Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the second quarter 2023 earnings presentation of Gafisa. We finished our first half of its strategy to has made efforts directed to this transition moment. Gross sales reached BRL 315 million, up by 2% year-on-year. In the first half of the year, we reached BRL 617 million, an 11% increase year-on-year, the highest sales volume in the last five years. That includes only our inventory, since we had no launches in the first half of 2023, which shows that we have been successful in our goal of reducing mid-range inventory. Net sales came to BRL 253 million in 2Q 2023. In the first half of the year, net sales totaled BRL 539 million, a 4% growth year-on-year. Sales speed was 11% in the quarter and 20% in the first half of 2023.
With a strong sales performance, inventory decreased by 18% year-on-year, totaling BRL 2 billion. Net revenue came to BRL 284 million in the quarter, an 8% increase year-on-year, and BRL 577 million in the first half of the year, a 26% increase year-on-year, which consolidates the company's new size. As I mentioned earlier, the company's strategy of positioning itself in the high-end segment involves reducing its mid-range inventory, which automatically generates an impact on gross margin, since these are projects launched from 2020 onwards, and which were impacted by high interest rates and the increase in the price of inputs during the period. Additionally, the company's financial performance was impacted by the increase in financial expenses.
With the perspective of a macroeconomic scenario converging positively for the sector and the country, the company understands that it is well positioned and prepared to achieve solid financial and operational results. Looking forward, the next launches will be located in the most exclusive regions in the city of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. This portfolio a turning point for Gafisa and a milestone for the real estate market. We strengthened our business model by adopting the best ESG practices and encouraging continuous innovation, which are summarized in the GRI report released in the quarter. We appreciate the trust and confidence of our investors and employees, and we remain committed to continuing to write a success story together. I will now turn it over to Edmar, who will present the financial highlights.
Thank you, Sheyla, and good afternoon, everybody. It is a pleasure to be here today.
Let's take a look at the financial highlights. On slide five, we can see a snapshot of our financial performance. Our focus on operational performance continues to be the same as Sheyla mentioned, and it led net revenue to reach BRL 284 million in the quarter and BRL 577 million in the first half of the year, a 26% increase year-on-year. In the last 12 months, net revenue reached BRL 1.3 billion and a CAGR of 102% since 2020, consolidating the company's new size. Now, let's move on to slide six, please. Regarding receivables, we have good numbers to present, once again, confirming the new size of the company. Receivables came to BRL 1.5 billion, an increase of 40% year-on-year. In 2Q 2023, backlog revenue also grew significantly by 57% year-on-year.
It totaled BRL 645 million, which once again, bears witness to the fact that Gafisa is operating at a new level. Now let's move on to slide seven, showing that we posted a negative net result of BRL 91 million in the quarter as a result of the company's transition that we mentioned to the high-end segment, including the strategy to reduce mid-range inventory. Also because we had higher financial expenses, which totaled BRL 36 million in the period, up by 97% year-on-year. Once again, that is related to high interest rates, which have an impact on the company. We underscore our ongoing commitment to improving financial indicators, placing increasing emphasis on the sound execution of the company's projects, as proven by our backlog revenue, which grew by 57% year-on-year.
Now, I would like to turn it over to Ortiz, who will present the main operating highlights for the period. Ortiz, over to you.
Thank you, Edmar, and good afternoon, everybody. It is a pleasure to be here with you today. Starting on slide nine, we can see a strong sales performance in the period. We reached BRL 315 million in gross revenues in the quarter, and BRL 617 million in the first half of the year, an increase of 11% year-on-year. In the last 12 months, we reached BRL 1.2 billion, a 26% growth year-on-year, and a CAGR of 54% since 2020. On the next slide, we can see that net sales came to BRL 538 million in the first half of the year, with an increase of 4% year-on-year.
Net sales in the last 12 months came to BRL 992 million, a 26% growth year-on-year, and a CAGR of 80% in the last four years. Out of the total net sales in the quarter, 82% are high and medium high-end properties, which bears witness to our good execution of the strategy aimed at high-end market. In the first half of the year, our sales speed was 20.2%, a one percentage point growth year-on-year. Now let's talk about our inventory on slide 11. The inventory of properties for sale amounts to BRL 2 billion, an 18% decrease year-on-year. Breaking it down by region, 66% of this inventory is in São Paulo and 34% in Rio de Janeiro, in accordance with our portfolio strategy. High and medium high-end development now account for 81% of our inventory. Moving on to slide 12.
To give you more details about our actions in the high-end market, we'd like to give you some more information on the projects under development to be launched in the short term. Our focus on the high-end market is reflected in every detail in our development of unique projects in the best locations of São Paulo and Rio. We take the utmost care of our projects as if they were fine jewels. We provide exclusive experiences curated by international partners and the best architecture firms in the world, including projects by Arthur Casas, FGMF Arquitetos, and Patricia Anastassiadis . Our developments are irreplicable works of art, a true gift for our cities. As Sheyla mentioned, we ended another quarter in which we placed sharp focus on operating performance, significant sales growth, and customer service as customers are the core of our strategy.
Gafisa consolidated its presence in the high-end market, strengthening its operations in premium neighborhoods in the cities of São Paulo and Rio. In São Paulo, in the Itaim Bibi neighborhood, Gafisa acquired two corner lots, one on Bandeira Paulista Street and one on Dr. Renato Paes de Barros Street. The acquisition of these plots of land was a strategic move that allowed us to create islands on iconic streets of the region, close to the Faria Lima Avenue. In the heart of the Jardins District, on the most iconic street in the city, Gafisa landed the acquisition of a plot on the Oscar Freire and Consolação corner. The strategy of combining areas to create a space on one of the most famous fashion streets in the world was meticulously planned.
The objective is to make the location even more prestigious with a project that incorporates all luxury elements, seeking to create a true landmark for the city. The residential units in this project will offer panoramic views of Jardim America and Jardim Europa, with the sunset on the horizon providing a spectacular landscape. In Rio, we acquired a unique lot on Vieira Souto Avenue with a 360-degree panoramic view of the beaches of Ipanema, Leblon, and the Rodrigo de Freitas Lake. This project will be a waterfront landmark, a new six-star architecture and service reference. The challenge of building a project that makes justice to the most famous beach in the world is great, and for that same reason, irresistible. Creating a world-class luxury benchmark in Rio de Janeiro with spacious rooms, all of them with the best views, is breathtaking.
The new development will not be just another place in Ipanema. It will be like an oasis to immerse yourself in the soul of Rio. Our focus on design and architecture values craftsmanship and detail, while providing luxury services to give customers an exceptional experience. Privileged locations and unique projects form a combination that sets Gafisa apart of the competition in the high-end segment. Thank you very much for your attention. We will now begin the Q&A session.
If you wish to ask a question, please click the Q&A icon at the bottom of your screen and type in your question. The first question comes from Mr. Herman Lee with Bradesco BBI. Good afternoon.
We have a question.
We would like to know a little bit more about your perspectives and expectations for the volume of launches in the second half of 2023, and what is the profile of the developments in terms of PSV and the target audience?
Thank you. Thank you, Herman.[Non-English content] Thank you, Herman, and thank you very much for the question. Our launch portfolio, as we said, our focus is on the high-end segment. It was very clear in the presentation that we have a high-quality land bank. We are working on very important locations. Two in the region of Itaim Bibi in São Paulo, one in Jardins in São Paulo, and one in Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro. So those will be the next launches. We have a full pipeline of projects in the high-end segment, so that's what we will be focusing on.
We want to launch differentiated products with significant margins. What I can tell you is that for the coming months, we are going to work on these launches. It's very important for us to bring those products to the market soon, and they have unique locations, as we said in the presentation. Thank you.
The next question comes from Mr. Talles Leal with LAV.
What is the expectation for your gross margin after the reduction of the mid-range inventory? The gross margin is at 10%, much below the competition. After you finish selling those inventories, what should we expect in terms of gross margin, and when do you expect to reach that level?
Hello, good afternoon, and thank you for the question. When we look at the adjusted gross margin for the short and medium term, our goal is 30% or higher.
Higher means that it can vary according to the interest rates. If interest rates are a little bit higher, it is going to be closer to 40%. If it is low, it's going to be closer to 30%. As I said in the presentation, we are in a transition phase. We still have high and medium-high units from previous periods, but looking forward, we will no longer have mid-range units. We want to reach a new level of margins with unique projects. What we need is to launch the developments so that we can fully adopt this new profile and we can see this business unfolding and being reflected on our numbers. It's going to happen in the medium term.
The next question comes from Mr. Hugo Grass with Citi.
Congratulations on the results, and thank you for taking my question. My name is Hugo Grass from Citi.
I would like to understand your perspectives about the change in the city plan. Are you going to change your products according to the new plan to take advantage of more pro-business measures? What is your perspective in terms of PSV?
Thank you very much for submitting your question. Well, there are some factors in the new plan that impacted part of our land bank. We are assessing the situation. We are now assessing the new master plan, and we hope to arrive at a conclusion or decision soon. What I can tell you is that there are potential gains to be reaped from the new master plan in our projects.
That concludes Gafisa's conference for today. Thank you very much for participating. Good day. Have a good day. Bye-bye.