Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this webinar to discuss the results of the Third Quarter 2024 of Grupo Carso. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that this event is being recorded, and the information discussed today may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's financial and operating performance. All projections are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. Hosting this conference today is Mr. Arturo Spínola, Chief Financial Officer of Grupo Carso, and me, Angélica Piña, of Investor Relations, who will take you briefly through the Third Quarter's Financial Results, and then we will take your questions. Consolidated sales of Grupo Carso totaled MXN 49 billion, growing 8.3% in the quarter.
Grupo Condumex, Elementia Fortaleza and Carso Energy increased its revenues related to positive impacts coming from higher volumes and the exchange rate, which went up 11% versus the same quarter of 2023, improving revenues from dollar-based domestic sales, exports, and sales-ring operations. On the other hand, it is important to mention that Zamajal, the hydrocarbons operation, started to consolidate its sales in this quarter, contributing with an additional MXN 430 million. Carso Infraestructura y Construcción and Grupo Sanborns posted 1% and 1.5% reductions, respectively. Consolidated operating income reached MXN 5.3 billion versus MXN 5.6 billion in the second quarter of 2023. This reflected a lower profitability from Grupo Sanborns and Zamajal, mainly, and to a lesser extent from Carso Energy related to additional costs and expenses. EBITDA from July to September 2024 was MXN 7.2 billion compared to MXN 7 billion a year ago.
The EBITDA margin changed 80 basis points from 15.5% to 14.7% in relation to sales. The Consolidated Controlling Net Income grew 6.9%, reaching MXN 3 billion, higher than MXN 2.8 billion last year for better financial results compensated for lower income from operations. Explaining the performance by division, the total sales of Grupo Sanborns reached MXN 15.5 billion with a 1.5% reduction versus MXN 15.8 billion in the third quarter 2023. Operating income in Grupo Sanborns totaled MXN 535 million compared to MXN 1.2 billion a year ago. This reduction in profitability was explained by higher costs and operating expenses. EBITDA was reduced 39.2%, and net income reached MXN 407 million compared to MXN 858 million in the third quarter of the previous year. The sales floor remained stable, ending with 448 stores due to the opening of one new DAX store, one iShop, and the reopening of three stores located in Acapulco.
In the Industrial Division, Grupo Condumex sales totaled MXN 13 billion versus MXN 10.3 billion in the same quarter of last year. This improvement in performance came primarily from higher sales of construction and automotive cables and harnesses, coupled with an 11% increase in the forex rate. Regarding operating income and EBITDA, these items reached MXN 1.4 billion and MXN 1.6 billion, respectively, a higher profitability compared to MXN 1.1 billion and MXN 1.2 billion a year ago. Carso Infraestructura y Construcción sales totaled MXN 10.7 billion. The divisions that had the best performance were Manufacturing and Services for the Oil and Chemical Industry, with additional works including drilling and oil well reparations onshore and civil construction, which improved due to the progress in construction of retail projects.
The performances mentioned before offset lower volumes of service in infrastructure, where the Tren Maya reached its final phase and is currently in administrative closure, and pipelines for lower telecom network installations were recorded. The operating income and EBITDA in CICSA improved 0.3% and 1.3%, respectively. Controlling Net Income went up 2.6%, totaling MXN 645 million. The projects currently in place are telecom installation services, equipment for the petrochemical industry , drilling of deep wells for Pemex, various services and equipment for the oil industry , the construction of shopping centers, hospitals, apartment building , and the conclusion of the Mitla-Tehuantepec Highway. A total of MXN 21.6 billion compared to MXN 32.8 billion a year ago, or a 34.2% reduction. The sales of Elementia Fortaleza increased 13.7% from MXN 7.8 billion in the third quarter 2023 to MXN 8.9 billion in this quarter.
This was related to higher volumes and the peso appreciation since most of these divisions' revenues are generated outside of Mexico, either from exports or commodity-based, which reflected in the Construsistemas sales. Elementia's profitability improved with operating income and EBITDA growing 29.2% and 23.8%, respectively, reflecting cost efficiencies within the supply chain. The sales of Carso Energy totaled MXN 910 million, higher than MXN 878 million last year. This was attributable to exchange rate effects in revenues from natural gas transportation services through the pipelines of Waha-Presidio and Waha-San Elizario in Texas, USA, and the Samalayuca-Sásabe Gas Pipeline, as well as the revenues recorded in the hydroelectric plants in Panama. The operating income and EBITDA of Carso Energy were MXN 694 million and MXN 796 million, respectively. The net result totaled MXN 329 million.
Lastly, beginning this quarter, the oil operations to explore and exploit the Ichalkil and Pokoch fields in the Campeche Coast are being recorded and consolidated within the Grupo Carso numbers, where MXN 430 million in revenues were recorded at Zamajal. Due to startup activities, the operating result was a loss of MXN 145 million. EBITDA totaled MXN 102 million versus a loss of MXN 50 million a year ago. With this, I finish my general comments to proceed to the Q&A session. Thank you. Please, if you have a question, just raise your hand and we will open your microphone. Okay, we have Carlos Alcaraz. Carlos, I think your microphone is now open.
Hello, good morning, Arturo and Angélica. Thank you for the call and for taking my questions. My first question is about Grupo Carso. Could you give us more color on the reduction in operating profit? And my second question is about the Construction Division. You mentioned backlog about—I don't have the figure, but—oh, yeah, 21. But this backlog is related to the new government projects in Mexico? Or maybe, and if so, do you have a date when your projects will start?
Thanks, Carlos, for the questions. Related to the Grupo Sanborns one, one of the most important costs that has increased in this division is the labor cost, the personnel cost. As you know, the minimum salaries in Mexico were increasing in the last year in the last years in an important level, and that has an impact in our costs. As you know, Grupo Sanborns has around 47,000 people in its payroll, and that has an impact. We are now working in productivity, in the way to compensate that salary increase with the better performance of the people, because that is a matter that maybe it's to continue in the future years. On the other hand, we are in the end of the process to change the credit matters.
The credit business is very important for Grupo Carso, and as you know, we have some problems in the last year, and we are adjusting our policies and the process related to the credit, and has certain impacts that we hope this is the final quarter in which we have impacts relating to the credit. And relating to the construction question, no, the backlog that we are showing now is just with the business that we have now signed. We are not considering nothing for this new government. In fact, the new government has a lot of projects that we can participate as trains, highways, etc., but not even nothing in the table. Our idea is to participate in each project that we can have the expertise to get the possibility, but until now, there's nothing in the as a bid or something like that.
We think that we are going to have information just for the first or second quarter of the next year. In this year, we are not seeing nothing new for us. Just the private business. In that case, the construction civil business is increasing. The installation business is maintaining its level. The only business with the government that we are increasing now is with Pemex. Fortunately, we are recovering some accounts, the stable votes from them. But the answer is the MXN 21,000 million that we are informing is just for projects already in process.
Okay, and another follow-up question. What percentage of this backlog do you expect to start in the next year?
You know, it's important to say that, for example, in the case of installation, which our main customer is Pemex and América Móvil, we have no long-term contract signed. I mean, we sell around MXN 10,000 million pesos per year, but we have just contracts by MXN 2,000 million. Then that backlog doesn't represent the total possibility of revenues for this division. In the case of the Mitla-Tehuantepec Highway, we are waiting to finish this year. I mean, for the next year, we are not having backlog for the infra division. But our expectation is that that backlog was around MXN 15,000 million pesos, Carlos. It's our expectation, and because we have just an opportunity, but it's in the case of Pemex, because regarding platforms bids, but until now, we have no information, but we have good possibilities to increase our backlog in the structures and equipment division.
But that is our expectation for the backlog, for the signed backlog.
Okay, perfect. Understood. Thank you very much, Arturo, Angélica.
Thank you, Carlos.
Thank you, Carlos. Emilio, we will open your microphone. You can make your question.
Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. My question is regarding your working capital during the quarter. We saw you had an increase in overdue receivables. Could you give us more color on the nature of this change? Was it related to the Pemex receivables you just mentioned, or does it have to do with the credit strategy on Grupo Sanborns? Thank you.
Yes, we got to reduce our accounts receivable, mainly in Carso Infraestructura y Construcción. We recovered accounts receivable from the government related with the Mitla-Tehuantepec Highway, around MXN 5,000 million. And in the last quarter, we recovered around MXN 6,000 million from Pemex. As you know, Pemex and that highway is a very important business for us. Now we are equilibrating our accounts receivable with them, but that was the main reason. On the other hand, we are increasing our inventories in the retail division in preparation of the end-year period. As you know, it's the most important quarter for the retail division. That is the comments about the working capital.
Thank you, Emilio. If someone else has another question, we will open your microphone. Miguel Ulloa, please proceed. Miguel Ulloa, your microphone is open.
Hi, Arturo, Angélica. Thanks for taking my question. The first one would be regarding Zamajal. Could you provide some color on what are your expectations going forward and what should we expect in terms of CapEx and in coming quarters? Thank you very much.
Thank you, Miguel. Relating Zamajal, that our main operation in process now is Ichalkil and Pokoch camps. The total investment could share around $1 billion in the next five years, and that can get around 70,000-80,000 barrels per day, but now we are analyzing the best way to perform that process. For example, now we have a drill blockage, and we are in process to recover. That means around 8,000 million barrels per day, 8,000 barrels per day, and our expectation is to get black numbers for the third or fourth quarter of the next year. That is our idea. It's a long-term project, but we have a good partner, and we are confident with the results of that. The proof, the reserves are important, and we are now reviewing, as I said, the best way to accelerate that process in this company.
That was named PetroBal, as you remember.
Okay, and a quick follow-up, if I may, would be regarding how many barrels are you expecting for next year?
We are reviewing the numbers, but we think we can reach around 30,000 per day, more or less, Miguel.
Thank you very much, Arturo.
Any additional questions? Please raise your hand. If there are no additional questions, we finish this one question. Alejandro Lavin. Hi, Alejandro. Your microphone is now open.
Hello, can you hear me? This is Alejandro Lavin from Santander.
Sorry, okay. Thank you.
Hi, Alejandro. Morning.
Hi, thank you for taking my question. Just a quick one and maybe more big-picture question looking into next year especially and looking across all of your divisions. I mean, there has been a lot of talk about nearshoring in Mexico, right? And you certainly have several divisions that could be somehow related to this benefit if all of us believe that this is a longer-term trend that is here to stay, which is, at least in my view, is going to happen. Maybe it's in a pause today, but it should keep going for Mexico in the next couple of years, right? So if you think about nearshoring within your business and within your group, what possibilities do you see in terms of potential projects or benefits that you, as a group, could benefit from nearshoring? Thank you.
Thank you, Alejandro. Actually, we are having now some benefits of the nearshoring. For example, in the Condumex division, the industrial division, as you see, we increased our sales 26% in this quarter. Part of that is for the exchange rate, but part of that is for the increase of our sales, mainly in the case of the automotive industry and in the construction cables. In the case of the construction cables, we are seeing an increase of the demand from the industrial parks or that kind of buildings. And in the case of the automotive sector, we are increasing because of the new plants in Mexico, more demand for the automotive industry. As you know, now China's issue with the U.S. are helping us to increase our possibilities in Mexico. Now we are seeing in construction and in the automotive division.
Maybe we can have other benefits in infrastructure or something like that, but now we are seeing possibilities for our industrial division and our construction division. That is our goal regarding the nearshoring, Alejandro.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
Any additional questions? Nothing? Okay, there are no further questions at this time. We thank you for participating in this conference call, and we look forward to speaking with you again. Have a great day.