Good morning, and welcome to Ecoprodivias' Third Quarter of 2021 Earnings Conference Call. With us here today are Marcelo Guidotti, CFO and IRO and Andrea Fernandez, IR Director. This presentation is being recorded, And all participants will be in listen only mode during the presentation. After that, we will begin the question and answer session The audio and the slides of this conference call are being broadcast simultaneously atri.ecorrodoivias.com.br, where you will find the presentation for download Before proceeding, we would like to clarify that the forward looking statements that may be made during this conference call Relating to Ecobrodivis' business prospects, projections and operational and financial targets are based on the management's beliefs and assumptions as well as on currently available information. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions as they refer to future events and hence depend on circumstances that may or may not occur.
Investors should understand that general economic conditions, industry conditions and other operating factors may affect the future performance of Ecopro doviers and lead to results that differ materially from those expressed in such forward looking statements. I will now turn the floor over to Ms. Andrea Fernandez, who will discuss the Q3 of 2021's results. Ms. Andrea, you may proceed.
Good morning. Welcome to Grupo Ecologovias' conference call. Today, discussing the earnings of the Q3 of 2021, we thank you all for your interest and participation. The 3rd quarter was marked by some important achievements. We signed a contract for federal concession BR 153, Toquentes Goias, to operate it for 35 years, in line with the company's growth strategy.
In September, The Shareholders' Meeting of Holdings Dua Agragua approved the issue of BRL1.4 billion in incentivized debentures With maturity of 15 years for the payment of promissory notes issued in August 2021, The ESG agenda continues to progress. The company conducted a study of its main risks and Vulnerabilities Related to the Effects of Climate Change for the years 2030 and 2050 in its operations. The study was carried out at all of the group's units and pointed the key risks In our highways, considering 5 climate related events: floods, landslides, Heat waves, strong winds and rising sea levels. The findings of the study We'll help the company in its preparation to address climate change by making both structural changes and adapting its operational strategy. More details on our ESG agenda are available on Page 2 of the earnings release.
Moving on to operations performance on Slide 2. We can see the monthly evolution of consolidated traffic and comparable traffic during the 1st 9 months of 2021 compared to the same periods in 2020 and in 2019. It's important to note that in the months of July, August September 2021, comparable traffic presented an increase of 1.8%, 3.3% and 5.5%, respectively, compared to those months in 2019. As for the Q3, we see on Slide 3 that the variation of consolidated traffic posted an increase of 17.7%. Excluding the start of operations at Ecovias do Sejado, comparable traffic presented a 7.9% increase in the quarter.
Due to the flexibilization of social distancing measures and the progress of the vaccination campaign, The highlight is light vehicles with an increase of 12%. As for the group's consolidated financial performance on slide 4, We see the evolution of gross revenue with an increase of 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Excluding construction revenues, gross revenue increased by 19.6% driven by the start of toll collection at Ecovias do Cerrado, traffic increase and tariff adjustment. The highlight is the increase of BRL127.9 million in electronic toll collection, AVI. On Slide 5, we show gross revenue in the 9 months of 2021, which increased 20.3% 15.7% when we exclude construction revenues.
Note the increase of BRL415.2 million for highway concessions. On Slide 6, Net revenue, excluding construction revenue, grew 19.7% in the quarter, and adjusted cash costs amounted to BRL285 1,000,000. This increase in cash cost is mainly due to higher Personal expenses caused by a wage increase in March 2021, provisions for the demobilization of Eco Cataratas and Ecos via Camino do Mar due to the termination of the concession agreements in November 2021, increase of operations at Ecopuerto and normalization of conservation and maintenance expenses in 2021. On Slide 7, adjusted EBITDA amounted to BRL 636,400,000 in the 3rd quarter. That's 20.6% higher year on year with an EBITDA margin of 69%.
The adjusted EBITDA for the 9 months of 2021 was of BRL1.8 billion, as we can see on Slide 8. On Slide 9, we see the evolution of net income in the 3rd Quarter of 2021, up BRL72.1 million visavis the Q3 of 2020. Net income was affected mainly by the EBITDA increase in the quarter and by the reversal of the provision for fines in the civil non prosecution agreement in the Q3 of 2021, which was not ratified As per the material fact disclosed by the company in September, net income in the 9 months of 2021 amounted to BRL 359.1 million, As you can see on Slide 10, as for investments on Slide 11, CapEx in the Q3 of 2021 reached BRL892.8 million, considering the payment of concession fee for EcoViers do Araguaia amounting to BRL357.5 million. The highlight is the road widening works and conservation works at Eco 135, Eco050 and Eco101 as well as special road conservation works at Eco Cataratas, Eco Villas do Serrado and EcoSu. On Slide 12, we closed the quarter with net debt of BRL7.3 billion, an increase visavis the previous quarter due mainly to the issue of promissory notes at Holding Dua Aruguayan in the amount of BRL1.4 billion.
The proceeds from said issue were used for capital injection in Ecovias do Araguaia and a Deposit of BRL1.1 billion in the reserve account as well as payment of the concession fee of BRL357.5 million. Leverage measured by the net debt over adjusted EBITDA indicator was of 3.1x compared to 2.6x in the Q2 of 2021. Moving on to Slide 13. We closed the quarter with cash balance of BRL3.4 billion, which represents 0.7x the short term debt. Maturities in 2022 totaled BRL 4,200,000,000 and are distributed as follows: BRL 1,100,000,000 at Eco Rodovias Infrastutur Real Logistica, BRL 5.90 BRL 2,000,000 at Ecovias Concessoenses Servisos, BRL 962,000,000 at Ecovias dos Immigrantes and BRL 1,400,000,000 at hold in Dua Agraguaia, which will be settled using The net proceeds from the 1st issue of the incentivized debentures for a term of 15 years.
On Slide 14, we see EcoRodofia's growth drivers. The capitalization of the company in the amount of BRL 1,700,000,000 as well as partnerships and future bids, Target projects that generate cash already on day 0, expansion of the contracts for Ecovias dos Immigrantes, Dividend distribution, in line with the growth cycle and future cash generation, are factors that make us comfortable with the company's financial and capacity and will allow us to seek investment opportunities in the Brazilian highway market. Slide 15 shows the main milestones of the deliveries at Equivias Dora Aguaia Since the winning of the auction in April of this year, Odindo Araguaia had financing for the payment of the concession fee and deposit in the and capital injection to fulfill concession obligations between August September. In September, the concession agreement was signed. And in October, we signed the term of listing and transfer of assets as well as the construction agreement to carry out the works that are mandatory as per the concession agreement.
Slides 16 to 21 present the main ESG indicators, in particular, the enhancement and inclusion of new ESG goals for the leadership. The company continues to study the upcoming highway concessions and the federal concessions in Parana, CRT and Triangolominayo in the state of Minas Gerais. This concludes our presentation. We would like to move on to the questions and answer session. Operator, we are ready for the questions from our analysts and investors.
Thank you. Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session for investors and analysts. The questions will be answered in the order they are received. We ask that you use the handset when asking the question Our first question is from Regis Cardoso, Credit Suisse.
Good morning. Congratulations on the results. Two quick questions here from my side. One of them about the CapEx level The Q3, I wanted to understand if it's closer to a normalized level or If there was any onetime event effect because we saw a relevant increase even excluding the BRL 358 million of PR 163 and the annual comparisons, there has been a considerable increase. And my other question is if this leverage level, those 3.1, is a limiting aspect in the decision to participate in future bids.
Of course, the main event in terms of size of concession is Dutra now this week. So what are the alternatives To participate or in not having any leverage issues, if you can talk about the covenants. I know that there's of 3.5, but sometimes it's distributed in the subsidiaries. So if you can talk a little bit about This Firepower, BR 153, I don't know if I said it. Good morning, Regis.
It's Marcello. Thank you for your question. About CapEx, as you said, excluding the payment of the concession For Ecovias do Araguaia BR 153. CapEx in this quarter is more normalized. There were some Postponements in the 1st and second quarter that were normalized now.
So we expect the 4th quarter to be And at the same level of the Q3, so it's more of a seasonal effect, I'd say. And since the works were delayed for operational reasons, nothing that we couldn't overcome, but now they're being realized. So both with the ECO 135, ECO 101 that's still in its construction cycle, like of So I think it's what was expected. It took a little time in the 1st and second quarter, but now it started in the 3rd quarter and will remain in the 4th. About leverage, I won't say anything about Utra, obviously, but in general, a 3.1 makes us comfortable.
We know the projects that are already that are born with cash Generation with the possibility of partnerships and equity, the strong cash generation coming from our mature projects as well as the extension of the Ecovia's maturity with the renewed capacity to use the financial Position, so all that is being taken into account when we consider new opportunities. We monitor our covenants, as you said. There are different levels, but the past Covenants get to 4%, 4.5%, and it's we have a lot of clarity on our capacity, on our targets And our levers, so we are comfortable. The numbers are doing well. It's been a quarter very It was very positive.
Traffic is coming back, and that brings us even more room for growth. But again, long term growth, Very cautious looking at everything. Thank you, Regis. Thank you, Gedoti. Our next question, Victor Mizusaki, Bradesco BBI.
Good morning. Congratulations on the results. I have two questions. First, on the results of the 3rd quarter, You mentioned the provisioning for the termination of the concession of Eco Caparatus and Camino de Mar. But if you can detail it further, what's the provision and if there's anything else that would impact results of the Q4?
And my second question about the time line for the debt schedule. Andrea mentioned The details for 2022, but if you can also give us more details of what you're thinking about the reconditioning of Good morning, Victor. Thank you for your question. About the provision for is something that has already been done in the past quarters and now we have a final adjustment. We're getting close To the end of the concessions, there'll be something on the Q4.
About the provisions, it's about, in this The key executives of the concessions that will remain with the Ecu Rodovias Group, of course, for new opportunities, Combining the two things, provisions and these retention packages, it's about BRL 3,000,000 BRL 3,500,000. About the time line of the debts, it's quite simple. Ecobias Doraguaya, We're finalizing the liquidation of the debentures with a maturity of 15 years that will replace the promissory notes that is well designed and to fit in the project. That's a great news. That's that the Ecogrodivias Infrastructure Logistica Holding Maturing in March of EUR 1,100,000,000 and we're starting the works Now I'm discussing with the banks and taking the benches to the market to roll out the debt.
And there's some maturities at Ecovias dos Immigrantes, Close to BRL900,000,000, EcoVia dos Immigrantos has low leverage. There's opportunity to restructure this debt. With the amendment already signed, we can extend and prolong this debt, and we're starting to study the alternatives. But I don't see any problems there, and the remaining will be coming from the cash of the projects. So With Infra and Ecovias Dora Guaya, it's well operational.
Ecovias Dora Guaya is settled. Thank you. Please standby once we collect as we collect our questions. We have a question on the web. I don't know If we should read and answer the question.
I can read it. The question is about CapEx. We saw this year an expressive movement of important metals for maintenance and the CapEx of the highways, if there's Risk and how to work around this increase in costs from Paola Tanasaki, Paola, thank you for your question. You saw in our quarter reviews that we updated All our CapEx base, it has been increasing and the base is being adjusted. And of course, we monitor The developments of the main inputs that are part of the Materials that we need, there is an increase, but it's a punctual increase that may affect CapEx here and there in 2021, 2022, but it's not an impact that will affect the entire CapEx future curve.
As we always mentioned, there are internal levers to prevent great consumption of these inputs at high moments and use different technical solutions. So there may be Occasional impact, some of them reflect in the inflation rate as well. And the company is always We have a question from Murillo Freiberg from Bank of America. Good morning. We wanted to talk a little bit about the auctions that are coming up.
We have Dutra now. And we know that there are others in Parana. And of course, there's an edge for bids. But if you can talk a little bit about the strategy for the next auctions. Are you going to come in with partners?
I don't know if you can talk about this or not for the next Bids and the for these assets, I think Tutra is happening now, but what's the timing for the Parana concession at your mind? It's important and others are participating. So if you have anything that you can tell us about the future auctions, it would be interesting. Murillo, good morning. Thank you for your question.
We're very transparent in this sense. We keep track of the federal program as a whole. And as you said, we highlight this integration in Parana that's estimated to the second or third quarter. So in 2021, there's no defined date, but it's towards the 2nd or 3rd quarters. We keep track of the concessions that are close to termination and it changes the characteristics of the auctions, but There's a basis for integration.
We're looking at these opportunities and studying them at the federal auctions, CRT and Rio de Janeiro as well, that's an interesting point. We have presence in Minas Gerais, And that also attracts our attention about the concessions in Minas, pre anglomerato will probably be in the Q1 of next year. And we remain watching Sao Paulo, the Roduanel. There's some delay on the bids here, but We have been declaring to investors that they are part of our main targets, and we are always Paying attention to the possibilities of studies, if we go alone or if we have any financial partners as we did at the Ecovias do Araguaia, everything's going well. I believe we can continue with this strategy, but we're open to that as an opportunity.
So for 2022, in general, these are our targets that we've as we've been declaring to the market. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you, Guidotti. Next question, Faiz Cassello, Itau.
Two questions here. First about the income tax, the effective rate. Even with the adjustments that you had this quarter, I just wanted to confirm if this is a result of better earnings that dilutes losses, that would be my first question. It's more to confirm it and understand what we could expect. And my second question about indebtedness that was answered to Regis, but I'll include something else here, not related to the quarter necessarily, but To ask about the new CEO, the nomination of the Ouro Branco CEO to the position, how this is going and what we could express Thais, good morning.
Thank you for your questions. About the first one, Your answer is perfect. It's exactly as you said, the positive result is coming. And I confirm it. It's something that depends on future results.
So the company intends to increase its earnings results, so that trends will continue. The second question About the indebtedness that was answered about the CEO, it was appointed and now we're working on the Permission, since it's a foreigner, there are some requirements in terms of documentation, and we will be working on that in November. He may be confirmed in the position and then it will be available to all of you, to investors to talk. But for now, he was just appointed. Thank you.
Next question, A question about a comment you made in the beginning of the Q3 regarding the potential rebalancing of the concessions due to the losses in traffic with the pandemic. I would like to know if you have Any dimensioning of what type of what levels of value would be reimbursed if all concessions have This clause in the contract that may allow this reimbursement of traffic due to the traffic loss and how our test has been positioned about this Unbalancing, if they recognize this liability publicly, I imagine that in terms of the agility or speed, what we can expect? Thank you for your question, Luis. About this recognition, public recognition during the pandemic, There have been many declarations and statements from the federal government and their past. And of course, it's a force majeure event, but we're beyond that now.
In addition to recognition, we want to receive the rebalancing. It's going well at the federal level, but I've declared here that they're not Commodities, so they're not expressive values, but we are making progress with the calculation and probably we'll have a tariff adjustment to rebalance this loss. It's nothing too significant. Here in Sao Paulo, the discussions are suspended still in terms of finalization or conclusions or something that may not be accepted, but But in Sao Paulo, we're not talking about expressive amounts either. They're amounts that may be rebalanced Simply, it's nothing too expressive.
Excellent. Thank you. We now conclude our questions and answer session. I will turn the floor over to Andrea Fernandez for her final remarks. I thank you all for your participation on this conference call, and my team and I remain available for any doubts.
Thank you. Have a good day. Ecocadovias' conference call is now closed.