period of 2023 to 445,000 tonnes. By capitalizing on that performance and the optimized product mix, we succeeded a strong adjusted EBITDA of EUR 180 million. The significant reduction in net debt highlights the effective cash flow management and a more conservative investment approach in response to macroeconomic pressures. Please forgive me.
In EUR 691 million, we drop it by EUR 171 million year on year. Our net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio improved to three, signaling stronger financial leverage management. Let's have a quick look at some macroeconomic data to understand the environment we operate in and see how they affect us. Metal prices had an uptrend during the Q3 of 2024, increasing pressures on working capital. Natural gas prices remained stable, helping us to keep our energy costs in lower levels. Interest rates continue to have a downtrend, but still are in elevated levels. Inflation saw signs of de-escalation, but we have yet to see positive effects on the market. Next slide is about cost. What we saw on the previous slide about energy prices is depicted here in our cost breakdown.
There is a significant reduction in energy participation from 80% to 14%. Maintaining low energy prices is a critical driver in shaping industrial costs. That is why we need this stability or, even better, further improvements to stay competitive. Inflation affected all other parts of the chart and especially the employee cost. Moving on to volumes. No one can dispute that the market activity remains sluggish across all regions. Most sectors, with the exception of packaging, are progressing at a slow pace. Packaging, and especially rigid, remains more resilient. In this challenging environment, ElvalHalcor has managed to increase its overall volumes, with the aluminum segment leading this performance. For the third consecutive quarter, sales have increased compared to the previous two years. The copper segment shows stability, although the Q3 suffered headwinds from slow-moving markets. Construction and industrial application are still sluggish, with the environment remaining uncertain.
However, even slightly, we managed to stay above to the respective period of last year. Now let's see the adjusted EBITDA evolution. Profitability in both segments reflects external challenges like market pressures. In the aluminum segment, the recovery is stronger. The rebound we demonstrated in Q2 increased during third, and the discrepancy between sales growth and adjusted EBITDA in the Q1 Q2 is now corrected. Higher sales quantity, combined with cost improvements and optimized product mix, led to these results. In the copper segment, the Q3 suffered from further slowdown in markets and price pressures. We're still focusing in gaining market shares, achieving better prices. In Europe, our subsidiary, Sofia Med AD, is establishing presence as a trustworthy supplier to her customers. Moving forward to adjusted EBITDA per ton.
Starting with the aluminum segment again, the improvement in profitability per ton is evident, reaching higher levels than the first half of the year. I remind you that the corresponding number for the first semester was at EUR 270 per ton. In our last webcast for the results over the first semester, I had this question. Regarding the aluminum adjusted unit per ton, do you see any signs of this number improving in the coming quarters and coming closer to average of above 300 in the previous years? I think the answer lies on this slide. In the copper segment, the profitability is even better and more resilient. Efforts to enhance sales with high demand and value-added products have also led to increased profitability. The current situation in markets keeps us vigilant to leverage any opportunities.
Let's move on to see the markets. Regarding markets, we observe no significant changes in sales across both segments. Market shifts suggest stronger performance in packaging, while construction and industrial applications remains mixed across segments. In the aluminum segment, the most resilient market continues to be packaging and especially rigid packaging, where we have shown an increase compared to the respective period of 2023. In the copper segment, markets are remaining sluggish and no significant changes appeared in our sales. Constructions are still facing headwinds, affecting the demand for corresponding products. Moving to geographical distribution. The export orientation of both segments remain strong, with the European market being the predominant destination of our products. Smaller markets like Africa and Asia are stable, but with limited contribution. The company's geographical diversity minimize dependency on local market conditions.
We have already discussed volumes and profitability per quarter, so now let's see the consolidated figures for the of Q3 the year. As mentioned, sales volume in 2024 exceeded those of 2023 and matched the levels of 2022. The aluminum segment, as highlighted on previous slides, is the main driver of this growth, with copper segment performing very close to previous year. Despite the adverse environment, profitability in terms of adjusted EBITDA is resilient and not far from the respective period of 2023 at EUR 180 million. Unlike the sales volume, the aluminum segment is experiencing bigger pressures on selling prices and especially in flexible packaging. Copper segment, even slightly, performs better from the corresponding period of 2023. Our turnover at EUR 2.6 billion. Challenging, to say the least, as far as it concerns market conditions, the company's profitability remains strong.
EBITDA at EUR 173 million is significantly better than the corresponding period of 2023. The accounting metal result turned from negative to positive at EUR 4 million, boosting EBITDA figures. Moving to some more financial figures. The earnings before interest and taxes are significantly higher than 2023 at EUR 123 million, and the adjusted earnings before interest and taxes at EUR 133 million, almost similar to 2023. The numbers underline the good performance of the company. At EUR 91 million, we delivered a robust earnings before taxes in 2024, especially considering the volatility, the uncertainty, and the complexity under which these results were achieved. 82% improvement to the respective period of 2023. The ongoing reduction in financial costs, driven mainly by the decreased company's debt, continues to boost profitability.
Moving to the next slide, let's see how we achieve this strong adjusted earnings before taxes result. As we saw on the sales analysis slide, despite the unfavorable condition in markets, the company managed to increase volumes, resulting in higher profitability by EUR 7 million. Price pressures offset this increase, impacting the period's profitability by EUR 9 million. There was a decline from the administrative and distribution expenses by EUR 4 million. In terms of financial costs, the effort to reduce debt had a positive effect by EUR 6 million. The shift in metal results is very significant, contributing to the increase in period's profitability by EUR 47 million. With all that, the earnings before taxes reached the amount of EUR 91 million. Now let's move on to the cash flow. In the Q3 , we delivered a resilient EBITDA at EUR 173 million. Interest payments at EUR 31 million.
The ongoing reduction in working capital during the Q3 resulted in a contribution of EUR 49 million. Income tax at EUR 11 million. The slowdown in investments reflecting cautious and in our next decisions, we will continue to demonstrate this conservative approach amid economic and geopolitical uncertainties. Long-term loans repayments at EUR 77 million. Dividend at EUR 50 million. With all that, we have this cash flow at the end of the year at EUR 97 million. Next slide about working capital and net debt. The volatility in metal prices highlights the importance of effectively monitoring the working capital. Disruptions in supply chains remaining as a result to geopolitical tensions.
With all that said, the drop by EUR 122 million from the respective period of 23 and EUR 49 million from the start of the year corresponds to a significant achievement. Now, as a percentage of sales, working capital stands to 70% from 20%. Moving to net debt. Net debt reduced to EUR 691 million from EUR 862 million at the same period in 2023, supported from lower investment activity and strong operating cash flows. We continue to maintain a low variable rate loans percentage at 38%, with only 8% of our total loans being short-term. Enhanced financial discipline reinforces the company's balance sheet and operational flexibility. Let's see about CapEx. ElvalHalcor is a company that never stop investing.
With small improvements in existing assets and maintenance CapEx, in the aluminum segment, we are on track for our initial targets with no other major investment programs in progress. In the copper segment, we proceed with small investments to unlock incremental capacity. The reduction in CapEx aligns with the company strategy to manage debt effectively. To summarize before we address any questions. Despite the increasingly adverse geopolitical and economic conditions, ElvalHalcor has maintained profitability and managed to increase sales volume. In the aluminum segment, capitalizing on the strategic investments made in previous years, we achieved this performance. In the copper segment, we continue to demonstrate resilience to changes, gaining market shares, exploiting competitive advantages. Working capital management and profitability contributed to strong cash flows. Finally, the focus on reducing debt and managing investments reflects a cautious and sustainable approach to financial management.
Thank you for your attention, and now we can proceed to the Q&A session. First question from Mr. Vasilis Romantzis, securities. Can you provide more details about your working capital management actions in the last two years and if this is sustainable as percentage of sales? Thank you. Yes. We said that before that to better manage our working capital is one of our biggest goals and biggest targets that we have from the previous years also. Having this uptrends in metal prices, what we could do as a company was to better monitor our inventories.
We start many projects in our factories, both in aluminum and copper also to better monitor our inventories and keep them in levels that will give us the opportunity not to have any increases in values from inventories due to metal prices. We achieved very well in this target. From the receivables and suppliers perspective, we also try to renegotiate our contracts with our customers and with our suppliers in terms of increasing, for suppliers, our days that we pay their invoices and for the customers to decrease the payment terms. We also achieved significant results there.
By these actions, we managed to minimize our working capital and reduce our net debt. Now, if it is sustainable, we will try to keep continuing to do so in terms of inventories, receivables, and our suppliers. We believe that yes, we can sustain this effort and this result. Second question is from Maria Karagiannaki. Good afternoon, and congratulations on your good results. Two questions, please. Seeing the continued reduction of net debt and lower CapEx needs, should we expect a better dividend for 2024? Are you considering a placement to better match the new rules approved for the Athens Stock Exchange? Let's start with the dividend. The company's management determines the dividend policy by carefully considering all relevant factors in line with its business plans.
Yes, we believe that the profitability of the company should be returned to the shareholders. The improvement in our results, the slowdown in investments, and the reduction of our debt are creating sufficient room for that. Yes, we will consider very carefully to increase our dividend. Don't expect, of course, don't expect something far away from what we have this year. Yes, if we continue to have this performance, definitely we will consider to increase our dividend. Now about the placement. This is a decision from the management, and I don't have any information, so I cannot tell you anything about that. Third question, George from Mr. George Athanasakis, Pantelakis Securities. Capacity utilization. In terms of the aluminum segment, we almost in full capacity almost.
That depends, of course, on the mix of the product mix that we decide to produce. We don't have any significant room to increase our quantities. That's why I said before that we finished our investment program in 2023. Now we are waiting for the development in the markets and we will decide, I think wisely again, to move to further investments. In the copper segment, as I said, we had a small CapEx program to increase a little capacity, mostly in our factory in Sofia.
I think that right now we are very close to our upper level, and we will decide again, seeing how the markets are developing, and we will have our next moves in terms of investment to increase our capacity. Next question from Stathis Kaparias. Kaparis, I don't know. Please forgive me if I pronounce wrong your name. Can you please share if you see any early signs of construction sector improvements in Europe? No, I don't think that right now we have any signs for improvements.
We believe that if inflation follow the same trend and have a downtrend and improved in levels that we have in previous years, and if interest rates follow the same trend, we believe that not only construction sector, but in all markets, we will have a change in the segment of the consumers and of the markets. Next question from Mr. Athanasakis from Pantelakis Securities. What is the breakdown of revenue per product in euros? How much is packaging in particular? I think that when I talked about sales, I had a slide about our products and if I can return to that slide to have a better picture. You see that for 2024, packaging is 60% of our total sales.
It's the predominant market for the aluminum segment. Yes, it is a very important market for us. As I said before, this is the market that we decided in the past to make our investment with our new cold mill and our new lacquering line. I don't see any other question.
Ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Giazitzoglou for any closing comments. Thank you.