Welcome to Grupo DIA's 2024 first half results presentation. The management of Grupo DIA will run you through the presentation, which will be followed by a Q&A session. If you wish to ask a question, please use the red question button that you can see on the webcast screen. Martín Tolcachir, Global CEO of Grupo DIA, and Guillaume Gras, CFO of Grupo DIA, will be presenting this conference. I now give the floor to Mr. Martín Tolcachir.
Good morning. Welcome to Grupo DIA's 2024 first half results presentation. My name is Martín Tolcachir. I am the Global CEO, and I am joined by our CFO, Guillaume Gras. Thank you for joining us for this event. We will start the presentation with a strategic update, and we will review the operational and financial performance of the company in the first six months of the year.
After that, we will discuss the forecast for the current financial year. To wrap up, we will open a Q&A session to answer any queries which may arise. Please feel free to submit your questions via the red button on the webcast screen so that we can address them at the end of the session. We come to this results presentation at a key moment for Grupo DIA. In the last four years, we've focused our efforts on achieving the turnaround of the company and the simplification of the portfolio, creating two platforms for growth and profitability, that is the businesses in Spain and Argentina. The first half of 2024 has allowed us to close this important stage.
With the turnaround process already completed in Spain and Argentina, in these months, we have completed the exit operations in Brazil and Portugal and the sale of Clarel, thus closing the process of simplifying the business and moving towards the next stage of growth towards leadership. DIA is today a solid and profitable business. This scenario allows us to put our energy and resources into Spain and Argentina, where our value proposition has the approval of customers and where we see clear potential to continue growing and improving results. We have a unique omni-channel value proposition that connects with neighbors with what today's customer wants their shopping experience to be. DIA is close to home and gives you the flexibility of the online channel. It's easy, fast, and the best value for money shopping, with an assortment of the highest quality and with a focus on fresh and local products.
For this reason, our stores and online channel receive more and more customers, and more importantly, they decide to stay and come back because they know that in DIA, we are the ally of their savings thanks to ClubDIA, and because they have the freedom to choose thanks to an assortment which balances the main national brands and modern, innovative, and affordable DIA products that have become the favorite products of millions of households. Thus, the figures show that DIA is growing solidly in customer numbers, improving customer satisfaction quarter and quarter, gaining market share, and achieving a sustained improvement in its financial results. The excellent results in Spain have contributed to the group's debt reduction and deleveraging, as well as to the construction of a profitable business that generate cash flow.
In Argentina, where the economic context is complex, we clearly see that we have a winning model. DIA has outperformed its competitors and has managed to be a profitable, self-financed business that wins customers at a time of sharp contraction in consumer spending. As you can see, we are closing these four years with a renewed and profitable store network, thanks to which the business in Spain and Argentina reached the following in the first half of 2024. Gross sales and banner of EUR 3,311 million, only 13% lower than in 2021, despite a 44% reduction in the store network. An adjusted EBITDA of EUR 128 million, EUR 80 million higher than in the first half of 2021. A net income of EUR 16 million, an improvement of EUR 121 million vis-à-vis 2021, and reducing the leverage ratio to 1.1 times adjusted EBITDA compared to 3.1 times for 2021.
We have achieved this thanks to the constant effort of a committed team driven by a passion for the customer, a network of franchisees who share our values and bring a great entrepreneurial spirit and suppliers willing to offer the highest quality at the best price. Together, we fulfill our purpose to be closer every day in order to offer great quality within everyone's reach. Please allow me now to provide more details on the business performance in the first half of 2024. The good operational performance and the significant improvement in incomes underline the soundness of our strategy and the fact that thanks to the right leadership, the company is able to successfully face the challenges of the sector and the current economic scenario. With this vision, in these first six months, we highlight the following main milestones.
First, that the business in Spain continued to see its organic growth with like-for-like sales above inflation on the market. Second, that DIA Argentina is gaining market share despite the difficult macroeconomic context. Third, that the group's disinvestment operations in Portugal, Brazil, and Clarel were closed during the first quarter, concluding the simplification of our portfolio. Fourth, that a substantial improvement in financial results and debt has been achieved as shown in the following data. DIA España achieves an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 114 million, almost two times that in the same period of 2023 and three times that in 2022. DIA Argentina remains profitable and self-financed. The Grupo DIA's ongoing business achieved a positive net result of EUR 16 million, an increase of EUR 46 million compared to the previous year. Positive cash flow generation was achieved, led by Spain with EUR 80 million.
Net debt was reduced by EUR 92 million compared to the first half of 2023, and progress was made in improving the leverage ratio to 1.1 times. Finally, during the first quarter, we made progress in the execution of the plan Cada Día Cuenta, our sustainability strategy for 2024 and 2025. We now proceed to analyze in more detail the performance of the business in Spain during the first half of 2024. Between January and June, DIA España achieved a like-for-like sales growth of 5.1% compared to the same period in 2023, growing ahead of the market and inflation. The half-year figure consolidates the sustained growth in sales, which in June completed more than two consecutive years of like-for-like growth. The increase in volume and the attraction of new customers were the levers to achieve this progress, which in turn helped to offset the slowdown in inflation.
DIA's unique value proposition in Spain continues to show its success through the increase in the number of tickets, which in the first half of 2024 stood at 7.3%. One of the key edges of our value proposition is DIA products. In the last four years, we have strived to improve their quality and to modernize their presentation, to offer the best value for money, and to surprise and delight our customers with products that are in line with current trends and needs. As a result, DIA offers a complete and varied assortment, which gives prominence to fresh, locally sourced products and a balance between the most recognized national brands and more than 2,400 modern, innovative and top quality DIA products. It is with this freedom of choice that customers choose and give us their trust, including more and more DIA products in their shopping baskets.
At the end of June, the weight of the own brand in a shopping basket stood at 57.6%, an increase of more than three percentage points compared to 2023. The success of our omni-channel value proposition and a strategy focused on proximity and offering a comprehensive assortment with fresh local products and a top quality own brand is also reflected in an ongoing improvement in customer satisfaction. At the end of June, the NPS score stood at 47 points, seven more than a year ago, driven mainly by the perception of the freshness of the products, the prices, and the advantages offered by ClubDIA to facilitate household savings, variables that obtained the best rating in the entire historical series. DIA España's online channel continues to grow, gaining digital customers and gaining weight over total net sales of 4.7%.
DIA is omni-channel, and with the arrival of the new Dia App and dia.es, we have defined a new level of customer experience aimed at making shopping easy and fast. The effort in the development of the online channel has allowed us to double the digital customer base compared to the first half of 2023 to 43% of total customers, and raising online sales to EUR 99 million at the end of June. Argentina is going through a complex macroeconomic situation with inflation adjustments that are impacting consumption. In this context, Argentinian customers have continued committed to DIA, and this has allowed us to outperform the market. This has translated into market share gains in the markets in which we operate. We are confident that the macroeconomic situation will normalize in the future.
We will see a recovery in consumption, and DIA will continue to be committed to our Argentinian business. In this context of shrinking consumption, we clearly see the strength of our value proposition in the country. The number of tickets increased by 2.7% in the first half of the year, and DIA products gained weight in the Argentinian basket up to 31.7%, two points more than in 2023, a sign of the value that DIA offers to households. Renewed products of the highest quality at affordable prices that, combined with ClubDIA offers and promotions, make it easier for them to better manage their household budgets. It is also worth noting that the satisfaction of our Argentinian customers is increasing year on year.
Further proof of the success of the strategy and the trust that the company has earned in more than two decades in close proximity to Argentinian homes. At the end of June, the customer NPS stood at 69 points, the highest level in the country's history, with customer service and in-store service being two of the most highly valued aspects. In Argentina, the arrival of the new Dia App has been a milestone for the supermarket sector. The DIA assortment, the advantages of ClubDIA, and the delivery and pickup options make the shopping experience easy and practical for more than 80% of the national population. As a result of this omni-channel approach, digital customers accounted for 34.6% of total customers and online sales reached EUR 10 million, 1.3% of total sales.
Regarding the decisions taken to simplify our portfolio, in 2023, we announced two important operations for the company's footprint, the agreement to sell the business in Portugal and Clarel. Both operations have been concluded in the first half of 2024, closing their estate as DIA business units. In addition to this, as you know, at the end of May, we communicated our decision to exit Brazil. Since DIA's arrival in the country in 2001, a strong investment and effort has been made that has not obtained the expected return. In the light of the persistent negative results, the best decision was to exit this market. We have reached an agreement for the sale that involves the total disinvestment by Grupo DIA in Brazil, a process that was completed last June 25.
These decisions have been the right ones to simplify the company's footprint and to focus our efforts on the markets where we have the potential to grow and create value in the medium and long term. Now I give the floor to Guillaume Gras, our Chief Financial Officer, to elaborate on the financial results.
Thank you, Martín. Good morning to all participants in this results presentation. The success of our group-wide transformation has once again been reflected in improved financial results in our key markets. Starting with Spain, progress in network consolidation has enabled DIA to continue to gain market share on a like-for-like basis. The good performance was reflected both in like-for-like sales, which increased 5.1%, and in gross sales, which grew from 2022 to 2024, despite the reduction in the number of stores. We have 430 fewer stores today than in the first half of 2022.
The strong commercial performance was transferred to the adjusted EBITDA, which has tripled since the first half of 2022 to EUR 114 million, with profitability growing by more than 3.5 percentage points to 5.5% on net sales. In turn, DIA España has achieved a positive net result of EUR 25 million to June, an increase of EUR 59 million compared to the same comparable period of 2023. Cash generation was positive to EUR 80 million with a significant reduction in CapEx requirements following the completion of the transformation of the store network to the new concept. These improvements reflect the successful implementation of our operational strategy and the deployment of a unique value proposition in proximity.
In Argentina, we have successfully faced a complex first half of the year at the macroeconomic level with a good performance at the operating level, weighed down by the fall in household consumption and the effect of the peso devaluation. The impact of lower consumption and the devaluation resulted in a 5% fall in gross sales in hard currency to EUR 862 million. However, in local currency, growth was 285% higher than inflation in the period. Adjusted EBITDA managed to maintain its profitability above 2%, reaching EUR 14 million thanks to cost control to cope with the aforementioned drop in sales. The drop in sales and the devaluation have had a negative impact on the results for the period, which ended the half year with a negative EUR 10 million figure.
Throughout the year, an effort has been made to protect cash, reducing the CapEx volume and achieving a positive cash generation in the period of EUR 8 million compared to the cash consumption of previous semesters. On a consolidated level, we can clearly see that it has been a very relevant first half for DIA's business, thanks to the solid commercial performance. The gross sales of the continued group, i.e., Spain, excluding Clarel, and the large format stores sold to Alcampo, together with Argentina, grew by EUR 73 million versus the first half of 2023, despite the aforementioned contraction in consumption and the strong devaluation of the Argentinian peso and the reduction in the store network, mainly in Spain. The good sales performance is reflected in a growth of almost 16% in the last two years.
These figures translate into a performance that reflects customers' confidence in DIA in uncertain times, where we have been able to adapt and thrive in challenging markets. Adjusted EBITDA of the continued group grew by almost EUR 45 million compared to the first half of 2023, with a margin expansion of 1.6 percentage points, more than doubling the profitability achieved in the first half of 2022, mainly thanks to the improvements achieved in Spain, which grew by more than two points its profitability. This growth reflects the consolidation of the improvements implemented and our focus on operational efficiency. Total group-adjusted EBITDA also increased by EUR 16 million with Spain and Argentina offsetting the decline in Brazil. The net result of the continued group has continued to improve steadily since the implementation of the strategic plan in 2021, driven mainly by the improved results in Spain.
As a consequence of this, we have achieved a positive net result of EUR 15.6 million, showing the solidity of the transformation carried out. The total group closed the half year with a negative net result of EUR 93.5 million due to the impact of EUR 107 million of losses from the exit of Brazil. These figures underline the importance of our strategic decisions to restructure and focus our operations. The continued group's cash generation has been positive, reaching EUR 88 million, led by Spain, thanks to the improvement in sales and the reduction of CapEx after two years of strong investment in the transformation of the network. In addition to this, the total cash generation generated by the group was EUR 68 million, despite the negative impact of the exit from Brazil, strengthening our financial position. The net financial debt has been reduced to EUR 327 million.
That is EUR 92 million lower than in the first half of 2023, and improving the leverage ratio to 1.1 times adjusted EBITDA. Cash generation from Spain has offset our exit from Brazil, and sales from Portugal and Clarel have contributed significantly to the group's deleveraging. These achievements position us favorably to face future challenges and to take advantage of new opportunities.
Thank you, Guillaume. To wrap up this presentation, I would like to remind you the five areas of work on which we are focused in 2024. Our sights are set on the customer and on continuing to build value for all our stakeholders. Thus, our efforts are focused on, first, continuing to drive organic growth in Spain.
To achieve this, the team is working to strengthen loyalty through ClubDIA and to increase the frequency of visits and the value of the average basket, thanks to a complete and varied assortment that prioritizes fresh and local products, as well as freedom of choice between products from the main national brands and our DIA products. Progress will also be made in extending the coverage of the online channel and customer services, as well as implemented operational improvements to increase profitability. Finally, DIA España already has its eye on expanding its store network, a process that will start in 2025. Second, building on the strength of the business in Argentina to successfully navigate the current context, defending its profitability and gaining market share. Third, consolidating the improvement in financial results and further improving profitability and cash generation.
Fourth, advancing in the implementation of the sustainability plan 2024-2025, because we know that Cada día cuenta, that is every day counts, to achieve the goals we have set for the two-year period with the aim of DIA successfully facing the challenges and opportunities offered by the construction of a more sustainable future. Fifth, strengthening the capital structure through the refinancing of the debt maturing at the end of 2025. The transformation process that DIA has undergone is based on two key pillars, the promotion of two clear growth platforms, Spain and Argentina, and the simplification of our operations.
Achieving the turnaround of the company has paved the way for DIA's future and puts us in a solid position to face the next refinancing process, a process that we will tackle at the end of this year, and with which we will secure the resources so that our future ambitions come to fruition. We are moving forward step by step on our roadmap, and we continue to work to ensure that DIA's results generate value for all our business partners. I insist on thanking all of them, team, franchisees, suppliers, and investors. Thank you for your support and trust in these years of transformation. The progress we show today confirms the success of our strategy and also that we are committed to continue working with our undisputed passion for the customer to make DIA their favorite neighborhood store, an online store for local people everywhere.
Thank you for joining us today. That is all from our side. We will now open the floor to questions to address any queries you may have.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Q&A session starts now. If you wish to ask a question, please use the red question button that you can see on the webcast screen.
Have you started with the process of refinancing of the debt? When are you planning to finalize it? Are there any relevant progresses that can be shared, or are you considering a capital expansion? Thank you very much for your question. The maturity of the syndicated financing is December 31, 2025.
The company is ongoingly working and discussing with its financial partners, and we are involved in the planning of the refinancing process. We do not expect any problems from the syndicate in this process, and the results we have published are very positive. We have concluded all the part that has to do with syndication, and the continued group shows a positive net result and generates a positive cash. We are also focused on revising our strategic plan, which will be the basis for the new financing needs. Regarding the capital increase, today, we are working on a refinancing scenario without a capital increase. There was a strong reduction in leverage, and as I said, the new group has a positive net result and generates cash. The strategic plan that we're working on at the moment is a self-finance strategic plan. Next question, please.
Following the strong results of the first half of the year, where do you expect the adjusted EBITDA margins to be in the second part of the year? Could you please elaborate on the roadmap that has been stated? As you know, we don't give forecasts of our results. Nevertheless, we can confirm that the good results of the first half of the year have been generated with very specific levers that have been consolidated, and we foresee a very positive tendency for the second part of the year. The main levers we are using to build the growth in Spain have to do with four main levers. First, continue to increase the loyalty of our customers, mainly focusing on ClubDIA.
The second aspect, increasing the frequency, and this, thanks to the rise in the visits from the customers, thanks to continuous improvement of our continuous assortment of fresh products. Third, in the increase in our average basket, and this is related to the work on innovation. That will also allow us to continue to grow. We continue to be committed with an assortment that gives the freedom to the customer so that they can choose between our own brand DIA products, which are modern, top quality, and accessible to everyone, and the other half with the best brands of national and international suppliers. The fourth lever, last but not least, is continuing to be committed to the online channel. We have had wonderful results there, and we've gained market share in the first half of the year. We will continue to focus our efforts there.
We will improve our services, we will increase our coverage, and at the same time, we will advocate for the digitalization of our customers. There are several questions having to do with Argentina. We will kick off with the first one. What is the reason for Argentina's entry into losses going from a profit of EUR 4 million to a loss of EUR 10 million? Well, in this regard, we can mention two effects. First is the fall in the activity. That would explain those EUR 4 million. And the second effect would be the effect of the devaluation, which is reflected with the treatment of IAS 29 rule that explains the minus EUR 10 million. What are the consumption forecasts in Argentina for 2024? Well, Argentina is at the moment undergoing a macroeconomic situation that is quite complex.
We have seen in the first half of the year a very important reduction vis-a-vis the consumption as a result of a series of corrections at a macroeconomic level, which have been launched in the country. In this scenario, what we have valued is the excellent response from the value proposition that we have in the country, which is in a difficult situation for the consumption. And in that context, we have managed to keep positive results at EBITDA levels. In addition to that, we have gained customers and market share. This shows how healthy the business is, and once again, how attractive our value proposition is in this context. What we expect for is the second half of the year that will continue to be challenging from the point of view of consumption. And hopefully next year, we will see a recovery of volumes.
We are getting ready to continue navigating the second half of the year with the strength of our value proposition, but in a context that will continue to be challenging. Are you planning to change the strategy so that the value of the company and the stock market reflects the improvements you are undergoing? Obviously, the improvements that we are achieving at the moment are not fully reflected on the value of the share. To do that, we will continue to work focusing on two main axis. On the one hand, we will continue to implement our roadmap, and we will continue to improve our financial results in a solid way and in a growing way. And on the other hand, we will also improve the visibility of a company by strengthening communication and by expanding communication with analysts, investors, and financial institutions.
For 2025, what amount does the company estimate for the item payments for investment in tangible fixed assets? And regarding that question, could you please elaborate on the expansion of the group for 2025, as you have said before? Today, we are designing our strategic plan. And that plan foresees a strong development of our key markets. That is Spain and Argentina. Today, we cannot share with you a figure, but we do know that we are determined to retake our investment plan in those two countries. Mainly focusing on expansion, organic expansion of stores, and secondly, focusing on IT and e-commerce. Could you elaborate on the moments that we can expect for the second half of the year regarding the operative initiatives that are been happening at the moment?
We can say now that at the end of June, all financial movements that have to do with those operations have been implemented and have been reflected on our cash position. Therefore, for the second half of the year, we don't foresee other changes. This is the end of today's event. Thank you all very much for your time today. Please do not hesitate to contact our relationship with investors team for any additional query you may have. We are at your full disposal. Thank you and have a very nice day.