Afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the results for the Q2 of CIE Automotive. Today, we have Jesús María Herrera, CEO, and Lorea Aristizabal Abasolo, Director for Corporate Development. At the end of the presentation, there will be a Q&A, and questions can only be asked in writing through the tool provided in the webcaster. Now I'll hand over to Lorea. Go ahead, please.
Good afternoon, everyone. We're here to talk about a successful quarter, a successful quarter that we'll look into little by little, and we'll start with what's happened in our various markets. Starting with China, a Q2, where there has been a growth of 20% in vehicle production.
The beginning of the year was slow, with a negative Q1, but it picked up after March and especially April, and this is attributed to the incentives implemented by the regional governments and the reduction in COVID-19 contagion. On a national level, there's also the extension until the end of 2027 of the tax exemption on registrations for electric vehicles. Talking about CIE, and in spite of a clear market underperformance, our EBITDA margin for the quarter has grown up to 18.5%, in line with the consolidated levels, thanks to the teams focusing on operating efficiency and productivity. Showing once again our capacity to adapt to the medium and our firm commitment to profitability. Europe.
During this Q2, the European market has grown 15%, reflecting the gradual normalization of the supply chain, including the supply of semiconductors. A European market that faces the challenge of the aging of its fleet, with an average age of over 12 years, an aging that has been observed in the private fleet, but also in the rental vehicle fleet, which has suffered a reduction in supply in recent years due to the lack of supply. Both the rental fleet and the private fleet are showing slight improvements in the availability, a factor which, without a doubt, is helping to drive volumes.
Meanwhile, for several quarters, we've been reading worrying data from CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, stating that almost 70% of the European suppliers are operating with an EBIT below 5%. A figure that shows how European suppliers, and especially the small and medium-sized Tier 2s that make up our competitive scenario, are suffering. This takes them to pick up projects at very low prices, and this goes into a vicious circle of poor commercial decisions and low profitability. It's an unsustainable circle. This is our context, in this context, we can see how our plants in this Q2 have not grown as much as the market, but our EBITDA has. Our EBITDA has grown 17% and has reached 11% margin, closer to the consolidated levels.
The higher market volumes and the lower energy prices have been some of the relevant factors in improving the margins of many of our European plants. Talking about North America, during this Q2, the production of vehicles has shown a significant growth of 15%, a growth that is attributed to a large extent to a strong demand. A demand that is reflecting factors such as the low discounts that the OEM supply, they're under $2,000, and factors such as the maintenance of low inventory levels. We should also highlight the very positive impact of the famous IRA program.
As a figure, 65% of the electric cars sold in the Q1 in the United States were eligible for the IRA incentives. The normative updating carried out by the government in April did not bring in major changes. It's also expected that the vehicles that are currently not eligible will be in the future, according to all the strategic plans that are being launched by the OEMs in the United States. Our North American division is somewhat behind in this quarter, compared to the market, but has achieved a growth of 15% in EBITDA, thus maintaining a margin of close to 19%. India.
In the Q2, where the market has continued to grow, an increase of 3% in vehicle production, and this leaves us with a half year of +6%, a growth that proves the strength and resilience of the Indian market in times of global uncertainty. It's to be especially highlighted that in May, a historic landmark was reached in wholesale vehicle sales in India, with a 15% year-on-year growth, which shows that the demand for passenger vehicles in India continues to break all the barriers. We also have to bear in mind that in this Q2, there has been a favorable passenger vehicle context, as we said, but less favorable in other segments such as motorbikes, trucks or tractors. The estimates indicate that demand in these other sectors is beginning to recover.
This means a potentially even greater expansion for CIE in India, both in sales and in margins. This is the context, and in this context, we have seen a significant growth of our plants in India in the Q2, and especially an EBITDA that has grown by 14%, up to 17.6% margin, already close to the consolidated levels. We would also like to mention that in India, we have taken strategic measures in favor of green energy, signing an agreement with a producer of solar energy to establish two photovoltaic energy plants that supply our plants at Urnieta and Basauri. An investment in renewable energy that not only reduces our carbon footprints, but also reinforces our commitment to sustainability and the green economy. Finally, we're going to talk about Brazil.
During the Q2, vehicle production has grown 3%, with positive and negative factors that are having an impact on the market. On the one hand, a positive factor, major tax discounts have been implemented, ranging between 1.75% and 11% of the value of the automobile, to mitigate the impact of the major rise in interest rates. Interest rates that in Brazil in 2020 were around 2%. In 2021, they went up to around 5%-6%, and are currently close to 14%. On the other hand, we have a negative factor, and that is that exports have weakened and have fallen in this first half by 8%.
In this context, our organic growth, the organic growth of our plants in Brazil in the quarter has been almost 20 points, exceeding the market by far, with the support of the major exposure we have to successful OEMs in the country. Additionally, we have had another 6 points of inorganic growth, in this case, thanks to the integration of IBER-OLEFF , two important landmarks in this semester in our Brazil division, and we can mention them later on during the Q&A. The above mentioned acquisition of IBER-OLEFF , a company that is specialized in manufacturing plastic components, an integration that provides access to both Asian and European and American OEMs, and allows a significant growth with a limited investment, thanks to the synergies that IBER-OLEFF has with our Brazilian plastic divisions.
We have also opened a new plastic plant in Pernambuco, thereby reinforcing our position in the country. All this has helped our EBITDA to grow in the Q2 by 34%, up to a margin of 20.5%. The global situation, the combination of the various markets, has led to a result in the Q2 with 22 million vehicles produced and an increase of 16%. This represents a half year of 43 million vehicles produced, and a growth of 11%. CIE, in this Q2, has not grown at the same rate as the market, basically slowed down by our performance in China.
With this market background, we maintain a stable organic growth of 9%, both in the first and the Q2, exceeding EUR 1 billion in quarterly sales for the second consecutive quarter in our new perimeter with the discontinuation of the German plants. We present a Q2 with an EBITDA of EUR 185 billion, which represents a growth of 14% in comparison with the same period last year. It breaks the EBITDA margin barrier of 80%, taking it up to 18.4%. An achievement that shows the highest quarterly EBITDA in our history, which is a special merit, bearing in mind that the market is still below pre-COVID-19 levels.
The big headline is that in 2023, we are obtaining double-digit EBITs in all geographies, both in the Q1 and in the Q2. We also present a net income of EUR 88 billion in the Q2, and EUR 178 million in the quarter. Our half year result that has been the highest with a profit that shows that we know how to make the most of the different impacts in the market dysfunctions in the various geographies and for the various customers. Regarding the balance sheet and the operating cash flow, we have generated EUR 230 million so far this year, EUR 117 million of them in the Q2.
We're talking about an EBITDA conversion rate to operating cash of 65%, completely in line with the goals in our strategic plan. The net financial debt has gone down by approximately EUR 90 million during this Q1, leaving an adjusted net financial debt balance of EUR 1.182 billion, a leverage ratio of 1.7 times net financial debt to EBITDA. A ratio that has evolved in a very positive way in the last 12 months, going from 2.3 in June 2022 to 1.7 now, which shows a deleveraging of around 4.4.5 times per year.
a reduction in net financial debt in the last quarters, which is a special merit, bearing in mind that it includes variables such as growing dividends that we're paying out to our shareholders, or, for example, the shutdown of the IBER-OLEFF operation. Looking at the future, according to the IHS estimates, we obtain a growth in the market, growth in 2023 of 5%, to a production of almost 87 million vehicles, with very different situations. That has to be said, that we have a Europe with a figure of 10%, India with 7%, or China with a more contained trend of 1%. 87 million vehicles that represent a level of 3% below the 2019 pre-COVID figures, and 9% below the peak volumes of 95 million in 2017.
Bearing in mind the situation of the various geographies, there is a consensus in the sector around the fact that these volumes seem attainable. We've all already mentioned on previous occasions, the low of car ownership ratios in emerging countries as one of the main growth drivers, but also in the mature markets like Europe and the United States, where there's more uncertainty about a possible recession. In those areas, too, we see elements that are foreseeable will make vehicle demand grow, and some of them, for example, are the fact that, in an environment of economic recession, combined with the normalization in supply, it's foreseeable that the price and the vehicle mix will suffer, but not the volumes as such or not so much of the volumes as such.
To this, we have to add, and I mentioned the age of the fleets and the replacement driver, et cetera. Right now, the figures tell us that there is a demand in the pipeline in the United States and Europe, with an OEM order book that have been published that are not yet normalized. In the case of the United States, it's very interesting to see how the volume of used vehicles has not shot up, maybe of the lack of new vehicles. This means that there is a demand that is waiting for new vehicles. We have the general context of trends in electrification, autonomous driving, new technologies in the vehicles, that point to a wish of the consumers to have more modern and more updated vehicles.
This scenario means that at CIE, we will continue to invest in key opportunities and strategic opportunities with the goal of maintaining our profitable growth, and with the aim of consolidating our position in the industry, especially in those high-growth markets. Based on these magnificent results in the Q2, we can confirm a growth in sales, a growth in results for 2023, including margin expansion. We please have to give merit to the growth in net profit, in spite of an environment of higher and growing interest rates. We come to the end of the presentation from us and move on to the questions, where today, we have our CEO, Jesús Maria. Thank you all very much for your time. Juan, we'll move on to the questions. Yes, perfect.
There are several questions that have been repeated, and many are interrelated. We're grouping them together so that they'll make sense and be more efficient. We start with questions on the underperformance in the Q2. Is there any change in trend, or is there any geography we should look at in particular? Is it a one-off?
Good afternoon, everyone. It's a one-off that has an explanation, apart from what was said by Lorea. First of all, at the presentation, if you look at the bottom, Spain has made a reclassification of companies in North America, but that were accounted for in Europe or India. Now we have considered them in 2023 in North America, and so the reading may be different to what we presented.
Last year, apart from a Brazil that has shot up, we can see that Europe is growing with the market. India is growing more than the market. Apart from China, we see that in North America, we've had a substantial drop, and this drop is due only and exclusively to the fact that last year, we had a very significant turnover from new projects in the die sector, not in parts, components, which is our core, in dies. If we analyze only the component issue, the parts produced, also in these first six months, we would be growing more than the market. It's been a temporary, non-recurrent issue, and we will see CIE growing more than the market in the future.
Now we have several questions about China. I'll start with the first one. In view of the continuous underperformance in China, have you considered any change in strategy for Chinese customers? Well, first of all, I would like to share some information. Our sales in China, 50% of the sales are aimed at Chinese customers that have a JV with Western companies. 40% of our sales go to Western customers and 10% for Chinese customers. It's true that these Chinese customers have evolved very significantly in recent years. That is why our R&D department is developing products that are lower in cost, which is what they demand, obviously, with less technology.
They want a cheap product, and that's what we're working on, developing various products to be able to grow with those Chinese customers and to be able to continue to maintain the same margins, which as you've seen, are they're very good in China.
Thinking about outside China, but related to China, there's a question about. We're seeing many lots of news about China, leaving China and going to other countries, mainly in Europe. How will we affected by the entry of Chinese OEMs, both in Europe and in the other geographies? I've just come back from Brazil. Chinese OEM that's currently negotiating with the government of Bahia to acquire the plant that Ford shut down a few years ago. T hat we still have plants there, we're being called by both the government and customers, for us, it would be a magnificent news to have a final agreement, because as I said, we have plants and staff and all the technological know-how in that geographic area, where there aren't many plants that can supply components to these Chinese customers.
This Chinese customer I mentioned, may also acquire a Ford plant in Germany, we are convinced. Like in other geographic areas that, to Europe, they're always going to have to consider the customers in Europe in this case. It would be a further customer, it wouldn't be a problem to be able to serve them, it would be a pleasure to do so, obviously.
Well, we move on to a question about margins. For us, what has the impact of the passthrough be on sales and margins in this semester? How are we seeing the price situation with the OEMs, the price pressure? Well, that's something we have to look at every day. There's no change. Regarding the passthrough, there are geographic areas that have had a drop in raw materials. Others have increased, especially in North America. We've analyzed figures, and in general, there's no repercussion right now on a global level, on a consolidated level, and that's why we didn't mention anything about the passthrough, because it doesn't have an effect. Another different question: Can you tell us what the EUR 9 million in interrupted activities are this quarter?
As you'll remember, in December 2022, our board made the decision of phasing out the German forge business. Both in the Q1 and the Q2 of the year, you've seen the result of the German business on the phased out activity line. A result which on a half year level represents EUR 16 million. If you've had the opportunity of listening to the conference by our listed company, CIE India, they explained that most of that amount was related to the insurance that we have been paid for the floods in 2021 and on the losses we suffered. It's related to an insurance amount and some energy issues we had in the quarter, too.
Answering the question, that is the result of the German activities that have been phased out and are up for sale, and I hope that we'll be able to give you good news soon. We can't say much more, but we expect a good news soon. Looking more to the future, we're asked about the second half, considering the latest estimates point to a market that in the second half of the year will be very similar to the first half. What do you expect in the second half? Well, there are many things here: performance, margins, financial costs. A comparison with the first half, what do we expect in the whole P&L, basically? It's as if 2 plus 2 form minus 1, 3, and it doesn't go that way.
Again, it's going to be a historic year for our company. It's going to be another year with a significant leap towards those ambitious goals we had up to 2025. If everything IHS has forecast, CIE will have a very significant growth in EBITDA, very significant growth in margins, and as Lorea said earlier, we're at 18.1, 18.2, 18.3. We are really doing very well. The EBIT growth, 13.4%. All this is a minimum, and from there, we will grow towards those goals we have up to 2025. It's going to be another historic record year, not only with a significant increase in financial expenses, but also the exchange rate issue.
The euro has revalued against all currency, except for the Brazilian real. The estimate, more or less, for the end of the year, is that we're losing about EUR 160 million in sales because of the exchange rate and around EUR 30 million in EBITDA. Even so, the great margin improvement enabled this offset, together with the increase in financial costs, to provide a profit at the end of the year, higher than last year, which was a record. We will continue another year with a historic record, and it will be the same in 2024 and 2025.
To meet all the commitments that the team at CIE made five years ago, and it seemed wild then, but the CIE team is going to meet those commitments. We're asked what do we think about the Bloomberg consensus? The consensus, I'll remind you of the figures: EUR 4,100 in sales, EUR 700 in EBITDA, EUR 507 in EBIT, EUR 316 in net profit. This is the Bloomberg consensus yesterday, but we know that there are some analysts that still include Germany in those figures. Yes, there are analysts that still have Germany. The only distortion from Germany would be in EUR turnover, but not in the rest. In EBITDA, over EUR 700 million, EBIT over EUR 500, and consolidated net profit over EUR 300.
That's going to be a reality, without a doubt. That's the line to follow. There are several questions now about the capital allocation strategy. Jose, why haven't we deleveraged more instead of paying out more dividends? Why have we maintained the dividend policy, in other words? It's a commitment. Okay. In the same way we have commitments regarding growth, we also have commitments towards our shareholders. CIE is a great cash flow generator, and that major generation allows several things. Obviously, paying out the shareholder, significantly reducing debt and, three, generating cash flow to continue to grow organically and inorganically. We have no need to shut off growth or pay out to the shareholder. Continuing with capital allocation, we have a question about the M&A strategy, products, geographies. Yeah.
A lot of suppliers are suffering a great deal on the market, would it be the time to start thinking more about them? A little bit of an update on the M&A strategy. Well, it's true that in recent months we've put our foot on the accelerator regarding M&A with a clear strategy. As Lorea said, there are a lot of competitors suffering a great deal, those competitors that are suffering a great deal, only if the customer asks us, if they ask us on their knees, as it were, in the sense that it's a necessity for them, only then will we carry out an M&A operation to help the customer. That means you owe me one, you owe me two, because I'm helping you. If the customer asks us to, we'll do it, and we're analyzing some cases.
On the other hand, we plan to continue to grow in products, in technological products, in products for the future, and we want to continue to back comfort, and that's what we're working on. Thirdly, as usual, support for those countries that are going to grow the most in the future. In India that we are very pleased, as well as in Brazil, we've just invested in Mexico. These are countries, our focus, and in some cases, like India we have CIE Automotive India, our value on the stock market. Well, I wish we had it in Spain, because the price today is over EUR 2.2 billion. With that level, I think that we can tackle an integration project-...
Expect a major growth from India in the future. That would be the focus. If the customer asks for help, I'll help. If the customer doesn't ask for help, and they have to shut down, well, they'll have to shut down. Third product, technology, diversification in the comfort product range, and then emerging countries or developing countries. Connecting with the M&A side, what has the inorganic sales contribution been from IBER-OLEFF ? How is the integration going in these first few months at CIE by IBER-OLEFF ? It's only been two months, and the turnover is EUR 5.8 million, if I remember correctly, and they've helped us with a growth of EUR 0.2 million, so it's nothing. As I said earlier, I've just come back from Brazil.
IBER-OLEFF has a very powerful team, and also the integration in the division has been excellent. We have a very powerful plastics division, it have quite a lot of synergy with IBER-OLEFF synergies in purchases that have already been fruitful in the first 90 months. We have synergies in efficiency in the processes. That means that we can free capacity, and we've eliminated two things with this. We've eliminated temporary employment services and outsourcing. We do everything in-house now. In the first 100 days, of the 13% EBITDA when we bought it has now changed to figures very close to the rest of the plastics division. This is not normal for it to happen in only 100 days, but in this case, it has happened, and I feel very proud.
As I said, I've just come back, and I'm very proud about the great integration, the great improvement, and especially about the great future projects, which, as Rodero said, are going to require a lot of investment because we have the property, we have the facilities, we have idle capacity. We have everything we need to improve, not just in margins, which we've already done and will continue to do, but also in turnover. It's going to help us with the Asian customers we mentioned earlier, et cetera. Perfect. Well, this was the last question. Well, thank you, Jesús Mari, for joining us today. Thanks to everyone for taking this time on a July Friday afternoon. I hope you have a pleasant summer, and we're available here for anything you might need.
It's been a pleasure for me. You know, I'm delighted to share the evolution of CIE with full transparency. I think that these are magnificent times. Together we have to form part of this great project. I'd like to thank the excellent team I have at CIE Automotive. Without them, it would not be possible. Let's all enjoy.