Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Marcopolo's earnings call to discuss the results for the fourth quarter of 2023. The presentation and comments related to the results will be presented by André Armaganijan, CEO; Pablo Motta, CFO; José Antonio Valiati, Investor Relations Officer; and Eduardo Willrich, Legal Counselor and Investor Relations Manager. This platform provides a simultaneous interpretation feature. Click on the "Interpretation" button in the bottom part of Zoom and select the language of your choice. This conference is being recorded, and a replay can be accessed on the company's Investor Relations website, ri.marcopolo.com.br, and the presentation is also available on that website. Please be advised that during the presentation all participants will only be on listen-only mode. After that, we will begin the question-and-answer session, when further instructions will be provided.
Before proceeding, I take this opportunity to reinforce that the forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the management of Marcopolo and on the current information available to the company. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties, given that they relate to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur. Investors, analysts, and journalists must take into account that events related to the macroeconomic environment, the segment, and other factors that may cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in their respective forward-looking statements. We will now begin the presentation with Mr. Valiati. Mr. Valiati, you may proceed, sir.
Good morning, everyone. We would like to thank you for attending these earnings calls of the fourth quarter of 2023. Let's move to slide four, where we will start with the highlights.
In the quarter, Marcopolo has moved forward in terms of results, with a record-level performance, even with a reduction in the production. The main highlights relate to a 14.6% growth in net revenue, which is almost a 50% growth in EBITDA, also 24.4% gross margin, EBITDA margin of 14%, and a 13.3% net margin. Next slide, please. In 2023, the Brazilian market of bus bodies were marked by inconsistencies because of the modernization standard that changed from Euro 5 to Euro 6, and also because of the absence of relevant volumes in the Caminho da Escola program. In the beginning of 2023, we had deliveries related to transition in motorization. The highest cost of an Euro 6 standard chassis vis-à-vis the Euro 5 model has also had an impact in the end of 2023, and that has been reflected in the bus body production and prices in the other year.
As of April, the company had a negative offset of volume in all segments, with a drop because of the postponement of the bid related to Caminho da Escola program. The bus market gained traction again in the third quarter of 2023, and we have had evolution in the intercity market, with a higher demand of passengers, with also higher volume until the end of the year. Now, let's move to the next slide. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Marcopolo production for the Brazilian market had a contraction of 17.7%. The production of exports from Brazil had a drop of 30%. In international operations, we had a growth in production of 11.4%. The production in the fourth quarter of 2023 was marked by a difference in volume of exports, and also the production that was targeted at the Caminho da Escola program.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, we had 1,400 versus 695 in number of units. Next slide. The consolidated net revenue reached BRL 2.4 billion in the quarter: BRL 1.5 billion from the internal market, 53% of the market, BRL 271 million related to exports from Brazil, which accounts for 13% of our total, and BRL 619 million related to our international operations, which accounts for 30% of total. In the first quarter of 2023, we had an increase in net revenue vis-à-vis the fourth quarter of 2022, indicating an increase in the volume of intercity units, which affected its share in net revenue. This is a model of higher value added. Next slide. In the fourth quarter of 2023, we had BRL 500 million in gross profit, with a gross margin of 24.4%. This reflects a better market environment with evolution in the mix of sales, especially in the intercity segment.
The gross revenue also benefited from the results related to international operations of the company. EBITDA values reached BRL 287 million and an EBITDA margin of 14%. EBITDA was negatively affected by the results of our Canadian co-company by BRL 16 million, related to labor issues and non-recurring expenses related to accrual for doubtful payers , and also some accruals for the Caminho da Escola program. If we eliminated the effects of the New Flyer Canadian company effects and the non-recurring effects for provision for doubtful debtors , we would have reached much higher levels. The financial result also had a negative non-recurring effect of BRL 49 million, related to inflation and also the currency changes in the Argentine peso. The net profit totaled BRL 272 million, a net margin of 13.3% in the fourth quarter.
The net debt was 0.1 times the EBITDA of the last 12 months at the end of the year. Now, I will turn over to André, who is going to talk about the market and its perspectives.
Thank you, Mr. Valiati. Good morning, everyone. I would like to talk about the market perspective of the intercity segments. Heavy vehicles have a good perspective, with a good portfolio for a company. And we have differentiated models, aerodynamics, reduction in fuel consumption, comfort, and design. Also, the chartering segment is growing in volumes, and also Marcopolo plays a good role in that segment of lighter volumes. In the urban segment, public investments and a consolidation of subsidies have reinforced our fleet renewal. Federal programs can also encourage the purchase of vehicles with higher value added.
In 2023, Marcopolo made the first sales of its buses, that are all-electric buses, an Attivi, and they are going to be delivered in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the city of Porto Alegre. This is a very interesting landmark because this is the first all-electric bus of our company. And we have more than 4,000 units in the country of those all-electric buses, and this is interesting for us. We have had very good performance.
There were tests and approvals that have been made in São Paulo and Curitiba. The micro- and Volare segments also have had good performances, with increased sales in the private market and also public sales, especially in the federal program called Caminho da Escola. In 2023, the company delivered 493 Volare and a total of 1,500 units, considering the other models, and with that we covered the remaining units for the bid.
Then we had a new phase of the bid, and Marcopolo is committed to deliver directly or indirectly over 7,000 units of micros and Volare. The new batches of new units are already being delivered, and these deliveries will extend up to 2025. Next slide, please. The company expects to increase its exports in 2024 through interesting packages, especially as of the second half of this year. International operations have highlights, and we expect to recover our results. Marcopolo México expects a good growth in the market, given the consolidation of G8 in the market. We are launching this product in an exhibit here in México, and this is going to be a driving force for the growth here in México. Australian Volgren also has a good portfolio. The prices have already been updated with transfer costs.
This will lead to a ramp-up in production with high efficiency, and we expect to reach one of the best years in production in our production in Australia. Marcopolo in Argentina, Metal sur, is adjusted, operationally speaking. The prices have been up to date, but today we face the short and medium-term challenges related to macroeconomic issues you're familiar with. MASA, Marcopolo in South Africa, has positive perspectives and is trying to consolidate sales in products with higher value added and also additional market share. We have increased a lot in volume. Marcopolo China has been consolidated as a center of development for new technologies and a strategic relationship with local car makers. Next slide, please. The market scenario allows us to expect very positive results for 2024, with growth in all segments.
For the first time since 2019, there are no external factors affecting the delivery of chassis, because in 2020 we had a pandemic, then lack of components and raw materials in 2021 and 2022, and then in 2023 we had this new change of standards. In 2024, we are going to have a more regular supply. Caminho da Escola program has also started positively, with good volumes expected to be delivered between March and April of this year. To deliver the volumes we expect for this year, Marcopolo has a good staff, well-trained, properly sized, and as of the second quarter of 2024, we expect to have a ramp-up in production, which is our major challenge, and our production of our own chassis will allow us more opportunities. The company has grown by sharing our gains with our shareholders.
Marcopolo has distributed BRL 0.47 per share in the form of a payout of interest on shareholders' equity, and that is going to be maintained in 2024. In the last week, we also announced bonus shares because we reached some legal reserve levels and statutory levels. We are going to distribute 2 in every 10 shares. Now we are going to move to the Q&A session. I'd like to thank the Marcopolo team for the good results, and also for the great results and the work we've been doing, not only this year but also in the past years, that has led to very relevant results to our company.
We are now moving to the Q&A session. We will now begin the Q&A session for investors and analysts. If you want to ask a question, please press the raise your hand button on the lower bar of your screen.
Please wait while we collect the questions. Our first question comes from Gabriel Rezende from Itaú BBA.
Hello everyone, good morning, and thank you for taking my question. Congratulations on your results. I'd like to get follow-ups related to Caminho da Escola program. What are your expectations in terms of delivery along the year? I would like to better understand that, because we are going to have municipal elections in the second half of the year, so how do you expect to have these deliveries in the upcoming quarters, and will something be delivered just in 2025? How many of those units will actually be converted into orders? My second point, still related to Caminho da Escola program. So what happened in terms of your forecast? Is it something that you expect to recover this year?
Thank you, Gabriel, for your question. So let me start here.
Gabriel, thank you for your question. So now, in Caminho da Escola, we had a lower expectation in the first quarter and gradual growth in volumes in the upcoming quarters. This is a package of over 7,000 units. We know that most of the production is expected to take place this year, and this is one of the main things we've been doing in the company: a gradual ramp-up, which is very important in two of the three factories we have in Brazil to be able to deliver these volumes. Eduardo?
Thank you, André. As to the amount we're going to execute in this contract, it is very difficult to claim so long ahead in time how much we're going to deliver.
In the last bid, we executed practically 100% of the volume, almost 90% of the volume, but we cannot claim at this point how much this is going to be in this case, because it will depend on the adhesions to the contract.
This is Pablo. Regarding these records, we've been doing that, and we are having a bad debt provision check, and this program has a very long financial cycle. There are a lot of bureaucracy, and in the history of this program, we've never had problems of delinquency related to the amounts that have been billed to the federal government. But now we had some balances, some amounts to be paid, and that sometimes happens when there is a change in transition in administrations, and those balances are being processed by the current administration.
In the end of this financial cycle, we need to follow the accounting rules, and this is why we made this bad debt provision. But based on the history of this program, we are probably going to receive those resources, and then we can revert these provisions that have been accrued.
Great. Thank you very much, André, Pablo, Eduardo, and Valiati. Good morning to everyone.
Our next question is from Lucas Marquiori with BTG Pactual.
Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. I have one point about the intercity segment. I would like to understand how the fleet is renewed, because we've had that in the beginning of the year last year, from aerial to intercity, and the average ticket in the aerial segment was higher for airlines. Is this renewal picking up, or is this independent of the airline fares and the bus fares?
So I would like to understand if there is space to increase this portfolio for the intercity segment. You mentioned that you deliver the first units of Attivi all-electric buses. Can you tell us what you expect to deliver in portfolio for 2024 with Attivi units, and make a comparison of the Attivi revenue expected versus the bus body revenue that you expect to book?
Thank you for your question. Starting with the intercity segment, yes, we believe that there is a rule for renewal of the fleets, because there was a significant pent-up demand in the fleets, so the average ticket indeed increased. This fleet renewal is not only a natural need, because operators will lower their operating costs once they start running with newer buses. And part of that, as you mentioned, has to do with the increase in the airline ticket prices.
They're very high for some segments, and airline ticket fare is 10 times the bus fare for the same itinerary. We had very good acceptance in the market. G7 and G8 were in production, and there was this increased transition to G8, so this also promotes increased sales in the intercity segment. The interest rates are dropping, which is probably going to encourage fleet renewal. In our portfolio, we have a very positive portfolio with positive perspectives of sales in the intercity segment in the upcoming months. As to Attivi, the all-electric bus, this is a product with good performance. We've been showing this bus in different cities in Brazil. We had important approvals of that type of bus in several cities, and we could show the performance of our products.
Talking to our customers, we see that they have a very good perspective, although this is a new product to Marcopolo. We have produced over 30 units, and we are completing another 100 units, and we believe that we can sell this additional volume this year, which will depend on the cities. The city of São Paulo was the first to announce a significant renewal of its bus fleet, although these volumes were lower than what it was announced. We see the PAC 3 program also encouraging fleet renewal, so we believe this volume will be sold, but we cannot determine at this point how many units will be sold this year. We have a positive growing perspective, first because of the very positive performance of our product, and also because of all the movements related to decarbonization that will also encourage fleet renewals.
Lucas, regarding deliveries to the city of Porto Alegre and sales, the sales are going to be made and delivered in 2024, right? Nothing in 2023. And also, there is a difference between—is it a relevant difference between the price of the full product versus the bus body? Yes, it's relevant, but it will differ according to the city, according to the business.
Thank you.
Our next question is from Victor Mizusaki with Bradesco BBI.
Congratulations on your results. I have two questions. The first one relates to costs related to the fourth quarter. So apparently, part of this growth is related to the results of the city. I'm sorry to interrupt, Vitor, but there is a lot of background noise in your call, and we can't quite understand what you're saying. So my first question regards the increase in staff costs in the fourth quarter.
There was a significant increase compared with the third quarter or with the quarterly average of other months. Is this related to the results of Marcopolo in 2023? And how will that impact the results in 2024?
And also a follow-up question to Gabriel's question related to Caminho da Escola program. In 2015 and 2018, there was an increase in accounts receivables, and then we saw this credit in 2019. Should we expect that although there was a bad debt provision in the first quarter, should we expect a reversal of these accrued values in 2024?
Thank you for your call, Vitor. Well, there are two factors related to this difference in staff. Indeed, we've been hiring more people, and of course, since we were close to the beat of Caminho da Escola program, this hiring was increased to prepare the ramp-up in production.
This is why we needed to have people hired for these expected actions. So this movement began in the beginning of 2023, and it was increased throughout the year because of increased values of production. The results along 2023 were improving, and we had a very positive surprise. So at the end of the year, this is why we also could improve our variable pay programs. Talking about Caminho da Escola program, we expect to revert the bad debt provision that we made at the end of 2023. The financial cycle of this program is long, but over time, the government has been working to provide more security to more safety to people in the program to receive these amounts. So we do not expect to face major problems along the year related to the Caminho da Escola program. Thank you.
Our next question is from Gabriel Tinem with Santander.
Good morning. Congratulations on your results. I'll have a follow-up question related to the last one about remuneration. So we had higher amounts in the fourth quarter. You're preparing for 2024, but what would you expect? Why? Explain. Why there was a percentage increase in revenues when we compare to historic values? And in the intercity segment, what are your perspectives for the external market? Do you expect this to grow in the next quarter?
Gabriel, thank you for your question. Related to the fourth quarter, so the results we've had relate to the positive surprise we've had with good results quarter after quarter.
This is why we needed to make an additional provisioning, and that is reflected in the fourth quarter, because we feel more confident that results will reach a given level, and results were even higher than what we had anticipated as an optimistic result. Because of that, in the fourth quarter, we ended up having this specific effect that you described. And can I comment on that, please? Please do. Talking about the external market for the intercity segment, we see what happened in Brazil happening in international markets as well. The budget for G8 in the external market a few years back was increased after we launched it in Brazil, but we see the same level and speed of acceptance and a process of transitioning from G7 to G8 among our customers.
Some markets encourage this transition because of the competition, because they see that G8 is an opportunity to attract more passengers. The figures we expect for this year will be higher vis-à-vis last year because of this reason and also because of the reasons related to the Brazilian market, because we see that international markets have a very similar behavior as Brazil. In Latin America and some African countries, we are also gradually introducing G8 in their markets.
Thank you. Our next question is from Lucas Laghi with XP Investments.
Good morning and congratulations on your results. I would like to understand two points. First, going back to the intercity segment, I think volumes were a positive surprise, but also we see the evolution of unit prices as a highlight in the fourth quarter vis-à-vis the other quarters.
The unit price is now 22% higher than the third quarter. So thinking about perspectives for the future, how much of that price increase was related to the mix, and how much was related to the price increase in the same category that a price increase in costs that you were able to transfer to your customers? And also because of the pent-up demand you mentioned to renew fleets, do you see space for potential new increases along 2024, or should we expect more stable prices and a continuous increase in volumes? So how much space do you have for price or cost transfers? Because this seems to be the reason for the higher profitability of this quarter. And I have a second question related to external markets. It was also a positive surprise when we considered revenues and results.
So we saw good evolution in some of the operations, like Polomex. And how far are these operations from a more normal scenario, and what would have been a normal scenario for Metal sur? Because we had seen a break-even point, and they were moving towards a negative performance, but I would like to understand the status of Metal sur's operations and the accounting effects of the current macroeconomic situation. So could you give us more information on those two topics, please?
Thank you for your question, Lucas. So I'll start answering, and then I'm going to turn over to the Brazilian team. In the intercity segment, the main driving force for this change we've seen in results is related to the mix. So when we consider what happened in the pandemic, intercity are heavy vehicles, G8, double-deckers, but we also have charging buses.
This is the segment that during the pandemic was more active. Marcopolo switched and no longer worked on heavier vehicles, but focused more on lighter buses because it was the main focus at that time. Once the market goes back to normal and we can launch a product with value added and other advantages I mentioned, this provided better value to the company. This is why these operations grew. The costs increased as well comparing pre-pandemic and post-pandemic times. Of course, there is a cost transfer to prices. I think that increase was mostly related to mix. In international operations, there was also a relevant process in turnaround in each one of these operations. We took the opportunity that we had a low sales period to make important readjustments in the international organizations.
The team is now more global, and it operates in a metric-based structure with supports to different regions, and we work in a very well-coordinated fashion in all areas of the organization. So these markets will start recovering, and they have, but slower than Brazil's recovery. But similarly to Brazil, now that we've had changes in structure and made adjustments to products and also adjustments to the internal management of each one of these operations, and now also the mixed resumption, all these elements helped this increase in the international operations. That's great, Lucas. And I would like to add to what he said. Regarding pricing and all the work that has been done, I can say that the prospects related to potential price increases are also related to the cost and inflation scenario, and also additional costs we may have during production.
This is why we are trying to have this cost transfer that, of course, takes place in supplies, that this cost can be transferred to the sales price. We hope to do that not only in Brazil, but in all our operations internationally. When we talk about the delivery of results, if you think about consolidated operations in Marcopolo, Australia and Mexico are now showing results, especially Mexico. It's showing significant results. Argentina was highly impacted by the macroeconomic scenario. The major currency exchange drop was a significant impact because the company had debts in dollar, and there was this adjustment it needed to make in liabilities. So the Argentinian scenario is still shy in terms of demand, but still we had a good operating result that was positive last year. But we see problems in these financial results because of currency devaluation.
Indeed, there is a pent-up demand there, and it is significant. In 2023, we delivered very conservative volume amounts. So we have pent-up demand both for intercity segment and for urban buses as well. Once the macroeconomic scenario becomes more stable, we expect the appetite of operators to increase, and also their level of confidence is going to be better. So this is why we believe that the operations in Argentina will bring us good results. These are our expectations, of course, and that depends on a more stable macroeconomic scenario. But overall, I think this is what we can expect from Argentina, and we do not have a figure for a stable EBITDA for operations. And we do not, of course, disclose the guidance.
But up to now, the deliveries we've had were slow vis-à-vis the production levels and also vis-à-vis the historic values of what was once produced in that market.
Thank you. Very thorough answer. I wish you a good day.
Our next question comes from Jonathan Koutras with JP Morgan.
Congratulations on your results. I have two questions. The first one with New Flyer. So the results of the fourth quarter, which is different from the control companies that we have in the group, what are the expectations for this year related to that? And my second question relates to capital allocation. So should we have 2024 and 2025 above 50%? It seems that you are running at a very comfortable level, so I would like to hear on those two topics.
Thank you and congratulations again. As to New Flyer.
We've been following up this operation very closely, especially after June. We are following up the increased capital that was made by the organization. The scenario is similar to what we had here. They have a long portfolio with prices that were phased out. They were not up to date. Along 2023, they were able to renegotiate some of their contracts and to build a new portfolio with adjusted prices. That will allow them to, along 2024, to have this turning point. At the end of 2023, in the beginning of 2024, we expect this turning point to happen and to see positive results in the future, contributing as they did until 2019 to the balances of Marcopolo. This is what we expect for New Flyer. This is what they've been doing in the market with their frequent reports.
Considering our capital structure, the company indeed has been working to continue its payout policy. As André explained during his presentation, we are now going to go through a cycle where the working capital demand is going to be significant. We have projects such as Caminho da Escola. There are potential operations that will involve vehicles with different features. The company needs to be prepared and strong to go through this period. Today, we do not have a separate plan for that. It's not different to what we've been implementing so far. We will keep our payout policy along the same lines we have. Now we need to face this first challenge. It's a ramp-up that is going to take place not only in Brazil, but also it will affect our consolidated results. Overall, this is how we stand in terms of our capital policies.
Thank you.
The question-and-answer session is closed. We would like to turn over to Mr. Valiati to make the company's closing remarks.
We would like to thank everyone for attending this earnings call conference, and the investor relations area is available for further clarifications. We wish you a very good day.
The Marcopolo video conference is now concluded. We thank you for your participation and wish you a good day.