Good morning. Welcome to Camil's video conference to discuss the results of the fourth quarter and year of 2025. Present here today are Mr. Luciano Quartiero, Diretor Presidente, Flavio Vargas, CFO and Head of IR, and the company's investor relations team. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded, and all participants will be in a listen-only mode during the company's presentation. At the end, we will open for questions from analysts and investors. We would like to emphasize that any forward-looking statement that might be made during this conference call related to Camil's business outlook, projections, and financial and operating goals are beliefs and assumptions from the company's management, as well as information currently available. These may involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions as they refer to future events, and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur.
Investors must understand that such general economic industry conditions and other operating factors may affect Camil's performance and lead to results that differ substantially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. We will now start the presentation with Mr. Quartiero, followed by Flavio's presentation. At the end, we will open for a Q&A. Thank you.
Hello, and welcome to the earnings conference call for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025, ended February 2026. The fourth quarter was marked by growth in volumes and profitability compared to the previous year. Net revenue totaled BRL 2.5 billion, down 16% year-over-year, reflecting price pressure on raw materials, particularly rice. Even in this environment, we ended the period with EBITDA of BRL 193 million, virtually flat year-over-year, and an EBITDA margin of 8%, up by 1.2 percentage points when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.
Volumes totaled 499,000 tons, representing a 9% annual growth. In 2025, net revenue reached BRL 11 billion, a 9% drop when compared to 2024, also due to lower raw material prices during the period. Volumes for the year grew 7%, reaching 2.3 million tons, driven by growth in the international segment and progress in the High-Growth segment. This result was partially offset by the annual decline in High Turnover sugar volumes. EBITDA for the year was BRL 915 million, with a 8.2% margin, 0.8 percentage points above the 2024 margin, resulting from a combination of operating discipline, growth in the High-Growth segment, and the capture of synergies across operations. We will now review performance by segment. In High Turnover, which includes grains and sugar in Brazil, we saw 10% growth in volumes for the quarter and a 4% decline for the year.
The quarterly growth was driven by increased volumes in both grains and sugar compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. For the year, however, the decline was due to lower sugar volumes, partially offset by growth in grain volumes. In terms of prices, the year was marked by a 41% decline in rice and a 17% decline in sugar, with a direct impact on the category's revenue. In sugar, we saw an improvement in profitability over the year, which has contributed to more favorable margins in the category following a historically challenging period for the retail market. In the high-growth segment, which contemplates fish, pasta, coffee, and cookies, we recorded stable volumes for the quarter with growth in fish and coffee, while pasta and cookies saw a decline.
For the year, we saw a 3% increase in volumes, driven by growth in fish, coffee, and cookies, partially offset by a decline in pasta volumes. Throughout the year, we invested in new product launches and in strengthening our brands to drive performance in the high-growth categories. In coffee, we continue to advance with innovations and improvements in execution to consolidate our position and expand our participation in the category. Following the packaging redesign and the launching of the gourmet line in previous years, in 2025, we'll introduce União brand coffee capsules, expanding the portfolio and consolidating the brand's footprint in the higher growth added segment. In cookies, we moved forward with the Mabel brand revitalization campaign, featuring launches focused on improving the product mix and profitability.
In pasta, we continue to expand the Camil line in the São Paulo metropolitan area, a key market for brand recognition with significant cross-selling potential. It is worth noting that the pasta, cookie, and coffee categories continue to operate at approximately half of its installed capacity, which gives us room to expand volumes, spread fixed costs, and capture margin gains over the coming years. Internationally, we recorded volume growth both for the quarter and the year, notably achieving our best ever annual performance with a 31% increase in volumes in 2025. For the quarter, growth was mainly driven by increased pace of exports in Uruguay and the consolidation of volumes from Paraguay starting in September 2025. For the year, growth also reflected the increasing volumes from Uruguay and the incremental volume from Paraguay.
The international segment has established itself as one of the company's main drivers of growth and diversification. We remain disciplined in our strategy of sustainable value creation in Latin America. With leading brands, a regional presence, and strategic projects, we are confident that we are on the right path for our growth trajectory. I will now turn the floor over to Flavio, who will present the financial highlights for the quarter and the year.
Thank you, Luciano. Starting with the financial income for the quarter, we achieved net revenue of BRL 2.5 billion in the quarter, a 16% decline when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Cost of goods sold fell 21%, a trend explained by the drop in raw material prices and, you know, high turnover in Brazil and in the international operations.
As a result, gross profit rose 2% in the period, totaling BRL 543 million, with a gross margin of 22%. Selling, general, and admin expenses accounted for 19.5% of net revenue. In Brazil, selling expenses increased in line with higher volumes in the quarter, particularly freight and commissions. G&A expenses were driven by personnel costs, as well as legal provisions and consulting fees. In the international segment, however, we posted a reduction in both categories. As a result, we ended the quarter with EBITDA of BRL 193 million and a margin of 7.7%, up by 1.2 percentage points when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Year to date, net revenue totaled BRL 11.1 billion, a 9% decrease compared to 2024.
Cost of goods sold was down by 13%, a trend explained by the downturn in Brazil, also associated with lower raw material prices in high turnover in the international segments. Gross profit grew by 4% in the period, reaching BRL 2.5 billion, with a gross margin of 22%. Selling, General, and Admin Expenses accounted for 17.4% of net revenue for the year. In Brazil, selling expenses showed a slight decrease of 0.3%, while G&A expenses were driven up for the year and the quarter by personnel and consulting costs. In the international segment, we recorded an increase in selling expenses in line with volume growth, as well as an increase in G&A.
Despite a scenario where prices were putting pressure on revenue, we ended the year with EBITDA of BRL 915 million and a margin of 8.2%, up by 0.8 percentage points vis-a-vis 2024. Moving on to our debt position, we ended the year with net debt of BRL 5 billion and a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 3.2 times, within the 4 times financial covenants of our debt, which are now standing at 4.0 times. It is important to remember that our working capital is seasonal in nature, especially due to rice. The first quarters of the year tend to require higher cash consumption, while the final quarters tend to generate cash flow, particularly in the fourth quarter.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the completion in November 25 of our 15th debenture issuance in the amount of BRL 1.25 billion, aimed at extending the debt profile and strengthening liquidity. CapEx amounted to BRL 93 million in the quarter and BRL 463 million for the year, with the majority allocated to the construction of the new grain plant and a terminal in the thermoelectric plant in Cambé, our strategic project for efficiency and competitive net gains in the medium and long term, which is already in its pilot phase of operation. As for ESG, we have advanced our agenda by reinforcing our commitments that have guided our actions over the past few years with initiatives linked to our business and growth strategy.
We have published our sustainability report using the best market methodology, highlighting key material issues across all regions where the company operates. In the social front, we highlight the continuation of our proprietary projects, Grãos da Base under the Camil brand and Doce Futuro under the União brand, both focusing on training and developing micro entrepreneurs. On the environmental front, we highlight our new thermoelectric plant and the clean fishing project at our fishing processing plant, reinforcing our commitment to renewable energy generation, the value chain, and the responsible management of our resources. At the same time, we continue to make progress in the assessment of the implementation of IFRS S1 and S2 standards in line with regulatory requirements for 2026.
In closing, our strategic direction remains well defined to drive volume growth in Brazil, strengthen our presence in international markets, expand profitability, and continue to improve operational and commercial efficiency. Supported by a brand portfolio of strong brands and high consumer recognition, Camil continues to consolidate its position as one of the largest food brands, companies in South America. We remain committed to strengthening our brands, unlocking operational efficiency, and driving growth with financial discipline. We are confident that the company's strategy paves the way for a new phase of growth with consistent improvements in margins and value creation. We are now open for the Q&A. Thank you very much.
We will now initiate the Q&A session for investors and analysts. In case you have any questions, please use the Raise Hand button. Once your question is answered, you can leave the queue by clicking the same icon.
Our first question comes from Guilherme Guttilla with BTG Pactual. You may proceed, sir.
Good morning Luciano, Flavio, and Jennifer. I have two questions here, please. My first question is about SG&A for the quarter. We noticed a significant increase in this line, and it seems that most of it comes from personnel expenses. Can you give us a bit more color about where is that coming from, and whether within this increase, whether it was mostly related to recurring aspects of the business or whether there was any one-off that is very specific of this quarter? My second question relates to the market. I would just like to understand how you see the rice market. I mean, prices are increasing since, you know, the bottom price in early this year, but we are seeing a significant acreage reduction in this harvest season.
It's still below the producer's price. How do you see this market going forward? Thank you.
Flavio. Okay, let me start with SG&A. Well, thank you for your question. I would just, I mean, you ask about the quarter, I would like to give you the overview year-on-year, and then I will refer to quarter-on-quarter. Year-on-year, you have G&A going from 609 to 692. That is approximately BRL 83 million. I think that, you know, drawing up a simplified bridge of that 83, you have inflation, which would account for BRL 30 million. To the point of your question when you asked about salaries, when you draw a comparison year-on-year, last year there was a reversal of, you know, PPR when compared to this year.
This year, mostly because we reached the goal in Brazil. This explains a delta of BRL 26 million. You have approximately BRL 15 million related to consulting fees and provision for contingencies, especially, you know, civil lawsuits. There is also BRL 8 million related to technology, meaning new systems that the company acquired to support our operations. Salaries, approximately, I would say, BRL 6 million in difference. This makes up that BRL 83 that I mentioned. Once you look at a quarter-on-quarter comparison when there was an increase of BRL 143 million to BRL 191 million, a difference of BRL 48, the explanation is that BRL 6 million relates to inflation, and then this profit-sharing program that I explained of the annual base once you compare the quarter, I would say the BRL 20 million accounts for that.
Contingencies plus consulting fees in the quarter, maybe that would account for BRL 22. The profit-sharing program, in fact, depends on achieving the results. If we look forward, we will continue to post good results, in fact, this increases the level of salaries and leads us to this annualized level. Consulting and contingency fees, some of these are one-off or more discretionary. They don't happen every year. The technology portion relates to new systems that the company acquired. Guilherme, thank you for the question, and good morning. Speaking about the rice market, as you put it yourself, the price in general, January, that was BRL 53. Now the market is pricing it at BRL 63, and it's still below the estimated producing cost.
Last year, price reached BRL 105, BRL 106, meaning that there was a significant drop throughout the year, and that brought an impact to the company, so the fourth quarter was more intense for us. You also mention the rice acreage and the estimated acreage for next harvest. I think planting will start around September and October. We are expecting an acreage reduction, this acreage reduction is very much related to the financial capacity of growers. They are impacted by funding, you know, financing the crops. I mean, they are working at a loss this current harvest season. What has changed in the past few weeks and probably, you know, I mean, let me give a step backwards.
During last quarter's earnings release, I said that the prices will lead to an acreage reduction, so maybe the price recovery would start happening starting this quarter. There are practically two scenarios. It could happen in the first half of the year or the first half of next year because we would be looking at a lower acreage or a smaller harvest. I mean, last crop season there was already an acreage reduction, but there were some regions that had better yields and some others, you know, normal yield. There was an expectation of much lower yield. There was a transfer inventory that was supposed to be very high. With lower production and transfer inventory, we thought that price recovery was supposed to occur in the first half of next year. Things have changed.
This increase of the likelihood of El Niño occurring in the second half, El Niño would come more intense this time. The probability of a very strong El Niño is something that has become more apparent in the past few weeks. Because of that, we are anticipating a lot of rainfall in the Rio Grande do Sul, and this is on one side good for the recovery of the water reservoir, but it may delay planting and this may also affect yields. This may lead to a more severe impact in the next crop season. As things are evolving in the next few months, and once we have more clarity about El Niño, and if we see a delay in planting, we will have more visibility about planting schedule of growers. Maybe we should see an anticipation of higher prices.
In summary, we see that there is a greater likelihood that price increases may be anticipated. They may occur before what we expect. This is what I have to say about the rice market.
That's fine. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Our next question comes from Pedro Fonseca with XP. Your microphone is on. You may proceed.
Good morning, Luciano and Flavio. Thank you for taking my questions. I have two questions. My first question is about sugar. Throughout the year, we've been talking about improvements in profitability. My question is that since now we have the results for 2025, maybe we should expect that sugar would perform at normalized level, I mean, high single digits for 2026. Does it make sense to say that? The second question is about Mabel.
You've been talking about trading strategies and the new strategies the company is pursuing for Mabel. The question I have is whether you can already quantify in terms of share or penetration and sell out, you know, what are the results stemming from these initiatives? Thank you.
Pedro, thank you for your questions. Sugar profitability has reached historical levels, as you mentioned. There was great expectation that this level of prices would continue to be such throughout the year, but that there is a new variable that came with the effect of the war, impacts from, you know, prices of oil and, as a consequence, fuel and ethanol. I mean, oil increases hasn't been totally transferred, but there is a trend to focus more on ethanol so that there should be a change in the price of sugars.
Depending on the intensity of this recovery, this may affect or may not affect our profitability. Well, using an extreme example, which is what we experienced in past years, I mean, in the past, the price has impacted our profitability. If the price recovery remains at good levels, our expectation is that profitability will remain where it is. In sugar, in addition to profitability, it's important to say that last year there was the entry of operation of a refinery from one of our suppliers, and this led to many flaws in production at the end of last year. I mean, at the end of the year, things became more normalized. In early this year, the delivery of volumes now is better than what it was throughout the fourth quarter. Therefore, there is greater availability of volumes, which is very important to us.
Certainly, profitability is also equally important, volume and profitability. The landscape is a bit better when it comes to the sales potential that we could achieve this year and going forward. About Mabel, we continue to grow volumes. By nature, I always believe that it could be better. The company is performing well. We are growing market share throughout the year, and we also grew volumes in this category. Profitability is gradually improving. I often say that in terms of industrial scale, that's important to dilute industrial costs. We are selling at the right prices. We have to sell greater volumes to reduce costs and improve profitability. The company is in the right direction. We have great expectations for growth in the high growth category with, you know, our growth plan and go-to-market strategy in everything, all of the actions that we are already implementing.
This is what I can tell you about, you know, cookies.
It's very clear. Thank you very much, Luciano.
Our next question comes from Bruno Tomazetto with Itaú BBA. BBA, your microphone is already on.
Good morning. We also have 2 questions here. The 1st question is just a follow-up because we've heard some discussions in the industry about a more challenging consumption environment in the beginning of the year. Maybe it's because people are more cautious, you know, Selic is higher, and households are in more debt. I would just like to get your perception about the sell dynamics and whether there is any particular category where you see, you know, this kind of move, and also whether you have any ideas about the high growth segment going forward.
]In the pre-IPO, the gross margin used to be closer to 25%, and this was, you know, before you added pasta and coffee and other categories that probably in the short term, you know, penalized you while the ramp-up was occurring. Further on, the margins could be more consolidated. I would just like to have your view in the longer run, and what do you anticipate in terms of long-term margins once all the business have already finished their ramp-up phase?
Thank you, Bruno, for your questions. About the consumption environment, the consumer environment, I think in the past I already talked about the statistics, purchasing power that was growing, but that was not yet reflected in consumer demand. We have a lot of moving parts moving at the same time.
It has been very clear that households are becoming, you know, increasing their debt, and there is also the bets, how much money the companies are allocating to bets and how much that has affected their, you know, indebtedness. There are some numbers about how much of that goes to debts or re-debts, but this he bets, this is taking a part of this available income. There is also the topic of the weight loss pens, and then now there are the generic pens, and consumption has increased significantly. Speaking about categories, especially rice and beans. I think that what I could say about that, it hasn't been easy to sell in the past few years.
The dynamics or the difficulty or the process or how much we have to activate a POS or a category, this is no different than what it was in the past years. Referring to rice consumption, the company increased rice volumes in the fourth quarter, and the company grew its rice volumes throughout the year. We see a reduction in rice even before the weight loss pens. I mean, if you take the per capita consumption of rice in the last 30 to 40 years, there was a downward trend because the population, you know, has its own annual growth, so per capita consumption was down. I always believed that since the market is very spread around, any reduction in market size would accelerate its concentration.
When I try to update my belief considering the new landscape with the weight loss pens, and once people are now eating less when they use the pens, I think there will be a search for quality, and I don't think it will become totally protein only because there is also a move towards carbohydrates. Regardless of whether the rice market will be down or up, I think that the low pricing brands tend to struggle before the premium brands. Once you eat less, you eat food with better quality. At least, you know, in the rice categories, this is what we are noticing now. The second category that is also impacted, that could be cookies, which is the indulgence part. I need to do a recovery.
The event of the weight loss pens, it's not impacting our sales directly, but it is a topic that we are looking at it very carefully. The company is reading all the studies on the topic. It is something that merits our attention, I would say. These are my comments on the consumer environment. Speaking about the growth of our gross margin, we don't usually give any guidance in that regard. In concrete terms, the new categories that the company added to its portfolio, I mean, is having a better performance when compared to the legacy categories of the company. Camil believes that we have to reach better margins in the mid-range, better margins when compared to what we had for the IPO.
I mean, that's what we are working to achieve, and this is the plan that we have lined up in terms of our growth for this year, and I believe, and I'm very optimistic, that we will reach our goal. This is what I can tell you now about margins.
Excellent. It's very clear. Thank you very much.
Our next question is from Guilherme Palhares with Santander.
Good morning, Luciano and Flavio, and other RI team members. My question I mean, Luciano gave us a very good outlook for the high growth segment, and you talked about Mabel. I would just like to zoom in the quarter to get a better understanding about the movements in the high growth category where you perform better or worse, and you also talked about some of the launches and a little bit of idle capacity.
I would like to set a priority on some of the subjects in terms of where you see better growth opportunities for the year, mostly in terms of high growth top line among the different categories. How much of that involves product innovation, how much of that involves go-to-market, how much of that is related to sales in the same client, so that I have a better idea of where your projected growth is coming from, then I can set up weights among different priorities. Thank you.
Well, thank you for your question, Guilherme. It's a very broad question, so let's see what I can tell you. I already talked about growth in rice. When it comes to high growth category and among the different categories, the one where performance was much lower than expected was in pasta.
Comparing with the other categories, it was a detractor both in volume and profitability. Certainly profitability is impacted by volume. In the coffee category, as I said that with coffee we would get to BRL 1.1 billion of net sales with very good profitability. Our coffee share also grew year-over-year. Cookies, I already mentioned it. Without giving you any timeline expectation, the company is capable of doubling in size in coffee, fish, and pasta, not only due to our current installed capacity, but because I believe that this is a market that we can exploit further looking at synergies with the current categories we have in place. In fish, this category grows very much in line with the industry growth. Sardines, we already have a significant share.
The company is very much focused on increasing its share in the tuna category, which is slightly lower once we compare to our growth in sardines. I think I covered all of the categories, I mean, in summary. You also asked about innovation. The company is currently focused on go to market to exploit our strengths in the current categories to make sure that in the customers we are working with, we are working with our entire portfolio. Where I have competitiveness in that category, I want to make sure that I am present in all the customers where we operate. Our growth will come more from our go-to-market strategy. Innovation is a constant thing in the company. We launched, you know, coffee capsules. We launched Cookie Mabel.
There will be other launches, but by going to market and to the better execution of our strategy, this is where we will find more growth.
Yeah, there are two things that are moving in parallel. One thing does not exclude the other. Let me just give you a follow-up now in terms of cross-selling. I think after all the acquisitions, one of the main points was to be able to sell more products within the same customer. I mean, in the high growth category, where are we ahead of the curve and where do we see more cross-selling opportunities within our current, you know, your current customer base?
I mean, they are different. Pasta in São Paulo and the launch of the Camil pasta brand in São Paulo, I still have a lot of customers to gain. Now, when I go to coffee, in general terms, coffee is more present in the customers that I already have. I think this is more, you know, in tune to your question, so I have more customers in coffee than cookies. Cookies, I still have more room to grow. Coffee, I see, still lots of opportunities, and pasta, now I already mentioned that. We still have some homework to do, and that's why the focus is now in our go-to-market strategy, in a more disciplined execution in all categories, focusing more on the customers we have.
The company is operating differently, and we already reaped some of the benefits because at the end of the fourth quarter we already saw growth in the categories. The company is still, you know, benefiting from growth this quarter and in the coming quarters.
Thank you, Luciano.
Our next question comes from Julia Zaniolo with Bank of America. Your microphone is on.
Good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. My question is related to your leverage. Leverage was higher now when compared to the end of last year, and your portfolio is now more robust. You're investing in innovation and you are making improvements in your sugar profitability. I just want to understand what is your plan for de-leveraging, considering that currently interest rates are probably higher than expected.
What's in your mind in terms of divestment? Are you thinking about divesting or maybe shut down a plant that is not so profitable? Apparently I know that you have a consulting firm helping you. Do you have any plans in that direction?
Julia, thank you for the question. The consulting firm did a lot of work in our, you know, focusing on our go-to-market strategy, and mainly, you know, focusing on distribution. The focus is in the go-to-market strategy, and that's what helped us put together this plan. De-leveraging or reducing leverage, this has been a constant focus of the company. Last year we said that there wouldn't be any leverage, not only because of interest rates, but also considering the acquisition history of the company and CapEx. You know, you might recall the Cumbaí CapEx, and also the topic of working capital.
We come from a long track of investments, and the investments were concluded just now. I mean, being repetitive, it was very clear that de-leverage was not going to happen, and then we had the acquisition of Paraguay last year. When we look at this year, CapEx, that was BRL 463 million, you know, at the end of the year. For this year we are thinking that CapEx will be around BRL 200 million-BRL 230 million. That's the range. That's the CapEx range for the company in the coming years. As I said before, we have idle capacity in all categories. Therefore, we don't see the need for any additional investment to expand productive capacity considering the growth we have, you know, in mind for the coming years. In the next few years, CapEx will be lower and cash generation will be greater than in past years.
The drop in interest rates was very minimum, and the market still uncertain in terms of how much further, you know, how much this drop will be. The market is anticipating some drops in interest rates, and this will reduce our interest expenses, and this in turn contributes to cash generation. Finally, we expect to have better performance because our plan focuses on growth and profitability, and this will lead to higher EBITDA that helps cash generation. In concrete terms, this year you will see a clear de-leveraging of the company in these 3 fronts, lower CapEx, lower interest rates, and higher EBITDA. This is the current focus of the company. Lastly, we did a lot of work in terms of working capital last year, and this year we will reap some of those benefits.
I think with that, I answered your question, Julia.
Thank you. Yes, thank you very much.
Next question comes from Giovanni D'Ottaviano with Bradesco BBI. Go ahead.
Good morning, Luciano, Flavio, and Jennifer. Thank you for taking my questions. I have one question. In high growth in 2024, you're still ramping up your coffee business, but I think that 2025 comes as a very good comparison base to know what you should expect both in volume and profitability in 2026. How do you see profitability in coffee, and how do you see performance versus 2025? If you could give me a quick follow-up on the evolution of your assets in Paraguay, and what is their contribution for the rest of the year?
Thank you, Giovanni, for your question. I mean, coffee, I think I said that we reached BRL 1.1 billion in profitability.
As at the proper levels in the industry, we reached that level at the end of the third quarter and throughout the fourth quarter. It has been kept the same throughout this initial quarter. Coffee last year, as a curiosity, you know, was slightly higher than fish, and this shows how relevant this is for us. We have a plant and enough industrial capacity to double in size, you know, in the coffee category. I'm very optimistic about this category, and it has been well executed. We see probably some price drop throughout the year. It already started to happen, it will certainly depend on the crop season. We see a trend in drop, in a decline in prices. I'm very optimistic. I think the company has had a very good performance so far.
Coffee is a category where consumers are more loyal to the brand. We are managing to grow share in a constant base. I don't think the next year will be any different, so I'm very happy with this new step at the company. About Paraguay is now 100% integrated in our operations. It struggled at the end of the year with a drop in prices. Paraguay is a rice grower and is the country with the lowest cost, therefore it's very competitive for our operations both in Brazil and Chile. I mean, the contribution in volume in the year, it will be one-third of its contribution the next year. We will have the first full year with Paraguay against one-third of the year last year, and Paraguay is delivering to expectation. We still see a good growth potential in Paraguay.
I think that was a very important step given by the company, and that has been very assertive despite this very challenging price scenario. Because Paraguay is, you know, a price setter for rice in the Brazilian market. At first with a decline in rice prices, it struggled, but now with, you know, lower exchange rate, they are getting more dollars. This year Paraguay is recovering prices, and this will be very beneficial to our Paraguayan operation. These are my comments about Paraguay.
It's very, very clear, Luciano. Thank you very much.
Our next question is from Luis Felipe Turcz Ariel with Citi. Your microphone is on. You may proceed.
Good morning and thank you for taking my questions. My question is about the volume on the international segment. Paraguay entered last year and there was a sequential down.
I mean, you were in your release you said that there was a decline in Ecuador. If you could give me some more light in that international segment, I would appreciate it. Thank you.
In fact, Ecuador's volume performance was down. It was not attributed to any specific factor. I think it was more related to this price ratio, so I don't have any specific comment about that. The fourth quarter led Ecuador to post lower volumes when compared to the previous year, but this was offset by Uruguay that posted higher volumes because it was much related to the crop that was harvested last year. Briefly speaking about the countries, Uruguay had strong volume availability. It also grew a lot during the year, and we believe that next year would be very similar.
At least, you know, if you look at the end of this harvest, the harvest in Uruguay is almost over, we already received the rice to be sold during the year. I believe it will be very similar to what it is now. In Chile, I think a general comment for all the countries, as, you know, they grow a lot of rice, they were all very much impacted by a decline in rice and, you know, it was less significant in Uruguay, but in the other countries there was an impact in volume and the same effect related to price decline. Early this year the operations were normalized. All the countries, all countries have been impacted by lower rice prices. In the more specific case of Peru, we were looking at recovering profitability. This is now happening. We made some important changes.
The country is highly informal, and this has impacted our operations. In the last few years there was a significant drop in profitability, now we are starting on the recovery path, much more focus, and this happened in the second half of the year. The process continues. It will be a gradual process, but we are moving in the right direction. In Chile, profitability was also impacted by lower prices, but gradually is returning to normal. Drop in volumes, I mean, we are now seeing that this is within historical levels. I already mentioned Paraguay and Uruguay as well. In general, this is what I have to say about the countries. There was an impact in volumes due to prices, but early this year things are now back to normal. That's it, Luis. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
The Q&A session and this video conference is now concluded. We would like to thank you all for joining us, and we wish you a very good day.