Good morning, and thank you for waiting. Welcome to Cury Construtora's conference call to discuss the fourth quarter 2021 results. With us here today, we have Mr. Fábio Cury, CEO, João Carlos Mazzuco, CFO, and Mr. Ronaldo Cury, IRO. We would like to inform that during the company's presentation, all participants will only be able to listen to the call. We will then begin the Q&A session when further instructions will then be given. In case you need any assistance during the conference, please request the operator's help by pressing star zero. We would like to inform that the conference call will be conducted in Portuguese by the company's management, and for the English conference, there will be a simultaneous translation. This event is also being broadcast simultaneously over the internet via webcast.
Before proceeding, we would like to mention that forward-looking statements that are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the company management and on information currently available to the company. These involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur. Investors and analysts should understand that conditions related to the macroeconomic conditions, industry, and other factors could also cause results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Fábio Cury, who will start the presentation. Please, Mr. Cury, you may proceed.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you very much for attending the conference call to discuss the results of the fourth quarter 2021 and the full year of 2021.
Today, in addition to me, we have Ronaldo Cury, who is our IRO, and Mr. João Mazzuco, our CFO. Along the conference, we are going to discuss the main highlights in financial and operating terms for the fourth quarter of 2021 and the full year of 2021. We will then open the Q&A session. We are delivering very strong financial results, and it's a year of results that exceeded our targets and expectations with ongoing records quarter on quarter. We believe that our belief to work in some areas are essential to reach the results we had. One of the main highlights were the products in the region of Porto Maravilha, where we were pioneers. We launched the three first phases with 1,024 units, all of them sold. We started 2022 with another project in the region, View Energy, which repeats the success of the previous project.
We are very proud to have launched important projects last year with a focus on Mooca Vila Capri, a traditional neighborhood of the city with a great location close to downtown. In 2021, we launched 221 units in the first phase, and at the end of the year, we had 80% of all the units already fully sold. This motivated us to launch the second phase, the Vila Palermo, that replicates the first phase, and likewise, it shows strong demand. Our strategies on focusing on higher brackets and above the Verde e Amarela program has been proved to be very assertive. We increased the average prices of all our units in a way to preserve our margins in an environment that has a lot of inflation pressure. At the same time, we maintain SOS, which was very good.
That contributed to the cash generation, which is one of the most important differentiators of our company. One way to maintain the inflation by means of containing the basic rate of interest kept the demand down, and our clients have access to two sources of financing: Casa Verde e Amarela program that had a reduction in the interest rate, and SBPE that offers rates compatible with historical levels. The focus on maintaining our strategy in alignment with differentiated products were fundamental to exceed adversities and deliver a very robust result. I turn the call to Ronaldo, who will talk about the operational and financial results of our company.
Good morning, everyone. Now moving on to slide five, I am going to discuss the highlights of our operating and financial performance in 2021.
In the fourth quarter 2021, we recorded a total number of launches of BRL 788.1 million, net sales of BRL 611.4 million, and a net SOS of 38%, and cash generation in the amount of BRL 92 million. In 2021, the total amount of launches was BRL 2.8 billion, reaching the net sales and SOS of 72%, and a total cash generation of BRL 237.4 million. For the fourth quarter 2021, we had net income of BRL 491.2 million, gross margin of 38%, net income of BRL 111.6 million, and net margin of 22.7%. In 2021, we also reached BRL 1.7 billion, a gross margin of 37%, net income of BRL 315 million, and net margin of 18.1%. In the fourth quarter 2021, we launched seven projects, four in São Paulo and three in Rio de Janeiro.
Year to date of the full year 2021, we had 26 projects being launched, 15 in São Paulo and 11 in Rio de Janeiro. The highlight is the projects that were launched in the fourth quarter 2021, in the North Zone of São Paulo, Cidade Mooca, Vila Capri, in the East Zone of São Paulo, and Recreio in the North Region of Rio de Janeiro. I move on to slide seven to discuss the performance of the PSV of the quarter. We see that there has been a consistent demand, and that together with the certainties of a product which are so well-positioned, located in the central region, and considering our differentiated strategy, we have the result of a strong performance. Our SOS grew 32%. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the SOS was 31%, an increase of 2.9 percentage points when compared to the fourth quarter 2020.
Cury ended the year of 2021 with an inventory of BRL 909.1 million in PSV, and represented by units launched of works that had not started, and units under construction, and only 2.1% of finished units. Moving on to slide eight, we are going to provide more details on the sales price of our units. We were very quick in changing our strategy, that used to be focused on the lower bracket of the program, and then we even reached a bracket which outside the Casa Verde e Amarela program. This can be seen on the graph to the left when we can see the breakdown of the share according to the prices. In the fourth quarter 2021, we had 19% of our sales with prices of the units up to BRL 131,000 compared with 16% of the third quarter of 2021 and 35% in the fourth quarter 2020.
This price occupied 32% of the sales in 2021 when compared with 40% in 2020. The share of sales in the price bracket of the unit among BRL 180,000 and BRL 264,000 was 45% in the fourth quarter 2021, and in the third quarter 2021, we had 48.52%. In the fourth quarter of 2020, in 2020 and 2021, we had 55% of the sales made in this bracket. Above BRL 264,000, we had 36% of the units for the fourth quarter and third quarter of 2021. Year to date, or the full year of 2020, the share was 23% when compared to 5% in 2020. On the graphs on the right, we show the progress of the average prices per unit in each quarter. In the fourth quarter 2021, the average price was BRL 228,400, an increase in relation to the previous quarter and 17% in relation to the fourth quarter 2020.
For the year of 2021, we have an average price per unit of BRL 215,000, accounting for a growth of 13% on the average price in 2020. This change was essential for us to maintain our margins so that we could increase prices once the clients of the higher brackets has less sensibility to prices when compared to lower brackets of the market. Moving on to slide nine, we are going to talk about our land bank. In the fourth quarter 2021, we closed with a total space of 9.8 million with potential PSV, 55 units, a reduction of 18.2% compared to the previous quarter due to the launches that happened in the fourth quarter.
Also as a result of the selling of the social quotas and of the controlling companies, according to the material fact that was issued on December 18, corresponding to 2,409 units in the global amount and the cancellations of the period. Still in slide nine, we show the strong operating cash generation reaching BRL 92.7 million in the third quarter, an increase of 88.3% in relation to the fourth quarter of 2020, in a total of BRL 237.4 million in the full year, an increase of 39.4% in relation to 2020. With this, I turn the call over to our CFO, João, to provide more details about our financial results. You can proceed, sir.
Good morning, everyone. Moving on to slide 11, our net income reached BRL 491 million in the fourth quarter. That accounts for the growth of 42.3% in relation to the same period of 2020.
The full year of 2021, we grew 52% in relation to the same period of 2020, reaching a revenue of BRL 1.7 billion. Our profit in the fourth quarter was BRL 186.4 million, growing 33% in relation to the same period of 2020. Considering the year of 2021, we reached a gross income of. That accounts for a growth of 50.5% year-on-year. The increase in average price of our units that was driven by a change in the strategy that has already been consolidated, focused on the higher brackets of the program, continues to be the main factor to maintain our gross margin. That reached 38% in the fourth quarter and 37.1% year to date.
In spite of the inflationary environment of the fourth quarter, especially when compared to the first quarter of 2021, we continue monitoring our trends in the development of the works and making adjustments to the budget so that our results reflect our operation. Likewise, on slide 12, our margin REF has been favored by the average ticket of our product and by definition of the REF margin, we can see the high speed of sales. We ended 2021 with a heavy margin of 39.1% at the same level that we saw in the end of 2020. 82% of our REF margin comprises launches that happened in 2021 that had already budget with the inflation of the past. Nearly 40% of the REF margin comes from projects that were materialized in the third and fourth quarter. As I said, these are periods that the inflation of the year was already behind.
On slide 13, we show the net income that, as to the controlling share, reached BRL 103.8 million in this quarter. That accounts for an increase of 52.6% in relation to the profit of the third quarter 2020. Year to date, the profit of the controlling share reached BRL 300 million, an increase in relation to 2020. This amount accounts for 95% of the profit of the activity that reached BRL 350 million in 2021. We also had gain in the net margins of Cury that moved from 14% in 2020 to 17.2% in 2021. On slide 14, we will discuss the profile of our gross debt. We had a total gross debt of BRL 391 million against the BRL 277 million in 31 of December 2020. Excluding any financing to production, the fourth quarter, we had no capture of debts or any corporate amortization.
We continue presenting a capital structure very solid with a net cash of BRL 300 million, representing less than 41% of the net equity, and the debt payment schedule focused on the long term. On slide 15, we continue delivering a strong cash generation of BRL 237 million in 2021. That will allow us to have operation using low level of our own capital. With high level of distribution of profit of our ROE continues to be at high historical levels in spite of the strong growth that we presented. I turn the call back to Fábio.
Thank you, João, and thank you very much, Ronaldo. I would like to show you some prospects for the year 2020. We see the future with a lot of optimistic. We are sure we have all the conditions to go for new records with technology, innovation, commitment, and a lot of hard work.
We are prepared to perform in 2022. That will be even better than 2021. The challenges and the uncertainties that are going to be present in 2022 moves us to look for better solutions, and we continue creating value with sustainable and consistent results so that the company can continue to be perennial. Thank you very much for your participation and for your interest in Cury. If you need any demand, our team is at your disposal to provide clarifications to the market as a whole. With this, we end the presentation, and I would like the operator to start the Q&A session.
Good morning, everyone. We are now going to start the Q&A session. If you have any questions, press star one from your touch phone. If at any time your question is answered, press star two to remove yourself from the line.
The questions will be answered as they are received. We would ask you to remove your phone so that we can ensure optimal quality. Please wait while we collect the questions. Our first question comes from André Dibe from Itaú BBA.
Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for the presentation and for the possibility of asking questions. I have two questions on my side. One is relating on the subsidies review that was approved last week. I would like to know if there's any change for your launches for the year. In terms of land bank, would you have the flexibility of analyzing some projects for those projects with the lower brackets of the program? The other one is related to costs. I would like to understand how you feel the prices when you talk to suppliers. Have you felt any pressure for increased prices?
Which are the raw materials which have more pressure? How comfortable you are with the budget of all the project? Do you believe that there will be any reviews for the beginning of the year? Thank you.
Good morning, André. Thank you very much for the question. Fábio speaking here. The first question is related to the curve of the bracket two. No, we are not going to make any changes to our strategy. In principle, we are out of the projects of the bracket two, even though our land bank has some lands for the bracket two. Today, we are much more focused on bracket two, and we are moving on to bracket four. We are going to see some projects that part of the projects are for clients for the bracket two.
Our strategy is mostly focused on products above BRL 200,000 or above that to clients of bracket three or four. We believe that the subsidy curve would help us, but it's not going to be as attractive to make us go back and start working again on bracket two. We're going to continue working on the higher brackets of the market and bracket four SBPE. This was a very winning strategy that we have adopted, and we have been doing this for three years, and this is where our focus are going to be. As to costs, I think that we talked about inflation. There was a downturn at the end of the year, and now we have some challenges because of the war. We have a lot of pressures in different raw materials. Cement is one of those raw materials whose price do not stop increasing.
We are keeping monitoring those on a weekly basis. We have already made some adjustments. Costs of elevators, lifts, whose increase has been very significant with the new estimates, the new budgets. Last year, we thought that we had won the battle, but since the oil prices have increased as a result of the war, we have seen prices increase, and this is something that we are used to do. We constantly review our budgets, and we know how to go about it. On the other hand, we have to offset this with our products and our sales prices, and this is one of the reasons why we didn't go back to bracket two. We decided to remain on bracket three and four because this is where we have the capacity to defend the budgets we adopt.
Okay. It was very clear. Perfect. Thank you.
Our next question comes from Gustavo Cambauva with BTG Pactual.
Hello. Good morning. I would like to ask two questions as well. The first question is related to Fábio's comment on bracket four. It's a follow-up. I would like to see how you currently see the demand for this segment. Also considering the interest rates that we have been seeing and the inflation that would adversely affect those families, do you still see an opportunity to see growth in this segment? My second question is related to the project of Porto Maravilha. This was a big highlight of your result. So I would like to understand, let's say, the size of opportunity, the magnitude of the opportunity you see in the region. Do you have an expectation to launch, for example, more phases there, to buy more land?
Also from the viewpoint of competition, were you the first to operate there? Are there other companies working in the region? How do you see the Porto region? Thank you.
Good morning, Cambauva . Thank you very much for the question. We really believe there is a good opportunity to operate in bracket four, in spite of all the increases we have seen. Caixa Econômica Federal still works with interest rates of 8%-9% with our new product. So we are talking about a product that sells for BRL 300,000 to BRL 500,000. So Cury operates with products from BRL 200,000 to BRL 500,000. So it's above BRL 262,000, and then it's no more than BRL 500,000. This is also related to your second question that is related to Porto Maravilha. We have already launched two projects.
We are in the fourth phase, and we are adding 400 units to the previous phases already launched. So we have all the region nearly mapped. We are impressed with the demand that we found there. It's also very important to mention that we managed to increase the prices in that region. We started the first phase in June last month at BRL 6,500. In August, we have already reached BRL 7,000, and in October, we had managed to reach BRL 8,000. Now we are close to BRL 9,000, the same product in the same region. In other words, this shows us that there's a high demand in that area, in the area of Porto Maravilha. In addition to that, I answered the first question of André. This is important in this moment of a lot of inflation.
I think there's a lot of opportunity for us to work on there. Yes, there are other companies working there, but Cury was the pioneer. We are ahead, not only in terms of projects, but also in terms of acquisition of land.
Okay, Fábio. Thank you. Good morning, everyone.
Okay. The next question comes from Ygor Altero with XP Investimentos.
Good morning. Thank you very much for taking my questions. The first question is, I would like to understand how you see 2022 after 2021, which was a very successful year. Considering the brackets you're working on, you're doing very well. But I would like to understand how you see the new launches, the increases in prices, and the average ticket that has increased. I believe that this is something that is likely to continue growing in 2022.
I would like to know how far can we go in terms of our average ticket. The other question was in relation to cash generation. You were one of the few players that managed to generate cash, even considering the challenging environment. Some players purchased raw materials in advance to avoid higher prices of commodities. I would like to know if you have been adopting this kind of a strategy and what do you expect in terms of cash generation for 2022. Thank you.
Good morning, Ygor. Thank you for the question. In terms of the launches and average ticket, we have a high expectation in terms of launches for this year. We had one launch in Santo André with more than 70% already sold.
One that I have already commented in Rio de Janeiro, that is in the fourth phase of Porto Maravilha, and another one in the neighborhood of Mooca in São Paulo, whose result has been very successful. The demand has been very strong. Our strategy is to anticipate, considering that this is a year of election. We want to anticipate the launches in the first half of the year. We believe that this year is going to be even more successful than what we had last year. In relation to the ticket, we are likely to increase, I wouldn't say considerably, but we are likely to exceed the average ticket of BRL 240,000 that we had for last year. Considering the land and the project, and also the inflation that is coming along. So yes, the answer is yes.
We are likely to have a higher average ticket, higher than last year. If the market continues with this high demand, we are likely to increase the number of launches. In terms of cash generation, I'm going to ask João to answer this question to you.
Good morning, Ygor. Good morning again to all participants. Ygor, I believe that we stand out in the market in terms of cash generation. We cannot deny that. This is the dynamic that's not likely to change. We grow, generating cash. I usually like to say that the result that we reach in one project is going to be the result to the company as a whole if the construction dynamics of each asset is the same. So if we recap what contributes to our cash generation, I would say that first is the associative credit.
This is a differentiator factor for those who understand the economics behind it, and the quick credit that's provided. So our SOS continues to be very strong. This is translated into a very quick transfer. So when I start major disbursement of cash, I already have a cash generation which is already strong because I have a very large number of clients in operation. So another point is we have a high cost considering the nature of the assets. This is basically related to the land. The purchase of the land comes along with a cycle of the project. So I managed to have implemented these dynamics. This is our expectation. We want to grow generating cash at all times. Nothing changes in terms of the Cury's dynamics going forward.
Okay. Thank you. It was very clear. Thank you everyone.
Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to remind you that to ask question, please press star one. Our next question comes from the webcast from Carlos Herrera with Condor Insider.
Hello everyone. I have three questions. Congratulations on the excellent results. First, in the fourth quarter 2021, we observed a slight reduction in the SOS in relation to the previous quarter. Will this dynamic continue in the first quarter 2022, or the fourth quarter has some sort of seasonality? How do you see the demand for this year? The second question is in relation to the budget. Could you provide more information on the assumptions you're using for 2022? Which were the premises for 2021? Do you believe that the main budgets are going to maintain at the same level, or do you think they will need to be reviewed?
The third question, how do you see the margins for 2022?
Carlos, good morning. Thank you very much for your question. Let's move on step by step. First is related to the SOS. The drop you saw in the SOS is a drop which is very marginal, very slight. Even with this slight drop in SOS, it's way above that of the market as a whole. SOS suffers the effects of specific launches. Maybe there's a launch in a quarter that everything will be sold within a month, and then the SOS will increase, and maybe there is another launch whose flow will be more natural. So this slight variation is not a reflex of what is about to come or not. What we expect to maintain the SOS at this level, and sometimes growing a little bit and sometimes dropping a little.
In relation to the demand, we have observed that our demand has a measure based on the results of the launches that we've had this year. The results were surprisingly good. Fábio has already mentioned a fourth phase that in fact would be another project of Porto Maravilha. We launched the second phase in Mooca, coming from a first phase that sold very well. And another one at the same sales level. So what we have observed, in fact, in terms of performance in the 2 months and a half that have already gone through the phases of sales and launches, we can say that demand continues to be very high. We are going to be watching the demand very carefully, and I usually say that we are going to have one step on the brake and one foot on the accelerator so that we can observe everything that's happening.
As to launches, we do not disclose our assumptions of launches because this is very strategic. What I can say to you is that Cury is a company that has been in the market for nearly 60 years, 59 years to be exact. That was founded by engineers, is managed by engineers. It has a history of construction, which is very solid, and solid engineering practices. We say that when we worked in the bracket one, we had more than 30,000 units. At the same time, this is what we used to do in bracket one. So we have very stringent engineering processes in the process of budgeting, and this is one of the factors that contribute for us to manage to have the margins as we did. And in the future, what we expect in terms of margin is the following.
You see the scenario is very uncertain, very volatile, and we are fighting at every new launch. We have to discuss prices and sales price, cost and everything. If we manage to have a margin level of the past, it would be a guidance in fact, but if we can maintain it at about 36%-37%, we understand that this is going to be a very healthy margin, and I would say that this would be our target.
Thank you.
We end the Q&A session. I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Fábio Cury for his final remarks. You may proceed, sir.
I would like to thank everyone for attending our earnings conference call to discuss the results of 2021, and I hope I can have you present in our next earnings conference call, and see you next time. This concludes Cury Construtora's conference call.
Thank you very much for your participation. Have a good day. You may now disconnect.