Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Cury Construtora e Incorporadora Earnings Video Conference Call for the Fourth Quarter and Year of 2024. This video conference is being recorded, and the replay can be accessed at the company's website, www.ri.cury.net. The presentation is also available for download. Please be advised that all participants will be in watch-only mode during the presentation, and later we'll begin the Q&A session when further instructions will be given. Before proceeding, I would like to enforce that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Cury's management and on current information available to the company. Such statements may involve risks and uncertainties as they refer to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur.
Investors, analysts, and journalists should consider that events related to the macroeconomic environment, the industry, and other factors may cause results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Present in this video conference are Mr. Fábio Cury, CEO, Mr. Leonardo Mesquita, Vice President of Sales, Mr. João Carlos Mazzuco, CFO, and Mr. Ronaldo Cury, Investor Relations Officer. I would now like to give the floor to Mr. Fábio Cury, who will start the presentation. Mr. Fábio, you may continue. Good morning, everyone. Thank you once again for your interest in Cury and for attending our fourth quarter and 2024 earnings conference call. Today, representing Cury, there are besides me, Leonardo Mesquita, our Sales Vice President, Ronaldo Cury, our Investor Relations Officer, and João Mazzuco, our CFO.
Throughout the conference call, we'll present the main highlights of Cury's operational and financial performance, and at the end, we'll open for the Q&A session. In 2024, we consolidated another year of high performance and results surpassing historical records, reinforcing our differentiated and winning strategy. Despite the challenging scenario for the Brazilian economy and specifically for the construction sector, we demonstrated resilience, acquiring prime land and efficiently converting sales into transfers. This performance led to positive operating cash flow and continued distribution of dividends to shareholders. Maintaining margins, including a 66% ROE, reinforces our financial strength, which was also recognized by the market with the achievement of the highest rating by Moody's, demonstrating confidence in our strategy and governance. In the last quarter of the year, we launched seven projects, totaling BRL 1.4 billion in PSV.
For the full year, our launches reached 34 projects and BRL 6.6 billion in PSV, while our land bank reached a record of BRL 20.1 billion, ensuring a robust pipeline for upcoming cycles. Recent changes to the master plan have expanded opportunities for new projects in the metropolitan regions of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Increased construction capacity, extended urban operations at the port area, and city planning interventions in São Paulo are adding value to projects, promoting affordable housing in strategic locations and boosting product attractiveness. As 2025 begins, we have maintained a fast pace. To date, we have already launched 14 projects in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, totaling BRL 2.8 billion in PSV. This volume reflects our strategy of concentrating launches in the first half of the year.
Among the highlights of projects already launched this year are Supreme Anália Franco in São Paulo, whose sales started in February, offering 625 units and a PSV of BRL 203.8 million, which has already reached almost 70% in sales, and Residencial Nova Olaria One in the north zone of Rio de Janeiro, whose sales started in January with 748 units and a PSV of BRL 127.4 million, which has reached over 70% in sales. Now I hand the floor over to Ronaldo, who will give details of operational financial results. Good morning, everyone. From now on, I will talk about the highlights of our operational financial performance in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the year 2024. Regarding operational highlights, we recorded a total of launches and net pre-sales of BRL 1.4 billion, net SOS of 43.7%, and operating cash generation of BRL 150 million.
Furthermore, regarding financial highlights, we reported net revenue of BRL 1 billion, adjusted gross margin of 39.3%, net income of BRL 189 million, and net margin of 18.2%. In 2024, we recorded a total of BRL 6.6 billion in launches and net pre-sales of BRL 6.2 billion, with a net sales oversupply of 77.1% and operating cash generation of BRL 467 million. Also, regarding financial highlights, we reported net revenue of BRL 3.9 billion, adjusted gross margin of 38.7%, net income of BRL 699 million, and net margin of 17.8%. I now hand the floor over to our Sales Vice President, Leonardo Mesquita, who will give further details on our operating results. Please, Leonardo, go ahead. Good morning, Ronaldo. Thank you, Ronaldo. Good morning, everyone. In the last quarter, we launched seven projects, five located in São Paulo and two in Rio de Janeiro, with a total PSV of BRL 1.4 billion.
The highlights were Line Campo Limpo, launched in October with a PSV of BRL 245 million, located in the south of São Paulo, with all units sold. Maximo Vila Mascote, located in the south of São Paulo, launched in November, PSV of BRL 166 million, almost 100% units sold. Orla Mauá Lumina, launched in November, PSV of BRL 351 million, located in Porto Maravilha region in Rio de Janeiro, with virtually all units sold. In the next slide, we'll look at sales performance in more detail. In the fourth quarter of 2024, we reached BRL 1.4 billion in net pre-sales, an increase of 57.4% compared to the same period in 2023, and a slight drop of 0.9% compared to the third quarter of 2024. Considering the whole year, we reached BRL 6.2 billion in sales, a significant increase of 48.5% compared to 2023.
Furthermore, our net SOS in the quarter was 43.7%, 4.8 percentage points higher than 4Q 2023 and 0.2 percentage points lower than 3Q 2024. In 2024, as a whole, the net sales oversupply was 77.1% compared to 74.5% in 2023. We ended the year with an inventory worth BRL 1.8 billion in PSV, of which 98.6% are units launched or under construction, and only 1.4% are finished units. On slide 10, we can see the graph on the left that in 4Q 2024, our sales mix focused in the highest brackets on the MCMV housing program and events outside the program. In the other two charts, we see the increase in the average price per unit in the quarter and the consolidated year. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the average price reached BRL 317,700 per unit, an increase of 12.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 and 3.7% compared to 3Q 2024.
In the year, the average price per unit was BRL 303,800, an increase of 9.9% compared to 2023. In the end, we end the operational indicators with details on the land bank and cash generation. In 4Q 2024, we achieved an all-time high, ending 4Q 2024 with a land bank of BRL 20.1 billion in potential PSV, corresponding to 69,554 units. On slide 11, still, we show the generation of operating cash reaching BRL 150.4 million in the quarter and BRL 466.7 million in the year. Now I turn the floor over to the CFO, João, to give further details. Good morning, everyone. Continuing on slide 13, we highlight our net revenue. In the quarter, we reached BRL 1.035 billion, representing an increase of 27.5% compared to the same period in the previous year.
In the year, our net revenue reached BRL 3 billion 926 million in net revenue, an increase of 36% compared to 2023. On the next slide, we present our gross profit, which recorded an increase of 28.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, and a slight drop of 1.2% compared to the third quarter of 2024. Our gross margin, which reached 39.1% in the quarter, grew by 0.4 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, and increased by 0.3 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2024. In the consolidated year, gross profit reached BRL 1 billion 513 million, 38.1% higher than 2023, with a gross margin of 38.5% or half a percentage point higher than 2023. On slide 15, our main highlights is Cury's net income.
In the first chart, we see that Cury's stake of the net income reached BRL 165.8 million in the fourth quarter, 3.4% higher than the same period in 2023, with a slight drop compared to the third quarter of 2024. In the year, it was BRL 649.8 million, with a significant increase of 34.9% compared to 2023. On slide 16, we show the net income focusing on the entire operation. This indicator reached BRL 188.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, a growth of 14.8% compared to the same period in 2023, and 4.6% compared to the third quarter. In the consolidated year of 2024, net income reached BRL 698.8 million, 41% higher than in 2023. On slide 17, we highlight the profile of our gross debt.
We closed the quarter with a total gross debt of BRL 986.4 million, which translates into net cash of BRL 429.8 million, an increase compared to the value of BRL 378.9 million on December 31, 2023. Our net cash to equity ratio closed the quarter at 32.8%. We also show here the profile of our gross debt as of today, that is adjusted for the effect of our liability management action reported in the income statements as a subsequent event. At the beginning of February, we issued a certificate of real estate receivable, CRI, in the amount of BRL 100 million, of which BRL 150 million were used to repay a debt that we were carrying at a higher cost than the market offered. In other words, in addition to reducing the average cost of our debt, we are also able to extend the average maturity period, as shown in the graph.
I would like to highlight once again what was mentioned at the beginning of this presentation. In January, we had the first credit rating by Moody's with a AAA rating. Cury is now one of only two companies in the industry with the highest credit rating issued by two of the main rating agencies. On slide 18, we once again report growth in return on equity with an ROE of 66.3% in 2024, after one more year of strong cash generation and profit distribution, with 100% of the net income reported in 2023 distributed in 2024. Thank you very much, and I return the floor to Fábio. We also made significant progress in the ESG field with initiatives that reinforce our commitment to creating value for society as a whole.
As part of this journey, we established the Cury Institute in 2025, consolidating our private social investment and expanding our impact on society. The Institute focuses on education for social productive inclusion and sports for social mobility, promoting actions that generate transformation and opportunities. The pursuit of operational efficiency also marked 2024 with the optimized management of 67 construction sites. As a reflection of this commitment, we obtained ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications, a milestone in the implementation of new procedures focused on environmental management, health, and safety, strengthening best practices in the industry. For 2025, we remain attentive to macroeconomic challenges such as rising interest rates and inflationary pressure, which require even greater discipline and a conservative approach of feasibility analysis. However, we remain confident in the sustainable growth of our operation on financial indicators.
Our solid foundation and well-defined strategy will continue to guide us, allowing us to move forward with consistency, efficiency, and resilience. We'll now start the Q&A session for investors and analysts. To ask a question, please click on Raise Hand. If your question is answered, you can leave the queue by clicking Lower Hand. Our first question comes from Ygor Kennedy from Citi. Go ahead.
Hello. Good morning. First, congratulations on the results of 2024. My question is about the margin of the companies. They're very healthy, with gross margin exceeding 39%. My question is to try to understand how do you see the prices scenario for this year, the budget for these projects launched in 2025. The backlog is very healthy. I would like to understand how, to what extent should we see expansion? If you could give any color, it would be very helpful.
Also, to understand, the minority shareholders' line is a bit higher. Any change in the composition of projects? These are my questions. Thank you.
This is Mazzuco speaking. Good morning. Thank you for the question. About margins, we keep saying the same. There was a marginal gain in the margin, as expected, and this is the result of a good season. We delivered the projects that were hurt by past inflation, and today we are able to launch projects reaching our gross margin hurdle. If you look at the appropriated margin and RET margin , we expect this to continue to happen. We are not so worried about inflation as we used to be in the past, but it is still here. Our goal, our hurdle in terms of feasibility, is to continue to maintain margins between 38.5%-39.5% in that bracket.
About the backlog, this is what I had to say. This is the margin that's going to be diluted with inflation. About the minority shareholders' lines, this is an issue of the season. We had already disclosed the operational preview, so we shouldn't expect any surprises from you. The share of minority shareholders in launches, and of course, this has an impact on the earnings of the quarter. Just to give you some context, these launches that we have disclosed the volume in the first quarter, almost 100% is Cury's stake, 97%. It varies from season to season. From now on, we are going to continue to see a shareholders, minority shareholders' stake of, I don't know, 95%. This is what we project for this year. Okay, thank you. Next question comes from Ygor Altero from XP. Good morning.
My first question is about improvements in the program's parameters. How do you see this dynamics in the increase in the income brackets and also the cap prices increase, if that is going to help you? If you could share what are the most, the income brackets that are lagging behind, and what are your initiatives with brokers if you see many players still not following the new rules? Thank you.
Good morning, Igor. This is Ronaldo speaking. About the improvements in the MCMV program, we expect the income brackets to be adjusted for all brackets because the last adjustment was made under Bolsonaro's administration, and since then, we've had inflation. The industry understands that it's time to adjust the income levels for the program.
About the cap limit, we're requesting to raise the cap value only for cities with more than 30,000 inhabitants, which is BRL 170,000, and we believe there's a need to adjust that only. We don't believe that there should be an increase in the cap price of BRL 350,000. In terms of schedule, on the 28th, there is a Curators Council meeting, and we expect on the GAP meeting next week, but this adjustment in the income brackets of the program to be discussed. This should have happened last year, but still didn't happen for it to be voted on the meeting of the 28th. About HIS, I'll give the floor to Mesquita. Today, there is a control of income that's made by the city hall, and we are not participating in that communication on a daily basis, especially regarding this possibility of investors buying using a statement.
It's not very clear for us how this is being controlled. Within our operations, just for you to understand, in the last two years, we have something close to 2.5% sales to that segment. Given this scenario of uncertainty, we made this decision since last Monday that Cury will not even make it possible to sell to that customer profile to prevent any type of discussion until that is clarified. There is no doubt about what we're doing. Cury, in the launches of São Paulo, 99% of our units are two-bedroom apartments. We do not even fall under the main topic of this discussion about that topic. It is important to highlight as well that what we have today is the result of a housing policy that's working very well.
Today, what's happening in São Paulo to allow people to live in much better places, it's a pity that we're not discussing and looking into that because the effect that this will generate in the city, people are not discussing that. Most of you live in São Paulo, so what's going on in the city is a very interesting movement that allows people to improve the quality of life for many people. We'll continue to focus on that to sell to families that are in HIS 1 and HMP.
Okay, thank you, Ronaldo. The next question is from Matheus Meloni from Santander.
Congratulations on your results, and thank you for getting my question. We have two questions. We observed in the fourth quarter an increase in sales above BRL 350,000, 34%, which is a significant increase when we compare the fourth quarter of last year and third quarter.
Is there anything specific to this quarter, and what could we expect for the first quarter of this year? Because when we see Caixa raising its rates, that could impact that bracket number four. I would like to understand more about that. The second question is about bracket one. Since the government wants to encourage that to bring more companies to build in that bracket, if the government changes the parameters, would you be interested in building something in that segment? Thank you. Mateus, I'll take your first question, and then Ronaldo will answer the second question. In the last quarter of last year, there was a major launch in Mauá Port, and the price went really up and increased. The price was good for earnings.
There was another launch in the Metropolitan in Rio, which was not in the program, which also contributed to that analysis. However, if you look at the year of 2025, the trend for Cury is to grow more in São Paulo when compared to Rio de Janeiro. This price that you see in our results outside the program was majorly influenced by Rio. We tend to stay within the program in 2025 because São Paulo will be more significant in terms of sales. As about far, the industry sent many suggestions to the government in the beginning of the administration, in the transition period. The government did not implement them. Now we were called asking many companies to contribute to that, and the industry sent to the government the same suggestions that were sent in the past.
If you make the rules more flexible, as well as the price and reaching a price that is feasible, we can participate. We expect the government to make a new call still in March, with more flexible rules. If so, Cury could participate, but with few projects, let's say two or three projects at the most. That would be 3,000 units in total. Okay, thank you. That's very clear.
Our next question comes from Carla Graça from Bank of America.
Hello. Thank you for taking my question. I have two questions. I would like to understand your opinion on the FGTS and the launches schedule. We know that the birthday withdrawal has been allowed. Do you think that FGTS will keep the budget, or is there a risk of it ending at the end of the year? How would launches be in that context?
My second question is to see how the Land Bank of Transactions is evolving. Is your geographic focus changing with more competition? Thank you.
Good morning, Carla. This is Ronaldo speaking about FGTS and the budget for the year. The budget for the year is a record high budget. Cury has a strategy of starting the year stronger and then decreasing as the year goes on. For us, the budget should be enough. As for FGTS, more specifically, the main risk we see is the consignment loans based on the birthday withdrawals of FGTS funds. We are talking to the government to restrict or end these consignment, these loans made based on FGTS balance. I'll now hand the floor over to Fábio to talk about the Land Bank. Good morning, Carla. Thank you for your question.
Starting with what happened last year, our Land Banks started with BRL 14 billion in 2024, and we ended the year with more than BRL 20 billion. We really did our homework and went to the market to purchase land because we understood there was a huge potential to be developed. We have a good level of Land Bank now. The strategy is the same, metropolitan areas of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and making the most of the master plans of both cities. Despite this increase in the Land Bank, we launched BRL 6.5 billion. We bought a lot of land last year. I do not believe we are going to buy the same amount this year, but we will keep the same level of BRL 20 billion something of Land Bank during the year. This is our strategy. Thank you. Thank you. That is very clear.
Next question comes from Gustavo Cambaúva from BTG Pactual.
Hello everyone. Good morning. I have one question. Leo commented on the sales profile during the fourth quarter and first quarter. I would like to understand a bit more about two things. First, if in your units that are not in MCMV program, do you see any difficulties in sales in this sales oversupply because of an increase in interest rates by Caixa? Also, in your own portfolio of Cury, are you using sales with the financing by Cury, or are you transferring off-plan? Or did the mix of funding or financing for this sales of the first quarter, if it has changed at all? Good morning, Cambaúva. The units we've launched for this profile, now talking about the first quarter, they are being well received by the market.
Of course, the interest rates, current interest rates make sales a bit harder, but the launches are very attractive. We had to bring more people to attain the same result. There was a growth in terms of some buyers trying to purchase using a more direct table. In this niche of above or outside MCMV, there was in Rio mostly, in Porto Maravilha, that attracts this type of customer, and one or two in São Paulo that have a different profile, R2V units. Within the general mix, I believe this increase in this bracket is not so significant in the overall launches. Okay, that's great. Thank you, Leo.
Our next question comes from Tainan Costa from UBS. I would like to know more about your operational performance in the first quarter 2025. You commented almost 2,800 units launched.
Is there more room for launches in the first quarter, or is this the limit for the first quarter? How are the sales of this total, let's say 40%-50% sold, and how does that compare to your outlook for the year? Is this above or in line with what you expected? Please give us some color. Thank you.
Hello, Tainan. Actually, talking about the fourth quarter, this is a strategy that Cury is decreasing its inventory to allow us to start the year strongly. These launches of BRL 2.8 billion that was advanced by us, that we tried to make things before Carnival so that we could have more time to sell those units within the quarter. This is the strategy that we've been repeating year over year. It's not only about sales. The company is preparing for the next steps in these last two quarters.
This first quarter is our first step, and the temperature of these sales will give us a guideline for the next quarters. The point that will make clear how sales are, which actually have surprised us in February, which is usually a month that's shorter, and there's Carnival and lots of things are going on, so people are not so focused. It was a record high sales month for the history of Cury. If we are able to make good developments in good places, it's not a matter of day and time because what we see now is that launches are being well accepted by the customers, and so much so that February was a very good month for us. Okay, that's very clear, Leo. Thank you. The next question comes from Pedro Lobato from Bradesco BBI. Good morning. Thank you for the question.
My question is a follow-up on receivables from direct funding from Cury. We see the mix for the year, but thinking about the significant increase in this direct sales portfolio that almost doubled compared to last year, do you think it makes sense to sell a part of receivables for capital allocation option? How do you see the outlook of this line for 2025 as a percentage of the whole? Thank you. Hello, Pedro. This is João speaking. This receivable sales scheme is always a recurring thing. We are not, we are the only company who has not yet adventured to do that. We obtain funds from the market funding with, we raised funds with the CRI very successfully. The capital markets is very favorable now, so it does not make sense to resell receivables at a cost that is much higher than what I could raise in capital markets.
We do not need to raise funds off balance. If I have received in advance some receivable trade receivables, and we know that the average trade receivables for us term is much shorter than the competition. What we paid in dividends last year, we paid based on the cash generation. In the previous year, I generated even more cash that I paid in dividends. I do not need to sell receivables. If it becomes attractive at any point in time, we will make that, of course. We discuss with some banks and houses, but we have not yet found anything that is interesting enough. As for the sales with the direct financing from us, we have sales in products that have a higher average ticket price, which were stronger in Rio de Janeiro, Porto Maravilha, which raised their average ticket to above BRL 350,000, as in reply to the previous question.
In São Paulo, with more sales in São Paulo, the average ticket will behave differently. We believe that the share of direct sales in the portfolio will be reduced and will remain at levels that we observed around 50-55%. That is very clear, João. Thank you.
Our next question comes from Luis Capistrano from Itaú BBA. Thank you. I would like to go into two topics already discussed. First, regarding the first question about margin, João mentioned that the feasibility studies say there will be about gross margin between 38.5-39.5% for the next periods. I would like to understand more in detail what type of inflation prospects or inflation outlook you consider. Also, compare how you were expecting inflation to behave six months ago in which inflation was going up, the company was more conservative and adjusted feasibility studies.
Now in 2025, inflation has not dropped yet, but it is not increasing as much as it was before. I would like to understand that expectation and looking forward. If there is time for one more, going back to the Land Bank, as Fábio mentioned, following the same strategy, Rio-São Paulo looking for central areas, making the most of master plan. We see that there is an important difference in size of projects, 1,000 units, and now Cury 700 units per project on average. Is there any implication for the results of the company for these new projects, different margins, different prices, anything we should pay attention to? Thank you. Luis, let me start talking about margins. We are very conservative in terms of inflation. There are several aspects of feasibility studies that include future inflation expectations.
If we look at the past and compare to what we have delivered, we have adjusted our budget according to INCC. We have a very strict control of budget engineering when preparing the feasibility studies for launches. I also leave some room for changes. We work with a very realistic inflationary scenario and very conservative. Looking forward, what we expect is the scenario of today, an inflation around 6% INPC, and we do not see anything different from what the market expects. We will continue with the same practices in terms of absorbing inflation. This is why we are very down to earth, and I have said it before and I repeat it. If we continue to deliver a margin of 38.5-39%, it is a major victory. This is what we expect from now on. Luis, thank you for the question. Actually, our land, our developments are bigger.
Therefore, there are larger construction works that take longer to be built. On one hand, there is an increase in costs, but on the other hand, there is a gain in productivity because you're talking about larger developments. There is a bit of loss in terms of term, but gain in productivity because you're focused on concentrated larger construction. This is the experience we have had in recent years in larger development projects. Okay, thank you for the questions. Just to add for me to understand Fábio's comment. At the end of the day, in terms of pace of units produced, we shouldn't expect a significant difference given that they are bigger, but you're more productive. No, you shouldn't expect that because we've had experience in previous developments that are being delivered already. Production will be pretty much the same in a growing trend.
Okay, thank you, Fábio. Our next question comes from Jonathan Koutras from JP Morgan.
Good morning. Congratulations on the quarter and the year earnings. My question is about Mazzuco, about the dividend policy. The company had 100% payout last year. Looking forward in this year in 2026, should we expect 70% of payout, or do you see any room for a higher payout given the earnings of the company? Thank you. Jonathan, our strategy is just like you said. We see our target is to always pay 70-80% of the profits of the previous year, and we'll continue along those lines. If we have a strong cash generation and available funds, we don't want to keep cash unnecessarily. This money belongs to shareholders, so we keep paying dividends. Today, starting the year, we'll continue with our target of 70-80%.
In the second half of the year, we'll talk about this again, but we'll at least have the same payout that we had in the last two or three years. The Q&A session has now ended. I will now turn the floor over to the officers for the final remarks. Thank you all for attending this conference call. The investor relations team is available for any further questions you may have. If you need further information, please contact them. Thank you. This ends the video conference call of Cury Construtora. Thank you for attending and have a good.