Earnings Call: Q2 2023

Aug 11, 2023

Good morning to all. I want to thank you for your company today. This conference will be dedicated to present the financial results of Grupo Argos at the end of the second quarter 2023. With us, we have Jorge Mario Velásquez, CEO of Grupo Argos, Alejandro Piedrahita, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Finance for Grupo Argos, Rafael Olivella, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Grupo Argos, Maria Clara Aristizábal, Manager of the Real Estate business, Pablo Arroyave, CFO for Alvisa, and Luis Bejarano, CEO of Batia. On our website, we have available all the information for the quarter together with the presentation that we will follow during the call. To download it, you can enter the menu financial information and the report sections. We are also transmitting this conference via Twitter. Please go to slide 3 of the presentation to begin the meeting. We look forward to Jorge Mario Velásquez, CEO of Grupo Argos. Thank you very much, Juan Esteban. Good morning to all. We thank you for being with us today at this meeting to share with you the good results that we've had during the second quarter of this 2023. I would indicate that, very similarly to the trend that we have had since the beginning of the year, first quarter was, of course, that had very positive results, and the second quarter continues along those same lines. However, before expanding on these results, we would like to mention the progress that is being made in the transaction to transfer our investment in Grupo Nutresa's food business in exchange for shares of Grupo Sura and Grupo Argos, which was announced on June 16th past. Grupo Argos has been moving forward with realizing that transaction. Right now, the company has obtained the corresponding corporate authorizations from its corporation, including authorizations related to conflicts of interest from the shareholders meeting and the approval to proceed with this transaction from its board of directors. The transaction has different steps, and several of those steps require government authorizations in Colombia and in other countries around the region. We are working very hard, because we are committed to moving forward, as quickly as possible with this operation in Grupo Argos. Also, in the framework of this transaction, S&P Global indicated that the performance of this operation would have no impact on the financial education of Grupo Argos and maintain the highest credit ratings. At the end of the second quarter, Grupo Argos has a cash position of close to COP 684 billion, which allows it to meet all its obligations of this transaction and maintain a very sound liquidity position. In this sense, Grupo Argos' AAA rating was maintained, the highest granted by that entity, which is evidence of the organization's structural soundness in the context of the transaction that we announced to you before. Moving on to the consolidated financial results for the company this second quarter, Grupo Argos managed to maintain a positive trend with double-digit growth rates in its main consolidated figure. Revenue ended the quarter at COP 12.1 trillion, growing 15%. EBITDA closed at COP 3.1 trillion, growing 19%. Net income closed at above COP 1 trillion, growing 14%. Net income to the controlling entity ended at COP 718 billion, growing 84%. All of this is in spite of considerable growth in financial expenditures compared to the first semester of 2022. On our separated financial statements, as well as in the consolidated statements, we had very positive results. This is the result of highlighted results in all our investments, as well as the revenue received from the sale of Grupo Argos' share in Opain after conclusion of the airport vertical with Macquarie. Accumulated revenue for the year was COP 984 billion. EBITDA was COP 763 billion, and net income was COP 704 billion. All of these figures more than double what we saw in the same period the previous year. This income is achieved in just the first half of the year, is equal to over COP 800 per share, and is proof of Grupo Argos' capacity to generate for its shareholders. I would now like to invite you to move to slide 6, where we will see detailed results for all our businesses. I am going to start with the cement business, as was announced to the market at the beginning of this year. During the quarter, Cementos Argos made a successful progress with a series of initiatives to transfer value to its shareholders. We highlight that the shareholder meeting held on June 22, approved an extraordinary dividend that will allow Cementos Argos dividend to its shareholders this year be COP 445 billion. That is 50% higher than 2022. On the other hand, to think about diversifying revenue sources for the company in a region with a lot of growth potential, as is Central America and the Caribbean. During the quarter, Cementos Argos reached an agreement to evaluate potential structures that will allow it to supply aggregates, throughout the Caribbean Basin, including the U.S. from Costa Rica. Additionally, the company began a project to expand its cement producing capacity by 25% in Dominican Republic. We expect that this will be completed in the remainder of 2023. We should also highlight that in a context of high interest rates, the company's net debt to EBITDA ratio, has been maintained below 3 times, which is proof of the financial soundness of the company. Also, 31% of the company's current indebtedness is tied to ESG indicators, which ratifies the company's commitment to the idea of achieving profitable growth, considering wellbeing of all its stakeholders. Moving on to the results for the quarter. Thanks to good operational dynamics, there is still double-digit growth in all its lines. Revenue was COP 3.3 trillion, growing 17% year-on-year. EBITDA closed at COP 662 billion, growing 13% year-on-year. In operational terms for the quarter, cement volumes were 4 million tons, while the concrete business registered volumes of 1.8 million cubic meters. These are slightly lower figures than those reported last year, but in the midst of a commercial strategy that focuses on the most profitable segments for the company, maintaining price leadership and expanding margins as the priority for the organization. Results are particularly favorable in the U.S. region, which concentrates over half of the company's revenue and EBITDA currently, where in the course of the year, revenue has grown 50% and EBITDA has grown 42%, leveraged by a positive dynamic in the commercial and infrastructure segments in that country, as well as very good pricing dynamics for cement in this sector. Likewise, we can highlight the behavior of exports from Colombia, which continue growing in tons of cement exported 14% compared to the first half of 2022. It should be remembered that with its plants in the Colombian Caribbean, like the Cartagena plant and the Tolú Viejo plant, both of which have bulk ports, our cement business has a great capacity to export and connect to the largest growing geographies in the Americas. Now, let's look at the energy business. In the face of an El Niño phenomenon, Celsia is prepared in all its businesses to face the climate situation. It has a balanced portfolio that will allow it to manage the impacts of this phenomenon, and also has generation plants that are in optimum technical conditions to be able to deal with these climate conditions. Celsia also has guaranteed fuel contracts for the operation of its thermal plants. All of the above is added to its current contracting policy that will allow the company to be capable to assume the consequences that may arise in the market because of this phenomenon. Over 94% of the energy contracted by Celsia is assured under this mode. On the other hand, during the third quarter of the year, we expect that the sale of some of Celsia's assets in Central America will be concluded, which will allow the company to strengthen its liquidity position and reduce its net debt by close to COP 1.6 trillion. With the sale of these assets, Celsia will have the resources and financial flexibility to continue deploying its strategy, focused on renewable energies, especially solar and wind energy in its different geographies, and it will look for opportunities to strengthen its asset management portfolio, transmission and distribution assets, and energy efficiency in other countries in the region. The operating results that you can see on slide 9 show consolidated revenue of close to COP 1.6 trillion during the second quarter, growing 31% year-on-year, and EBITDA that ended the quarter at close to COP 481 billion, growing 7%. If we add to this the EBITDA that was generated by our platforms, which with the expansion of Caoba, C2 Energía, Laurel, and the commissioning of the Tesorito plant, will be more and relevant. The EBITDA with the platforms year-to-date closed at COP 1.2 trillion, growing 70% compared to the first quarter of 2022. The Tesorito project is a particular highlight, which with thermal generation will be key to provide reliability to the system during the El Niño situation. Year-to-date, it has already registered COP 210 billion in revenue and an EBITDA of COP 58 billion. Energy generated for the period closed at 1,318 megawatt hours, a reduction compared to the previous quarters, which is explained mainly by a decrease in hydro generation in the framework of operations to be prepared for a potential El Niño phenomenon. Now, let's look at the railway and airport concessions business on slide 10. In the last quarter, Odinsa and Macquarie Asset Management announced the entrance operation of a new platform that will manage airport assets for a value of COP 1.3 trillion. This new partnership between Odinsa and Macquarie confirms the confidence of this global investor in the organization's management capacity and its trust in Colombia as an investment destination. Odinsa will manage the platform that includes the airport concessions of El Dorado in Colombia and Mariscal Sucre in Ecuador, considered two of the best airports in South America according to Skytrax. The platform may develop new projects and opportunities in the Americas and will continue promoting private initiatives, including the new Cartagena Airport, a project called El Dorado Max, and Campo de Vuelo or Flight Fields in El Dorado. Although this transaction prepares Odinsa for powerful growth in the long term, it is worth remembering that with the creation of verticals with Macquarie, the company no longer consolidates most of its assets, and this makes its contribution to P&L significantly lower. To facilitate an understanding and evaluation of Odinsa and its platforms through our website, we would invite you to see the new investor kit that we have prepared for this business. We should also highlight that our Conexión Centro, center connection private initiative that improves connectivity within the coffee growing region by completing the dual carriageway roadway system, submitted to the ANI the technical study, the financial model, and other documents that will allow this project to continue moving forward with its feasibility stage. Let's move on now to the company's operational results. This quarter, average daily traffic on the roadway platform decreased slightly due to decrease of traffic, mainly along Autopistas del Café, product of the situation with the El Alambrado bridge, which collapsed, which we have already mentioned before. In turn, airport traffic continues to improve. Passengers mobilized by the airport platform reached 10.8 million last quarter, 6% year-on-year growth. We highlight the good dynamics of key port traffic, which allow the airport to recover pre-pandemic traffic levels and which is translated into year-on-year growth of above 25%. In the real estate returns business, gross cash revenue was COP 111 billion, growing 54% year-on-year, and EBITDA for the quarter was COP 59 billion, growing 94% year-on-year. After adjusting for divestments, gross cash revenue and EBITDA grew 12% and 31% respectively. In terms of the same assets for the first semester, for the first half of the year, net operating revenue and EBITDA grew 20% and 24%. In total, 43,000 square meters in contracts were renewed, and 22,000 square meters in new contracts were entered to during the second quarter of 2023. At the end of the period, the fund ended with occupation of the non-hotel portfolio of 96%, a decrease of 49 basis points compared to the same period of 2022, and 85 basis points compared to the previous quarter, but with very healthy levels of occupation. The sector with our greatest revenue growth compared to the second quarter 2022 was the hotel business, which end with an average occupation of 58% and a medium rate of COP 283,000. RevPAR or revenue per available room resulting was COP 165,000, which is growth of 6% compared to the previous year. As regards commercial trades, specifically the Plaza shopping malls, it's worth highlighting good sales behavior, which surpassed our expectations and generated an increase in variable returns of 34% compared to the same period the previous year. Regarding the real estate business accumulated to the month of June, the business obtained a cash flow revenue of COP 111 billion and EBITDA of COP 400 billion. This is a 40% increase compared to the same period the previous year. This year, most of the deeds will be signed in the last month of the year, so EBITDA is stable in the P&L compared to the previous quarter. Cash flow revenue for the quarter were COP 50 billion, 12% less than the previous year, but 20% higher if we compare values year to date. During the quarter, we saw a fall in housing sales throughout the country. This is due to the changes in the way that subsidies are assigned, delays in delivery of subsidies, and increasing costs in labor construction materials. We continue to seek opportunities, optimizing our urban development plans and carrying forward complying with all our commitments to our customers. Despite this market situation, we continue seeing a great appetite for the products we offer. We recently had a call where we received proposals from our clients that were six times what we were offering and will allow us to exceed our original plans for this year. Now, let's look at slide 17 to look at the consolidated results. Revenue was COP 6.4 trillion during the quarter, which is an increase of 8% compared to the same period, 2022. Higher sales levels was translated into a growth in EBITDA, which closed the period at COP 1.5 trillion with 12% year-on-year growth. Net profit as controlling entity for the period ended COP 313 billion, 36% higher than the same quarter the previous year. On slide 18, we can see the variation of the contribution per business to consolidated revenue and EBITDA. On these charts, we can see improved contributions from the Cementos Argos and Celsia business, thanks to their good operating performance, as well as a significantly higher contribution from the Concessions business due to non-recurring revenue related to the conclusion of the airport vertical with Macquarie, which we mentioned earlier. Now, let's look at slide 20 to analyze evolution of consolidated indebtedness. Grupo Argos consolidated net debt closed at COP 12.1 trillion, 3% more than the same period the previous year. Despite a debt that does not increase substantially because of increasing interest rates, net financial expenses increased 58% compared to the second quarter of 2022. Separated results, we can see them on slide 21. The separated results, similar to the consolidated results, show positive results. Revenue for the quarter ended COP 55 billion. EBITDA ended the quarter at COP 409 billion, and net income COP 357 million, all more than tripling the results for the same quarter the previous year. Thanks to the cash position with which we end the quarter, Grupo Argos separated net debt, which you can see on slide 24, end of the quarter at COP 950 billion, a reduction of 8% compared to the same quarter the previous year. Grupo Argos' cost of debt continues to give way, ending the quarter at 10.5% at the end of this quarter, 150 basis points less than the close of 2022. Seeing the trends in the CPI, we hope that this will be maintained, which would represent an important relief for the organization's financial expenses, which have significantly increased because of these indexes that have been mentioned before. Additionally, during this quarter, the company has continued to implement its buyback program, with which we seek to affirm our trust in the business plan and the strategy that is being executed by Grupo Argos and its company. Since the beginning of the buyback program, the company has bought back over 1.2 million ordinary shares and over 245,000 preferential shares. Sustainability. Besides the excellent financial results, Grupo Argos continues moving forward with milestones in its mission to always be thinking about sustainable development together with all its stakeholders. Between 2018 and 2022, Grupo Empresarial Argos invested over COP 200 billion in Obras por Impuestos projects that have benefited over 240,000 people throughout the entire country. On the other hand, the Centro de Investigación y Conservación de los Bosques del Río Cauca, or CIRCA in Spanish, opened its doors on July 21, intending to offer and develop alternatives to propagate plant material, provide education and research on tropical forests, and other ecosystems associated with the middle basin of the Cauca River. This research center required an investment of over COP 2.1 billion and has the capacity to produce 500,000 seedlings a year of native species from the tropical forest in the southeast of Antioquia, where only 22% of the original plant coverage still remains. Construction of CIRCA was possible thanks to coordination of efforts and wills between Odinsa, Fundación Grupo Argos, Comfama, Fundación Julio C. Hernández, and intends to have a positive impact on water basins in the organization's area of influence. To close this presentation, I would like to highlight five fundamental points of this quarter. First, the operational dynamic of all our businesses is very positive, and its contributions to our consolidated results continue growing by double digits. At the end of the quarter, Grupo Argos has a very healthy cash position that gives the organization financial flexibility to perform and implement its strategic plan. Third, the conclusion of the airport vertical business is the realization of that strategic plan, which will additionally leverage future growth. Fourth, during the period, a framework agreement was signed for exchanging shares in the Grupo Nutresa Food business. Regarding this, S&P Global indicated this has no impact on Grupo Argos' financial indicators, and it maintained the highest credit rating for the organization. Fifth, the company is still focused on decreasing its indebtedness, and in future months, its net indebtedness will decrease by close to COP 1.6 trillion with the divestment in certain assets of Celsia in Central America. Finally, our guidance for the rest of the year is maintained according to the figures communicated at the beginning of the year. We hope to end the year with consolidated revenue of COP 22 trillion and an EBITDA of over COP 5.2 trillion. Now, I'd like to give the floor to Juan Esteban to continue with our conversation and any questions you may have. Thank you very much. I would like to remind you all that you can ask your questions in the Q&A section enabled on the platform. We have no questions right now. We're going to pause the call for a few minutes so you can ask questions. Okay, we have the first question from Sebastian Luparia, and he asks the following: "I understand that the subsidiaries, Cementos Argos, is going to leave MSCI. You have been carrying out a buyback. How much more space do you have to buy?" I would like to give the floor to Alejandro Piedrahita. Thank you very much for your question. In fact, Grupo Argos in the past has been purchasing on the secondary market. We have announced that they were public, and the space we have now is very small, very reduced, and if we wanted to carry out a larger buyback, we would have to use a takeover mechanism. From the point of view of Cementos Argos, they also announced the possibility to purchasing, using certain mechanisms or structures that are still being reviewed, depending on the market conditions at a given time. That would be the answer that we would give, as we have been giving in the past, as regards the buyback of Cementos Argos, and also could be mechanisms that Grupo Argos could use in the future. Juan Camilo Dauder asks us the following: "What can you tell us about the issue of Decree 050 on the freezing of toll rates? How have negotiations with the government moved forward?" I would like to give the floor to Pablo Arroyave, who is with us from Bogotá. Regarding Decree 050, we would like to remind you that it was a decree that was enacted by the government in January to not increase toll rates in Colombia. In the case of Odinsa under the private capital fund, we have four concessions in Colombia. That decree only affected two of those four concessions, because Túnel de Oriente, which is departmental concessions, we did increase toll rates. In the case of Autopistas del Café, the decree came out after the increase that was contemplated under the contract, and the National Infrastructure Agency agreed to maintain the increase that had been applied. So, this decree only affected Pacífico 2 and Malla Vial del Meta contract. Pacífico 2 also already considered reduced collections. So what Pacífico 2 had been done even before this decree, because of the contractual development of the concession, it was already submitting to the ANI quarterly records to collect the difference in the collection that should have been received by the contract versus what should have been collected. So Pacífico 2 already had a mitigation measure, and we have already used it. Pacífico 2 has already submitted five of these records to the ANI, and four of them have already been paid, and the fifth one is already being paid without any kind of objection. The case of Malla Vial del Meta, which is a private investment whose income depends exclusively on the tolls collected, and this has effectively affected that contract. In the complementary agreement that was entered to in 2020, it contemplated a reduction of scope in the event certain rates did not increase. So what the administration is doing today is talking and negotiating with the ANI to define whether this is the only mitigation mechanism or whether there would be a space for other mitigation measures which are currently under discussion. Maybe use some cash that is now in the trust because of all the historical collections, after the renegotiation of that contract. We are only really being affected, and we are currently in negotiations with the ANA to compensate that mitigation. On the other three concessions, either there was no effect or there was already mitigation. The country has a discussion because of something that the Ministry of Finance mentioned, to review this freezing of rates to be able to guarantee the stability of the concession system. We need to celebrate those signs that are looking at reestablishing the normal regime for increasing toll rates. Thank you very much. We have the following question from Bianca Vanegas. Thank you for the call. Could you give us details on portfolio performance? Yes, we can share that. There was a first observation, as you will see on the figures that Alejandro is going to share with you. There is a considerable reduction in the investments from the equity method, from the investment that Grupo Argos has in Grupo Sura. As Grupo Sura will explain in extensive detail, this has to do with a definition of reclassification of certain investments that Grupo Sura has, particularly the ones it has in Grupo Nutresa, intending to prepare the structure of its balance sheet to carry out the project of shares swap for shares in Grupo Nutresa. This effect of reclassification simultaneously produces the appearance of a contingency account of a deferred tax, which has been moved to the results statement in this quarter, and it is an extraordinary charge on Grupo Sura, but it makes Grupo Sura prepared to carry out the share swap under the agreement with JGDB and IHC. I would like to give the floor to Alejandro so he can give you the details of the variation between. Jorge. Yes, Jorge. Effectively, as you mentioned, if you look at our revenue in Grupo Argos of June 2022 versus June 2023, it went from COP 212 billion. If you look at the composition of the portfolio drops in COP 58 billion compared to last year. However, when you look at that portfolio, how it is divided, basically that portfolio has two main components. The first one is certain dividends that we receive, COP 43 billion, this against COP 61 billion, and the other one, which is the equity method from Sura, it goes from COP 260 billion to COP 184 billion. So effectively, that difference between these periods generated a drop of close to COP 31 billion, and that means that the delta is a negative delta. That negative delta is what I was mentioning, which Grupo Sura will talk about in detail, is due mainly to reclassification that gives rise to deferred taxes, important deferred taxes, which Sura will talk about more in depth. As you know, this has accounting effects, not cash flow effects, but they do affect the operational income of Grupo Sura, which under the equity method affects us and means that we have a reduction in COP 31 billion. Thank you very much, Alejandro. We are, as Sebastian Saldañiega is asking the following. Regarding the Grupo Argos buyback program, as you mentioned, you said you bought back 1.2 million shares in five months, which is low and would not meet the goal from here to three years. What is the plan, implementation plan? Yes, we continue buying the maximum amount allowed under the mechanism that we are using today, which has a limitation of 25% average. Volumes will continue growing. The level of buyback that we perform will also increase. The decision of the board of directors is to continue using the price on screen method, with the maximum levels possible. As the market is revitalized and volumes increase, then we will continue to see a growth in that demand. The operation, as you mentioned, was suspended for some months, and then restarted recently with authorization from the shareholder meeting after having proceeded with all the issues related to the takeover bids. I trust that as the market becomes revitalized, the volumes will continue to be positive. We will continue to use this mechanism, with great commitment. As we evaluate its performance together with the board, we will carry out the necessary actions to be able to fulfill our commitment. Thank you very much. Daniel Guardiola is asking the following, "Could you share with us what are your expectations of dividend received for 2023, considering the conclusion of the transaction with Gilinski, greater leveraging of Grupo Sura, and therefore its lower payment capacity, and the non-existence of extraordinary contributions from Arinsa or Opain?" Okay, Alejandro Piedrahita, you have the floor. Thank you, Jorge Mario Velásquez. Well, basically, in 2023, we have projected around COP 1 trillion in dividends received. I will go into a little bit more detail because our revenue for 2023 shows that our strong cash flow position, we have estimated additional revenue of COP 248 billion from the release that we just received on important inflow from our divestment participation in the. From an operating point of view, we are revenue close to COP 1.6 trillion. When you look at the dividend we pay is administrative expenses and taxes, we are close to COP 817 billion. Other buybacks gives us an operational cash flow of around COP 750 billion. If we look at amortization, et cetera, I will not go into all that detail, but in cash flow, what we have stipulated to end 2023 in available cash flow is close to COP 1 trillion in cash. What does this mean? This allows us to have flexibility regarding obligations that could arise, given purchasing the share swap due to the purchase by Grupo Financiero GHC, which we presented in detail, not just S&P Global that maintained our AAA rating, but also Fitch, who are looking at cash flow for 2023 and with a projection out to 2025, which is what they look at. Our cash flow and our flexibility would be sufficient in any given situation. So regarding your second question, regarding the topic of Arinsa, is that we have the sufficient financial flexibility, in the event that we have any variation in the dividends received from certain businesses which are part of the work that we showed them, which is part of the analysis that the risk rating agencies did, which was they looked at those scenarios of the fluctuations that Grupo Argos could have due to lower revenue from dividends. What this shows is that due to this excess cash position we have, we have great flexibility towards the future. In the same line, Daniel Guardiola asked us to follow up with this and asked us if we could give us more information on dividends for next year. From the point of view of the projections that we're doing, in the analysis and in our models, Daniel, a product of moving into that private equity fund model, we do not have stipulated revenue from dividends from Odinsa or from the airport. From each of the businesses, what we usually do in the exercise is we do is regarding the dividends received in previous periods, and as we look at the results of the companies, we adjust these to date. With the figures that you see for Cementos and Celsia, what we're seeing is that we would maintain within our model, we would have dividends that are going to be growing alongside inflation. From the other businesses, in our own case, we have, in the case of Nutresa, we will not receive dividends, and we would, as a result of it, we could have additional conversation, but we also run scenarios where we might have a reduction in the case of example of Grupo Sura, that would still allow us to maintain our dividend payments by Grupo Argos, which is mainly what we were explaining and showing to the risk rating agencies, which was what meant that they maintained our AAA rating. Thank you very much. We have several questions from Catherine Ortiz. I'll start with the first one. What is exactly lacking in the United States to list Cementos Argos operations in that country? Yes, thank you, Catherine. As we need to find a market window that will allow us to carry out an operation that will generate volume for stakeholders. The company has been working very hard on preparing not just accounting, but also operational, complying with U.S. regulations, supplying all the documents and forms to the SEC. We are ready from an operational point of view. However, we're not excited about any market windows yet to be able to list the company on the NYSE, which requires partial authorization of the asset. So we will do this when the value generation conditions or the investments made and the way to transfer it to the value of the share in Cementos Argos. I am aware, as all of you, of the instability and volatility of markets that we've experienced over the last year. That has not only delayed our materialization of those operations, but also for many companies around the world. But I am optimistic that we will find the conditions to materialize this project, which will generate a lot of value. So we're working on that, and I would hope that as the market assists us, we will be able to realize this in the relatively short term. Catherine also asked us the following: regarding the process of exiting your share in Nutresa, can you please update the progress made to date? I'll give the floor to Dr. Rafael Olivella, so he can update us on this process. Good morning to all of you. Thank you for your question, Catherine. As regards the process of the swap shares of Nutresa, we obtained authorization from the shareholder meeting. We signed a framework agreement. Now what we have is the swap to acquire the share in Nutresa Alimentos, and then the swap as such. What is next is the decision by Nutresa, and the company will soon be providing a little bit more visibility on that. It is a little premature to define a date because we really need that decision to take place so we can take the following steps of the transaction. We can mention from Grupo Argos that all of us are fully committed to making this happen as soon as possible. We have been flowing in that direction because all the parties have their authorization and are fully committed to moving forward with this as quickly as possible. Thank you very much, Rafael. There is another answer that combines with a question that was asked by Daniel Guardiola. Catherine, the third question is the following: there are some companies that are facing a challenging scenario because of tolls and interest rates. Are you evaluating purchasing new roadway concessions that are on offer? Yes, thank you. I would say that Odinsa and Macquarie, with their equity fund, their roadway fund that we have developed, they have the purpose, they intend to grow not just in Colombia, but also the region, as was agreed with Macquarie. It is looking at alternatives, not just in Colombia but within the region. There are no concrete operations right now, but there is a very important pipeline of projects, not just in green or brown field, but also of acquisitions on the secondary market, and not just in Colombia, but in the region. As we find opportunities that provide the required returns that give the guarantees and security under the contractual scheme. Also, as we achieve greater visibility and clarity on the regulation in Colombia regarding tolls and the regulatory stability of the system, then we will look at the investments that appear in the secondary market with a lot more interest and appetite. But right now we are being very prudent and careful when analyzing these alternatives to make sure that we have the visibility of long-term profitability that is appropriate for shareholders. Thank you very much, Jorge Mario. We have the next question from Estefania Mosquera. Could you give us an update on the infrastructure project pipeline? I will give the floor to Pablo, and I propose, Pablo, that you talk about both verticals. Yes, sir. Effectively, the pipeline has two indications. One, to begin, this pipeline, it does not belong exclusively to Odinsa. This pipeline is part of the perimeter with the transaction of Macquarie, the first part of the roadway platform that we concluded 12 months ago, and the airport platform that concluded about 6 months ago. So we have 3 roadway projects and another 3 airport projects. In the investor kit that was being mentioned at the start of the presentation, there is a good description of these projects that I am mentioning. So I am going to explain a little bit more about the status of each of these projects, because CapEx and amounts are in that investor kit. In roadways, we have one that is called Conexión Centro, which was mentioned during the call at the beginning, because in last July, less than a month ago, we filed with the ANI all the feasibility studies, technical feasibility, risk feasibility, financial feasibility. The whole information package required for the ANI to hire an evaluation reviewer, a third party to review these studies. We have already funded the body required to hire that reviewer, and the reviewer is currently being hired. Once there is a reviewer, we have an iteration and interaction process with the reviewer, to reach a term agreement, which is when that project is tendered. Conexión Centro is basically an expansion of Autopistas del Café, a dual carriageway that will take the whole road between Bogotá and the Matecaña Airport into a dual carriageway, and that is currently in the feasibility stage. Regionally, we are working very quickly on expanding the Túnel de Oriente. Right now, it only has one tunnel in use, but which could have 2 tunnels, and could become basically a dual carriageway. The government of Antioquia has already been given all the technical studies and the quantification of the investment that this would require, and we are negotiating with the government of Antioquia how that investment could be compensated, and how we could turn that into an expansion of Túnel de Oriente, and we hope that construction works will begin in 2024. The third project in the roadway pipeline is in the area of Bogotá. It is the Perimetral de la Sabana. It is also a departmental level. The concession agent would be the Instituto de Infraestructura y Concesiones de Cundinamarca, and it is also in the feasibility stage. This institute has the feasibility studies, and it is reviewing our feasibility studies. Maybe in each of them we are maybe months away from reaching an agreement on terms, except for Túnel de Oriente, which may be derived from the existing contract. In the case of airports, we have the new airport of Cartagena, where we had to update our feasibility studies, which we are doing right now, and which we have to deliver to the National Infrastructure Agency in November this year, and then the evaluator would start interacting with the reviewer again. In the case of Campo de Vuelo, which is to take over the runways of Aeropuerto El Dorado under concession. It is also in the feasibility stage. There has been a reviewer appointed, and we are interacting with this reviewer, to negotiate and reach the agreement of terms. The largest project is El Dorado Max, which is the expansion of the passenger terminal of El Dorado Airport. Right now we are working very hard on this to be able to complete our feasibility studies, and we have a commitment to delivering them in October 2024, so that we can interact with the reviewer and then reach an agreement of terms. This is a very big project that requires considerable feasibility studies, which are being covered by our partners, Odinsa and Macquarie, and we would structure it and deliver it to the government in October next year. I think that is sufficient illustration. Let me see one here. Cannot hear. Okay, on your mute. I am sorry. Finally, we have a question from Daniel Guardiola about the Nutresa share swap. The first part of that question has already been answered on the timeline of the transaction. Go to the second part, and in the event that the takeover bid for Nutresa Alimentos does not achieve a minimum of 10%, and therefore at least 87% of Nutresa Alimentos cannot be transferred to Grupo Nutresa, what would be the mechanism to remedy that potential difference? I will give the floor to Rafael to answer that question. Thank you very much, Daniel, for the question. What has been agreed on contractually is what has been reported to the market. We have an obligation to transfer that 87%, and Grupo Argos is doing all the efforts today to reach that 87%, and that has been what we have been focusing on and investing our energies in. We trust that we will be able to commit our contractual commitment because there is 23% of shares that are floating in the market, and this is part of the work that we have to do to be able to close the transaction. So what has been agreed is transfer of the 87%, and we are working on that. Regarding times, as I mentioned before, this is a transaction that is not simple. It is a transaction that has been going forward while all the parties have achieved corporate approval. What is next is a spin-off of Grupo Nutresa. After the spin-off, there will be a takeover, and then there will be a swap, and that will be fundamental to be able to anticipate more certain dates. In the next call, we will be able to give you more information on the closing dates. What is next is a situation where Grupo Nutresa and all its teams are working, and once we have greater visibility, then this will clarify the closing dates. All the parties are working to make this happen as soon as possible. Thank you very much for the question, which allows me to affirm what I mentioned earlier. Thank you very much, Rafael. We have no additional questions. Okay, thank you very much for being with us on this call. All of us here are completely available if you want to go into greater depth on any aspect of the results, and we thank you for your company today. Thanks.