Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Hidrovias do Brasil earnings conference call for the second quarter of 2025. Joining us today are Décio Amaral, Chief Executive Officer; André Hacem, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer; and Gabriela Colo, Investor Relations Manager. This event is being recorded and will be available on the company's Investor Relations website. In using the comments from Hidrovias management, there will be a question and answer session when further instructions will be provided. We emphasize that the simultaneous translation tool is available on the platform. To access it, simply click on the "Interpretation" button at the bottom of the screen and choose your preferred language. Before proceeding, we would like to underscore that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Hidrovias management and the information currently available to the company.
These statements may involve risks as they relate to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur. Investors and analysts should consider that events related to the macroeconomic environment, the segment, and other factors could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. That said, I would like to turn the floor over to Mr. Décio Amaral to begin the presentation.
A good day, everybody, and thank you for participating in our earnings call for the second quarter of 2025. This is my first disclosure as CEO of Hidrovias do Brasil, and I would like to start by sharing some initial impressions.
I have been at the helm of the company for two months and have found a young company with only 15 years of history, but with high-quality logistic assets and well-positioned in strategic corridors in agribusiness in the Northern Arc and in the movement of fertilizers in Santos. I see the company as having great potential but requiring management to enhance its profitability. Today, despite the recent recovery and results, we operate with a single-digit return on investment capital. I believe that in over the three to five years, we will be able to advance to double digits, consistent with a robust and efficient company. An important milestone for the start of this phase was a new completion of capital increase in May, bringing in BRL 1.2 billion to the company, BRL 700 million cash inflows in that quarter.
This move definitely balances our financial situation, giving Hidrovias do Brasil a robust foundation to resume its growth agenda. In this context, we are carefully reviewing our opportunity portfolio, prioritizing projects with a greater impact on the return of invested capital. One example is the Dobra II project in the North Corridor, which has already virtually obtained all the necessary licenses. We are reevaluating the schedule in light of productivity opportunities that may allow for volume gains without additional investments. Our goal is to act with capital discipline, executing each step at the right time and based on concrete evidence to ensure consistent results and sustain the ROIC recovery trajectory. We will present more details on this strategic agenda at Ultra Par Day at the end of September, when we will share our medium-term vision and growth priorities. Now, if you could please turn to slide five.
We had a positive quarter with the North Corridor sustained by the tariff adjustments implemented at the beginning of the year, strengthening the profitability of the operation. In the Southern Corridor, we had a consistent recovery of results because of better navigability and because of the volume sold of iron ore. In Santos, we continued to be focused on operational results to prepare the asset to capture all of its performance, and we remind you that this is a docking year. With this, we reached an adjusted recurring EBITDA of BRL 348 million in the quarter and BRL 604 million in the first half of the year. With that, I will conclude my remarks and turn the floor over to André Hacem, our Chief Financial Officer, to detail the results by operation. Thank you.
Thank you, Décio.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for attending another Hidrovias do Brasil earnings call. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that the figures presented are pro forma and therefore include the results of the cabotage operation for better comparability, as we did in the first quarter. Let's move on to slide seven. In the quarter, our throughput was 2.2 million tons, an increase of 7% compared with the second quarter of 2023, and 18% compared to the first quarter of 2023, reflecting seasonality of the harvest. We had 4 million tons handled, the volume 2% lower than last year, impacted by the harvest delays, but partially offset in revenue by positive tariff adjustments implemented this year. As a result, net operating revenue reached BRL 307 million in the quarter, an increase of 17% vis-à-vis 2024, totaling BRL 556 million.
Now, we reach BRL 194 million in EBITDA, up 16% compared to 2024 and 28% compared to the first quarter of the year. In the first half of the year, EBITDA totaled BRL 346 million, an increase of 5% year-on-year. For the third quarter, considering normalized navigation conditions, we expect good results observed in the second quarter to continue, sustained by similar volume and tariff adjustments. It is worth noting that in the annual comparison, the third quarter of 2024 already reflected the impacts of lower draft levels in the operation. Let's go on to slide number eight, where we discuss the results of the Southern Corridor. In this operation, navigation conditions remain adequate, as mentioned by Décio, because of seasonality of rains and dredging and rock removal efforts. This has translated into volumes closer to what would be normal in the corridor.
In the quarter, we handled 1.4 million tons, a volume significantly higher than both the same period in 2024 and the previous quarter. In the first half of the year, we reached 2.5 million tons, a 46% increase compared to 2024, and a mix similar to that observed in 2023. Net operating revenue was BRL 284 million in the quarter and BRL 492 million in the first half, up 48% and 65% respectively when compared to the same period in 2024. Adjusted recurring EBITDA totaled BRL 140 million in the quarter and BRL 232 million in the first half, reflecting both the increase in volumes and operational normalization. After non-recurring events of asset transfers between corridors in 2024, EBITDA margin for the half-year reached 47%, an increase of 28 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
It is worth noting that in 2025, we ended the hedge accounting recorded in this operation, an effect that was already adjusted by the operating company and not operating results and adjusted EBITDA. Looking ahead, we expect that we will continue to reflect the navigability conditions with emphasis on the maintenance of iron ore, albeit slightly below the historical record of 2023, and the consequent evolution of EBITDA vis-à-vis 2024. Moving to slide nine for the results of cabotage, we moved a volume of 872,000 tons of bauxite, 13% above the first quarter but lower than the same quarter in 2024, because in the first half of the year, we docked one of our assets, incurring additional expenditures for maintenance of the asset. In the first half of the year, we handled 1.6 million tons, 15% below the previous year due to the same docking effects.
Net operating revenue totaled BRL 68 million in the quarter and BRL 134 million in the first half, an increase of 7% and 12% respectively, reflecting exchange rate effects and trips completed in the accounting period. Adjusted recurring EBITDA for the quarter was BRL 24 million, 22% below last year, and accumulating BRL 45 million in the first half, 18% below the same period last year because of docking and exchange rate impacts. Looking ahead, we expect the next quarter's results will reflect the completion of the docking process and go back to a more normal operation. Finally, we go on to the results of the Santos operation on slide 10. In terms of volume, we handled 431,000 tons, up 22% vis-à-vis the same period 2024, and 871,000 tons year to date, up 23% from the first half of 2024.
This performance mainly reflects the start of salt operations in the second half of last year, as fertilizer volumes were lower than in the previous year. Net operating revenue was BRL 31 million in the quarter, up 10% over 2024, totaling BRL 65 million in the quarter, also with a 10% increase. This evolution reflects the entry of salt into the operation, but also the mix effect, representing 30% of the volume handled in the semester. Recurring adjusted EBITDA was BRL 10 million in the same quarter, in line with the first quarter of 2025, but 19% below the same period in 2024, totaling BRL 20 million in the first half. This, because of difficulties we face in the terminal, we expect similar results to those observed in the second quarter for the third quarter. Now, let's go on to slide 12.
The consolidated result shows the movement of 4.9 million tons in the quarter, the second highest volume in the company's history, and 9 million tons in the first half of the year, surpassing the same period last year, driven mainly by recovery and navigability in the Southern Corridor. Net operating revenue on a pro forma basis reached BRL 690 million in the quarter, up 27% vis-à-vis the second quarter of 2024, totaling BRL 1.2 billion in the quarter, up 25% over the same period in 2024. With consistent recovery in the North and South Corridors, recurring adjusted EBITDA reached BRL 348 million in the quarter and BRL 604 million in the first half, up 39% and 45% in one year, respectively. These results reflect more normalized navigation conditions we saw in the South and a more favorable tariff environment in the North.
On slide 13, we present Hidrovias do Brasil's financial results, highlighting the reduction in leverage, ending the quarter at 4.0 times net debt/EBITDA, a reduction of 1.7 times net debt/EBITDA compared to the same period last year. This improvement reflects both operational improvements and the effects of the capital increase completed in May of this year. During the quarter, we completed the repurchase of part of the company's bond through a local dependent issue. This brought significant benefits by maintaining a competitive cost in debt, and our debt went from 79% in dollars to 38% in June 2025. This transaction is also eliminating covenants associated with the previous bond, bringing greater flexibility and alignment in Hidrovias do Brasil's new risk profile. This strategic move strengthens our financial structure, preserving competitive cost conditions and mitigating risks associated with exchange rate volatility.
Now, this happened after Ultra Par took control, and it was also guaranteed by the controlling shareholder, which reflected in our risk perfection. At the end of the quarter, our average duration was 4.5 years and a weighted average cost of debt at 102.7% of the CDI. With this, I would like to conclude the presentation, and along with Décio, I am available to answer any questions. Thank you very much.
We will now go on to the question and answer session. Should you wish to pose a question, please click on the Q&A icon at the bottom of the screen and write in your question. To ask your questions live, click on "Raise Hand." Our first question is from Fernanda Recchia. You may proceed, ma'am.
Good morning, everybody. We have two questions at our end.
I would like to explore the competitiveness of the North Corridor, and you said that the tariffs improved in the North, and of course, this will help you because in your scenario, you are maintaining flat prices. Will the level of tariffs be sustainable going forward, which will be the scenario for the second half of the year and 2026? I take advantage to welcome Décio, wish him a great deal of luck, and would like to ask about the short-term priorities. Your priorities, Décio, which will be your short-term focus for Hidrovias, and if we should expect significant changes. Thank you very much.
Good morning, Fernanda. This is Hacem. I will answer the first question, and Décio will answer the second. Regarding competitiveness, as we can observe, Hidrovias has adopted several measures to eliminate debt. We're not exposed to the spot tariffs for the time being.
What we have observed in the harvest is that there was a delay in the harvest, and when we look at the new harvest, there is an increase in volumes, but with a different behavior of the products. They're holding back on marketing, and what we see is a market with a lower demand that we would wish to see. This will be regressed until the end of the year, and in our tariff part, we're not exposed to the spot market because we have taken the necessary measures.
Fernanda, good morning, and thank you for your question.
I'm here completing 60 days at the helm of Hidrovias, and as I mentioned in the introduction, we're positioned in very interesting markets in the North with the outlook for good growth, the fertilizer market in Santos, where we have a bottleneck, and we have a grain export held being outflowed by Paraná, and this is one of the most relevant waterways in the continent with a good outlook for growth. Now, when we look at the assets we have, there is something that is incompatible, our one-digit ROIC. It doesn't make sense. Now, it doesn't make sense to work with that level of return on invested capital. I have a greater fascination for ROIC than for EBITDA. Therefore, in the short term, and we're working on this, is to identify the internal and external bottlenecks that don't allow us to make the most of the assets.
This is the priority of my management to materialize the use of the assets, to reduce our operational cost, and to gain significant productivity in operations. A highly assertive capital allocation in those bottlenecks that require investment in the coming three to five years. We want to work with a two-digit ROIC, which is what an infrastructure company should have to invest with the appropriate leverage. To complete the question, price, it's not under our control. We control players with the lowest cost and those that add more value to their client. This will be the focus of our management.
Thank you very much. Have a good day.
Our next question comes from Matheus Sant'Anna from XP. You may proceed with your question, sir.
Good morning, Décio and Hacem. I have two questions.
The first, I would like to go back to that concession for the installation of a floating terminal in Vila do Conde. Last week, there was the approval of the final stages before the installation. I would like to know which is your mindset regarding this asset, and there has been a delay of two years in terms of the installation. The second question, which is your vision, short-term and long-term vision for the North and South in terms of draft? In the short term, it seems to be positive. I think we won't be repeating the scenario of the last year of a very intensive drought. What will happen with the concession of the two waterways and the changes that DENIT is making and could make?
Thank you. Thank you for the question. This is Hacem, and then Décio will speak about dredging.
Now, we're working with PDZ, and what happened in December? We had that project of the buoys that, of course, are delayed. We are facing difficulties in terms of licenses to begin the operation, but it is not linked to the PDZ. At this point, we don't have a forecast in terms of this project. I believe that we will address that stage that will be called intermedia, where we will be able to conclude these buoys.
Morning, this is Décio. Thank you for the question. To speak about the draft that we can expect in the waterways, this is an important factor to resolve issues that are external to the operation, but that have a huge impact in the South. Outside of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, the draft is doing very well. We have seen significant strides in Brazil.
Some of the licenses are still pending, but in Brazil, the hydrological regime has been favorable, and in the midterm, we would not want to undergo what we underwent at the end of last year. In the North, the situation is favorable. We work with some dredging this year, not fully, and we're working proactively so that we can have the right intervention if something happens. In the long term, things are better. The government has understood the importance of waterways in Brazil and what we need to guarantee navigability is a concession of the waterway. We're working closely with the government to have this concession. The first concession will be for Paraguay. It is in the final stages of the Tribunal of Accounts, and this will guarantee dredging in the long term. In the North, the concession is somewhat ahead.
We're thinking of making a dredging contract for three years until the concession materializes. In the midterm, we will have concessions, and this is an issue that has been well set forth. Of course, we have to work with the regulatory environment, and perhaps if we want to participate in the concession, we will carry out that decision at that time. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Our next question comes from Gabriel Frazão from Bank of America. You may proceed, sir.
Good morning, everybody. Thank you for taking my questions. My question is a follow-up on the increase of the ROIC. In the first question, if you could give us an idea of some of the initiatives you are surveying or that you have put in practice to increase the ROIC, and when should these initiatives be implemented in the company?
Another point regards the results of the company that were higher than usual in this quarter because of the expansion of the derivatives and the amortization of the cost of capital. What has justified this expansion? Was there something non-recurrent, or is this the normalized situation?
Thank you. This is Hacem. From the viewpoint of ROIC, the expectation is to speak about the main initiatives going forward. We have an infrastructure company, and we have reasonable immobilized capital. We have two terminals, two peak. We have in the South a fleet of eight tugboats, and the terminal at Santos represents most of our immobilized capital. We would like to do more with the same assets. If we're able to bring in more profit on our installed base, we will seek more efficiency and productivity, reduce our costs so that we can improve our working capital as well.
This means a better fleet management, a more efficient fleet management. What is important is to obtain more from the same asset base. Now, let me speak about very tangible issues. We think this is rocket science. This year, we had several interruptions in the reception of trucks because of transport plagia. The asset is there, but the trucks are not able to arrive there. We're very close to Via Brasil. They're trying to help us to build a new access. The topography is already underway. It should be built until the end of the year, which will allow us to work again with this asset and boarding and onboarding windows. We have restrictions when it comes to unloading a ship, and we can't do this because of the tides.
We have carried out all of the studies, and we are presenting this to the marine to work with new schedules. These are internal problems, sometimes external problems that will help us work more with our asset and, of course, improve the ROIC. Now, we're attempting to resolve internal and external issues. I think Hacem wants to answer the second question regarding the financial results.
The results of the second quarter were impacted by some extraordinary moves that we carried out. What did we do during the second quarter? We bought back our bond 2031 and the issuance of a new debenture to help us with the net. Along with this, we are working to reduce our foreign exchange exposure, and for this, we're using some derivatives. What do we have at present because of these moves? We're thinking more structurally first.
We want to reduce the exchange rate exposure we have in the balance. We had 80% of our debt pegged to the dollar. We have reduced this to 40%, and we want to reduce it even further to be more adherent to our exposure. Secondly, our strategy here is to have exchange rate neutrality. These derivatives are being offset with work in the debt itself. It's a hedge position trying to neutralize our exposure, and our indebtedness profile going forward will improve. We don't have the hedging anymore. This is being eliminated. We paid this out in January, and what is left of the hedge account will remain in cabotage, and the expectation is to address this in the second half of the year. Everything will be easier to model. The stake of our debt will be in local currency, and we will no longer have this hedge accounting.
We would like to remind you that when we think of leverage levels, at present, we are at 4.0 times net debt/EBITDA, but our LTM is very similar to the results of the first half. We're going to focus on leverage and indicators, and we will have a significant reduction in leverage in the second half. Thank you.
Thank you very much. That was very clear.
Our next question comes from Mr. Pedro Tineo from Itaú BBA. You may proceed, sir.
Good morning, everybody. Thank you for taking my question. In truth, I have two. The first, you mentioned that the waterway is the main low-cost provider. Now, the costs are being more pressured. There is a delay in the delivery of harvest and much more. In the short term, how can you maximize ROIC? Which is the room for ROIC to expand? Only working on tariffs.
The second question, cash generation. This quarter, you had an operational cash generation of BRL 300 million. Now, for the rest of the year and 2026, is there any guidance that you could disclose? Some cash conversion, and which will be that CAPEX in the short and medium term? Thank you .
Thank you for the question. Let's go to the first one. When we think about pricing, I'm not going to go into the specifics point by point, but there are opportunities. When we look at Brazil and the year 2026, we, first of all, see a growth in our harvest. There will be a higher pressure in outflow and no relevant capacity in the system, especially in the North Corridor. The bottlenecks that exist will continue. We can optimize our pricing, of course, and if we think about the coming year, we're going to try to grow.
There will be an increase in demand, but very little reaction in terms of the supply. This is what we imagine for the coming year. Without great details, in the Southern Corridor, we have a significant part of the demand that has been contracted. We see a more stable situation, an appetite of the mining industry in the South, and healthy levels. Very generally, this is what is going to happen in our two operations. When we think of cash generation, we have the following expectation. If we continue with good navigability conditions, we should see our operational results improving. As Décio mentioned, in terms of the ROIC, the expectation is to continue to grow our results. Unless, we have to have relevant CAPEX to do this.
With this, we also have two additional points: a reduction of leverage, the debt service should drop in the coming quarters, and we have been striving to fiscally optimize the company. What you saw this quarter, the expectation is to continue this way. We're going to try to reproduce results, maintain the CAPEX under control, use most of it for maintenance, financial results, reduce the company's leverage. Very generally, this is what I can give you in terms of a guidance.
Thank you. That was very clear.
Ou r next question comes from Filipe Nielsen from Citi. You may proceed, sir.
Good morning, and thank you for taking our questions. My question refers to the system capacity with a focus on the North. You spoke during the call about capturing efficiency. You have floating buoys that should still come into operation.
How can we think about the capacity of the North system? This quarter, it was somewhat impacted by the reception of the trucks, but you have had three quarters of 1.7, 1.8 million tons per quarter during moments with a very good hydrology. Now, how can we look upon that capacity for the second half of the year? You have to prepare for a possible drought. Another question regarding Santos. If you still have the effect of the volume mix, some inefficiencies, I believe, in that joint operation, which has been the evolution of efficiency, and when should we see a more normalized operation in Santos?
Felipe, this is Décio. In the short term, we should see an increase of accessibility in Miripituba, and we should have a better performance vis-à-vis the first half.
In the longer horizon, we want to have a productivity gain in the entire system and take advantage of the investments that are being made at present. The buoy, for example, to have a better vision. Please participate in our Ultra Par Day. We have an expansion of capacity internally called Dobra TUP. We should have the necessary licenses in the next couple of months. Now, this investment is made so that we can take everything we can out of the present-day system. If necessary, if strategic, we will immediately begin to make more investments. Regarding Santos, you are right. We had a new operation for waterways. We had significant learnings. When learning about the mix of salt with fertilizers, this first half of the year was somewhat weak in terms of fertilizers for everybody. We know what has to be done.
We see that we can have important gains of productivity and capacity, but this, of course, involves the negotiation of contracts quarter on quarter. This asset will consistently begin to perform better, but it's a journey. It's not something that will happen overnight. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
With this, we would like to conclude the question and answer session for today. I would like to turn the floor over to the CEO for the closing remarks.
I would like to thank all of you for your attendance and for the questions. In the case we did not respond to one of your questions, the IR team will send you the responses in the coming days, and in the Ultra Par Day, we will give you more details for a very healthy management of the company. We hope to see you soon.
The conference ends here.
We would like to thank all of you for your attendance, and we wish you a very good afternoon.