Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for holding. At this time, we would like to welcome everyone to CSN Mineração's Conference Call to Present Results for the First Quarter 2022. We have with us the company's executive officers. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded and all participants will be in listen-only mode during the company's presentation. Following this, there will be a question and answer section when further instructions will be given. Should any participant require assistance during the call, please press star zero to reach the operator. We have simultaneous webcast that may be accessed through CSN Mineração's Investor Relations website at ri.csnmineracao.com.br, where the presentation is also available. The replay of this event will be available for one week on the website. Once again, you can flip the slides at your own convenience.
Simply as a reminder, bear in mind that some of the forward-looking statements herein are mere expectations or trends, and are based on the current assumptions and opinions of the company's management. There may be differences from these statements that do not constitute projections. In fact, actual results, performances or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of several factors. General and economic conditions in Brazil and other countries, interest rates and exchange rate levels, future rescheduling or prepayment of debt denominated in foreign currencies. Protectionist measures in the U.S., Brazil and other countries, changes in laws and regulations, and general competitive factors at a global, regional, or national basis.
Now I would like to turn the floor over to Mr. Oliva, the CFO and Executive Director of IR, who will speak about the highlights of CSN Mineração for the period. You have the floor, Mr. Oliva.
A good morning to all of you. I begin by thanking you for your presence at the call of CSN Mineração. We're going to begin with the highlights. Well, the first highlight is the strong price realization in the first quarter, offsetting the decrease in produced volume due to the heavy rainfall. We reached an EBIT of BRL 2.4 million, with a margin of 63%. The free cash flow was negative because of non-recurring events, especially changes in working capital and the payment of taxes resulting from the record performance in 2022. At the general assembly held on April 21, the payout of BRL 2.5 million in dividends was approved. This is equivalent to BRL 0.46 per share.
Another highlight is the agreement signed with Sany that will make CSN Mineração the first mining company in Brazil that will use 100% electric cars. This shows you the efforts that we have to always be at the forefront, and we're now taking an important step towards decarbonization. In the next slide, production volume and inventories. We had a drop in production reaching 6.5 million tons, a drop of 6.5%. Once again, due to the heavy rains in the period. This is part of the region where we're at, and they were somewhat above the historical average. Operations have been fully normalized and the forecast for the volumes for the rest of the year has been maintained.
In terms of inventory, we try to sustain sales, and with this, we ended the quarter with a relatively high stock of 4 million tons that will sustain sales throughout 2022. The sales for the quarter were of 6.9 million tons, a drop of 10%, once again due to the impact of the heavy rainfall, especially in Itaguaí, where we have our port terminal. Regarding the net revenue, we should underscore the growth of 61% in net revenue vis-à-vis the previous quarter. In this period, we reached BRL 3.8 million. We go to the next slide to give you more details on price realization. We had an increase of 23% in the quarter, reaching $5.56. This is very aligned with what we had last year, between $11 and $17 per Platts.
Now, the drop in the cost of transoceanic fleet also allowed us to have a better FOB price realization. The increase of Platts has sustained the provision that we had opened in the fourth quarter of 2021 and in the last quarters. With this, we reached net revenue per unit of $107, an increase of 93% when compared to the previous quarter. In the next slide, we would like to speak about our cost of goods sold, a variation of 5.8%, a reduction offsetting the higher production cost per unit. All of, once again, this is due to the reduction in fixed costs during the period exchange variation. All of this will return to normalcy in the second quarter.
Regarding Adjusted EBITDA margin, we reached 62.9%, equivalent to a growth of 27 percentage points when compared to the fourth quarter 2021. In the next slide, we present to you the EBITDA adjusted by provisions. We ended with BRL 850 million, a growth of BRL 2.4 billion. Now, all of this because of an enhancement in flats and the forecast of price of previous quarters differently what happened in the last two quarters. Once again, a drop in freight when compared to the previous quarter. In the next slide, we speak about investments and the evolution of net working capital. We had total investments of BRL 289 million in the first quarter, linked to projects for quality improvement, port expansion, and the expansion of processing capacity to 60 million tons.
Once again, the capacity of processing and its enhancement. In relation to net working capital, we had an expressive variation with a strong increase in accounts receivable. We reached BRL 2.4 billion in the period. Throughout the coming quarters, we hope to be able to release accounts receivable that we began to see in April, generating cash for the company. In the next slide, we show you the strong cash expansion of the company with BRL 6.58 billion, equivalent to BRL 2.1 billion for the next quarter. Once again, this gives us great comfort in terms of the schedule of our financial obligations. In the next slide, we present to you the free cash flow.
We ended the quarter with a negative value of BRL 2.45 million due to non-recurring events. Basically, this is explained by a variation in circulating capital and the payment of BRL 1.9 million in income tax and social expenses because of the results that we attained, record results in 2021. I will give the floor to Helena Guerra, our Sustainability Director, to represent the results of ESG.
Good morning to all of you. As Pedro has already mentioned, I would like to highlight the partnership signed with Sany for the abatement of carbon. As you know, CSN Mineração is one of the world's mining companies that stands out among its peers using renewable energy. This is another step in the direction towards decarbonization to make this agreement with Sany. The trucks will begin to operate now in the second quarter.
We have two trucks from Sany, 100% Electric Vehicles that use rechargeable batteries instead of using diesel regarding the dams. Well, because of the heavy rainfall, there were historical rainfalls without great occurrences in the dams. At the end of March, we concluded an audit process with all of the licenses being issued, and the dams remain at zero emergency level. We would also like to highlight our efforts in operational safety that could have been impacted because of the rainfall. Quite the contrary, we had zero fatalities. We had a 10% reduction in the frequency rate of accidents when compared with the latest figure in 2021, which was already a highlight for the company. We highlight the increase of our diversity agenda.
We have achieved a figure of 20% of women in the labor force, a growth of 12% when compared to the end of 2021. In absolute figures, we have 200 women working, and they have joined the company in the last quarter.
Thank you, Helena, for your participation. Now, before we go on to the Q&A session, I would like to give the floor to the chairman of CSN Mineração, Mr. Benjamin Steinbruch.
Good morning. I would like to reiterate our confidence and optimism regarding CSN Mineração. We were faced with a very complicated quarter because of the rainfall. Rainfall doesn't only impact the mining part, but also rail logistics and port logistics with broad implications on operations on inventory and the movement of cargo. It was an atypical quarter due to the amount and the frequency of rainfall.
We had very high rainfall indices and on three or four occasions, which once again tends to be atypical and has complicated everybody's lives, especially the mining companies in Minas Gerais. Now, this is something that is behind us. We now have high inventories, which is one of the company inventories. We want to maintain a full production regardless of any logistic or production problem. We are prioritizing an inventory of high-quality iron ore, foreseeing the possibility of selling under satisfactory conditions. Because of this logistic priority, we do have top-quality inventory, and we will continue to do this going forward. We believe that the cost issue is a one-time problem. We are all faced with this concern, of course, caused by the inflation in costs. We're working strongly to resolve this.
Now, there are some international parameters such as the cost of oil, of energy, and much more. As a counterpart, we have also had a significant price increase. We believe that at some point in time, China will come out of their lockdown, because of their sanitary conditions, and there have been logistics problems due to this. We think that this will be surpassed, and the recovery of China from the viewpoint of the steel industry will depend on Brazilian iron ore and iron ore of good quality. We're quite optimistic when it comes to prices as well. The price of iron ore as well as that of other commodities will, have a reduction, once again due to the Chinese situation. Now, the trend is for a price correction or restatement. We're expecting an international increase in prices for commodities and especially for iron ore.
This means we are quite well-positioned for the second semester, without climate impacts. It should be much better than the first quarter. We have had a good performance when it comes to price levels. Now, with the reversion of the impact in the first quarter, we had a price reduction. We now are faced with the benefit of a price rise, and we're quite confident that CSN Mineração will have a very good performance in the second quarter. Basically, this is what I wanted to address you for.
We can now go on to the question-and-answer session.
Ladies and gentlemen, we will now go on to the question-and-answer session for investors and analysts. Should you have a question, please press star one. If your question has been responded, you can withdraw from the queue by pressing star two.
We request that you pick your phones off the hook when posing the question to allow for optimal sound quality. Our first question comes from Isabella Vasconcelos from Bradesco BBI. You may proceed.
Good morning to all of you, and thank you for taking my question. We have two questions on our side. First, regarding the price realization with a view towards the second quarter, if you could speak about how much volume was left open in the first quarter, and perhaps give us more color in terms of quality enhancement and the potential for the second quarter. This would be very helpful. The second question refers to SG&A per ton. You had a significant drop in the first quarter. If you could remark if this level will be maintained or if there was something more specific? These are our two questions. Thank you very much.
Isabella, thank you for the questions. When it comes to price realization, we ended the quarter with 4.5 million tons, once again, based on future prices and as a provision with an average FOB of $96, equivalent to a Platts of $150. I think this should help analysts in their projections for the second quarter. Well, regarding quality, as Chairman Steinbruch has just mentioned, we're making the most of this time in the market as part of our commercial strategy to monetize the low grade metals and turn them into better quality. All of this will depend on the evolution of the commercial strategy in the second quarter. We're still in May. We should also refer to the dry period. There's been very little rain.
We hope that the dry season will have a positive impact on the production and the shipments of the company. Regarding the SG&A per ton, there truly was a drop of $1.85 per ton to $1.55 per ton. It was flat in reais, but it grew due to the exchange variation. Now, the main drop here, Isabella, is due to a drop in demurrage. We had a reduction of BRL 35 million in the previous quarter to BRL 17 million for this quarter. We have a plan to continue to move ahead in this agenda and reduce the company demurrage. Yes, there is room to make this SG&A more sustainable at lower levels, as we had mentioned last year.
Thank you. Thank you very much, Pedro.
The next question is from Caio Greiner from BTG Pactual. You may proceed, sir.
Good morning, we have two questions on our side. The first, trying to approach, perhaps in a deeper way, the issue of quality. What you have said will help us make projections. Now, in this breakdown, you showed us a discount of quality of $15 per ton. Now, what draws attention is this figure. We have always had the perception of CSN as being a producer of quality, of top quality. With the entry of this project and greater processing enhancements, we know that you will improve. The entry of CMIN3 , which was left for the beginning of this year. If you could remark on the evolution of this project, CMIN3 , and your view of the quality of iron ore that you are extracting.
If you could speak about the silica, alumina and iron content, and which should be the evolution of this discount going forward if there should be a premium in coming quarters, when you begin to deliver P15 or P28. The second question refers to third-party iron ore. We're still in the dark regarding this. We know that this is one of your procurement strategies. If you could give us more color in terms of this quarter, perhaps not speak about volume and margin, but speak about the evolution of these parameters. This would help us a great deal in our modeling. Thank you.
Well, thank you for the questions, Caio. Regarding quality, Casa de Pedra is one of the best mines in the world. This quarter, we had silica of 8.4, alumina of 0.7.
Of course, this generated a premium for the company at a point in time when discounts are still very high. They had a drop compared to the previous quarter, but they still continue to be high. Now, the topic that you mentioned of using lower grade metal perhaps represents a window of opportunity because of the level of Platts that we face presently. You are right. At the company, there is room to enhance quality and with the entrance of spirals and CMAI. To respond to your question about these projects, they are working with assisted operation. They're undergoing changes. There are minor adjustments so that they can operate full with the new company assets. Of course, this will help us sustain the quality enhancement. We may have variations in quality due to our commercial strategy. We could have a change in mix.
All of this will depend on the quality of iron ore that we will buy from third parties. To respond to your second question, smaller producers prioritize volume instead of quality or the contrary, and all of this is part of the dynamic of the market. The trend is for an enhancement in quality with significant leaps as we have the entry of P15 in 2024. That price of $15 is highly aligned with what we had last year. That varied between $11 and $17. There was a trend for quality improvement, a significant quality improvement in the coming years, compared to the market benchmark. When all of these projects come into operation, P15, and because of the size of the plant, we will have a premium on that curve of 65%, which is the reference or the benchmark for our sector.
The outlook for the company is highly positive. Now we're thinking about the mine of the future, so we're surveying very strongly the movements of the mine. This iron ore represents a huge opportunity. We're surfing on this opportunity. We have a better quality iron ore. The mine will be open in coming years, and this will offer us several opportunities. When it comes to third parties and iron ore, 10 million tons is what we estimate during 2022. Thank you very much. Simply another point about the quality in the coming quarters. In the second quarter, therefore, with the entry of P15, we should imagine a quality of 60.7, and similar levels of alumina when it comes to our modeling. Once again, this should remain stable until the entry of P15.
Well, in the fourth quarter, the content was 60.6. There could be variations within the range, but there will be no material difference in the calendar year until we have the entry of our new projects.
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
The next question is from Guilherme Rosito from Bank of America.
Good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. I would like to know how you are operating after the heavy rainfalls, and if you had any impact. In the coming quarters, if you could give us an outlook of your production. Thank you very much.
Well, Guilherme, we have a volume guidance. We're working so we can deliver our guidance of 39-40 million tons. As usual, we expect to have an expressive growth in volume beginning in the second and third quarters, which is the dry season of the year.
Regarding C1, everything is normal. Despite the historical rainfalls, we had a decrease in fixed costs that we want to enhance, especially because of the increase in volumes and the exchange rate, the dollar impact on C1. We have significant exchange volatility. We're entering an electoral period, which will tend to increase volatility and depreciate the exchange, at least in our vision. The trend during the year is to have a drop in C1 and to look for the level of our guidance, which is $18.
Thank you very much.
Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to remind you that should you wish to pose a question, please press star one. As we have no further questions, we will return the floor to Mr. Pedro Oliva, CFO and Executive Director of Investor Relations, for his closing remarks.
First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your presence at the CSN Mineração Call. We think that this will be a very strong year with better volumes vis-à-vis last year. The futures market has had rather flat pricing compared to other years, and we hope that with the lifting of lockdowns in China, we will have a positive effect on our demand. China has had a drop in iron ore. This will sustain higher prices and will make 2022 a better year than 2021.
Thank you once again for your participation. The Results Conference Call for CSN Mineração ends here. We would like to thank all of you for your participation. Have a good day. You can now disconnect. Thank you.