Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Portobello Group video conference to discuss earnings results for the fourth quarter 2025. This conference is being recorded, and the replay will be available on the company's website at ri.portobello.com.br. The presentation will also be available for download. Please note that all participants will be in listen-only mode during the company's presentation. Ensuing this, we will go on to the question and answer session when further instructions will be provided. The presentation will be conducted in Portuguese with simultaneous translation into English. Before proceeding, we would like to remind you that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Portobello's management and on currently available information. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties as they relate to future events, and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur.
Investors, analysts, and journalists should consider that these effects will differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Joining us today are Mr. John Suzuki, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Caio Gonçalves de Moraes, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Suzuki, who will begin the presentation.
Good afternoon to all of you. Welcome to our earnings result presentation for the fourth quarter 2025. It's a pleasure to be with you once again to share the company's results. Before we go on to our agenda, I would like to share with you our general view of the year 2025. We had important strides in the group and all of our businesses. In Brazil, we continue to grow, and what is more important yet, we are expanding our market share in all of our business units.
Since the period of the pandemic when we were navigating in a very favorable market, since then, we have consistently gained market share in all of our businesses. Now, despite a weaker market, a more competitive market in 2025, we had good operating results, always driven by our competitive edge, like our brand, our capacity to innovate in products, a focus on the customer and services, as well as a great deal of discipline in execution. We have achieved a superior performance in some aspects, such as the sales, the launch of products, sales for exports, the occupancy of plants, among others, that ended up in an operating profitability much higher than what we observe in the market.
In the United States, the environment with frequent changes because of the tariffs, well, this had a negative impact in that process that we were ramping up since 2023, a ramp-up of our sales and products in Portobello America. When we look inside at our business, we continue to have significant evolution. We see the stability of the plan, the competitiveness of costs, the expansion of our customer base in the different channels, as well as a growth in domestic sales, those sales that depend less on Brazil. Further ahead, I will speak about the positive outlooks that we begin to foresee in the business in the United States. Very well.
Now, this operating performance of the business units maintains our conviction on the group strategy, especially as we have reiterated every time we interact with you, represented by our internationalization process and our retail business, integrated retail business. We had a year with an evolution in the profile of our debt with relevant operations since the first quarter. We saw relevant, important operations not only throughout 2025, but as you will see in the first quarter of 2026. Despite all of the efforts that I have mentioned, all of the operations, and with very stringent financial operation in the operation, the improvement of our capital structure continues to pose a significant challenge to the group. I will refer to this further ahead when we speak about our outlooks. Of course, we are at your disposal for the Q&A. Very well. Caio will present the rest of the agenda.
Thank you, John. Good afternoon to all of you. It is a pleasure to present the results of the fourth quarter and the closing of the full-year 2025. Let's analyze the North American market. Now, the ceramic market faced several challenges, especially due to the tariffs. The fourth quarter had a retraction of 17% in sales, and there's a drought in the run-up to create inventory, once again, due to the tariffs. This is a one-time effect. For the entire year, the drop represented 5%. Despite a more challenging scenario, Portobello presented consistent performance. We had 15% growth of revenue in U.S. dollars, and we saw local production growing 30%. Now, if we go on to the Brazilian market and look at the figures from Anfacer, we're speaking about the wet process segment.
Why the wet process? This represents 90% of our revenues. It had a drop of 1.1% vis-à-vis the same period in 2024. For the whole year, once again, the performance had that drop of 1.1%. This is a market with a drop in our main segment. For the total market, we had a growth of 1.1% year-on-year and 3.3% for the quarter. Despite this scenario, the performance of the Portobello Group was superior vis-à-vis that of the market. Now, in the fourth quarter, the company presented results below the market due to a commercial pressure and enormous price competitiveness. For the entire year, the drop was 2.0%.
We had a market share gain, as you can see in the graph, a gain of approximately 20% in volume when compared to the market. Our planned stoppages were carried out during the year, and this represented 7%, while the market had much lower occupancy of 70%. Let's go on to the financial and economic results. In the fourth quarter, we had growth of 1.7% in revenue, especially in the exports from Brazil to other markets, with a growth of 17% with a good performance of Portobello America. During the year, we advanced 8% in a market with retraction. This performance is due to the strong growth of Portobello America, 27% of exports, 4% of the domestic market that grew 3.2%.
The share of international markets grew as much in the quarter as during the full-year. Now, let's speak about the invoicing of our business units. In general, all the units had evolution in performance during the last few years, and this shows a consistency of our strategy and our operational consistency. Cerâmica Portobello outperformed the wet process market and had consistent commercial execution. Portobello Shop, this was even more competitive with growth and an evolution in product mix. Pointer was in line with the dry process with moderate growth during the year and decline in the quarter. In Portobello America, we have good evolution and a consistent operation in the United States. Generally, this reinforces the consistency of our portfolio and the ability to act in different geographic areas. Let's speak about consolidated gross profit, a growth of almost 8% vis-à-vis 2024.
Gross margin ended with a margin of 36% stable in the annual performance. Now, in the fourth quarter, we had a slight drop. We had a contraction in sales environment with greater commercial competitiveness, and of course, the company decided to protect its cash. Now, let's speak about our EBITDA. It totaled BRL 321 million for 2025, an increase of 4.2% vis-à-vis 2024. In the fourth quarter, it represented BRL 53 million, an increase of 2.2% vis-à-vis the previous period. This shows the more competitive domestic environment during the period and a change of mix among channels and units. Now, let's speak about our net result.
We ended with a negative result of BRL 291 million, BRL 170 million more than in the past period, and we'll speak about the factors that impacted the company. We'll begin with the net income. We had a positive effect in 2024, reversion of contingency and tax credits. In 2025, climate effects impacted our operation in the south, bringing about additional expenses of BRL 20 million. 2025 was a year of difficult macroeconomic growth. CDI average compared to 10% in 2024, much higher in 2025. It was difficult to work with our financial capital. We worked with FIDCs. The net result was impacted by reversal in the constitution of deferred income tax, but we had the recoverability of taxes in previous years. Now, these effects are purely accounting effects without a cash impact, without impacting the company.
Cash management was one of the highlights of the company. We created BRL 216 million in free cash flow to preserve our liquidity. Between 2023 and 2025, we had a relevant evolution, with cash generation increasing consistently, showing that we prioritize financial discipline. This was the most difficult period recorded in the last five years. CapEx had a significant reduction when compared to 2023 and 2024 because of our greater discipline in capital allocation. We had BRL 60 million that we executed at the beginning of the first quarter of 2026, money that we obtained from the Brazilian Development Bank, and we had a sale-leaseback operation from the plant in Alagoas, representing BRL 102.5 million. Now, this will help us to cross more challenging scenarios.
We end 2025 with a net debt of BRL 995 million, very similar to 2024. Our leverage was 3.09x, and 83% of the total of our debt has long-term maturity vis-a-vis 60% compared to the previous year. Now, the improvement of our capital structure continues to be a priority for the company. We focus on leverage costs. Our present-day level of indebtedness and the coverage of the debt requires attention, especially in this environment of high interest rates. We are focused on our capital structure, and we would like to maintain adequate liquidity for the next cycles of the company. With this, I would like to turn the floor over to John to speak about our outlooks for 2026.
Well, thank you, Caio. As Caio mentioned, after 2025, we continue to move forward in all of our businesses, growing above the market, gaining market share, maintaining good levels of profitability. Let's speak about the outlooks for the year 2026. As always, we have enormous challenges. Our businesses in Brazil will continue to present consistent operating results very much aligned with the market, and our expectation is that the market will continue to be one with limited growth because of the macroeconomic scenario we live in. The operational and commercial evolution that we mentioned here of our business in the U.S., besides the unfolding of the global and political scenario worldwide, confirms our conviction of our internationalization strategy. The present-day tariff scenario of the U.S. favors not only our local business, but also exports to that country.
Additionally to that, uncertainties due to tariff barriers, but other barriers generated by the scenario of war will benefit local producers, which is our case. Our expectation of resuming the breakeven in the operation that we had attained in the first quarter of 2025 and that we lost before, because of the tariff. Well, our expectation is to once again attain breakeven in the operation. As pointed out by Caio, we had significant evolution in the financial management of the company in 2025. We carried out new relevant operations in the first quarter of 2026. Notwithstanding this, as Caio mentioned, we have to adjust the capital structure to the reality of our indebtedness and the high interest rates that we tend to live with nowadays. All of this continues to be the priority of the management.
Despite the record result of our cash flow that we generated in 2025, it is still necessary to seek a better coverage for our debt service, a better balance between how much we generate as cash in the operation and how much debt service we are able to comply with. Now finally, in this context, what we deem to be fundamental is the alignment of the company's strategy, the company governance, with the priorities and strategic challenges that were mentioned in the call today. Thank you all very much for your attendance, and we would now like to open the floor for questions and answers.
We will now go on to the question and answer session for investors and analysts. Questions can be carried out in writing in the Q&A icon. Please hold while we poll for questions. We would like to remind you that should you wish to pose a question, please send them in writing through the Q&A icon. Please hold while we poll for questions. Our first question is from Mr. João Grassini from Marco Investments.
Which are the possible strategies to reduce your leverage?
Well, thank you for the question. Well, there are several initiatives underway. We mentioned them during our call. We have a combination of reducing operational expenses, as mentioned, liability management, where we're exchanging the more costly debts with local banks for the promotion of trade. We refer to exports. We have another line of credit approved by the BNDES that we should be able to disburse during the year. Another initiative refers to Pointer that injects additional liquidity into the company. Of course, we're analyzing other strategies throughout the year. They are all mature initiatives and that we can put in place during the year. Now, the three events that I have just mentioned are proof of this.
To add to this, Caio, I think it's a very purposeful question, and during the live we said that the capital structure is definitely a company priority. This is a structural issue. We're deploying efforts to gradually redress this. Of course, we are considering several alternatives. We're not going to mention anything concrete as there is nothing concrete, but we are surveying alternatives.
Once again, should you wish to pose a question in writing, please use the Q&A icon. Please hold while we poll for questions. Our next question comes from Mr. Carlos Rege.
He says, "Could you remark on the main trends that you observed in the first quarter of 2026 in the different segments, especially Portobello Shop and Portobello America?"
Thank you for the question, Carlos. Let me begin with Portobello Shop. You are aware of the market scenario and what 2025 was like. This is what we're expecting for 2026. It's a rather fragile market with a great deal of stagnation, and it should not be different to what we saw in 2025, and the dry process is much better than the wet process. Now, this is the scenario that we are facing in Brazil. Naturally, Portobello Shop is in a premium segment that tends to be more resilient but not immune to those movements. It's a competitive segment in terms of pricing. This is a topic that has been debated.
Our gross margin in the fourth quarter had an impact of this, and the scenario led us to being more aggressive with our pricing in the fourth quarter. We're going back to another position. What we want in Portobello Shop is a margin recovery. This also has a trade-off without the expectation of great growth of volume. We have a very good performance above the market, and we are going to focus on margin without being overly aggressive. We are with a good cycle of the launch, in the performance of launches, this leverages our competitive differences, which is important. We're also making strides in the retail strategy. Recently, we inaugurated a new store in the street called Gabriel Monteiro da Silva. Now, regarding Portobello America, the scenario there is somewhat volatile.
Initially, we had that tariff with a 10% for Brazil, and this generated a run to create inventories in the United States that was not reflected in Brazil, where our tariff was lower. In August of 2025, our tariff increased as it did in other countries. These movements put us in a rather difficult situation. This represents half of our business in Brazil, the business in the USA. Now this brings about a more positive scenario for 2026. In the medium term, now the scenario of tariff wars, the war, the political, economic scenario worldwide is very uncertain, and so they privilege the local production. We feel this. We have felt it since last year.
Our local sales are growing significantly in the more profitable channels, which is important, and this should allow for a better quality, a healthier sale, and it will enable us to recover exports from Brazil. Our expectation is positive. We're expecting the breakeven position of the USA in coming quarters.
Our next question is from Mr. Nicholas Stage.
He says: "What happened after 2022 when there was a drop in your profit?"
Thank you for the question, Nicholas, and it is a very good question. It allows us to speak about a perspective with a longer horizon. We had a very positive moment in our sector during the pandemic. The consumption of construction material underwent an explosion between 2020 and 2022, with 2021 as a highlight. It was very positive in terms of volume and sales. It was also a period that enabled us to have a very healthy investment cycle for the company between 2020 and 2023, where we made significant investments, especially in Portobello America and the expansion of our own stores and investments in digital transformation for the group, especially for the retail market. It was a period with considerable investments, and this raised our leverage. We had the combination of two factors since 2022. There was a definite slowdown in the market.
Well, the market normalized in truth, because what we observed in the pandemic was not normal. There was a supply and demand stabilization that pressured prices. On the other hand, what impacted our profitability is the level of leverage that we reached after this cycle of investment. It came at the same time, coincided with the increase in the interest rates, and financial expenses are consuming the financial results of the company, especially in 2025. Deferred income tax was also significant. Structurally, this is the moment that we are going through. After a stronger investment cycle, we still have not reached the maturity of all of these investments.
Our next question comes from Mr. Tiago Nascimento.
Exporting countries of ceramic to the USA have had problems in the supply or in the gas price. Have you already perceived something in that direction? Are you expecting the transfer of prices, and what is happening with the USA? In Brazil, do you expect an increase of gas, and if so, as of which moment?
Thank you for the questions, Tiago. Several questions wrapped up in one. I will try to answer them, and Caio will help me. Now, the topic of oil, of course, and consequently the price of gas. The supply price is one more of the uncertainties in the scenario. We still have not felt anything significantly when it comes to the supply of gas, but there is an outlook for an increase in the gas prices because it is a commodity, basically, and this is what we face in Brazil as well as in the USA. On the other hand, this will impact all of our competitors, impact the industry as a whole.
This is not a good moment because the market is already weaker, slower, as mentioned. Last year, we carried out an important movement. We migrated from the captive gas market, and this allowed for significant savings in the gas price. That doesn't mean we're not subject to the fluctuations in this commodity.
A very good question, and it is a point of attention that we have for 2026. Regarding resumption of exports to the U.S. after the drop of tariffs, this is very recent. Now the effect is more gradual. The reaction of the construction material chain in the U.S. tends to be quite slow, and we're coming from a period with a formation of inventories in the American market. This situation has become regularized because of the tariffs, but we continue to observe it.
Our next question comes from Mr. Juan Lorenzo.
Thank you for the presentation, and congratulations for the excellent results. Regarding the funding from the BNDES, what is the cost and term of the BRL 160 million, and how does this compare with funding from a local bank?
Very good question. Now, that credit line from the BNDES originally had a term of four years. With the revision of the program Brasil Soberano, it has been extended to seven years. It's a relatively long and very competitive credit line. If we compare it with CDI plus debt, it would be a CDI minus CDI minus six or seven. Our average cost is CDI plus 1.5, so there is a significant difference, and it was a very important line to obtain for the first half of the year.
The next question is from Mr. Hugo Mora.
Are you thinking of carrying out sale-leaseback in other plants?
No, we have not thought about working with sale-leaseback in other company plants. Well, because we don't have any more available plants for sale-leaseback in the United States. The plant there was given as warranty for another operation.
We would like to remind you that your questions can be done in writing using the Q&A icon. Please hold while we poll for questions. Our next question comes from Mr. Marco Antonio Pereira.
I would like to hear more details about the sale of the asset in Marechal Deodoro.
Very well. That operation, and we had a disclosure on that, is an operation that was structured by a fund carried out by professionals who observed the market and saw the possibility of working with that sale-leaseback with investors, but it arose with the firm support of the controllers. Had we not had the support of the controllers, we could not make this operation feasible. For some time already, we had been analyzing that investor market for sale-leaseback. It was somewhat more active some years ago. It resumed again last year.
We had already done it ourselves, and this same market sounding was carried out and we received as a proposal from market funds proposals in financial conditions that were less interesting for the company vis-à-vis shareholders. We worked with 100% of related parties working with the controllers, and this is a design we followed in that operation. This is an operation that involves several operations in the company, warranting the very best conditions for shareholders.
Caio, allow me to complement here. The sale-leaseback operation is a sale of the real estate, the land, the construction of the plant, and of course, does not represent the sale of the business. We continue with the same challenges that we have faced in previous years, especially in 2025. This was a financial transaction and not a transaction regarding the business. It was an important transaction to increase the liquidity of the company, and we counted upon the support of the controlling shareholders. To conclude, now, as we were dealing with 100% related parties, the governance was fully complied with the assessments that were necessary, the assessment by audits, and much more.
The question and answer session ends here. We would like to return the floor to Mr. Suzuki for the company's closing remarks.
I would like to thank all of you for your attendance in this live. It's a pleasure to share this information with you. We had the opportunity of speaking about the main highlights and challenges of the company. I think we had a very rich discussion, and this gave us the opportunity to offer you more details regarding what we do. Once again, we're at your disposal through our IR department. We'll meet again next quarter.
The Portobello Group conference call ends here. We would like to thank all of you for your attendance. Have a wonderful afternoon.