Hello, and welcome to Maire's Q1 2026 Results Conference Call. Please note, this conference is being recorded, and for the duration of the call, your lines will be on listen only mode. However, you will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the call. This can be done by pressing pound key five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. I will now hand you over to your host, Silvia Guidi, Head of Investor Relations, to begin today's conference. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining my First Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Silvia Guidi and I'm the Head of Investor Relations. Today, I'm joined by Alessandro Bernini, CEO, Mariano Avanzi, CFO, and Fabio Fritelli, NextChem Managing Director. They will walk you through the operating highlights of our business units, followed by an overview of our financial results. At the end of the presentation, we will be happy to take your questions. Let me now hand over to Alessandro for some introductory remarks.
Thanks to Silvia, good afternoon, everyone. We had a solid start of the year, with operations performing well across all geographies, confirming the strength and the resilience of our business model. Activities in the Middle East continued in line with the safety protocols agreed with our clients and the local authorities. Operational complexities were managed effectively, as a result, project execution continued without major disruptions. From a financial standpoint, these translated into first quarter revenues of EUR 1.8 billion and a 7.1% EBITDA margin, supported by the growing high value contribution from NextChem. Last week, a record of EUR 187.6 million dividend was paid to our shareholders. On the operational side, the strong order intake further reinforced by cloud, extending visibility towards 2030 and 2031.
Indeed, we managed to generate EUR 4.8 billion in new awards in the first three months, including two multi-billion projects. This represents a book-to-bill of 2.6 in the quarter and over half of our stated target of EUR 9 billion in new awards expected in 2026. Such a strong commercial performance has led to an increase in our backlog to EUR 15.7 billion at the end of March, representing a backlog cover of over two years of full speed production. Before we move into the details of the quarter, let me provide you with an update on our on-site operation in the Middle East for the E&C business unit. At the end of March, we had around 2,400 engineers and technicians deployed in the Gulf region. Our EPC projects in the area are largely in advanced construction or in the commissioning phases.
During the first quarter, construction activities advanced, thanks to the availability of key materials and equipment already delivered on-site. In particular, in the UAE, the Hail and Ghasha project reached an overall completion of around 70%, while Borouge 4 is expected to start production in this quarter. Projects in Saudi and Qatar are also advancing through their respective construction and completion phases. Looking ahead, we expect activities to continue under the established security protocols, supported by a constant engagement with our clients to agree alternative solutions across logistics and procurement, as well as the appropriate recognition of price escalation where relevant. Let me now leave the floor to Fabio for a detailed look at the STS operational performance.
Thank you, Sandro, and good afternoon, everyone. NextChem continues to demonstrate resilience amid the complex business environment, supported by our broad portfolio of technologies. Our backlog reached EUR 313.5 million at the end of March. The order portfolio shows a diversified exposure to multiple value chains in fertilizers, specialty chemicals and materials, serving clients in around 40 countries. This will be further strengthened by the contribution of Ballestra's portfolio of around EUR 270 million at the end of March, as the closing of its acquisition is expected in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we have already started working closely with the Ballestra team on a number of commercial initiatives, particularly in the fertilizers and metals and mining segments. This collaboration is also expected to unlock cross-selling opportunities
Across our technology portfolio and may also evolve into the delivery of integrated solutions. Let me now focus on the biggest project ever awarded to NextChem, a EUR 485 million contract in West Africa. The scope includes licensing, process design packages, and critical proprietary equipment for three large scale nitrogen fertilizer complexes. The project, which is subject to a final investment decision, brings together NextChem's proprietary hydrogen, ammonia, urea, and methanol technologies, representing the first integrated application of Stamicarbon, GasConTec, and KT solutions. This is strong proof of the complementarity of our offering and cross-selling capabilities. Engineering activities have already started, highlighting both the strategic importance and the strong execution momentum of this landmark award. I will now hand it back to Sandro for the operational performance of the integrated E&C solutions business unit.
Thank you, Fabio . The demand for our E&C services remained very solid. In a world where energy security and the widespread use of gas-based chemical products are increasingly critical. During the quarter, we secured EUR 4.7 billion of new orders, bringing the E&C backlog to EUR 15.4 billion at the end of March. This is driven by our clients' willingness to continue sanctioning new projects in spite of the current temporary business and financial volatility. The projects awarded reflect our bread and butter activities across gas processing, petrochemicals, and refinery upgrades worldwide, with completion dates mainly expected between 2030 and 2031, further strengthening revenue visibility. Let me give you additional details on an important achievement that we reached recently through our subsidiary, KT, based in Rome. We are pleased to have successfully completed the upgrade of the Rijeka refinery in Croatia.
This was a EUR 550 million project, including the additional compensation agreed upon with the client while moving towards the completion. The project was executed in a challenging environment, having progressed also through the pandemic and the geopolitical instability, further confirming KT's proven capabilities. We are particularly proud to have supported our client in improving the operational efficiency and the environmental performance of its asset, while also increasing Croatia's energy security and creating value for the country's economy through the involvement of local companies and workforce. Now it's time to hand over to Mariano for the financial view.
Thank you, Sandro. Our first quarter group income statement continues to reflect steady growth in revenues and profitability. Revenues reached EUR 1.8 billion, up 7.6% year-over-year, driven by solid project execution. EBITDA was EUR 131.2 million, up 15.7%, supported by higher revenues and improved operating leverage. This resulted in an EBITDA margin of 7.1%, up 50 basis points, also thanks to the contribution from NextChem higher value added services. At the bottom line, strong operating performance combined with effective financial and tax management delivered a consolidated net income of EUR 76.7 million, up 19.9% with a margin of 4.2%. Group net income was EUR 67.4 million after EUR 9.4 million of result attributable to minority shareholders, mainly related to NextChem and projects in joint venture. Let's now analyze our financial result by business unit.
STS delivered excellent growth with revenues of EUR 140.6 million, up 46.2%, an increase mainly driven by low carbon chemicals and fertilizers. EBITDA rose to EUR 32.3 million, up 40.8% with a margin of 23%, reflecting a higher contribution of proprietary equipment in the product mix during the period. As a reminder, NextChem's first quarter results do not yet benefit from the consolidation of Ballestra. E&C revenues were EUR 1.7 billion, up 5.3%, reflecting steady project execution. Growth was driven by key geographies, including the Gulf, Algeria, and Kazakhstan. EBITDA was EUR 98.9 million, up 9.3% with a margin of 5.8%, up 20 basis points. Let's now analyze the cash flow dynamics of the period. Our adjusted net cash position at the end of March was EUR 396 million, in line with 2025 year-end figure.
This was driven by a healthy operating cash flow generation of EUR 117 million, which more than offset the share buyback program for EUR 81 million and CapEx of EUR 23 million. Capital expenditure were mainly focused on the internal development and scale up of proprietary technologies and on digital innovation initiatives. CapEx also include the consideration paid for the acquisition of the remaining 16.5% interest in Concert, as well as an earn-out related to the acquisition of GasConTec. This concludes our financial review. I will hand over to Alessandro for his closing remarks.
Thank you, Mariano. As we look forward, our commercial pipeline increased to EUR 61 billion at the end of March, without considering anything relating to the activities to rebuild damaged infrastructures in the Gulf region. In a global context marked by geopolitical tension, energy security and access to critical commodities such as fuels, fertilizers, and advanced materials remain key drivers in accelerating investment decisions. This is creating significant opportunities for both our technology and the energy services. We are seeing a pickup in specific geographies, including South America, which we continue to approach with selectivity and a risk-prudent mindset, as clients seek to monetize oil and gas resources and export commodities globally. Additional momentum is coming from gas monetization in Central Asia, LNG developments in the Americas, and refinery uprates worldwide.
As such, we remain confident in our ambition to secure around EUR 9 billion of order this year, of which over 50% have been already booked. Going forward, next awards are expected to start materializing in the next few weeks. Later in the year, then we are also expecting new awards, including integrated projects, which will enable us to further broaden our geographical reach, as stated during our Capital Markets Day. In conclusion, our first quarter performance has been solid, confirming the resilience of our business, even in a challenging and volatile geopolitical environment. Looking ahead, considering the limited, very limited effects on projects in execution in the Middle East, the group's potential involvement in the rebuilding of damaged infrastructures, as well as the increasing contribution from existing projects located in other geographies, the expected achievement of the previously set target for the E&C business unit is confirmed.
The STS business unit first quarter 2026 results do not yet incorporate the consolidation of Ballestra Group, whose acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026. Such acquisition, together with an expected pickup in the business fundamentals and market environment, will lead to higher revenues and margins, particularly in the second half of the year. We are on track with the expansion of our technology portfolio. In addition to Ballestra, we continue to selectively pursue additional M&A opportunities, particularly in the processing of metals and critical raw materials in line with our long-term strategic priorities. On this basis, we confirm our 2026 group guidance. This concludes our presentation, and we are now ready to take your questions, operators, please go ahead.
Thank you very much. This is a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please dial pound key five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. If you wish to withdraw your question, please dial pound key six on your telephone keypad. The first question comes from the line of Kévin Roger of Kepler Cheuvreux.
Yes, good evening. Hope you are doing well. Thanks for the time. I have, in a way, three question if I can. The first one, if you can bring us a bit of color on STS and the commercial dynamic in Q1. We have the relatively low order intake this quarter, at EUR 60 million. Any color on, in a way this performance and the expectation for the next quarter, please? The second one is still related to STS NextChem. If you can make any comments on the acquisition of Ballestra and the expected timing for the closure of the deal, and if there is any delay or whatever. The last one, it's on the E&C business.
You mentioned in the press release and in the remarks that if the situation remains closed around the Strait of Hormuz in the coming months, you can find new routes, new alternatives, et cetera. Any element that you can share with us in what it could mean for the execution work on the ground? Does it mean that if you have to find new routes, the execution work could be slowed down because the process will be longer in terms of supply, procurement, et cetera? Just to understand a bit the potential outcome. Thanks a lot.
Let me, Sandro, let me take the first two questions, which are on STS, and then I'll hand over to you for the third one. You're right. In a way, you're right. The first quarter of 2026 has been below expectations in terms of order intake for STS. Let me also say that this was partly foreseen as it is very much linked to a delay to this quarter on the award of two opportunities we have in an area which has been impacted by the current situation. There has been a slight delay in the award of these projects where the technology has already been selected. We are expecting to recover what is left there shortly.
As far as the timing of Ballestra, you know that the transaction is only formally linked to the receipt of the clearance from the antitrust authority on four of the countries in which the company is operating in. Today, you know, today we have received three of the four clearances. We are waiting for the fourth, so we expect it to be concluded in a matter of, you know, days if not weeks at the longest.
Talking about the projects, the E&C projects that we have in the Gulf region. Having a reference to your question about how we can feed properly the construction in the months to come. As we have already stated in our, during our presentation, Kévin, I have just to reconfirm what we already mentioned. It means that, in particular, over the last couple of quarter of 2025, we have almost concluded the procurement campaign for the projects which are located in the Gulf region. All of them are in advanced stage of completion. All of them are already facing the construction phase.
In order to feed properly the construction, we have decided, regardless of the present geopolitical situation, to concentrate, to accumulate care of the various construction sites, significant site dimension of materials, in particular, those which cannot be bought in the country. By the way, we are talking about countries, Middle East, whereby the supply chain is able to satisfy most of the procurement which is needed to serve the various project, with the exception of the most critical equipments. Some critical equipments have been already bought from Europe and the equipments have been already delivered on site. At least for the next three, four months time, we don't need, we don't see any particular problem to serve properly the various war fronts.
Of course, in the meantime, in order to be prepared, we have already identified alternative corridors of delivery spanning from Egypt, then moving through Suez Canal, Muscat in Oman, Fujairah or Saudi. All of them are alternative corridors which are available for the delivery of the residual materials, which, I repeat, will be necessary to have available on site not earlier than July, August. We have a significant time available to wait for a more stabilized situation without facing any type of disruption in the meanwhile.
Okay. Thanks a lot. Have a nice evening.
All right, thank you. The next question comes from the line of Jamie Franklin of Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Hi there.
Hi there.
Thank you for taking my questions. Firstly, just on the E&C business.
Business.
I wanted to clarify on the comment that you made regarding some awards starting to materialize in the next few weeks. You mentioned that later in the year you're expecting new awards, including integrated projects. CMD, you talked about the bulk of the awards coming not prior to the summer months. Yeah, just wanted to clarify on that point, please. Secondly, for NextChem, could you please give us your latest thoughts on the potential FID timing for some of these larger awards? I'm thinking particularly about this Pacifico Mexinol award that was announced last July. There appears to have been some positive movement on that project. I believe it is now in the pre-construction phase. Can you clarify whether we can consider that project as having FID or approaching FID, and whether it will be added to the NextChem backlog anytime soon? Thank you.
As you hear, Jamie, as you have correctly stated, during the Capital Markets Day, we have declared that we didn't expect it to be awarded additional projects, on top of EUR 4.7 already awarded at time of Capital Markets Day before summer. Needless to say that the present geopolitical situation has pushed the various client to accelerate the final investment decision, regardless of the geography. Almost all geographies where we were trying to achieve new orders, all of them, the various clients or potential clients, all of them, they have accelerated the process to take the final investment decision. One of them have also surprised ourselves because we were expecting not to face these potential awards before June, early July. Now they have communicated their intention to provide the letter of award within the next few weeks' time.
This is, of course, a very positive surprise also for ourselves. Surprise in terms of award, of course, we are prepared. We are well prepared if this success will be confirmed, we are prepared to start immediately with the relevant operational activities. We are not unprepared for the execution. The rest, for the rest, opportunities that we are working on from a commercial standpoint, now I reconfirm that most likely nothing is due to happen before summer or during summer, considering that there is, some of them are located in regions whereby they are not used to spend a lot of time in summer for their vacation. For sure, it is not excluded that there is something that could be awarded even during the month of August.
This reflects the investment appetite of many clients all over the world, including spending from gas treatment, so gas monetization, petrochemical as well, but more than that, fertilizer. Fertilizer, for sure, thanks to the significant growth in the price of the commodity, have suggested the various potential investors to accelerate their decision investment process. For this reason, we are talking about integrated projects, because in case of fertilizers, we are able to serve the client not only with our execution capability, but as well, thanks to the proprietary technology retained by NextChem, we are able to provide the client with the technology solution for the ammonia, for the urea, for granulation and melt.
In, just in case, the clients want to transform or proceed with the methanol production, of course, we are able to serve the client also with this proprietary solution. This, in a few words, is the situation that we have in front of us.
As far as the question on the landmark projects which have announced Mexinol some time ago and the West African project a few weeks ago, let me give you some elements for your consideration. What is happening is that clearly they are paying for early engineering services, in certain cases for PDP, but then the big amounts will only come with the payment of the license fees and the PDP, I'm sorry, and the proprietary equipment, which are clearly linked to the final investment decision. Going to Mexinol, you're rightly saying that there has been a positive move just few days ago in Mexico City, where the sponsor gathered all the various stakeholders. All the companies were going to be involved there. There was the entire financial community that hopefully will finalize the debt for this project.
We're talking about the IFC, a number of ECAs, and that was including a number of players, European and Asian, which have been awarded the various EPC contracts. Needless to remind that a EUR 3 billion plus project requires some time for the finalization of the financing package. The sponsor has indicated a timeline of the 3rd quarter of this year, end of this year, for the closing of the financing package. Just a comment on what Sandro was saying on fertilizers. That's definitely the most remarkable indication we have received from the market in recent weeks also. NextChem, there's a lot of interest on ammonia.
There are a number of initiatives that were already in the mind of investors, but, that are taking momentum because of, the current situation, and also because ammonia, especially in Asia, is being used, as a, an alternative, fuel to coal. There is a double use which is boosting demand. We see a number of initiatives, in that part of the world as much as in, Latin America. Just to confirm what Sandro was mentioning on the execution side.
It's very helpful. Thanks a lot, guys.
The next question comes from Massimo Bonisoli. Sorry. Please go ahead.
Good evening to you all. Thank you for the presentation. Two questions. One on the Middle East. What kind of cost inflation are you currently seeing on project in the region? To what extent are clients willing to absorb higher project costs or potential delays? Do you see also potential opportunities emerging around the repair and upgrading of energy infrastructure? How material could these opportunities be in terms of size and timing? The second question on NextChem. The 46% growth reported in Q1 is already well above the pace implied by your 2026 guidance, even before consolidating Ballestra. Assuming Ballestra will be included going forward, the implied growth in the guidance appears relatively conservative to me.
Could you help us understanding what NextChem growth would have been including Ballestra in Q1, and provide some color of the drivers and the phasing of growth for the rest of 2026? Also, any update on the M&A pipeline for NextChem, considering the sizable CapEx budget for 2026 would be helpful. Thank you.
Massimo, if you don't mind, I would like to start talking about a little bit your first question on the E&C, in particular, with respect to the inflation cost, also the other question that you have mentioned. Inflation. You have I hope that you have understood that most of the procurement campaign which had to serve the project which are presently under execution in the area have been already satisfied, have been already completed. Another element that you have to take in consideration that the most significant portion of the procurement campaign which are due to serve the project in the area comes from China.
China has a very stable cost profile. Of course, we have decided in agreement with the client, because you know very well that we can approach certain suppliers to the extent that they are part of the vendor list of the client. Having granted the access to the Chinese market, being a very competitive market, and stable as well from a cost-wise, and sometimes, please do not forget that some project have been also financed by the Chinese system, so we are obliged to buy in China. For sure, for the material which comes from that part of the world, we are not experiencing so far, nor we are experiencing for the next expected orders to face any major deviation compared to the present situation in terms of cost.
Another important portion of the procurement, as I was saying before. Since we have to cope with the local content constraints, which very often are imposed contractually with the region, at least for the time being, they are not, the cost profile in that part of the world, they are not moving significantly. For sure there is a not significant effect which comes from the higher cost of the fuel. Apart from that, we are not experiencing any major deviation. Of course, the logistic, we expect to face additional cost because if we will be obliged to recur to alternative corridors much longer, this will require additional time and of course imply additional cost. The reason behind is not just a voluntary decision.
If we, if this will be the case, we are obliged because of the extraordinary reason behind such a decision, which is the conflict. It must be considered an extraordinary event, and because of this reason, we are entitled to have covered by the client, the additional cost. It of course belongs to us, the duty to fully demonstrate and to document properly the extra cost that we are going to incur. Apart from that, I do not expect, as already proven by the previous experience with the pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, that to the extent you demonstrate properly the extra cost, compared to the normal situation that you have incurred, normally the client recognize the additional cost. I don't know if I have.
Apart talking a little bit about repair costs, repair activities. Frankly speaking, I am not in a position to provide a flavor about the size which could be, which could affect our business. For sure we will be part of certain repair activities of certain infrastructure which originally have been designed and built up by our group. Presently we are organizing ourself in association also with other contractors, and whatever is due to come out from this type of activity, this will sort out over the next few weeks' time. Of course all the clients which have suffered damages from the present war activities, they are eager to have repaired all their infrastructure, because we are talking infrastructure which were already in operation. They were already originating cash flow.
For sure the priority for them is to reestablish the operation for those infrastructure and to reopen the cash flow from those industrial infrastructure. For sure, I do not expect that the clients interested by these unfortunate events will take a long time. I expect that they will take a fast-track decision process, and of course, we are studying the situation and in order to be prepared to immediately mobilize on the potential project in which we will be awarded. Of course, presently I cannot be very clear about the size and the consequences from economic standpoint on our operation. It can be just an improvement.
Okay. Then, on the two questions for STS, Massimo. On the first one regarding the first quarter of this year and the projections. I would say the quarter is in line with what are the projections that being communicated to the market and the guidance we gave for NextChem. The contribution of Ballestra will kick in from this quarter and it will be clearly adding to these numbers. But, as you know, Ballestra has a slightly different kit of services if compared to NextChem. They also include a portion of services in the EPC type of business, which in Maire is taken care of by the E&C side of the business.
These type of services have a longer life cycle than the usual services we do in NextChem, which means that the EUR 270 million of existing backlog in Ballestra, which will have a longer time than the usual timing of our services. At this point in time, we are confirming the trajectory of EUR 700 million in terms of total revenues. Let me also give you some elements for your consideration. Clearly, we are already working with Ballestra in order to understand cross-selling opportunities and potential upsides going forward. It's definitely too early at this point in time, not having reached the closing, to understand when these benefits will actually materialize.
Regarding the pipeline on M&A.
Sorry, the second question.
Mm.
Sorry, yeah. Second question on M&A. We confirm what we have clearly anticipated in the Capital Markets Day. We will keep on looking at the market opportunities. At this point in time, we have two concrete opportunities we are looking at. One is in the recovery, the circularity of critical minerals. The other one is in technologies for the treatment of metals. That, as you know, is, in our opinion, one of those sectors that will have interesting chances and opportunities for business going forward. We confirm those two targets we are currently working on in terms of M&A.
Very helpful, and apologize for the very long questions.
Thank you very much. The next question comes from Marco Cristofori of Intesa. Please go ahead.
Good morning, good afternoon, everyone, and congratulations for the result. Two short questions, please. The first one is on the cash flow, which was particularly strong this quarter with over EUR 100 million generation. Just to understand if there was any particular element which impacted, maybe advanced payment from clients. My second question is what is happening below the operating line, in the sense that you reported lower financial charges, at least compared with my expectation, and also lower tax rate. If you can elaborate on what can be your forecast for the full year. Thank you.
Marco, let me start talking a little bit about the cash flow, I leave the floor to Mariano as far as the net financial charges are concerned. Let me say, let me clarify, first of all, that in the quarter, we didn't monetize any advanced payment from the clients behind the new awards that we have announced. The EUR 4.7 billion equivalent, which have been awarded to the NC business unit, have not yet generated, have not yet expressed any advanced payment, which we expect to monetize in the second quarter, in the present quarter.
As you have mentioned, despite the important cash out that we have sustained in order to finance the acquisition of treasury shares for an amount well in excess of EUR 80 million, this has been counterbalanced, more than satisfied this cash need by the operating cash flow, which have been secured by the projects which are presently ongoing. Nothing extraordinary from a cash in standpoint, just the monetization of the normal milestones associated with the progress of the various projects.
Considering the financial proceeds, that depends mainly on our financial discipline on all the projects, and so on good financial position, cash position. That means that the proceed from bank accounts were better than expected. Considering the level of tax rate, tax rate, as usual in our business, depends on the mix of the country we are operating, so it is something that probably we will be able to maintain during the rest of 2026.
Around 30% for the full year?
Yes. More or less.
Thank you.
Yeah, yeah.
Yes.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Francesco Sala of Banca Akros. Please go ahead.
Good evening. Thank you for taking my questions. I got two. The first one is I wonder, outside the Middle East, what are the most active areas and the most active segments in terms of commercial pipeline, maybe not the specific geo-geography, but at least the area. Secondly, I wonder whether you have noticed any difference or at least a pickup in the green ammonia and green hydrogen?
Yeah
In the last few weeks. Thank you.
Talking a little bit of what we have in our, not commercial pipeline because otherwise we have to talk up to do tomorrow morning. Talking a little bit about the most, let me say, hot commercial opportunities that we are working on. As I was saying before, most of them are located in new geographies, in particular in South America. South America is particularly active in the gas monetization, which means gas treatment, gas separation, and the gas utilizes the feedstock to then be processed and transformed into other commodities, mainly fertilizer, considering that South America agricultural activities represent an important pillar for the local economy.
For sure, South America is due to represent an important step in the growth of our portfolio in 2026. Of course, not only South America. As we have already mentioned, we expect additional further developments in the U.S. as a consequence of the wider involvement in the LNG project that we have already mentioned on behalf of Argent LNG. There are also other geographies closer to Italy, and I am mentioning for a while some countries located in the western part of Africa. Northwest Africa could be another region whereby over the next few months-
So I-
We could be able to get additional awards.
As far as the potential projects on green ammonia. No, green hydrogen, I wouldn't say I don't have anything to report on that. On green ammonia, Sandro just mentioned North Africa, let me add that there are a couple of geographies that are progressing aggressively on the green ammonia project. One is China, the other one is India. They are building the entire value chain to be able to produce efficiently.
Let me also mention that the number of projects we had in Europe that were shelved, let me use this acronym, for the time being for cost reasons, as soon as security of commodities became the main topic, we have seen an interest from those clients to restart discussions in a way. The other area, if I may add, and to add to what Sandro said, where we see a lot of interest is in sustainable aviation fuel led by Latin America, no doubt. We've received a lot of interest for our pre-treatment technologies for agricultural and animal waste in that part of the world as much as in North America. I would say that these are the indications we have received, from our clients in the past weeks.
Thank you.
I don't know if I answered your question.
Yes. Thank you.
Okay.
Thank you very much to everyone for participating in today's call. For any follow-up questions, please feel free to reach out to the Investor Relations team. Our next earnings call will be on July 30, when we report our first half results. You can also find details on upcoming investor conferences on our website. Thank you again, and have a great evening.
Thank you. Thank you to everybody, and we'll see you soon at the next conference call.