Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. You are most welcome to Dasa Financial Highlights about the third quarter 2024. This teleconference is being recorded, and then you may access that on the website www.dasa.com.br. The presentation will also be available for download. All participants will be just listening to this web call during the presentation. Right after that, we are going to open for the Q&A session when more instructions will be given. All information in this presentation and any possible statements during this call about business perspectives, future perspectives, and financial aspects, they are just beliefs and assumptions of the company, as well as current information available. Future considerations, they are not a guarantee of performance as they involve risks, as they are entitled to future events, and they will depend on circumstances that may or may not occur.
Investors, they should understand that general considerations, marketing aspects may interfere in Dasa's future financial perspectives. Now, I would like to give the floor to Mr. Lício Cintra, who will start the presentation. Please, Mr. Lício, you may proceed.
Good afternoon, everyone. You are most welcome to our web conference for the financial highlights for the third quarter. Before I proceed to our results, I'd like to congratulate our 9th of July collaborators, not just physicians, but the whole health providers and everybody else who is involved in our business. According to the International Ranking of Nove de Julho, it is scored as the fourth best hospital in the globe and also the 11th hospital in Latin America, and as to sustainability, we are ranked in first place in Brazil. We feel so proud about that.
And also, it clearly shows all our operational efficiency efforts, which aim to improve productivity, which not just focus on better results, but also our level of care delivered to our patients. And that's exactly why we are here for. So now, getting into the third quarter, we have to consider a number of aspects. We had a reduction of our net profit, which is a consequence of our operational growth, a new level of investments. We have a very strict way to approve further investments, and shareholders, they are always controlling all of that since June 24. So our financial debt, plus the receivables, we went from 5.14 to 4.7 in the third quarter, which represents a 20% reduction, which addresses our goals for the coming months.
The investments, as it has been announced, we have a year with a significant lower budget in comparison to prior- years, and to our management, it's quite clear that our decision process in emphasizing our processes to explore those assets, which got investment, large volume investments that have been very effective. Investments done in technology tools that will lead to digital check-in at our units. We see a great growth in the compliance of our collaborators and clients. We want to be in the same level of investments in technology assets and compliance by our patients and hospital managers in relation to what has been invested. We are pretty sure that our decision was really effective. As to hospitals' management, we have decided to change the way as we were performing.
Until last year, we were fighting strongly for volume without a margin criteria, increasing the number of beds and impacting our CapEx. And since the beginning of the year, we are more clear about a margin discussion. And now we decided not to open new beds to add up our volume. We are trying to adjust proper procedures at proper hospitals. This is a journey to our payer sources. It's not a matter of not helping our users, but rather a complete portfolio review, surgical review. And we are very optimistic to face a totally different reality by next year. Operational economic sphere, we close this quarter with an EBITDA of 14% growth, with the same trend as the prior- year.
We exceed our growth in 1.4 percentage points, a bit of margin resulting from the higher volume of services provided, prioritizing the procedural mix, thanks to our excellence program, which is under progress, and that is part of our day-to-day agenda. This excellence of program allowed 12% adjusted expenses reduction versus third quarter 2023, with the benefits from the operational excellence program. There is no magic or silver bullet. It's just working really hard, and we believe that we are going to get profits in the coming months.
As revenue, we have another quarter with a consolidated revenue, with a 6% gross revenue, with expansion, with growth in the volume of operations and occupancy in both BUs, if we take into account that we are following our mix of products, avoiding more volume of procedures, which do not make sense from a margin perspective or from a vocational hospital perspective.
Generally speaking, if we are in search for strong efficiency and headcount control, NPS decreases, and fortunately, we have been very successful in balancing that. Last quarter, we said that we had reached a record level in our NPS, and this quarter, once again, and that is linked to the award that Nove de Julho Hospital has been granted, but we are considering a company in a middle to long run. If we would sacrifice quality, we would have a better result in a short run, but that is not our goal. Strategically speaking, we had disclosed that our overall focus would be on our own hospitals and oncological hospitals and some assets that do not have a core business, such as Dasa company for insurance.
Last year, we announced the selling of this asset at BRL 195 million at the closing and BRL 10 million, with an earn-out of BRL 50 million to be paid in the coming years. We still expect that this transaction will close in the coming weeks. That is adjusted to our central focus, which would be diagnostics at hospitals in oncology. We are ready to face other assets resulting from relevant investments made in previous years. I also would like to draw your attention about a huge number of information that we have in redesigning our framework to welcome America's hospitals within our BUs. The America's negotiation to allow us to expand our hospitals platform will allow us to redesign our diagnostic hospital framework, allowing them to work independently, where we find huge opportunities.
I'm going to go into details later on after André, our CFO, has the floor.
[Foreign language]
Thank you, Lício. Good afternoon, and thank you so much for your attendance. Slide five.
Hospitals and Oncology, BU1, as we name it. Third quarter, we see a 5% average ticket in relation to the same period last year, with a gross revenue of BRL 2.2 billion. That growth is due to 5% of our average ticket.
18% expansion in oncology has contributed to that growth, as well as a better mix of procedures, and the volume of patients per day was quite stable in relation to the third quarter 2023, due to the interruption of activities, operations without economic profitability. Thanks to mapping each hospital profitability per type of procedures, per health operator, deciding which ones are not profitable from an economic perspective. In other words, taking into account all benefits, marginal costs, including, for instance, receivables.
We expected that for the third quarter, we are going to reduce the gross revenue in around BRL 50 million, with a direct impact. However, it will allow better results in the long- term by recovering new revenue or by reducing costs, expenses that could be avoided G&A. And the occupancy rate has increased 0.8 percentage points. Adjusted gross profit in the third quarter has a 2% drop, with an adjusted gross profit, which is 1.5 percentage points lower than the third quarter 2023. In addition to that, which is a transitory aspect, Mat/Med has collaborated to that in the oncology growth and also higher costs per patient due to the new regulation, which had impacted our nursing bill, as well as inflation.
Gross revenue and adjusted gross margin in the third quarter 2023, they are not directly compared to our current level due to the denials that we had in the fourth quarter that led to a variable and lower progression of results. If we reach normal levels, the adjusted gross margin will have a 6% growth, with an adjusted gross margin of 0.2 percentage points in the adjusted gross margin. Slide seven, diagnostics segment. Gross revenue for third quarter 2024 shows 8% growth in relation to the same period last year. In diagnostics, we see an advancement, which was driven by a better average ticket, as well as to an increase in the number of exams at all levels.
[Foreign language]
To our average ticket, there are two aspects which had contributed to that. First, best services composition, especially where we see a premium segment growth. And second, exchange rate impact on the international operation in third quarter 2023. Adjusted gross margin gives a 6% growth or 9% adjusted gross profits, with a decrease in the variable reduction of third quarter 2023, with an adjusted gross margin of 0.2 percentage points better than the third quarter 2023, with the variable compensation effect normalized. Several initiatives led us to efficiency, such as reduction of five operational technical centers and also the reduction of 47 unprofitable service units, where eight of them were closed during this third quarter. As we mentioned earlier, the reduction of those NTOs is part of our director plan, which aims to reduce costs without reducing exams throughout reallocations and consolidations.
Closed units, they are a consequence of a careful survey. They had a little revenue, and they were not collaborating to our economic profits. And in addition, they were all localized in different areas that were not near to our private centers. Here you can take a look at our adjusted G&A and EBITDA. For the second consecutive quarter, we may see an absolute reduction in adjusted G&A. We have seen this new reduction even considering a growth in the operational volume and inflation. This absolute reduction in adjusted expenses program started at the end of 2023, and they represent EBITDA growth of 14% with margin expansion of 1.4 percentage points. And that resulted with significant evolution due to EBITDA growth. We see relevant benefits where we are able to reorganize our personnel with significant leadership positions in a more agile and efficient restructure.
Second, we are adapting personnel policies and staff policies to the market. Third, reallocation and reduction of administrative premises, which was responsible for a 40% reduction in the occupancy of square meters. And fourth, strengthening of process and general control, allowing to recover tax credits to which the company is entitled to, which now is being credited thanks to process improvement and internal control. To the right of the slide, over the third quarter of this year, BRL 751 million EBITDA, 14% growth, driven by the number of revenue in both units and also G&A reduction. With that, EBITDA margin reached 18.9%, representing 1.4 percentage points in relation to the third quarter 2023. That result had an expenditure of BRL 310 , 11% higher than last year due to some currency exchanges of BU2.
Finally, net results this quarter have increased significantly, 52% in opposition to last quarter, especially due to a bigger growth of 14%. If we exclude currency variations, our net growth would have been almost zero. Slide eight, investments. Consolidated investments, they amounted to BRL 137 million , 19% reduction in comparison to last quarter 2023. As Lício has mentioned, investment level in 2024 reflects the guidance of the company, which prioritizes projects with a better economic profile. Investments focus on structuring projects, with highlights for renovations of systems essential to the maintenance of the operation and digitalization of efficiency gains in all the hospital oncological and diagnostic services. As Lício has highlighted, the reduction of authorized G&A investments has just been possible thanks to the quality of Dasa assets and investments carried out recently. As to management and expansion, 7% reduction prioritizing projects with those better economic profile.
Key at both BUs, we keep the focus to keep up with our exams units to improve operations and to allow the same level of services to our patients. We see 36% reduction versus third quarter 2023, renewing all systems which are essential and digitalization initiatives for efficiency gains, which is one of the aspects which collaborates to our productivity in diagnostics. This is my last slide, capital structure at Dasa. Upper part of the slide, you see a leverage growth considering net financial debt plus acquisitions payable and advances on receivables. 4.07 fold, this is the indicator which represents a significant reduction of 20% in the company leverage. This is a consequence of what our controllers are doing and a better operational improvement, improving our EBITDA, better working capital, and a new level of company's investment.
We close the quarter with a good liquidity, cash flow, and titles in with BRL 2.8 billion , which represents 1.5-fold sales up to 2025 in terms of amortization. We have an average ticket growth of four days. In the past, we had a decrease of two days, and now we had gained four days. So since March, we see a liquid growth of two days concentrated on hospitals' business units. That has been a sectoral aspect which we address from one side, thanks to systems and process internal improvements, and on the other hand, an increase in selection and recruitment of hospitals. Another project on process and systems improvement, which is being quite advanced, is on inventories, where we managed to reach four days reductions on inventory average days offsetting the average time for our prior inventory. Now I'd like to give the floor back to Lício.
[Foreign language] Thank you, André. Before we close the presentation, I'd like to let you know that the execution of the phases which are being addressed with Amil, they are ongoing. We went officially to CADE last September, and the internal organization has been completed. [Foreign language] We are deeply revising all our processes. We are spending most of our time revising all the processes to understand how much each one of the roles will add to our core business and to each one of the BUs, and we are identifying some areas that do not necessarily need to exist and those areas that they should continue to exist, but in a less relevant manner than they are nowadays.
Now we are very optimistic because we see that we may be able to optimize G&A for the coming year. About the transaction per se, when we see a joint EBITDA of hospitals and America's hospital of BRL 770 million, but just in the first three months, BRL 589 million, BRL 786 million, which represents over 30% of growth in comparison to last year. The last quarter, that's even better because the last year EBITDA margin of 10% goes up to 13.3%. Which allows us to have a hospital company less leveraged, where we would consider BRL 3,850 million debt. [Foreign language] 2023. Considering 2023 EBITDA of BRL 786 million. Now we feel much safer that this company has a much lower indebtedness level than the one we had projected priorly.
With that, we have reached the end of our presentation, and now we may proceed to the Q&A session.
Now we are going to start our Q&A session for investors and analysts. If you would like to ask a question, just raise your hands. If your question is answered, you can leave the queue by clicking on "Put Your Hands Down." You can also, you know, address your questions in writing. So just, you know, write down your name and the company you are representing. Our first question is from BTG Pactual, Mr. Samuel Alves.
[Foreign language] Good afternoon, Lício and directors. We have two questions. First is a follow-up of the past slide about the partnership agreement between America's hospitals. Could you elaborate a little bit more about the indebtedness structure if you are going to transfer the holding debts to this new structure?
And my second question is also related to the company's indebtedness. Uma melhora importante nos indicadores de forma geral. We see a significant improvement in all indicators. But how do you see the debt indicators vis-à-vis? Could you remind us a little bit the measurement data levels? O quanto que existe de grau de indebtedness? We can see what is the level of freedom.
Samuel. [Foreign language] Hello, Samuel. Thanks for your attendance. [Foreign language] . First, how to determine the format of Tribute 150? [Foreign language] That is quite advanced. [Foreign language] . We have a higher chance to have a combination of formats, possible debts which are transferred, and a direct capitalization at Ímpar, but there is nothing, you know, closed yet. We are still discussing with the interested parties. [Foreign language] .
We and themselves are after a scenario which will allocate the best way to execute with some rates and deadlines. [Foreign language] Once we progress on that and we have that more clear, we'll be able to give you more visibility. [Foreign language] As to governance indicators. [Foreign language] We had a stability around 350 in the past two quarters, the third and the second quarter, but above all, as you mentioned yourself, the net debt plus acquisitions to be paid plus anticipations, they represent a significant reduction, as you could see 20% since last March, and the combination of results improvement, CapEx at a new level, as Lício described, and our efforts on working capital, we believe we are going to see a significant reduction by next year.
[Foreign language] Thank you.
[Foreign language]
Our next question is from Mr. Artur Alves from Morgan Stanley. [Foreign language] You may proceed. Thank you.
Hi there. Good afternoon. I have two questions, briefly. First, about G&A. We see a nominal reduction.[Foreign language] You still have more room for reduction. [Foreign language] Are you still optimistic, and where do you think you should reach normal levels? How much more is still to improve? And second, you have mentioned non-core asset sales. Do you have any estimate in terms of value? [Foreign language] And could you tell us a little bit more about the negotiations? How are they going? Thank you.
Thank you, Artur, for your questions. I will answer your first question, G&A. [Foreign language]
A little bit of the same, a little bit more of the same. It's quite clear that G&A opportunities are many. We have a forefront where we are revising processes, and in the meantime, we have a macro view where it does not depend on systems, and the process review per se allows the reduction and optimization in the number of collaborators, increase of productivity, and systems. In addition, we have a structure that was created to bring together different companies, diagnostics, hospitals, brokers, insurance providers, home care. [Foreign language] . Focused to our main business units, we have, you know, a G&A issue. And this quarter strikes clearly those several actions that we have been highlighting lately.
We are pretty sure that once we go deep into the processes and details, and that we are able to revise or revisit the structure as a whole with the addition of America's hospital, we have now a deadline adding benefits, and we do believe that we will be able to keep on reducing G&A in the coming months. We cannot give you an exact number right now, but it's quite clear that there is a great potential for improvement in the near future. About your second question, I think it's a bit too early. [Foreign language] To estimate values of the non-core assets. [Foreign language] We have been repeating that, especially, you know, considering the teams who are involved on the assets. They are not target for not investment because they are weak, bad, or they do not perform individually.
They are good assets, and they are acquisitions that Dasa did in the past and which we target as being good assets, but they do not make sense right now where we have to emphasize our main efforts within our three main businesses. So we are analyzing that carefully, and if it makes sense, we are going, you know, to avoid investments there. But the most important of all is that internally we had readapted our structure so the executive director will not need to spend so much time into those assets which are not performing so well as others which are. Thank you.
[Foreign language] Our next question. Luca Marchesini is from Luca Marchesini from Itaú BBA. Luca, [Foreign language]
[Foreign language] Hello, good afternoon. Two questions. First, about BU2 tickets, diagnostics.
We see a growth closer to inflation, you said, due to the mix of products. But was that maybe due to a more beneficial competition or competitive scenario? And second, it has to do with the leverage. And thinking about your capital structure, what is your take in this investment, the investment possibility? And how about the negotiations in that sense?
[Foreign language] . Hi, this is Lício speaking, and thank you for your question. [Foreign language] BU2, we see an important increase in the tickets, this half, and we are very disciplined to take healthy tickets to the company. [Foreign language] . Ticket growth takes place due to some dimensions. First, price markup, price readjustments, where we are trying to offset at least partially the inflation.
We have a more favorable mix-up where we have a ticket increase, but we are, you know, after increasing with the health tickets, respecting our market and business, and this composition is helping us to equalize, you know, business and prices. Now, your second question.
[Foreign language] This is André, how are you? [Foreign language] What else may I add to that? The deleverage process is a result of three factors. First, operational performance, which is divided in results improvement, CapEx, and working capital. Second, the conclusion of the transaction with Amil, which transforms our hospital business and allows a geographic allocation of the debt between the two companies, and third, potential the investments. [Foreign language]
Currently, we don't have any new element to be disclosed since the last announcements. [Foreign language] That's perfect, thank you. [Foreign language]
The Q&A session is closed. Now, we would like to give the floor to Mr. Lício to make the company's final considerations.
I would like to thank you so much for our third quarter 2024 video conference, and I would like to reinforce and emphasize that during this phase of so many changes, we are working really hard to guarantee performance improvement and to deliver a company which is more and more less deleveraged. Thank you so much to all of you. Dasa's video conference is now closed. Thank you for your participation and have a good afternoon. Thank you.