Hello. Welcome to the comments on the results of the first quarter, ended in May 2024. On slide two, we show the categories in which we operate and the main indicators for the quarter, consolidating Camil's position as one of the largest food brand platforms in Latin America. This quarter, the company posted net revenue of BRL 2.9 billion, up by approximately 9% year-on-year and 8% sequentially. Our EBITDA stood at BRL 255 million, a 28% increase compared to EBITDA in first quarter 2023, with a margin of 8.8%. In terms of volumes, we grew 20% sequentially and fell by 5% year-on-year, mainly due to a temporary mismatch in exports in Uruguay, which led to lower international volumes compared to the previous year.
In Brazil, we saw a year-on-year growth in volumes, with 6% increase in high value. We will go into this in more detail in the next few slides, so let's move on to slide three. Brazil's operating highlights started with a high turnover, made up of grains and sugar. In the sequential comparison, growth in the category was driven by higher volumes of rice due to the resumption of purchases by retailers in the period. This effect usually occurs during the period, with greater demand from customers during the rice crop season. Still on this category, two important events marked the quarter. One was the late harvest in Rio Grande do Sul, caused by the effects of El Niño, which impacted the planting window at the end of 2023. The second event came as a result of the floods in Rio Grande do Sul.
As the rice fields were almost all harvested, the most significant impacts, among other effects of the tragedy, were the logistical difficulties in the region. Camil's production plants were not affected, and despite the challenging environment, we did our best to distribute the product and serve our customers during this period of increased purchases by retailers. We continue to mobilize resources and efforts to help those most in need in the region, and we are certain that together, we can find the strength to rebuild our communities. As for sugar, we continue to face a challenging and more competitive scenario in Brazil's domestic retail market.
Moving on to the high-value category, which includes fish, pasta, coffee, and cookies, the highlight of the quarter was the launch of the Camil Pasta line in the state of São Paulo, reinforcing the strength of the brand and the high quality of the products already recognized by the market. We continue to record good profitability in the category, and we are confident of its growth throughout Camil's launch and other avenues of growth in Santa Amália, Don Sapore, and Speciale. As for coffee, we recorded higher sales volumes with the conclusion of the capacity expansion linked to the sales growth strategy for the União brand. We achieved a market share of over 4% in the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro regions.
The launch of União Gourmet Coffee in the quarter also marks a new phase in the expansion of our coffee portfolio, increasing the added value of the category and further promoting our brand. As for Mabel, in the cookie segment, we posted sequential growth in the volumes and proceeded with our plan to improve profitability and sales. With regard to fish, we've reported annual growth, but with a sequential reduction due to the seasonality of the category in the first quarter of the year. The high-value category represents an important step towards further strengthening our position as a food platform with leading brands in a variety of higher value-added products. In the international segment, we recorded lower volumes year-on-year, mainly due to a temporary mismatch in exports in Uruguay. However, we saw growth in the segment's consolidated profitability.
At the same time, we are focused on executing our optimization and expense review plan, aiming for greater efficiency and identifying new synergies from the acquisitions made, both in Brazil and extending the analysis to our international businesses this year. We have managed to maximize the synergies and profitability of the 2021 acquisition so far, exceeding our targets and reinforcing our confidence in the growth of the new businesses. We are gradually working on gaining scale and profitability, leveraging the results of the new categories and absorbing price movements in rice for the high-turnover segment. We remain confident that we are on the right track to achieve our growth and profitability objectives. Now I'll let Flávio comment on the financial results for the period. Please, Flávio, you may proceed. Hello, everyone.
Moving on to the financial highlights of the period, as Luciano mentioned, we achieved net revenue of BRL 2.9 billion, an increase of approximately 9%. Cost of goods sold grew by 8%, mainly due to the high turnover in Brazilian grains and the high value of coffee. As a result, our gross profit amounted to BRL 626 million, with a margin of 22% in the quarter. Nominal SG&A was flat, representing a drop of 1.3% of SG&A related to net revenue for the period. International SG&A, especially in Uruguay, showed slight growth, which was partially offset by the drop in SG&A in Brazil, with a reduction in personnel expenses.
It's worth noting that the company has been carrying out plans to optimize and review expenses, a project that we continue to pursue this year, and which has yielded good results within our scope of general and admin expenses. We have managed to maximize the synergies and profitability of the 2021 acquisition so far, exceeding our targets and reinforcing our confidence in the growth of the new businesses. In other operating income and expenses, we totaled BRL 2.9 million in the quarter, mainly due to the reimbursement of claims expenses. With regard to EBITDA, it totaled BRL 255 million, an increase of 28% over the first quarter of 2023 EBITDA, with a margin of 8.8%. Sequentially, we highlight the 8% increase in net revenue and stable EBITDA compared to fourth quarter 2023.
While on the operational side, there was an increase in the top line, as already discussed by category, there was also an increase in port and freight costs due to higher logistics costs in Rio Grande do Sul, as already discussed by Luciano. Turning to our debt position, the company's net debt reached BRL 3.2 billion, with net debt to EBITDA for the last 12 months of 3.3x in the quarter. It's important to note that our covenant reading is always annual, with the next one being in February 2025. We always have a relevant working capital seasonality throughout the quarters, more specifically in rice. As such, the first quarters of the year usually see higher cash consumption, while the fourth quarter usually sees a release of working capital and consequently, an improvement in leverage.
As a subsequent event in June 2024, the company concluded its fourteenth issue of debentures backed by CRA. The issue consists of simple debentures in the three series, totaling BRL 650 million. With this issue and other funding carried out in the last period, we are comfortable with meeting the company's commitments for the coming months. CapEx for the quarter totaled BRL 62.9 million, with investments in our new grain plant in Rio Grande do Sul, Nova Campina, and some investments in the pasta business. Regarding ESG, we are consistently pursuing the actions carried out by the company, with our most recent highlights being our entry into the ISE at B3 and our direct support of 7,800 food baskets sent to Rio Grande do Sul.
We remain strong in our social pillar, with one of the highlights of this quarter being the conclusion of the first cycle of the Escola de Negócios da Camil. In partnership with the Instituto Arrastão, we empowered businesses in underprivileged communities. In this first class, we trained 24 businesses through courses in financial management, cooking and marketing, among others, over the course of four months. On the environmental front, we continue to use 100% of our energy from renewable sources. We continue to promote mentoring programs for young people in socially vulnerable situations, and carry out other programs, such as volunteering at Mesa Brasil, and donations from our employees to AACD, an orthopedic hospital. In closing, as Luciano has already pointed out, we are working hard to boost our efficiency and gradually grow in scale and profitability.
We are confident that we are on the right track to take the company to a new level of scale and profitability. Now, we will be available for a Q&A if you have any questions. Thank you, all.