Good morning, everyone, and thank you for waiting. Welcome to the live disclosure for the results for the fourth quarter and year-end for 2023 Mills. If you'd like simultaneous interpreting, just go to the bottom of the screen, click on Interpretation, where there's a little globe, and choose Portuguese or English. For those of you who are listening to the video conference in English, you have the option to mute original audio. We'd like to inform you that this video conference is being recorded and will be made available on the company's IR site. This will also include complete material for the results disclosure. During the company's presentation, all participants will have their microphones muted, and then we will open for questions and answers.
The information in this presentation and statements that may be made during this video conference regarding perspectives, outlooks, and company business, as well as projections, are based on outlooks, outlooks and projections for the future of Mills. It is not a guarantee of performance. It involves macroeconomic conditions, market risks, and other factors. I'll now pass the floor to Sérgio Kariya, CEO, Mills. Good afternoon. It is quite a pleasure to be here again to talk about the fourth quarter, 2023. We had wonderful results this year, and we will be commenting on them with you, and we'd also like to point out our outlook for 2024. If you look at Slide 3, we include the highlights. We hit a gross revenue record of BRL 1.5 billion in 2023.
That accounts for 25.2% compared to 2022, and BRL 402.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 11.6% year-on-year. That's an increase in all business units. We went from BRL 190 million consolidated EBITDA at BRL 190 million, 52% margin. We saw profitability increased all across the board, including in rentals. Net profit consolidated came to BRL 81 million in the quarter, 21.1% margin, with net margin above 20%. Net cash income, which includes credit, fiscal fees credits, and other taxes and other, and other taxes.
It went from BRL 100.5 million in the fourth quarter, BRL 376.4 million in 2023, a liquid cash net margin of 27%, which shows how efficient this company is. Our ROIC was 25.6% in 2023. We now disclose it in addition to cash. ROIC and capital costs gives us a better understanding of our business economics. In 2023, BRL 63 million was invested in the fourth quarter, nearly BRL 600 million in 2023. Our fleet has increased over 4 times since we started operations. In addition to general growth, we also distributed BRL 70.7 million year- to- date in 2023. Yesterday, our Board approved the fourth repurchase agreement, share repurchase agreement, with BRL 17.1 million in shares, oh, 3.4% of issued shares.
We close these highlights by saying that our consistency is demonstrated through our values, our, and our ESG principles. We are the first company in the machinery and equipment rental sector company to commit to SBTi, which is Science-Based Targets Initiative, an initiative that takes companies to reduce GHG and take other actions to address climate change. Next slide. This is our strategy for growth. We go through diversification, resilience, and offer opportunities. It's important to offer the best solutions to our customers in a single place. We have premium products, and we offer—we stand out from the rest. We've been around for over 70 years and have been evolving ever since, with both complex and simple exposure to various segments, and long-term contracts have mitigated fluctuations in economic cycles and offer greater cash flow, more predictable cash flow.
Our balance also gives us comfort to explore new avenues of growth. Brazil still has a lot to grow and a lot to improve, and it's an underserved market, so we see there's great opportunity for growth. In addition to strengthening the shared and circular economy, we want to be a reference in sustainability, and this will allow us to look at global social changes, climate changes, with integrated responsibility to our strategy. We are committed and ready to prepare our business for current and future challenges. Finally, our 10,000 customers, our experience and our team reinforce our position in the rental market. Carol will now talk about the quarter's financial results. Good afternoon, and thank you very much, Sérgio Kariya. We're gonna start by talking about rental, which accounts for 83% of our revenue in the fourth quarter, and includes both light and heavy assets.
Our fleet grew 22% over the last 12 months, ending the year with R$ 4.2 billion. This is a reflection of a focus on heavy fleet and replacement. For light, we adjusted this to better address the needs and increased asset value for rentals throughout the year. Most of light rental will be seen in 2024. We'd like to raise awareness for assets like combustion and increase in electric and hybrid vehicles, which will reduce emissions. Mills is a pioneer and reference in rentals, and a benchmark for elevating platforms. We believe that rentals adds value. Our values focus on guarantee and quality of service, safety and productivity, reinforcing our culture of establishing trusting- trustful and long-term relationship, long-term relationships with our customers and suppliers. Moving on to Slide 7.
This shows the diversification of our customer base, both in terms of sector segmentation and our customer base. This diversified revenue base ensures greater resilience in terms of cycle, economic cycles. Our 20 largest rental customers account for 24% of, billing in last year. Sorry, in the fourth quarter of last year. We also an increase of our top line through cross-selling and increased share of wallet. We are also concerned with decreasing concentration and exposure or sector, looking to increase resilience of our business. I'd like to point out our financial highlights. Net revenue grew 4%, 22% over the year, 11% and 44% over the year, through yellow line, with strong growth of the fleet and productivity for light vehicles over 2023. Sales represented 23% and 7% in the year.
Adjusted EBITDA showed a 23% increase quarter- on- quarter, and 24% increase for the year because of diligence and responsibility. You can see here formwork shoring improvements here. Net revenue increased 23% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, and 53% over the year, because of our strong pipeline and infrastructure, and an increase in construction in general in Brazil. When we look at adjusted EBITDA, we see that 90% increase compared to the fourth quarter, 2022, and over 20% in EBITDA year- on- year. Adjusted EBITDA for the year grew 129%, coming to BRL 141 million. A 61% margin. Looking at consolidated results, Slide 12. This is a record, record performance, both in net revenue and adjusted EBITDA, we've seen the best numbers we've ever seen.
BRL 1.4 billion reais, and a growth of 26% and 36% respectively. When we look at the fourth quarter 2023, we see growth in all business units, which generated a 12% increase in net revenue and 31% in adjusted EBITDA, compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. This means rentals have increased for all business units. We are solid and promising expansion. We see that this platform and pipelines should be increasing in terms of yellow line. In terms of Slide 13, on the left, net income came to BRL 81 million, a 70% increase compared to fourth quarter 2022. This variation is a result of an increase of EBITDA, EBITDA in the period, and credit reversal of BRL 14 million in the fourth quarter. On the right-hand side, we see an increased cash flow over the period.
Operating cash flow, adjusted operating cash flow in the quarter came to BRL 118 million. That was a drop compared to last quarters, due to the payments in 2023 for asset acquisition, compared to prior years and prior periods. Cash flow is strong. It oscillated a little bit, considering our investments and acquisition of machinery. We have a strong business model that allows for cash flow and financial diligence so that we continue to grow. In 2024, we will continue to invest in rental equipment and rental assets for both light and heavy assets. We are constantly recognizing and looking for opportunities to accelerate growth. To end on Slide 14, this includes our capital structure. We have a strong, strong indebtedness, and we are able to capture this for growth.
Net debt came to BRL 355. 80% consists of debentures, 83% is expected to be long-term maturity. We have CDI + 2.311 in the fourth quarter, average cost. Net debt / adjusted EBITDA LTM was 0.5x. We expect to continue growing in the segments where we operate. In January 2024, the company had its eighth issue of debenture, simple debentures, for 72-month maturity, with CDI + 2% annual. This emission reflects our strategy to improve capital and asset management. This has the longest term and the lowest terms in the company's history. When we look at our debt profile, this will lead to a longer average term and better average cost. We are proud of the work that we've done, and we ended the quarter on a very positive note.
Thank you very much, Carol. We're very proud that we were given the Company of the Year from the International Awards for Powered Access 2024. This is the IAPA Awards. This was organized by the International Powered Access Federation and by Access International. This has over 420 participants throughout the sector and recognizes outstanding performance. There are 130 entries in 13 categories. Mills won the most important. We were finalist in four different categories. We are honored to have received this award. It shows our hard work and the dedication of our entire team. This achievement doesn't just stress how committed we are to rentals, but to safety, ethics, transparency, and future growth. Thank you so much, and thank you to all of our customers, our partners, and our employees for making our company such a success.
Thank you very much, investors, for your trust. Now we are gonna open up for questions and answers. Thank you. We will now start the question- and- answer period. To ask a question, just click on the Q&A icon on the bottom of your screen, write your name, language, and company. And you will be asked to turn on your microphone. Please turn on your microphone to ask the question. If you prefer, you may write your question in the chat, and the operator will then read it out loud. First question is from Gabriel Raposo, sales analyst, sell-side Bradesco. Gabriel, please turn on your microphone. Good afternoon, Sérgio, Carol. Thank you. I have two questions. One, in terms of formwork and shoring, what about price increase? And you said you have a very strong infrastructure investment pipeline. So I wanted to understand how will Mills benefit.
The second question, in terms of your M&A agenda, I just wanted to understand what your potential pipeline is for mergers and acquisitions, and how might this affect revenue? If you're looking for a specific sector or region where you'd like to penetrate, have greater penetration. Thank you very much. Thank you, Gabriel, for this question. Let's start with formwork and shoring. When you look at our results from the fourth quarter, 2023, and you look at the prices in the market, there's still an area to recover. We're gonna still see the impact in price, in price improvements from formwork and shoring. So when we look in terms of new deals, we see less opportunity to continue growing now. I think prices have hit a stable plateau, and I think that's where we're gonna stay for the time being.
In terms of a more robust pipeline, not just because of earlier concessions and new programs that we've included, this is gonna generate opportunities in the infrastructure sector. So we continue to be quite optimistic, but I think the most important message is that, yes, we see that formwork and shoring is gonna strengthen up, but there's also great opportunities in our other areas, heavy, light and heavy rentals, elevating platforms, compressors, and rental of these equipment in these different opportunities, these different areas. When we look at M&A now, there's something important here. When we look at 2023, we integrated Triengel, we established processes, and we're continuing to do this. We understand, however, that there's room to now look at the market.
So at the end of the year last year, we started to map, we went back to mapping out targets, and we are optimistic that these will be included on our pipeline. In terms of size, and as you asked, we look at all the different sizes of potential M&As. However, the small and medium-sized ones probably have the most potential for us. We're quite optimistic in terms of potential acquisitions moving forward. You asked a bit about the market. If we look at the company's macro strategy, you can see that we've been looking for more predictability in terms of cash flow. We're trying to be a little bit more awareness in this regard, looking at markets that have longer terms, so that we can ensure greater cash flow and revenue predictability. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Next question from Marcelo Arazi, Sell-Side Analyst, BTG Pactual. Marcelo, please turn on your microphone. Good morning. Two points. We've seen the fleet fall kind of by the wayside in recent years. There's been a mix change in terms of yellow machinery. And also, what about the Chinese machinery in the market? How might this affect the company in general? Great, thank you for the question, Marcelo. Let's start with the fleet. The greatest impact was in light, not heavy rentals, and we had a mix shift. We've been investing more in heavy rentals, heavy equipment, vis-à-vis light equipment, and selling off our smaller vehicles. So you see the same quantity, and that's why you see the quantity changing a bit.
But in terms of potential capital or value and reposition of the fleet we've seen, it's been growing. It's been growing year- on- year. There was a revaluation of equipment mid-2023, and you can see this. But in terms of potential value for assets, it's been growing. Chinese machinery, especially when you look at heavy machinery, in our markets, where we're focused on more complex markets, longer duration contracts, you're really working closely with the customers. So equipment quality, equipment performance, productivity, makes a real difference. So we see that, volume-wise, we don't see including Chinese equipment in this segment. For perhaps shorter durations, less complex operations, then yes, but that's not what we're focusing on right now. That's for heavies. Now, light, there is a natural increase in Chinese machinery. We've been testing some of our Chinese machinery.
We've included a little bit more in our fleet. We still don't see any price impact in terms of rental rates. We don't, we don't see this impact in the market. However, we continue to monitor this, and we're monitoring the entry of Chinese machinery. But again, it's not affecting how much our sales are going. Thank you very much. Next question comes from João Andrade, Sell-Side Analyst, Bank of America. We're gonna turn on your audio. Please proceed. João? Thank you, Sergio. Thank you, Carol. Could you talk about what we can expect in terms of fleet or CapEx growth for 2024? João, we don't disclose the values, the amounts, but we do expect a growth compared to 2023. That's what we expect, but we don't give the exact numbers.
In terms of growth, pace, and rhythm for heavy, heavy, heavy rentals, heavy machinery, depends on the quality of delivery, because if you speed things up, you might affect customer service. But we and we don't want to affect our interaction, so we're adjusting the pace to be well prepared for scaling up. That's where we see some adjustments. Moving forward, we've been investing specifically in heavy machinery. We are going to be investing in growth and a little bit in light and a small investment increase in formwork and shoring for some of the machines that were damaged. And so that's what we expect for 2024 in terms of investments. Thank you very much, Sérgio. Next question from Arthur Cunha, Buy-Side Analyst. He has written out: Congratulations on the results. Good morning.
Can you talk about the rentals operation mix in terms of light and heavies, in terms of revenue slash EBITDA and the number of machines? Okay, Arthur. Broadly speaking, numbers wise, we started again in September 2022. In terms of size, it's still majority light, and we have over 1,000. In 2023 we ended the year 2023 with over 1,000 heavies. In terms of results for the company, it's important to understand that when we look at 2022, 90% of the company's revenue slash EBITDA was heavies, and the rest was Formwork and Shoring. 2023, 70% was light, 20% Formwork and Shoring, and 10% heavies.
So this new balance, which is part of the company's strategy, looking for more long-term contracts, longer duration contracts, so we're gonna see that, heavies are going to take up a greater percentage. So I think that's what we expect moving forward. Thank you. Next question from Victor Rampazzo, Buy-Side Analyst, Jive. Written question: Good morning. Congratulations on the results. Could you comment a little about a possible change in the Mills Control Group? Do you expect, do you expect anything moving forward? Thank you, Victor. Thank you for the question. Our three economic groups that are the controlling groups, Mills, Solaris, and private equity, are focused and looking towards long-term the long-term. We're not looking for anything short-term in terms of changes in primary shareholders or controlling shareholders. Thank you.
Next question is from Felipe Lenza, Sell-Side Analyst, Citi. Written question: Good morning, and congratulations on these results. My question refers to renewing the Triengel contracts. The company renewed all of its pre-existing contracts and ended all of its relevant contracts or important contracts for cross-selling. Are these contracts going to have an effect in 2024? Thank you, Felipe. Yes. Yes, it's very important, showing our entry into the yellow line. We renewed 100% of the contracts that ended in 2023, the end of 2023, early 2024. Yes, without a doubt, these contracts are going to start taking effect. There wasn't just renewal, but there was an expansion of scope with all of these contracts.
Something else I think that's important to mention is that last year, 95% that we with deals that we closed were due to cross-selling. We actually weren't well known in heavies and yellow lines, but this is quite different this year. We've started off the year with new customers, new markets that were not Triengel and that were not heavy, so that were not from formwork and shoring. So we're very optimistic because that this market is just gonna grow moving forward, as it has shown thus far. Excellent. Next question, Matheus Soares, Buy-Side Analyst, Market Makers. Written question: Good morning, and once again, congratulations for the results. Could you comment on the cross-selling strategy within the company? In addition, I'd also like to know about the yellow line contracts. Long-term contracts is good for predictability, but there are also pricing risks involved.
What strategy have you used? Furthermore, could you give an outlook on to how the year has started? That would be very helpful. Thank you very much. This is from Matheus. Matheus, let's start with cross-selling. Despite the fact that we have different units, heavy, light, formwork, shoring, we act as a single company, and we see how we impact customers thus. Our Sales team has its specific areas, but they're supported through the cross-selling with the 10,000 customers, and we identify opportunities, and we help all of the different business units. It can be heavies to lights, et cetera, and moving forward. The question was about what? Pricing. Oh, what do you expect at the beginning of year? The great thing with Mills is that we have three business units with different durations, with different cycles and different pricing.
When we look at light, the downside is that the duration for the contracts is lower. But when we have inflation and other, and other oscillations, I can repass these prices much quicker. With long-term contracts, we worked with project finance. I look at the contract as a mass project, and I allocate capital to understand inflation, readjusted inflation. Actually, inflation is adjusted according to inflation rates. I forget which index, IGP-M. Obviously, we can't capture all changes in the market, but you adjust and rebalance the sum. So the great thing about having three different areas or drivers in the company is that it strengthens the company as a whole, and that's what we've been building on. Oh, and how does the year started? Well, we're very optimistic about how this year is going to play out.
The three business units, just as I mentioned earlier, infra investments, has helped all three areas, but not just this. Lights, which early last year, we saw stable demand early last year. We saw supply pretty stable, and we saw an area where we've been able to grow and invest our branches with lights that we've opened through the years. We've started to see maturity and more penetration in certain regions, and we've started to see an increase in demand. I think there's excellent opportunities with heavies. We're looking at how we can capture this and adjust our operating, and what we're offering our customers, what we our commitment to delivering with our customers. We really started out 2024 very optimistically. Thank you very much. Next question from Alexandre Assaf, Investor A 40. Written question: Congratulations for the excellent results.
Does the company have any strategic drivers or directions for perhaps moving to an international market? Yes, we have so much opportunity here in Brazil, Alexandre. There's so much opportunity to penetrate, to move, to diversify our portfolio. I have basically seven different products. We have a number of products to look at our customers, that serve our customers, so currently, we're mostly looking at the Brazilian market. We're not yet looking towards international expansion. Thank you very much. To ask any questions, please click on the Q&A icon on the bottom of your screen. Please write your name, your company, and your language. We will then offer you the opportunity to turn on your mic. Turn on your mic and ask your question. Or if you prefer, feel free to type your question in the chat. This is the end of the Q&A session.
I'd like to ask Sérgio Kariya to offer his final comments before we end. Thank you very much for your participation. Thank you for your interest in our fourth quarter 2023 results and our 2023 year results. I'm here, we are all here, and all, all of our IR, our RI team is here, if you have any other questions moving forward. Have a wonderful day. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Have a wonderful day. This is the end of our earnings call. The IR department is available to answer any questions you may have. Thank you very much to all of our participants, and have a wonderful day.