Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to MBRF's earnings call to discuss the results for the third quarter of 2025. This conference is being recorded, and a replay will be made available on the company's website at ri.mbrf.com. The presentation is also available for download. At this time, all participants are connected in listen-only mode. Afterwards, we'll begin the Q&A session when further instructions will be provided. Before we proceed, I would like to remind everyone that any forward-looking statements made during this conference call are based on the beliefs and assumptions of MBRF's management, as well as on information currently available to the company. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, as they refer to future events, and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur.
Investors, analysts, and members of the press should take into consideration that factors related to the macroeconomic environment, the industry, and other operational conditions may cause actual effects to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Joining us on today's conference call are Mr. Miguel Gularte, CEO; Mr. Tim Klein, CEO of North America Operations; Mr. José Ignácio Scoseria, CFO; and Mr. Fábio Mariano, Vice President of the Halal Market and future CEO of Sadia Halal. I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Miguel, who will begin the presentation. Please, Mr. Miguel, you may proceed.
Good morning. It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to MBRF's earnings call for the third quarter of 2025 results. This is our first earnings presentation since the creation of MBRF. The figures reflect the consistency in executing our strategy focused on high performance and value creation.
In the third quarter, we achieved an important milestone. We recorded the highest volume since 2022 and the highest consolidated EBITDA of 2025, BRL 3.5 billion, with a net income of BRL 94 million. In this quarter, we had investments in innovation, operational excellence, social and environmental responsibility, and market diversification, especially in the Middle East, where we strengthened our presence through the expansion of the partnership with HPDC and the creation of Sadia Halal. We remain focused on expanding our active customer base and strengthening an increasingly robust portfolio with high-value-added products. We continue to uphold our commitment to delivering quality food to consumers around the world, now through a 100% integrated multi-protein platform. Now, I'd like to invite our CFO, José Ignácio Scoseria, to present this quarter's results in detail. I will return afterwards for final remarks.
Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for joining MBRF's conference call. We will now go over the consolidated results for the third quarter of 2025, which cover the following business segments: North America Beef, South America Beef, and BRF. I would like to highlight that in Q3 2025, we generated BRL 41.8 billion in consolidated net revenue, a 9.2% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA totaled BRL 3.5 billion, with a consolidated margin of 8.4%. Operating cash flow reached BRL 3.3 billion. Net income came at BRL 94 million. Finally, we closed the quarter with leverage at 3.09 times the EBITDA of the last 12 months. On the next slide, on the left, we show the year-over-year evolution of total and segment volumes.
We recorded a 3.7% increase in volume compared to the same period in 2024, driven by the South America Beef and BRF operations. On the total net revenue generated in Q3 2025, we reached BRL 41.8 billion. North America Beef accounted for 47%, BRF 39%, and South America 14%. In this third quarter, adjusted EBITDA was BRL 3.5 billion, with a margin of 8.4%. BRF accounted for 71%, South America 18%, and North America 11%. Currency-wise, 73% of our consolidated revenue was generated in dollars, 25% in BRL. On this quarter's BRL 41.8 billion in revenue, 75% came from international operations. 40% of the sales volume came from processed value-added products. This reinforces the company's geographic diversification and multi-protein portfolio. We will now present the performance by business segment. I'll turn it over to Tim Klein that will talk about the results of the North American operation.
Thank you, Ignácio. Let's begin on slide 6, where I will comment on the results for the third quarter. Starting on the first chart on the left, sales volume was 6.3% lower than the same period of the previous year. Industry slaughter volume was down 8% as a result of reduced cattle placements and extended feeding periods. Record cattle prices relative to feed cost of gain, coupled with high replacement cattle prices, incentivized cattle feeders to feed cattle longer. As a result, live weights have increased significantly. Net sales were BRL 3.6 billion, an increase of 12.2% versus last year. EBITDA was BRL 74.1 million, 6.4% lower than last year, with an EBITDA margin of 2%. Beef demand in the quarter continues strong in spite of record prices at retail. Although boxed beef prices have increased, it's not enough to offset sharply higher cattle prices.
Now I'll move to slide 7, where I will talk about U.S. market data. Starting on the left, USDA reported Kansas live cattle prices averaged 235.60 per hundredweight, up 26.7% versus last year. The USDA comprehensive cutout averaged 386.30 per hundredweight, up 23.1%, while the USDA reported drop credit increased 2.7% to an average of 11.76 per hundredweight. The USDA cutout ratio was 1.64 versus 1.69 last year. As expected, the cyclical decline in cattle supplies, exacerbated by drought conditions the last several years, has resulted in record prices and reduced capacity utilization across the industry. We continue to be encouraged by strong beef demand and expect this to continue as we move through this part of the cycle. Now I'll pass to Ignácio.
Thank you, Tim. Let's now move on to slide number 8, where we'll see third quarter performance of our South America operations, including the assets in Uruguay. Starting with the chart on the left, we reached 291,000 tons in this quarter, 17.6% higher than the same period last year. This growth results from the increased capacity implemented by the company over the past few years. Moving to the chart in the middle, net revenue reached BRL 5.7 billion, 18% higher than in the third quarter of 2024. In the chart on the right, we see adjusted EBITDA totaling BRL 628 million, a 31.8% increase over the third quarter of 2024. This performance can be explained by the combination of capacity expansion, higher plant utilization and efficiency, and a greater share of value-added products.
As a result, we reached an EBITDA margin of 11.1%, an increase of 120 basis points compared to the same period in 2024. Moving on to the next slide, I will discuss the evolution of volumes in the region and the export dynamics. We delivered strong volume growth in South America, with a 40% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024. In this quarter, exports accounted for 39.9% of total revenue in the region. Asia accounts for 56% of South America Beef exports. We've been focusing on expanding our sales channels to new markets. In this context, sales to Europe grew by 4 percentage points, rising from 15% in Q2 2024 to 19% in the current quarter. Exports from South America to the United States accounted for 14% of total export revenue in the period.
On slide 10, we see the results of BRF operations, which in this quarter reached the highest volume in its history, up 5% year-over-year. In the domestic market, we observed steady volume growth, particularly in the processed food category. The company's geographic diversification helped to mitigate the effects of the avian flu restrictions that temporarily limited poultry exports during the quarter. Net revenue reached 16.3 billion BRL, a 5.4% increase compared to the third quarter 2024. We reported 2.4 billion BRL in EBITDA, with a healthy margin of 15.5%. On the next slide, on the left-hand side, we highlight the progress in commercial execution and the expansion of our client base, which now reaches 340,000 points of sale. Both advances contributed to a record sales volume in Brazil. Logistics service levels remain strong despite higher volumes.
Over the past 2 years, we delivered an 18% increase in processed food volumes in the domestic market. On the right-hand side, we now present the international market highlights: expansion of the joint venture with HPDC, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's sovereign fund, and the creation of Sadia Halal, a multi-protein leader in the halal market. This initiative strengthens the strategic partnership, unlocking value in a market that is characterized by rising protein consumption and abundant capital. We obtained 16 new export licenses during the period, 214 new authorizations since 2022, allowing us to mitigate the impact of temporary poultry export restrictions. We increased beef shipments to China. In October, we completed the acquisition of Gelprime, which will contribute to a higher share of value-added products in our portfolio and expanded profitability. Regarding our brands, we continue to advance in different markets where we operate.
In Brazil, we highlight the strong performance of the processed food category, which recorded sales growth and market share gains. We maintained market leadership in the GCC with the Sadia brand and in Turkey with the Banvit brand. In the Southern Cone, we emphasize the strength and leadership of our brands: Sadia in breaded products in Chile and Paty in burgers in Argentina. On slide 14, we summarize our key sustainability highlights. We achieved 100% satellite monitoring of direct cattle and grain suppliers. Among indirect cattle suppliers, we reached 91.4% monitoring coverage in the Amazon region and 88.4% in the Cerrado region. We now were included in the ISE portfolio, and we were awarded with the Gold Seal in the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program, recognizing our transparency in disclosing greenhouse gas emissions inventories. We joined the Brazil Without Waste Program, an initiative to reduce food loss and waste.
On slide 16, we present our capital structure and cash flow performance. In Q3 2025, consolidated operating cash flow was positive at 3.3 billion BRL. CapEx investments totaled 1.4 billion BRL, and financial expenses amounted to 1.36 billion BRL. As a result, recurring free cash flow for the quarter was positive at 555 million BRL. The next slide shows consolidated net debt for the period. We reported net debt of 41.3 billion BRL at the end of Q3 2025, a 10% increase compared to Q2 2025, primarily due to share buybacks, dividend payments, and withdrawals related to the merger process. Excluding these effects, net debt would have been 2.2% lower compared to Q2 2025. Leverage ratio stood at 3.09x . Next, we share details on synergies mapped from the business combination and merge. Synergy levers were thoroughly studied after 3 years of joint work between the Marfrig and BRF teams.
The cultural and management alignment provides a clear understanding of opportunities and reduces execution risks. The synergies we mapped were grouped into four main areas, totaling BRL 1 billion, with approximately BRL 600 million expected to be captured in 2026 and the remainder between 2027 and 2028. Out of the total amount, 60% will impact gross profit, while 40% will impact SG&A. In corporate structure optimization, we estimate BRL 230 million in synergies fully captured next year. In supply initiatives, we mapped synergies from supply chain efficiencies and value engineering projects, totaling BRL 407 million. In commercial and logistics, we expect to achieve BRL 230 million by 2028 through cross-selling, distribution channel optimization in Brazil and abroad, and integrated logistics operations in our distribution centers. Additionally, we have several systems and management platform integration initiatives, primarily impacting SG&A. Finally, regarding tax optimization, our estimate remains valid.
We are prepared and enthusiastic to move forward in capturing synergies and creating greater value for all MBRF shareholders. Thank you, and I'll hand the floor back to our CEO, Miguel Gularte, for his closing remarks.
Thank you, Ignácio. To wrap up our presentation, I would like to emphasize that we remain firmly committed to our sustainable growth journey, with a strong focus on value creation. During this quarter, the company distributed 3.8 billion BRL in dividends, reaffirming our commitment to delivering consistent value to our shareholders. In North America, results were driven by production rationalization and growing demand for beef protein. In South America, we significantly expanded volumes thanks to recent investments in our industry. At BRF, we achieved the highest volume in the company's history, with a strong growth in processed products. Furthermore, our market diversification strategy was crucial in sustaining volume growth, even amid export restrictions on poultry. This allowed us to mitigate risks and capture opportunities in high-demand regions, reinforcing our operational resilience. At BRF, our efficiency program continues to deliver solid results, generating 355 million BRL in the period.
We also launched the implementation of MBRF+ , expanding this methodology across the entire organization, and we began capturing the first synergies resulting from the merger. We furthermore strengthened our presence in the Middle East through the expansion of our joint venture and the launch of Sadia Halal, the world's largest Halal chicken company. We continue to move forward with consistency and determination, supported by the trust and the strategic guidance of our chairman and controlling shareholder, Marcos Molina. We thank our shareholders and the board of directors for their continued support, our customers, integrated producers, suppliers, and the communities where we operate. And above all, we express our deep gratitude to MBRF's 130,000 employees worldwide, whose dedication made all these achievements possible. Thank you so much.
We now begin the Q&A session for investors and analysts. In case you wish to ask a question, please press to raise your hand if your question was answered. You can leave the queue clicking on the same button. Wait while we collect questions. First question by Henrique Brustolin from Bradesco BBI. Please make sure you are on the Portuguese channel to ask your questions in Portuguese.
Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for answering this question. I have two points I wanted to explore for BRF. Number one, we saw that the EBITDA margin is at 90 points. That was a decrease this quarter, but we realized there was a problem with avian flu. That's why you might have seen this decrease. Can you please elaborate on that? What were the effects of the avian flu to your results? So maybe non-recurring results in this quarter.
Also, I'd like to ask about profitability in your operations and the ones that do not see such an impact, for example, processed food in the domestic market. Can you please break that down? What was the effect of this flu and what we can expect moving forward? Still on that note, prices for the domestic market, there was a 3% decrease quarter-over-quarter. Does that have to do with the in natura? Or should we also look at processed food?
Good morning, Henrique. With regards to profitability at BRF this quarter, there are two main points. On the one hand, like we said during the presentation, we're still on this journey to add more value to the company. We reached an all-time high in processed food volume this quarter, growing 7% year-over-year and 5% quarter-over-quarter.
If we consider this profitability scenario, the scenario was quite healthy in some key categories. So for processed food, this is something the company has been building over the past quarters. This was the main highlight. Results have been quite robust in the third quarter. Like you said, there was a decrease to the average prices in Brazil that can primarily be explained by the prices of fresh protein, especially broilers. So there was a price reduction because of the product mix exported to China that was redirected to the domestic market, especially wings and bone-in legs. So the average price decreased. And of course, there was an impact to fresh meat average prices in the domestic market, but we now believe this situation can be reversed. Regarding the impact in China, the market is quite dynamic.
Now we just have to see how things will go for the medium term. Now, what I can tell you is that if we think of direct impact, before the closing of the Chinese market, we were exporting more than 7,000 tons of chicken to China a month, and the price gap as compared to alternative markets was $2,000 a ton average, and this accounts for direct effects only. If we think of all the impacts of the avian flu and the impacts to the market and how things were redirected, there was a change to the flow and pricing in the market, as well as indirect impacts, and I will not be quantifying that right here, but of course, there was an impact to our profitability this quarter. Still, we're seeing amazing performance for processed food. EBITDA was flat as compared to the previous quarter.
Let me just add to José Ignácio's answer, Henrique. It's interesting to see the chart on page 5 of our presentation. You see how diversified the company's portfolio is: 40% processed food. That is important to highlight. On May the 15th, when we were communicated about avian flu, we immediately at BRF, we took a stance and we used the Sadia brand and the Perdigão brand. We positioned ourselves properly in the domestic market. Since we were fast enough and we have strong brands, there was no impact to the domestic market. But it's also important to say that over the past 2 years, we worked hard for new permits. We have almost 200 new permits that were given over the past 2 years.
If you look at September SECEX data, you can see that at the MENA region, in the past 2 years, these markets had figures that were above the Asian market, China included, before the avian flu event. So I think we did really well. That was a great opportunity to diversify our markets. We're now reaping the benefits of having made the right investments. And in our portfolio, we now have this 40%, which makes us way more resilient as compared to what happened with this sanitary event.
Our next question, Thiago from BTG. Thiago, speak in the Portuguese channel. Over to you.
Hello, good morning, everyone. Nice to talk to you. I wanted to go back to a question on prices in the domestic market for the BRF segment. Based on Ignácio's answer, it's relatively clear that you see that this drop is driven by fresh products.
But I would like to hear if you can tell us, order of magnitude, the evolution of processed food prices this quarter, where you gained market share. We saw volume increases, but I would like to see the dynamics of average prices. And do you see there is an impact on product mix? That's my question number one. Question number two, when we look at your inventories, there was a significant increase in your inventory account of raw material. When we break that down by Marfrig or BRF, BRF is very relevant. It seems that you built relevant inventory of grains, I imagine, for the next periods. So could you comment on how much production do you have stored today? Well, grain-wise in BRF, for how many months or for how many quarters do you have enough grain inventory? Those are my questions. Thank you.
Good morning, Thiago.
As for price dynamics in processed foods, what we saw over the quarter was basically maintained solid market. Some key categories have more consumption, mainly cold cuts and spreads. As for the price dynamics, if you see the evolution in the quarter, it was flat overall, but within that category, we had greater growth of part of our portfolio that has a lower average price. So there is a mixed impact in cold cuts and spreads. We grew more, so indirectly, if the price was flat, but we grew more in products with lower price. So the market was healthy, and we are evolving as we were in the first half of the year. As for working capital, you touched on the main points for the quarter. We had increased inventory of about 1.5 million, almost everything at BRF. That increase was in line with the season.
We grew more than BRL 1 billion in grains. We enjoyed market opportunities in terms of grain supply with the second crop of corn. And we had record procurement of grains in the summer. That makes us comfortable as to how that grain is consumed as a reference. You can take our history since last year, which is a good proxy in order to model that. So this year, we bought a little above average. We made the most of opportunities, but you can use our historical procurement within inventory. There is a seasonal component, as you saw, about BRL 300 million that was realized in Q4.
Next question by Leonardo Alencar from XP. Mr. Leonardo, please make sure you select the Portuguese channel.
Good morning, Miguel, José Ignácio. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for taking my question. Congratulations on your results. Now, still on BRF, can we focus on Turkey a bit?
This region has been letting us down over the past quarters, but we see that there was an interesting change considering your product mix. Can you please give us some more details profitability-wise as compared to history data? Are we still below the potential we can achieve? There was a great increase and growth in processed food because we're unlocking plant capacity. And I believe that with the investments that are being made, we've got more room to unlock this processed food line. And the oversupply context is worse for fresh food than processed food. Can you please talk about Turkey a bit more? Thank you for giving us details on the synergies between the two companies. But when you think of the short term, moving towards 2026, is there any seasonality effect we should expect quarter-over-quarter? Are we going to follow up on these synergies every quarter?
What about SG&A? It seems that the third quarter saw a decrease considering revenue percentage. Despite strong growth in South America and BRF's volume, there was a decrease in National's volume. But should we still expect to capture more value and efficiencies out of these synergies moving towards 2026? Thank you very much.
Good morning, Leonardo. The question on Turkey. I'll hand the floor over to our Halal VP, who will become the CEO of Sadia Halal. Fábio Mariano is on the call, so he can answer that question. But before talking about synergies, it's important to remember that structural changes made at MBRF were made in late October, early November. Of course, we are still going to see the effects over the next quarters. We have prepared this merge quite assertively. We wanted to do it in as little time as possible.
We spent three years preparing the merge so that the companies had the same culture with the same controller. There was a family-based guideline in both companies. So this was mapped already, so much so that when we published the merge, there was a possibility of getting to BRL 805 million increase in synergies, and we're getting as high as BRL 1 billion already. So we're working so as to increase synergies and capturing more value. This has been the characteristic of this management team. If you remember, in the past three years, we worked on the BRF+ program. BRF+ has always delivered above our expectations. In the past few months, we've been working so as to build what will be MBRF+ 2026 with metrics and KPIs that used to be controlled and adjusted at BRF, and this is going to become the MBRF program, including beef.
With that, I'll hand the floor over to Fábio so he can talk about Turkey.
Good morning, Leonardo. Let's talk about Turkey. It's important to say that 75% of what we sell in the region are fresh products and 25% processed food. For processed products, it's part of the company's strategy, just like in any other region, to grow in value-added products. This has been happening already. In 2022, we used to sell 50,000 tons a year of processed products. Now, in Turkey, we already sell 80,000 tons, a 60% growth in just a few years. And we still have a lot of room to grow in processed products. In the region, we may find the greatest spread for processed food as compared to fresh food. Eight to ten points is the profitability difference, historically speaking. But that will, of course, demand investments.
Production capacity nowadays, with some layout adjustments, can help us produce more processed food, and the market does have opportunities. Our market share in Turkey is equivalent to 20% or 25%, depending on the category, and the Banvit brand is the preferred brand of 40% of customers, so we can improve our portfolio even further, bringing more profitability to the region and reducing volatility in our results. You mentioned it really well. Results are a bit below history data margins because of the increase in production of fresh chicken, and if you compare this number year to date, we see a 13% gap, but that should be balanced soon enough. This trend is already ongoing, moving forward to next year, but we're going to place our bets in growing value-added products since this has been happening already since 2022. We believe that's the way forward.
Leonardo, now just following up on that, let me give you some more figures. In the third quarter, we see no impact of the synergies. If you look at the figures, that's a fact. We announced this in October. So these numbers should be reflected on the fourth quarter's numbers. There's a capture that will help us ramp up in 2026 out of the 370 million impact in SG&A. 160 million will be for structure. And in 2026 and 2027, with the optimized streamlined structure, the remainder 200 million, which are basically for supply and others. We should capture this even further in 2026. And we believe we'll ramp up even further. And of course, we're going to follow up on this evolution and talk to you about that in the next quarters.
Our next question, Gustavo Troyano from Itaú BBA. Remember to select Portuguese to ask your question. Over to you.
Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. Actually, I'd like to discuss the poultry cycles that you see in Brazil and in the U.S. We have seen important price reductions in the U.S. And I'd like to hear from you if you see any increased competition in the international market, if that price reduction might put more pressure on exports from the U.S. that might affect your international markets. Do you see that this competition might become important in the future quarters? And I would like to see if the current supply and demand would withstand that dynamics. Apparently, we are heading towards a scenario of shortage of protein. And still on that topic, I think you worked a lot on licensing plants to export. Looking forward, how does that international competition affect the approval of new plants for exports?
What's your outlook to approve new plants for exports in Brazil? Do you see any other opportunities? Because there are moving parts in the international scenario. How do you see new plant approvals for exports? Thank you.
Good morning, Gustavo. As to your first question, how do we see in terms of the poultry market and the poultry cycle, beginning with the U.S. market, as you mentioned? We understand that increased production in the U.S., about 3%, made us make specific decisions, and there were price drops because of normal seasonality. We do not see any pressure for next year coming from the U.S. The U.S. is likely to grow between 20% and 25% of its production, so we don't see supply pressure coming from the U.S. impacting markets where Brazil competes. Recently, we saw what the competition said about the poultry cycle for next year.
Their vision is in line with that. In the markets, we compete with them, especially chicken breast in certain regions and leg quarters in others. I think prices are healthy for the next few months. We don't see any sign that this supply might be impacting our ability to price our production. Overall, for the poultry market, for next year, we already spoke a little about the U.S. Europe is having difficulties because of the avian flu. China is the only country that has higher rates. We don't see a scenario. Growth might be between 2% and 3%, which is enough to reach a balance. I see a positive demand. As for Brazil, placement data shows a 3% growth. Production growth that was minimum. The increased placement doesn't translate into production increase. We understand that for next year, there shouldn't be major changes.
Balanced global supply and demand in Brazil will gain relevance because of our platform. I don't see any scenario where we would have something very different from what we saw this year. Continuing with what José Ignácio said, I see that the approval of new plants will continue. Those were key to face the avian flu and the Newcastle episode in the southernmost state in Brazil. We have a very good outlook in the next few weeks. We expect the announcement of the pre-list for Brazil, which would give us an opportunity to once again export to Europe. Irrespective of that, what was said, as was said before, today, we have a company that sells 40% of processed protein. That gives us resilience against any sanitary issue. Comparing 2024 to 2025, I would say that the Newcastle episode last year taught us a lot.
It gave us a roadmap for the future, so much so that the concept of regionalization and municipalization became accepted in different countries. That's why we were able to restore sales to other markets. That was faster in the case of the avian flu. Brazilian exports stopped for 30 days. After 30 days, regionalization and even municipalization started happening, and markets reopened, showing the excellent stage of biosafety for Brazilian poultry production.
Thank you.
Next question by Lucas Ferreira from JPMorgan. Mr. Ferreira, please remember to select the Portuguese channel.
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Miguel. BRF used to have 180,000 tons of processed food a month. We're getting as high as 220 now. Here's my question.
For the next 3-5 years, when you think of the market share gap for some categories and some markets, also considering the investments that are being made, what should be the processed food volume growth considering your mix, innovation, and investments? Something that is feasible, something we can expect. How much should the volume grow for the next years? If you can break that down into which categories you're thinking that can absorb this additional volume? Second question was something you touched on already. Poultry cycle, t his is now the main thing investors are afraid of nowadays. Question about Brazil. The company is now very different from what it was in the past. It is more stable, more efficient. So if you think of the poultry cycle in Brazil, the number of breeders is on the rise.
We see that placements are on the rise, but we still see many operational bottlenecks. The question is, for next year, do you think we'll see relevant growth in poultry supply in the market? Do you think that will be necessarily translated into an increase in slaughter and meat production for this market? Any figures you can share with us? How much can that poultry production increase be in Brazil? Thank you.
Good morning, Lucas. I think I can take that one, and Ignácio can add later. Now, quick correction. When you say 220,000 tons, here we include fresh products as well, and yes, the company has been growing. Ignácio can give you the figures of processed food, but we really see this new scenario. BRF has gone through a great process where we increased commercial efficiency, the number of our customer base, competitiveness in our portfolio.
We now have an active customer base that is quite efficient. We got great commercial capillarity in Brazil, and we are seeing that people are well- employed in the country. Recent data shows, well, this week, there is an income tax exemption that is going to be given to those who make up to 5,000 BRL. So early results would say that this would give an extra 30 billion BRL to the economy, out of which 10 billion BRL would be for consumption. Poultry is sold at a competitive price. We've got strong brands that perform really well in the domestic market. And of course, we're keeping an eye on all these opportunities. At first, we looked at CapEx and investments that were made by the company. That was done quite transparently in previous years. And we also invested in CapEx to grow in those categories where we saw opportunities.
Now, as we look at plants performing well at high occupancy rate and great commercial execution, by the way, commercial execution was brilliant for the domestic market, but for all geographies, despite the avian flu, we still grew our exports without price decrease that would be acceptable. Now, to talk about the domestic market before handing the floor back to Ignácio, I think it's important to remember what he said previously. We do see higher placement at 2.94, 0.3 production. Now, when you think of breeder placement, forecasts show between 61, 62, or maybe 63 million, depending on the source we look at. But there was a decrease in hatchability in almost 0.5 percentage points. These numbers should go back to 62 to 64 weeks, which means 10% less as compared to 2024 and 2025.
Now, long story short, we don't see a lack of balance between supply and demand for 2026. We think we are ready in our commercial channels that are performing really well. We're going to tirelessly keep on working and looking for new approvals. I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself, but we believe that the best option is to have many options, so we're going to keep on working on that. I think Brazil is at a good moment. The Ministry of Agriculture has been doing an amazing job opening up new opportunities for Brazilian exports. Some bad situations could have impacted us, such as the case of the avian flu, but the ministry helped open up new markets quite fast. Not only because Brazil is really important in the international exports market, but because the world needs protein, both for beef and poultry and swine.
In this market, demand is oversupply. So for a company that has this geographical diversity and a portfolio of 40% of processed food, extreme high-quality products, and a robust portfolio helps. That makes us serve these opportunities and at the same time make the most out of the new opportunities that may come up.
Good morning, Lucas. Just to add to what was said before, let me give you some figures. In the processed food category, we've been growing at BRF in the past 2 years, almost 10% a year. The main driver for growth, they are quite different if you look at Brazil as compared to the halal market. In Brazil, cold cut spreads and frozen food show great increase and growth. In some categories, we're advancing a bit more, but we're going to keep on innovating with our current product mix and creating value for this category.
There are no highlights, really. We're just investing in the whole portfolio to keep growing. Now, considering international growth, our focus is breaded food mainly and marinated food. We've just opened up a new KEZAD plant with an extra 25,000 tons of marinated and breaded products in the region. That was an expansion to an existing plant, and we're building the Jeddah plant where we'll have another 40,000 tons of additional capacity. The main focus here will be breaded products, hamburgers, so these are the main vectors, the main drivers. They are different for Brazil and for the other countries, but our strategy is to add these products to our portfolio and to grow in this segment. I think it's the same strategy, and it's one of the main highlights this quarter.
Still on that note, talking about the international context, I think it's important to highlight that there are some favorable side effects to the fact that China reopened for BRF. We've just opened the Henan plant now. And as the Chinese market reopened, we can now export raw material from Brazil to China and process this in our own plants, which allows us to foresee ramp-up in our Chinese operations at MBRF at a faster growth as compared to what we expected before.
Our next question from Isabella Simonato from Bank of America. Remember to switch to the Portuguese channel to ask your question.
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Miguel. I have a question about capital allocation. Yesterday, you announced an addition to the buyback that was announced in late September, which is quite relevant. If completely completed, over BRL 1 billion in shares buyback.
Yesterday, we saw 358. If you could give us what was already done since the opening of the program in September and the rationale of that capital allocation, considering your leverage and the company's capital structure. So you could give us some color to what has already been done and what is yet to be done. Thank you.
Good morning. Actually, yesterday, we announced that buyback program, the amount we expended to the maximum possible, not to adjust the previous announcement. The company is still focused on financial discipline. In the current interest rate scenario, we are focused on our capital structure. We want to remain focused on deleveraging the company. Since the conclusion of the merger, we understand that the share price sort of was disassociated with the performance of the company. And what we did last month was pretty much in that line.
We want to have the optionality to generate value to shareholders via buyback. Looking at market dynamics and the fundamentals of the company, we saw that as an opportunity for shareholders, and we want to have that optionality. And I emphasize that word, optionality. We continue monitoring cash generation in the company. In the last, it was BRL 2.6 million in free cash flow that we will execute as reasonable without jeopardizing the leveraging metrics. That's what I can comment on in terms of strategy and the rationale of what we did.
Just a follow-up question about the controllers' derivative position. Is there a correlation between the two, or this is due to what you explained in terms of value generation and the attractive share price?
Isabella, there is no correlation. Again, what we did is because of our fundamentals and what happened in the market in the post-merger period.
Super clear. Thank you so much.
Next question by Ben Theurer from Barclays. Mr. Theurer, please select the English channel to ask your question.
Yeah, good morning, and thank you very much for taking my question. Two quick ones. First would be for Tim on the U.S. business. It seems like you have, compared to some of your peers, a relatively good third quarter with actually even on the EBIT level, some profits. So we're just wondering if you could share a couple of insights as to what has helped you guys to slightly outperform the industry despite the challenging conditions and how we should think about what you are seeing in terms of the potential rebuilding of a herd and the timing for that in the U.S. That would be my first question, and I have a quick follow-up.
Yes, thanks for the question.
There's really nothing that we're doing that's all that different than others. We do have a different business model somewhat because we do have cattle producers that are owners in our company that are partners providing us cattle for our value-added programs. But other than that, we tend not to look at comparing quarters because too many things can impact the numbers, sold positions on meat, buy positions on cattle, so forth. So we don't really pay a lot of attention to the quarterly comparisons. As far as the herd rebuild, we did see cow liquidation really slow down, which is a great sign. We are seeing some signs of heifer retention, and it's not significant yet, but we think it's something to build on as we go forward. So we're going to have fewer cattle next year than we have this year, and prices will be higher.
But one thing we are seeing is really good beef demand that has allowed us to manage a better margin structure than what you would normally expect with this kind of shortage of cattle that we're seeing.
Okay. Thank you. And then just in general, if we go back to the intended sale of certain assets for the South America Beef business, some of that obviously didn't go through from a regulatory point of view. So I was just wondering, are there any other options on the table that you consider in terms of asset portfolio optimization? And if not, how should we think about the impact or the positioning of that within your broader portfolio on a go-forward basis?
I assume that was for Ignácio?
Yes.
Good morning. Our position in South America and our asset portfolio.
The company has made a strategic decision when we optimized our portfolio. In fact, after this divestment, we started focusing on ramping up and growing on what we consider to be the core assets for the company. A very relevant piece of data is that in 2024, if you look at our growth as compared to the volume we delivered in the third quarter 2025, we see a 40%. That was 40% of our total volume. We still have some steps to be taken so that we can keep on optimizing and growing our volumes within our asset portfolio. We believe that we are present in key regions, that we are well- positioned in markets that on the one hand have the competitiveness it takes to produce beef protein or access to markets, for example, Uruguay with an export flow to the U.S.
So we believe the portfolio is the proper one. We still have some value to extract out of the current portfolio, and we're going to keep on evolving quarter-over-quarter.
Now, let me add to what José Ignácio said. I think it's important to remember that in our industrial complex, with our beef assets, we can have high volume slaughters concentrated in two plants, which makes our cost extremely competitiveness, competitive rather. When we talk about the beginning of the beef cycle in Brazil, there is a possibility this cycle is reduced next year in the first or the second half of the year. And for MBRF, we should see 25%-30% of raw material supply coming from our own feedlots, which allows us to be more resilient under this adverse scenario in terms of supply in Brazil.
Now, for Uruguay, while we are deciding, we made many investments in the Tacuarembó plant. In this plant, we see the highest slaughter volume in the country. We grew our slaughter share in the country. In Uruguay, 17% growth. Marfrig Uruguay grew almost 18%, which allows us to position ourselves really well considering the quotas in Uruguay and the past performance system in Uruguay that works really well. So as we increase slaughter in Marfrig Uruguay, we believe we'll also have access to more cut volumes, more beef volumes.
Perfect. Thank you very much.
Our next question from Thiago, Goldman Sachs. Make sure you're in the Portuguese channel. Over to you. Hello. I hope you can hear me. We can. Good morning, everyone. Congratulations on your results. Good luck, Miguel, Fábio, facing the new challenges. I have two follow-up questions.
Number one to Ignácio, without giving us guidance, but can you help us have a break-even cash flow bridge for 2026? How do you see your financial results, especially in a scenario of lower interest rates, CapEx for next year? That's question number one. Number two, exploring international BRF operations since Fábio is on the call. I would like to understand the growth potential for processed food for the new Sadia Halal. And if you could comment on the lessons learned with the ramp-up in the Chinese plant. These are my questions.
Thank you. Good morning, Thiago. As for cash flow, first, I'll talk about CapEx and what we expect from interest rates. Obviously, I can't give you guidance, but based on the past 12 months, we did LTM. Last quarter, it was a little higher, BRL 1.4 billion. And that number tends to stabilize at a pace similar to Q3.
So looking forward, 5 billion, we are likely to continue at a pace similar to Q3. As for interest rates, I'm not going to talk about the EBIT margin. We don't control markets and spreads. We can continue reducing spreads, but the main impact here is the interest rates. Modeling the interest rates, stabilizing at 12.5 for the middle of next year, and a rate in dollars stabilizing at 3% for next year. Just the effect on the basic interest rate will bring a reduction of the service of the debt for 2026 of over 500 million BRL. So once again, in terms of spreads, I'm not going to make any comments, but because of the interest rates alone, the company might be able to save based on the current debt over 500 million BRL in terms of debt service. Fábio will talk about the international market.
Good morning, Tiago.
As for opportunities, the company is quite convinced of growing volumes revenue, and we want to develop our processed protein portfolio. I mentioned that growth in Turkey, but when we eliminate Turkey from the equation since 2022, we grew processed items in the MENA region. Looking forward, it's the same opportunity that we see the market share that we have in the region was presented in the beginning of the call. We have 35% market share in GCC, but when we analyze processed food, we have about 20%. So it's not the same dominance that we have in griller or some poultry cuts. And we have a competitive edge to play a leading role. We have an important presence in almost all GCC countries. We have a preferred brand recognized in the region, which is Sadia.
Historically, we have developed a local footprint, the new KEZAD plant where we opened two recent lines, and in Saudi Arabia, we tripled our production capacity. We acquired Al Joody in 2022, so we are talking about a halal market exceeding $1 trillion because of consumption and convenience, which has to do with our strategy of processed products, so we are convinced in value creation, and in a short time frame, we expect to list the company, adding even more value to MBRF.
Yes, IPO is our direction in 2026 to be concluded in 2027. That will allow us to grow the company, bearing in mind that we're talking about the region that is the greatest importer of poultry in the world, surpassing Asia, as I mentioned.
Sadia Halal will allow us to have access to a portfolio of assets that is extremely competitive with a brand that is known since 1973. We're very excited with the possibility of IPO. We are releasing Fábio to move to the Middle East and lead that process with Marquinhos in the Board. New people eager to work and make it happen in a thriving market. The Riyadh Exchange is the number four exchange in IPOs in the world, so that excites us. That will be a lever to unlock value to the company associated to PIF through HPDC. On China, the only Brazilian company with operations of poultry protein produced locally in China that excites us a lot. All plans we made are evolving at a fast pace. I apologize for this disclaimer during your question.
It's important to bear in mind that the protein balance, although we are convinced of the balance between supply and demand. Poultry is 25% in the new company MBRF and all its relevance. But this is a multi-protein company, extremely well- located with strong brands and geographic diversification. So we are very excited about the future. I think the merger came at the right time, and we are well- prepared to reap the fruit it will offer us.
Thank you very much.
Next question by Ricardo Alves from Morgan Stanley. Mr. Ricardo, please select the Portuguese channel before you ask your question.
Good morning, Miguel , Ignácio, and Fábio. Thank you for this opportunity. You mentioned that placements are going up, but that productions haven't been keeping up. Ignácio and Miguel, both of you touched on that. Can we please talk a little bit more about genetics?
We've been talking about genetics for poultry both in Brazil and in the U.S. for a long time, but we see that mortality rates haven't been overcome by the industry. Hatchability is not at proper levels. So we're trying to monitor breeder placement, but we still see that we're struggling production-wise. Now, what is BRF and the industry doing to address that? How can you handle this high mortality rate? Can the market navigate these structural problems better considering in-house genetics solutions, maybe a change in the layout, a change in your farms? How is the industry and BRF navigating this challenge? To update on poultry genetics. And also a question about your operations in South America. Once again, for one more quarter, we see that your beef revenue has gone up 30% in U.S. dollars for exports. This comes as no surprise.
I think we follow up the international market really well. We see beef exports leaving Brazil. But again, I think this reinforces the fact that we are in a scenario of beef scarcity in the world. What were the highlights for you? Main countries in this quarter and also the outlook for 2026. How do you see global supply and demand ratio? You talked about the cycle. I think your perspective is clear on the local market, but I wanted to ask you about global supply and demand for 2026 for beef. Thank you.
Hello, good morning. I can begin, and I think Ignácio can add later. Question about genetics. I think it's important to remember. I mean, I'm a veterinarian myself, so we know that in terms of genetics, things don't happen overnight. The whole process takes up to 3 years if we are realistic.
Having said that, of course, each company can mitigate these effects. At BRF, we work hard to address all the variables, and we try to maximize our work so that mortality rates are lower so that we can improve hatchability as well. But we have to be realistic. We know that this process takes time, and we don't see an impact to the short to middle term. It should happen to the long run. So from a genetics standpoint, we don't see major changes happening in the short term. Now, with regards to beef, Ricardo, I think it's important to analyze the variables and what's happening in the market. It comes as no news that for beef, demand will be above supply. So we have to position ourselves so that considering this lower supply, we can capture opportunities through prices resulting in better profitability or maybe business opportunities and choices.
The model we went for is quite evident. At BRF in Brazil, we've got big industrial complexes focusing on high-value-added processed food and products. BRF is the largest burger producer in the world, 2.4 billion burgers a year. Hamburgers, after the pandemic, is still the leading sales product. Protein-wise, we're well- positioned with our brands and operations. The big industrial complexes are located in sites where we have abundant cattle supply. With our own feedlots, our margins go as high as 25%-30% in raw material. We can do that in-house, which is a great differentiator. We got more homogeneity as well, and we can turn that into better quality. Now, Uruguay. In Uruguay, the Tacuarembó plant has been growing and expanding. We can slaughter almost 40% more than before. In this region, cattle supply is abundant. We're talking about northern Uruguay.
We're working hard to make sure we keep on ramping that up. We still have some room for growth. Another important point here is that in our beef export line in South America, we're using the Sadia brand, which is a brand that is well- acknowledged. This brand opens new doors. In Brazil, we've got great sales capillarity with BRF and synergies with Marfrig. MBRF with the same sales team, the same brand promoters to access different customers. Under the leadership of Manoel and his team, we can now get to different territories and price our products really well. Under this scenario, where demand will be above supply, we have to make choices. We can make choices. We can make choices, and we can price our products properly. We see that the situation is really exciting.
Even if there is a reduction in supply, it is worth highlighting that there should be an increase in yields and productivity. And we have to model that better. But if that happens, we're going to be prepared anyway.
Now, let me just add something to that, Ricardo. Add to Miguel's answer. Let's talk about strategic levers and competitiveness. Of course, operational highlights. In Brazil, we see an increase in the number of shipments to China following the market trend. In Uruguay, we now have access to the U.S. with restricted supply in the U.S. Uruguay now accessed that market. That helped us increase our results there. And then in Argentina, more than 50% of our operations account for processed food. Internal market has contained inflation, stable currency exchange rate, which helps increase local consumption and helped us increase our profitability in that country as well. So these were the main points in this quarter in South America.
Thank you very much, Ignácio and Miguel.
Our next question from Igor. Mr. Igor Guedes, make sure you are in the Portuguese channel to ask your question.
Good morning, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity. Congratulations on your results. You have been growing your customer base, reaching 340 points of sale in Brazil. I would like to understand the measures taken to increase that customer base. Is there any price commercial policy to gain market share in some locations? I think this was done by the company in the past. Or is that the market share increase obtained in different forms? Is that sustainable? And also trade-off of protein between poultry and processed food? And question number two about Marfrig.
About the continued operations in South America that helped boost your volume, 18% increase in slaughter, the expansion in Tacuarembó. But the profitability of the operation is lower. So how do you see the price cattle? Do you see the tightening of margins looking forward? Thank you.
Good morning, Igor. By no means is our commercial growth based on a price policy or market share. We have been growing at BRF in the past 3 years, improving our logistics, our commercial execution, and improving our contact with customers. Obviously, strong brands like Sadia and Perdigão help a lot, but I would say it has to do with the strength, dedication, and the resilience of our commercial team led by our VP Manoel and all his team. And you also see that the acquisition of more customers. We had 260,000 today. We had 340,000 since 2022.
And another 110,000 customers in the international market. As BRF gained space, had the approval to export to more destinations, 196, it allowed us to have access to more foreign customers. Now, the creation of Sadia Halal, the IPO in a foreseeable future, which is quite favorable, will allow us to work in a region of thriving economy that already leads poultry imports from Brazil, surpassing China and Asia. So we are working in all geographies. And it has to do with our efficiency program. We worked on all those aspects, be them in the field, in the industry, in our sales effort, so that we can benefit from the results. And to your question, this is here to stay. It is resilient and will keep on happening.
Good morning, Igor. As for Uruguay, first, the growth presented of 18% already considers the comparison base.
So that's on the same base of assets. It's not the entry of Uruguay inflates that number. It's important to emphasize that point. As for the dynamics of the local market, cattle price is high, but there is normal seasonality in the winter in Uruguay where the price of cattle goes up and the production drops. Looking at the future, we are very optimistic. 2024 was the record of births in Uruguay that will guarantee broad cattle supply, and I'm sure it's one of the few countries in the world that is likely to grow its production for next year and for 2027, so we're highly optimistic. Cattle supply will be good, and demand for beef scenario is quite promising for next year. I would like to remind you that in Uruguay, we also have a feedlot.
Thank you.
Next question by Ricardo Boiati from Safra. Mr. Boiati, please select the Portuguese channel before asking your question.
Hello, good morning, Miguel, Ignácio, Fábio, the team, and other participants. Thank you for this opportunity. Question is about National Beef. The team gave us some color on demand that should be strong in the U.S. Can you please talk about consumption demand for beef in different channels? We see that consumers are moving away from out-of-home channels, and they're now consuming protein in their homes a little bit more. So I wanted to ask you about these dynamics in the U.S. and also how you think that may impact the company's operations. Number two, question about leverage. Ignácio already gave us some figures on your cash operations. Now, for the fourth quarter, what will be the leverage expected?
Considering the relevance of cash and the margins that are also important for seasonal products, what can we expect leverage-wise moving towards the end of the year? Do you have any target that you can share with us for 2026? Thank you.
Yeah, this is Tim. I'll answer that. The first question regarding eating habits, what we saw during COVID was everybody was forced to eat at home. Then it really returned to the eating away from home. And it's kind of a balance. We don't see any big shifts, certainly not in the last year to that. It appears to be stable for whether it's in home or outside the home. But it doesn't really present any issues for us because the same products go into different channels, whether it be a warehouse for retail distribution or a warehouse for distribution to restaurants and so forth.
So we don't see any change there, and it wouldn't matter to our business model anyway.
Good morning, Ricardo. Regarding leverage, like we said during the presentation, in Q3, excluding the effects of buybacks and dividends tied to the merger operations, we would have seen a decrease in our net debt, so moving forward, what we can tell you is that in terms of EBITDA in the previous quarter, we had what it took to deliver solid results. The main performance drivers for Q3 will be there for fourth quarter as well. The business environment is quite healthy. If we compare this with previous years, the bar is really high. In Q4 last year at BRF, if you remember, we had an extraordinary quarter. South America did really well.
The LTM comparison base is quite high, but we've got the tools we need to deliver and to perform really well in the fourth quarter as well. Now, deleveraging, what I can tell you, and also regarding free cash flow moving forward, what I can tell you is that in the past 12 months, we generated BRL 2.6 billion in free cash flow. Interest rate dynamics will help us reduce our debt, so we're confident that we'll be able to create or generate more cash. Of course, National Beef is a significant lever to accelerate the company's deleveraging process. So for 2026, we'll have figures that are very similar to this year. We think it's going to be a gradual process, but we don't have any target to publish.
No figures to give you, but as far as we understand, the basis for our third quarter performance will still be valid for Q4 with solid results.
Okay, thank you.
The Q&A session and this conference call ends here. We thank you for your participation. Have an excellent day.