Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for waiting. At this time, we would like to welcome everyone to SLC Agrícola's fourth quarter 2019 and 2019 fiscal year earnings conference call. Today we have Mr. Aurélio Pavinato, CEO, and Mr. Ivo Marcon Brum, CFO and Investor Relations Officer. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded and all participants will be in listen-only mode during the company's presentation. After the company remarks are completed, there will be a question- and- answer session. At that time, further instructions will be given. Should any participant need assistance during this call, please press star zero to reach the operator. Also, today's live webcast, both audio and slideshow, may be accessed through the SLC Agrícola website at www.slcagricola.com.br in the Investor Relations section by clicking in the banner on Webcast 4Q 2019.
The following presentation is also available to download on the webcast platform. The following information is available in thousands of Brazilian Real and in IFRS, except when otherwise indicated. Before proceeding, let me mention that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of SLC Agrícola management and on information currently available to the company. They involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions because they relate to the future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Investors should understand that general economic conditions, industry conditions, and other operating factors could also affect the future results of the company and could cause results that differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Now, I will turn the conference over to Mr. Aurélio Pavinato, CEO. You may proceed.
Good morning, and thank you for participating in SLC Agrícola's earnings conference call for the fourth quarter and fiscal year of 2019. Let's start on slide three, please. In 2019, once again, the results confirmed that we are following strategic initiatives that capture value for our business and are leveraged by our competitive advantages. I will go over our main deliveries that are supported by the four pillars of our current strategy. Let's go now to slide four, please. We achieved record-high yields in soybean and second-crop corn in the 2018/2019 crop year, which further distanced us in relation to the industry average at the national and global levels. In addition, we have obtained increasing gains from the adoption of new technologies that have been allowing us to cut costs.
As you can see on slide five, our growth strategy continues to prioritize cotton and soybeans since these crops maximize return per hectare planted and offer differentiated pricing. With regard to the asset-light business model on slide six, you can see the land sales transaction announced to the market in November last year under a leaseback structure in which we are able to monetize the significant property price appreciation over recent years. Lastly, on the issue of consolidation of certifications on slide seven, you can see that in 2019, we reached eight units certified by the SCS and have launched certification efforts at two more units. We also have made progress in the number of farms certified by the Better Cotton Initiative. Let's move on to slide eight. It's very important to highlight the efforts we have been making with our teams.
We are in a phase of consolidating the use of technologies that we have tested over recent years and believe that the biggest gains are yet to come. We created a training program in digital agriculture and redesigned the functions and controls. Today, we have a much more granular view of our operations, with the number of details continuing to grow. Our employees are highly engaged and with great satisfaction. We commemorate important recognitions of these efforts. We were named the Brazilian Best Agribusiness Company by the Globo Rural magazine and featured among the country's best companies in people management, according to the survey by Valor Carreiras. We are one of the 150 best companies to work for according to Você S/A magazine. Let's go now to slide 10, which shows the price of our main products in 2019 and early 2020.
Cotton prices in the first three quarters of 2019 reflected the risk-averse positioning of agents in the textile chain in response to the uncertainties caused by the U.S.-China trade war, which among other developments, generates expectations of weak economic growth. Another factor was the inventory rebuilding trends on the supply side, given the better cotton crops, especially in the United States and India in the 2019/2020 crop year. However, over the 4th quarter of 2019, some of these uncertainties that have negatively affected markets ended up mitigating, especially with the signing of the phase one of the trade agreement, which supports improvement in prices. We took advantages of this improvement to advance in our sales for the current crop year and the next crop year, as we will see later when we talk about our hedge positions.
In the case of grains, spot prices on the Chicago Board of Trade throughout 2019 were adversely affected by the spread of African swine fever in China, which reduced global growth in grain demand. On the other hand, was positively affected by the shortfall in the 2019/2020 crop year in the United States. The recovery in Chinese imports due to the recovery of its pig herd and the higher production of other animal protein were welcome news for the market and helped to keep prices stable. In the case of corn, note that in Brazil, spot prices on the B3 reached record levels, which is explained by the combination of the stronger growth in the domestic animal protein industry to fill the production gap created in China due to ASF, and by the robust export demand, given the lower supply in the United States due to the crop shortfall.
Brazil set new records for corn export in 2019, shipping 43 million tons, 88% more than 2018. In 2020, prices once again were affected, this time by fear of the economic impact for the coronavirus and in the past week, also by the sharp drop in oil prices. However, our business is showing resilience due to the consistency of its results, despite the short-term fluctuations in commodity prices. The business was constructed to be able to withstand this heightened volatility. I will now pass the call over to my colleague, Ivo Brum, our CFO and IRO, who will comment on our financial results in 2019.
Good morning, everyone. Please go to slide 12, which presents the highlights from our income statement. Net revenue in 2019 set a new record of BRL 2.5 billion. The growth of 20.8% on the prior year was driven by a combination of factors, including the expansion in blended area and the higher soybean corn use for the 2018/2019 crop year, as well as the higher sales price for all products in comparison with 2018. Adjusted EBITDA, which includes the proceeds from land sale in November, came to BRL 295.5 million, of which BRL 8 million is from land sale. The criteria used to calculate adjusted EBITDA was to exclude the amortization of right-of-use asset recognized in the production cost. Since it only affects parts of our land lease with leasing for the year. The other portion being recognized as adjustment to present value in the financial expense.
As a result, the comparison with 2018 is distorted, given that the two periods are governed by different accounting standards. Therefore, from 2019 onwards, it is important to note that adjusted EBITDA will not include amortization of right-of-use asset related to land leases. Net income in the year was BRL 315 million, with net margin of 12.4%. The decline in the net profit from 2018 is due to the calculation of variation of the fair value of biological assets for the cotton crop, which reflects the expectation of lower margin for the cotton crop in 2018/2019 crop year compared to 2017/2018 crop year due to the decline in the yields. Considering the land sale, the impact on the net income was BRL 32.1 million, given that the carrying cost of the area sold was BRL 336 million.
And that IFRS 16 accounting rules for the leaseback operation require an additional adjustment of BRL 19.5 million. The calculation reflects retaining profits, which will be recognized along the duration of the contract. Let us move on to slide 13. Note that 2019 marked yet another year for positive cash flow of BRL 213 million, reflecting the strong operation cash generation and the efficient management of our working capital needs. Another factor was the proceeds from the land sales of BRL 80 million. To conclude, let us move to slide 14, which shows our net position.
Adjusted net debt ended the year of BRL 973.8 million, literally stable from the end of 2018, seeing the positive cash flow of BRL 213 million in 2019 was used to pay dividends based on 2018 results of BRL 186 million. And to conclude the share purchase program in the first quarter of the year, in which BRL 42 million was invested.
The net debt adjusted by ratio ended the year at a very comfortable level of 1.22x . I will now pass the call back over to Pavinato for his comments and outlook.
Thank you, Ivo. Please turn to slide 16. We had already harvested more than half of our soybean from the 2019/2020 crop year. Given the excellent results obtained, we are revising upwards our yield estimate for this crop to 3,840 kg per hectare, which is 6.5% higher than the initial estimate. The cotton and corn crops already have been 100% planted, and to date are presenting excellent yield potential. In addition, as you can see on slide 17, we have managed to make good progress on selling our production for the crop year, obtaining prices above those of the current market and at levels above those in the previous crop year, considering the amounts in Brazilian Real. Looking a bit further ahead, we already have begun to form the 2020/2021 crop year.
With purchase of inputs, for which we have obtained significant price reductions in dollar, and the consequent future sales of commodities in line with our hedging policy. Considering the good potential of the crops, the formation of costs, and the sale prices, we expect to keep the margin at its high levels. Despite the recent volatility in markets, our business outlook remains excellent and benefits from a weaker Brazilian Real in relation to the dollar. Thank you. Now we open for questions and answers.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now initiate the question- and- answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please dial star one. If at any point your question has been answered, you may remove the question from the queue by pressing the pound key. Remembering, if you have a question to do, please press star one at your phone. This is the final announcement. If you have a question to do, please press star one. This concludes today's presentation. You may disconnect your line at this time and have a nice day.