Good morning, everyone. Welcome to 3tentos' Q1 2024 earnings conference. Joining us today from the 3tentos team are CEO and IRO, Luiz Osório Dumoncel, COO, João Marcelo Dumoncel, CFO, Cristiano Costa, Commodities Director, Luiz Augusto Dumoncel, and IR Manager, Eduardo Mattos. Please note that this conference is being recorded and will be available for replay on the company's IR website, where today's slide deck can also be downloaded. We are experiencing some instability with our internet connection, so if any outage occurs, please wait as we reconnect. For those who need simultaneous translation, the service is available and can be accessed by clicking the globe-shaped icon labeled Interpretation, located at the bottom side of your screen. If you're listening to the conference in English, you can mute the original audio in Portuguese by selecting the option Mute Original Audio.
During the company's presentation, all participants will be connected in attendee mode. Following that, the conference will be open for questions. At that point, if you wish to ask your question live, please click on the Raise Hand button at the bottom side of your screen. To submit your question in writing, just click on the Q&A symbol, also available at the bottom of your screen, and type in the text box. Before we proceed, we would like to clarify that any statement made during this conference relative to 3tentos's business prospects, projections, and operational and financial targets, as well as potential growth, are based on its management's beliefs and expectations, as well as currently available information. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and therefore rely on circumstances that may or may not materialize.
Investors must understand that general economic conditions, the state of the agribusiness sector, and other operational factors may affect 3tentos's future performance and lead to materially different results than those expressed in said forward-looking statements. Now, I would like to turn over to Mr. Luiz Osório Dumoncel, who will begin the presentation. Please, Mr. Dumoncel, you may proceed. Good morning, everyone. Well, first of all, I'd like to thank all of you for joining us today. I'd like to open this conference by showing our solidarity to the state of Rio Grande do Sul. At the end of this presentation, even before the Q&A, we'll be talking a little bit about the impacts that the tragedy has had. I'd like to start by talking about the solid results the company has had over the course of the last 21 quarters.
But in fact, we're talking about over five years where we've reported growth to the market every quarter. And during this last quarter, the first quarter of 2024, we came to BRL 2.7 billion in net operating value. So I just wanted to highlight that figure. We'll be talking about the highlights of the quarter and also the growing numbers we've reported. The increasing volume and recovering margins are very significant. We know how important it is to grow our gross profit. We know how important this is in a market that work, that works significantly with the deadlines and margins, which are increasingly higher.
As for the start of our ethanol in the corn-based ethanol industry in Mato Grosso, we'll be also addressing that issue, as well as the issue of the impacts of the rainfall in Rio Grande do Sul and the investment that we've made there. And as I said earlier, this is something we'll be addressing at the end of our presentation. All the impacts the rain in Rio Grande do Sul has had and our prospects and the overview of what we've done and what we are already doing without saying anything that may seem irresponsible, but really giving you a clear view of what's going on at the moment. We know that the sun will come back in a few days, and our operations will be picked up. On that, I'd like to turn to the following slide.
I think the figures speak for themselves. A major highlight, in addition to revenue, is our adjusted gross revenue. So the 75% increase that the company had, going to BRL 429 million with a gross margin recovering to 16%, our EBITDA also growing and a net profit going up 51%. We are very pleased with what we're reporting. This is a result of the strength of the business we are a part of, the strength of the agribusiness sector in Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso. 3tentos is already working on other regions as well. In the case of grains, we're already working in the ports of Rio Grande do Sul, Santos, Paranaguá, and also the ports of the Northern Arch in grain sales. What we're seeing is a result of the very focused work of our team.
I usually say this at the end, but I'd like to underscore on this slide the work of every member of the 3tentos team who helped us achieve these results in Q1 with a crop harvest that wasn't as positive in Mato Grosso, but is now at the last stage in Rio Grande do Sul, especially with corn, is doing really well. So this is the consequence of a very job that was very well done in a sector that has maybe incomparable resilience, which is the production of food and renewable energy. In the following slide, we look at our results per segment, and again, the numbers speak for themselves. We see an increase in Ag inputs in terms of revenue and also in adjusted gross revenue.
There's been a significant increment in crop protection, when in January, February, and March, we saw a return to regular weather in Rio Grande do Sul, and we saw these, products being applied by farmers, which has led us to record-breaking productivity or close to record-breaking productivity in many crops. As for the gross margin, this, dovetails with the recovery we've had in grain. We spent several years, and, I remember the pandemic, talking about the impacts we would, have to absorb. The market worked well with that, and we, worked with great expectations, which obviously reflects on higher prices. But when things go back to normal, we see everything leveling off again and the company, or better saying, the entire industry, going back to its regular levels.
Mato Grosso once accounted for 23% of our net operating value in the first quarter of 2024. So once again, thank you, Mato Grosso. Thank you for welcoming 3tentos in this third year now, and we now have a significant share in Ag inputs in the state. This gives us a lot of confidence in the growth 3tentos has had in different states. In grain, our volume increased by 70%. The first wheat export program we've had here in the 3tentos in Rio Grande. So once again, great job to our São Paulo team, who did amazing work, and also the entire foundation of 3tentos within the state of Mato Grosso, who made this happen. And again, grains now account 27% of our net operating value in Q1.
In industry, I'd like to underscore the teams of both, on both sides, Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul, who made all the difference and helped us really take off and grow 70% in revenue and almost 120% in adjusted gross revenue. This shows the tireless work of our entire industry team with a high-performing production of high value-added products, biodiesel, glycerine, and also taking these products to the market using the best possible logistics, maintaining the appropriate, gross margin. So once again, I'd like to acknowledge the entire commodities team, who are the ones who make this happen. Also, Mato Grosso accounted for 42% of that revenue in the industry in the first quarter.
So breaking down the three main industries or the three main segments for the industry, we again confirm the dedicated work of a team that truly believes in the agribusiness industry, and that's how we'll move forward. So I'd like to turn over to João Marcelo, who will be talking about our next slides. Good morning, everyone. Our purpose here is shed some light, especially on the moves we've made in terms of transporting grain, especially soybean meal, and first of all, the significant evolution we reported in sold grain volumes, the grain volume sold. So compared to last year, we've virtually doubled our volume from 450 tons to 850 tons in Q1, with Mato Grosso accounting for 33% of our business volume in Q1 versus 9% in the first quarter of 2023.
So as you can see on the map, the logistics corridors we use here in Rio Grande do Sul, obviously a much shorter corridor, which goes from within the state or where our plants are located to the Rio Grande port via the railroad, and in Mato Grosso, we work on both modes of transportation. Both the South Arch going down to the south and the Northern Arch working on the roadside, plus waterways, especially out to the Barcarena port. Naturally, the grain transported from the Central West, particularly Mato Grosso, both grain and bran, travels a longer path until it reaches the ports. And part of the purpose of this slide is to shed some more light and give everyone a little bit more clarity about the next slide we now will see, which shows the company's SG&A.
We've been seeing increases in our SG&A, as we've discussed in previous calls. However, the initial situation that we would like to show you is that this relative increase we're seeing is, before anything else, being offset by the increased gross margin. But we'd like to say that because commodity costs are going up, the relative tariff, even though relative to last year, has decreased. Because commodity prices are going up, it is relatively higher than before. In Q1 2024, we also handled more corn and wheat, corn, especially in the state of Mato Grosso, and wheat here in Rio Grande do Sul , where relative prices are also lower. So our logistics cost is more or less flat per ton, and as you transport a larger volume at a lower price, the share of logistics on our revenue ultimately increases.
So this is just to shed some light on those points, but it is also important to note on the SG&A side that these increases have essentially come or exclusively come from the logistics side. The company has also seen improved performance in its staff management, especially compared to when we compare Q3 2023 to Q1 2024, which shows that we've done some great work in terms of streamlining our operations. Also, with regard to other costs that we add here for comparison's sake, there's also been a significant gain with 0.2 percentage points below what we saw in the last quarter of last year. But what we would like to underscore is what I said earlier, which is the increase in our SG&A has been offset by gains in our increased gross margins.
And here we have an exercise using the revenue of Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2024, where we see increase going 24% and adjusted EBITDA up 24, 48% in absolute, 28% in absolute forms, which seems not to have grown in relative ways. But as we add our hedge, our hedging and NDF work, and as we see in the earnings release, but which by essence and characteristic are within the, within 3tentos's business, essentially coming from the operational side, because the company works with these active protections, so as not to feel any impacts from the market. So as every business is closed, it is locked, if not against, future impacts, at least against futures earnings. So as we see on the financial earnings, we can see this result from contracts that have been signed.
It brings this EBITDA, and looking at last year, we have a somewhat negative result, so it lowers the one, the first quarter, the Q1 2024 result down, but for Q1 2020, in Q1 2023, but in Q1 2024, adjusted by the settled hedges and NDFs, we see an increase by 62%, which takes the EBITDA from 5.1, or actually from 6% in Q1 2023 to 5.1 in Q1 2024.
Or actually from 5.7 to 6.3, with a 0.6 percentage point increase, which shows something we've said in recent calls, which is an increase in gains in logistics, which has been offset by the gross margins, and in this case, our EBITDA as well, which is because of a change in the volumes and the product mix, and most importantly, in the origin mix. So in Central West, as the origin grows, you see a longer path that the product has moved, and that has an impact on logistics. However, we are very confident. We believe that the company, the company's logistics effectiveness has improved. We have been making headway in that sense, and this that we have just showed you makes it very clear. Good morning, everyone. I'd like to talk a little bit about our financial soundness.
We ended the first quarter of 2024 with a net debt of BRL 324 million, when divided by our total EBITDA in the last twelve months of BRL 128.5 million, gives us an increase by 55 points, which is a level we consider healthy and which shows the essence of the company in its conservativeness and its cash generation. We also continue to extend our debt maturity, so we already have 50.4% of our debt maturing in the long run, which we understand to be a structure that's appropriate for the company's long-term prospects and projections, and we make these changes as we enjoy opportunities with the interest rate. Moving on to the next slide.
Relative to the end of 2023, December 2023, we saw an increase in our net debt, which was essentially a product of the increased need for working capital, which is essentially a result of the seasonal period in ag input sales. And this is something our founders will later talk a little bit more about, which is CapEx. So this reflects the start of our operations in the northern plant. And we conclude with effects of dividends that were paid and the cash the company generated. So the most significant impact comes from the CapEx and the working capital because of the seasonal period, as I've said earlier, and the larger ag input sales.
So with this movement that's starting in northern Rio Grande do Sul, in Porto Araguaia, I would like to turn over again to our founder, Luiz Osório Dumoncel. Thank you, Cristiano. We chose to show you a picture from a couple of weeks ago, but construction is already starting in Porto Alegre do Norte, in what we call Porto Araguaia. So 3tentos is now moving forward in the state of Mato Grosso, now in a major soybean and corn production area. 3tentos is steadily growing its operations. Construction is moving forward at full speed with the project already defined and filled with confidence. We are now stepping into the corn processing stage in the industry, which again gives us a lot of confidence.
The same team which built the Vera plant and the plants down here in Rio Grande do Sul, this same team is now focused and spearheading construction in the corn processing plant, DDG production, and ethanol production plant as well. We are working tirelessly day and night to meet and achieve the goals that we set for ourselves. This is a very skilled team. Our investment plan has been fully outlined. As we mentioned, last Monday, the company issued its first set of debt securities that was really successful. The debentures has its resources—the debentures have their resources already programmed, and we will continue to use those funds as responsibly as we've had so far, and we're also committed to our long-term debt payments, and we will give you clarity on that when the right time comes.
So again, we are filled with confidence in this industry, which, according to our plan, will be operating in early 2026, not only with corn, but also soybean in the area. And now I'd like to ask João Marcelo to help me shed a little bit more light on this movement that we've, this move that we've just made. All right, so adding to what, Luiz Osório just said, our construction is going forward within schedule.
We are also closing some of the construction within schedule. We are also running on budget, so everything really is going according to plan, which, as Luiz Osório just said, makes us really confident in what we're doing. Also, because of the experience that our team has had and also the partners that are joining us on this business, Katzen International and other elements that are playing into t his execution, all of which makes us really confident.
I'd like to add that in addition to the plant, we are setting up the entire ecosystem in Vale do Araguaia. We already have a store with Confresa, which between 30-60 days will already be operating in the ag input sales department and also adding other units. The Espigão do Leste unit, which is also in the final stages of negotiation to start operating. The Araguaia Valley is already taking shape in its operations as well, already accounting for an effective share of our sales and coming into operation in the second half of 2024. Again, everything moving within schedule, both the industry and the operation at large, early in 2025, and the plant starting its operations in early 2026.
So we are fully focused on the Vale do Araguaia project, and we're showing the project with a BR-163 highway and the other stores that quarter after quarter and crop, harvest after harvest, moving forward in a significant move for the company. Now, here you have the impact of the rain. First of all, the impact for 3tentos and the company's business here in Rio Grande do Sul. Since the very beginning, 3tentos obviously took a stance to help every entity that is hurting right now, but the first decision we made was also to keep our operations running.
So even because we're located in an area that is higher, I think it is 3tentos' obligation to continue its operation, producing feed and inputs, helping farmers at the end of the harvest, especially in the south, working to meet the demands of the feed industry. We have a few alternative routes. Some of our logistics directors, after the Q&A, may answer any questions you may have about that as well. So in ag input, logistics, and in production, we are still operating nonstop. We also had to make some adjustments with the arrival of biomass without any interruption. Our inventory is already adjusted to supply for a long period. Inputs, for example, with hexane are still coming in, so we were paying attention to that from the very beginning.
As to the 2023/2024 soybean harvest, we believe that the impact is non-negligible. It's actually a significant impact. Again, we're talking only about impacts on our business, and in this case, it's not as significant because a harvest that was initially predicted to be between 23 and 24 tons, we do not have anything official in terms of figures. We might have something starting this Friday from an updated forecast point of view after the rain, but we believe that the harvest in Rio Grande do Sul will still be between 21 and 24 million tons. So Rio Grande do Sul will have the supply to meet its exports and also to meet the entire industrialization process that is to take place throughout 2024.
3tentos, in turn, already has over 24% of its soybean already stored with some small volume imports, which are committed to our exports. All of that has already been planned for as well. As for wheat in 2024, I actually conducted a survey alongside StoneX, which is a partner of ours. CONAB assessed our wheat production in 1.5 hectares and forecast for 2024, 1.4 million hectares. StoneX expects a larger decrease, with Rio Grande do Sul planting about 1.1 million hectares, with a decrease of about 30%. And that is especially because of the seeds.
But when we hear the news on TV, we may ask ourselves, "But how will the wheat be planted if we look at forecasts and everything is flooded?" Well, wheat is planted in a higher land, and planting starts in the month of June and lasts throughout the month. So we believe that the impact on wheat planting should be zero or close to zero. The ag input for this planting has already been set aside. We already reviewed all of that this week, so we are all set for next month, and once this turmoil and this very difficult situation the state is going through, we will then start to work on recovery and have the wheat crop planting, and then corn, and by September, and then October and November, soybean will be planted both in Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso.
So the figure that last year we originated 487,000 tons of soybean, and this year, by March 31, over 1,000,000 tons of soybean. This figure should very soon reach 1,200,000. So we might have official forecasts very soon, but that's what we expect for now. So these are the impacts 3tentos expects to handle, and we are making the necessary arrangements to absorb them. As for 2024, our operations will continue. We are preparing to open new stores in Mato Grosso and here in Rio Grande do Sul. We're working to recover our margins in the ag input business, especially because of the increased instability and the uncertainty in commodities when it comes to logistics and ag input supply. We're very confident in our biodiesel operation.
Biodiesel is offering a significant margin, significant margins for the company. We always want to have the product available. The more biodiesel we have available for the industry, both in Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso, the better our margins will be for the company at large. And again, this makes us very confident in the company being ready not only to meet this demand for high-quality food, with feed also that comes to our animals with quality to supply society at large. And we are also making it a point to supply renewable energy that will help us as we transition to a country and a planet, really, that's increasingly sustainable. And the 3tentos ecosystem will continue to add value.
I'd like to, again, underscore our entire team, our technical and sales team, our administrative team, our ag inputs, industry, marketing, HR, TentosCap, and financial teams. We have everyone working tirelessly in every front for our operations to continue and for us to be able to help Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso to strengthen the business in those areas. Well, with that, I think we can move on to our Q&A. We will now begin our Q&A session. You may ask your question live by clicking the Raise Hand icon located at the bottom side of your Zoom screen. Once you do so, a request to activate your microphone will pop up. To submit your question in writing, just click on the Q&A button, also available at the bottom of the screen, and type it in the text box.
Our first question comes from Mr. Pedro Fonseca with XP. Pedro, we will now release your microphone. Please, you may proceed. Good morning, Luiz, Cristiano, Marcelo. Before anything, I'd like to express our solidarity with all your employees and the entire population of Rio Grande do Sul. We are sending you our best thoughts, and please count on us to help you recover from this tragedy as soon as possible. So moving on to our questions. First of all, I'd like you to help us think a little bit about the margins for the industrial operations. I know you don't break up your margins by region, but any color you may add will help us.
How much of your strong growing margins in year-over-year terms is explained by the wider margins in the state of Mato Grosso, and how much of it is explained by the decrease in grain prices, considering that, the production is still delayed? What we feel is that with the rise in sales, those margins have room to grow even more and maybe offset the increase in SG&A even more, as you'd, said before, especially with the growing, selling in Argentina, which opened the cross margin, if we understood it correctly. So that's my first question. We'd like to understand the, the margin for your industrial operations a little bit more. Any color you may add in terms of region would help us. And my second question is about the acquisition of ag inputs, which is still significantly late.
Consequently, we're hearing discussions about the potential risk of shortage and also the logistical bottlenecks that that could give rise to. We understand that ag inputs follow a reverse logistics path, but do you believe that there's any risk of shortage, especially in Rio Grande do Sul, which should continue to experience those logistic bottlenecks, lacks. Those are my questions. Thank you, Pedro, for your questions. Thank you to XP for the solidarity and the support that you are giving us. I think that it would be interesting for Luiz Augusto to start answering, and then if João Marcelo has anything to add, he might jump in, and I may also help if I have anything to add myself. Okay? All right, perfectly. Good morning, Pedro, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for the space, and thank you for your questions.
With regard to the industry, this increase and the growing consistency we're seeing in our margins comes very much on the heels of our maturity, with biodiesel going into Mato Grosso as well. We started our operations there in 2023, and until Q3, still waiting for the National Oil Agency's license for our sales. Now in Q1 2024, we are now able to continue our operations, going full in our operations, both in Mato Grosso. Bearing in mind that our margins are closely connected to the acquisition of raw material. So we have been seeing in the last few years, slightly slower farmers selling with an average even below what we expected, but we're also seeing that these sales have come in waves.
So we are now seeing Mato Grosso coming closer to 55-60% and Rio Grande do Sul also coming up with the credit payable post-harvest price of soybean. In our specific case, in Mato Grosso, even because of the local farmers' characteristics, the average is even a shorter maturity than in the rest of the country. So we're locking in origination and also locking our margins, both for bran and biodiesel. On the bran side, even though prices have come up in the last few days because of what's going on in Argentina, at the turn of the year and the beginning of the year, we continued to see higher levels, so we were able to work on that protection very well, and we're now seeing that with Rio Grande do Sul.
We work on with that strategy of always talking to them, fixing that alongside the bran and with the biodiesel sale, so we've been able to work on our margins that way. I hope I was able to address your question, and I'm also available for any additional clarification. On the ag inputs front, add to your answer, what we see is really a delayed decision on the farmer side. That delay still hasn't seen results in the final price, so suppliers, which is our case, we are still bringing the inputs and the supply, especially when it comes to crop protection and seeds. I would say the risk is minimum for any sort of shortage or any supply disruption.
As for fertilizers, even because of the characteristic volume, I mean, this is the input whose volume is the largest, I would say that is more sensitive. But I would say that even with the delays, it's still not compromised. What the market has to do is to really take action. Of course, now in Rio Grande do Sul, we are now at a time of more uncertainty because of all the chaos that the rainfall has caused, but farmers, even in the areas that have not been struck, which is most of the areas we operate, they are still waiting to make a decision.
But as Osório said, we understand that the situation tends to be normalized, and as we've said about 3tentos, the best we have to offer to the state is in these areas where we have not been affected so drastically, is for us and for our farmers to continue with their operations. What we have to do now is to really roll up our sleeves and work as much as we can, even above our capacity to supply these areas that have been affected and to help those people who have been affected the most. Thank you, Luiz Augusto and João Marcelo. That was very thorough, and congratulations on your results. Our next question comes from Mr. Enrique Brustolin with BTG. Mr. Brustolin, we will release your microphone so you may proceed. Good morning, everyone. I hope you're all doing well, and thank you for taking my questions.
I'd also like to start by looking into retail. First of all, from your wider margins perspective, which is what we saw in Q1. If you could talk a little bit about how much of that was the effect of a better mix in terms of crop protection, and what should come from unit increases that will carry over for the rest of the year? So how representative is this increase in your margins for the next few quarters? What can we expect in that sense? And looking at retail in an environment where sales are coming in later with more volatility or an environment that's less encouraging from a margin standpoint, how do you see the competition, even considering your expansion in the state of Mato Grosso?
When you compare that with previous years and even to the time when you came into the state, how have the dynamics changed? And secondly, in your IR line, this is the first quarter where we see no benefits of fully deductible. We saw a line that was even lower than we expected, with a positive impact from a line called Others, with BRL 30 million at the basis. I just wonder how recurrent we should expect this to be, and the rate, the effective rate at around 22%, how lower could that be? Thank you, Enrique, for your questions, and thank you, BTG, for the support we've received from you in these difficult times.
With regard to our growing margins in retail and the late sales you mentioned, also reflecting the work in Mato Grosso, João Marcelo, I think, will be able to talk a little bit better about that. The first quarter where we did not have the subsidies and the 11%-12% increase we saw led to that expectation we'd have between 22% and 25%. So for the second question, I also like to ask João Marcelo to help us. So if you could please, João Marcelo. Yeah, of course. Thank you, Enrique.
With regard to our margins, in the last quarters, we have talked about the expectation that the margins for ag inputs would be recovered as the adjustment in prices that we've had in 2022 and 2023, sort of petered out from the business, and I believe that's what we are seeing now. The recovery in our margins, to a great extent, comes on the heels of a consistent movement as far as we can see, and we should see something relative to the product mix because of the increased share of crop protection.
But when we compare this quarter with the first quarter of last year, I could say that a significant share, maybe 80% as even, comes from this movement or this trend of normalization in our margins when we look at the history, now no longer feeling the effect of that mismatch that we were seeing before. As for the instability, well, we are in a market where the loss of productivity from farmers leads to higher pressure in some sense, but there's also been a decrease in input costs. So those terms of trade, which is something 3tentos really prioritizes, are at very encouraging terms. They are doing better, but they're not the terms of trade that we saw, especially last year.
So there has been some adjustment there, and 3tentos has been gaining ground, especially when we talk about Mato Grosso, as our value proposition with our entire package of support and business tools, our barter agreements, and other tools that we are adding to the business, begin to gain traction and become clearer to our clients and to farmers who believe in that value proposition. So in terms of competitiveness, we understand this is a challenging year, but also a year that's sort of normal, and we have everything it takes to work on a positive take. Good morning, Enrique. Cristiano speaking. Thank you for your question. As for the change in income tax, that 31 billion almost change that we saw is because of 3tentos' affiliate overseas, whose taxes are paid on the last day of December.
So we continue to work based on the same prospects of 22%-23% of an actual tax rate, and this is something that should be diluted throughout the year. That was very clear. Thank you for your answers. Our next question comes from Mr. Victor Modenese with UBS. Mr. Modenese, we'll now release your microphone. Please, you may proceed. Good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. Congratulations, first of all, on your results. I have 2 points I'd like to address, picking up on what, Enrique mentioned. The levels of return we might expect from the company when it comes to the actual, income tax following the, lack of the subsidy. What could we expect, maybe from a new tax rebates to, to this tax? Maybe that might be, too early to say, but what can we expect?
You've also talked about better margins in the industry, as João Marcelo said, including the logistics costs and moving forward, do you expect this level that you've achieved, including your SG&A dynamics, should that be seen as the recurrent level, or, should we expect any sort of adjustment there? Thank you for your questions, Victor. Naturally, about the actual tax rate, Cristiano could give you more details about our current reality, but we continue to adopt the same line of thought we did at the end of last year when we realized those subsidies would no longer be in place. So we started this year, January first, 2024, really not relying on that subsidy and actually having to pay the full tax rate. As for the margins for our plants, I would like to ask Luiz Augusto to address what's next for us.
There, we are confident that obviously, we're working with the commodity prices as well and the prices per region where we operate. So we're talking about distances, we're talking about commodity prices, we're talking about relative prices, and the cost of freight and the cost of the commodities, and we obviously have port rates that we have to pay as well. So many factors play into that. But the fact that Três Tentos manages that its, its sales and its production costs, and obviously its sales and the hedging of our entire sales operation really well, that makes us confident that this gross margin will be maintained and will be increasingly more appropriate. So, I'd like to ask my colleagues to take your questions. Thank you again, Victor.
So this quarter, we do not have the effects of the new strategies that we are now putting in practice, but what we expect is for both SUDAM and Lei do Bem to already be in force in the next few quarters. This is still an expectation, so we have some work going, some work underway, but part of that is on the authority side. So we do see these two alternatives to reduce our taxes in the next few quarters. I hope I was clear enough, Victor. Yes, you were very clear. Thank you. Thank you, Cristiano. Good morning, Victor. Thank you for your question. Being very much to the point, we do understand that our current scenario is comparable to what we had before.
Going back to the previous answer, 3tentos is continually growing, and our activities in Mato Grosso is growing in intensity as well, at the risk of being repetitive. But as we introduce new elements to our businesses, the comparisons between quarters grow closer as we have new business being open in a quarter. So going back to what I said before, we have reached a consistent result in Q4 last year and Q1 this year, and we do understand that the current level should be maintained or even improved as our origination matures, where even though it is already consolidated in Rio Grande do Sul and is consolidating in Mato Grosso, we will still seek to grow in terms of effectiveness and enhancing both our origination and our sales of our products. In Mato Grosso, our sales of biodiesel are still growing.
Bearing in mind that with the oil we produce there and by buying oil from third parties we can do great work, so we are still very confident in our current margin levels. That was perfect. Thank you so much, and I'd also like to express our solidarity to Rio Grande do Sul and all the company's employees. Thank you, Victor. Our next question comes from Ms. Larissa Pérez with Itaú BBA. Larissa, we will enable your microphone so you may open your line. Please, you may proceed. Good morning, everyone. Luiz, Cristiano, Mattos, thank you for taking our questions. First of all, I'd like to, again, as all my peers did, express our solidarity to Rio Grande do Sul. We know this is a very challenging time. We hope you recover as soon as possible.
Well, my first question is about your debt service during this quarter. Your loans and financing lines were essentially steady, but the discounts line virtually doubled. I'd like to understand what happened and how could we-- what could we expect in terms of debt service for the year at large? My second question is about your accounts receivable in this quarter, because you reported a significant increase versus the previous quarter, with an even larger share of the revenue. I'd like to understand what explains that, if you're giving a longer payment term for your clients, and is it something in Mato Grosso do Sul? That's what I'd like to understand. Thank you, Larissa. Thank you for expressing your solidarity, and also thank you to Itaú for the support that you always show us.
I'd like to ask Cristiano to talk about the debt service, the taxes and tariffs. He definitely will have more information about that, and I think that no one better than João Marcelo, who is working on the day-to-day with the sales team and the inputs team, to give a little bit more granularity in the information about the accounts receivable. How's Mato Grosso doing? How's Rio Grande do Sul doing with the maturities coming in now? He should have all that information. Thank you, Larissa. Our next question. I apologize. Now, Cristiano and João Marcelo will answer the last question. Well, first of all, thank you for your message, Larissa.
So part of the sum has to do with the sum that we captured and also the extension that has an impact on interest rate, both the rate that was advanced and also, on the other hand, has a positive impact. So if you compare that to Q1 of the previous year, it is in line with that. So both on the spending side and on the revenue side, there has been a positive change. Adding to the accounts receivable issue, and Cristiano may help me with that as well. I think that from the sales perspective in accounts receivable, what we do have is the seasonal period. The first quarter is a time when a large amount of crop protection products is sold. These are mostly fungicides and insecticides to protect the crop that has been planted.
Last year, there was a smaller share of those products sold because of the drought in Rio Grande do Sul and also a smaller share for Mato Grosso in the business. But there was this shift this year, which was not actually a shift. It was a return to regular levels, so we sold a significant volume here in Rio Grande do Sul, and the sales volume in Mato Grosso also increased. So those sales in the first quarter are relative to the volumes that farmers use with the beginning of the crop. This was a time of intensive crop protection application. So these are either expiring in April 31st or now at the beginning of May, as farmers begin to harvest. I don't know if Cristiano has anything to add.
Yeah, I could add by remembering that Mato Grosso already accounts for 23% of the revenue from ag inputs. We're also seeing a situation which became complex at one point in Mato Grosso. We even had a case we addressed really well because we had a brick-and-mortar company. So there was an increase in accounts receivable because of the larger sales volume. But it's also important to remember that the North and Northeast regions have essentially concluded their harvest season, but in the South, it's still very much underway. So in these two days of the week, despite the situation that we're living, our units all received grain. And if you look at it from a global perspective, the company ended the quarter with BRL 1.45 billion in receivables, which is 0.75x our net revenue.
That's whereas last year we had 0.69 of our net revenue. So there has actually been an increase in accounts receivable, but much because of the company's increase, as João Marcelo mentioned, in ag input sales at a time when farmers are buying, and so we already have this receivables account in April thirtieth and May thirtieth. Thank you so much, guys. If you could follow up on that very quickly. You also talked about interest rates and receivables. I just wanted to make sure I'm looking at the right line because they're growing a little bit. That's why the growth on the expenses side has grown. I just wanted to understand how we should think about that for the year.
Yeah, the debt, as we capture higher values throughout the year, we should have to pay a slightly higher debt service. That's within our budget, and we have to take a global perspective and also think about what we're actually paying in terms of interest rates. That was perfect. Thank you, guys. Our next question comes from Ms. Laura Hirata with the Santander Bank. Ms. Hirata, we will now release your microphone. Please, you may proceed. Hello, everyone. Thank you for taking my question. I would also like to express my solidarity to your employees in Rio Grande do Sul, just as my colleagues have. I actually have two questions. First of all, I'd like to look into retail a little bit.
If you could add some more color as to your review of the products and the inputs for crop 25 and 26, and also in a quantitative way, if possible, I'd like to understand your prospects for the price per ag input category for the next crop season. And on the industry side, I'd also like to understand in a qualitative way, what do you guys expect in terms of pricing and also the capacity of your plants? Because we spent several years with a large idle capacity, and we now believe that the company might need to increase its idle, its capacity. So I wanted to hear from you from these two perspectives. Thank you. Thank you, Laura. Thank you for expressing your solidarity as well.
This morning, João Marcelo was with Eduardo and our sales director, as well as our inputs director, Ben, were reviewing our 2024-2025 season, how things are going, and so on and so forth. So I think, he will have better information about the 2024-2025 season and obviously about prices as well. As for the industry, myself and, João, who are closer to Tiago from trading, he will talk about our prospects, obviously mentioning some of our feelings and also the feeling of the market as to prices and the capacity of our plants to move forward throughout 2024. So if João Marcelo could please help us, followed by Luiz Augusto. Good morning, Laura. As for ag inputs, this takes me back, to what I said earlier. We understand the level is slightly, lower in fertilizers.
Products have been replaced to some extent, especially when you think about the nutrients. We're seeing farmers increase their application of potassium and reducing their levels of potassium. That's because potassium prices have been really low in the last few months. That's encouraged farmers to increase their use of this nutrient. And because phosphorus did not see the same decrease in prices, in most cases, phosphorus has been rationed, and that's being offset with potassium, which ultimately, in sales terms, offsets the other. This is connected to price, yes, we do understand that the mix of ag inputs, if we compare them crop by crop, we should see a decrease between 20%-25% considering the mix of crop protection products, seeds, and others.
In the case of 3tentos, we've been offsetting because prices in 2023 were lower than in 2023, and now in 2024, prices are even lower than in 2023. So we've been offsetting that with an increase in volume. So despite the decrease in prices, our revenue has continued to increase precisely because of the larger volumes, which, as we've reported, also comes from the new stores and also the growing maturity in the stores that we opened in recent times. So we saw essentially one-third of stores have still not reached maturity in terms of market share, at least in our understanding and according to the market share curve that we've outlined for the business. So we are very confident in what regards volume.
As I said earlier, the market, especially in Mato Grosso, has begun to respond very strongly in this last quarter, and the market in Rio Grande do Sul, obviously, now has come to a halt. But we understand that at this point, in the wheat crop tends to really go back to a very significant point in terms of purchasing definitions. All right, let me continue. Thank you, Laura, for your question. So with regard to what we see for biodiesel, giving this national bias with the increase in the, in its share in the mix, how do we, at 3tentos, understand our contribution to the market? First of all, from the national perspective, we're still very optimistic.
We understand that the agenda for the country, even for the sake of supply security, is still very good, both for ethanol and biodiesel, and in the case of diesel, specifically, because Brazil is a country that exports biodiesel and has a large capacity to produce the oil in the country, even with some idle capacity at this point. We remain steady, not only thinking about the share in the mix, but also still raising the banner of the full use of biodiesel in heavier trucks. Talking about Mato Grosso, specifically, our expectation was somewhat frustrated with the soybean crop, which led the demand, specifically for biodiesel, to be smaller. And even so, we were able to have positive results in that market, contributing with a, in some way, new volume to the market. And we do see some room to contribute for an increase there.
We have also already announced our intention to expand our Vera plant to become self-sufficient and use our full capacity to produce biodiesel there with the oil from Três Tentos, something that is currently done by purchasing third-party oils. And also here in Rio Grande do Sul, because we understand that in addition to supplying the state, we are also responsible for supplying other bases outside the state, especially in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná, and a little bit in São Paulo as well. So we're still very confident about biodiesel, both when thinking about Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso, and the country at large. That was perfectly clear. Thank you so much, everyone.
Quick reminder, to ask your question live, just click on the Raise Hand icon at the bottom side of your screen, or to submit it in writing, click on the Q&A button and type it in the text box. With no further questions, the question and answer session is now closed. Now, I'd like to turn over to Mr. Luiz Osório for the company's final remarks. I'd like to thank everyone for joining us. Once again, I'd like to acknowledge the 3tentos team. To make it very clear to everyone on our call this morning, 3tentos is fully operative in all its regions. We issued a release earlier this year where Santa Maria and Riachuelo, we had two operations where we had to stop our operations. Santa Maria has already restarted operations, loading grains and transporting. The team made a very great effort, but we restarted.
In the other unit, we've also identified nearly zero losses, and it's important to say that 3tentos is fully operative or even above its capacity to help the state really recover. And as we say, here's all the strength to RS. As we say, we've launched our program, Sempre Presente for RS. This is a campaign to help everyone on the state. We've been working since the very beginning of this issue that we are going through here in the state, and we first helped by helping to save lives. Every 3tentos unit, we now have 56 units in the state. We're all working tirelessly, first of all, to keep the operations running and to help with recovery. So we have these two points at the forefront of our work.
The fact that we operate at higher place, in higher places, we are, we see the opportunity, and we see the responsibility to continue to work and to help the state the best way we can. We are and will continue to be steady and steadfast, not only now, during this difficult time, but later when we will have to rebuild. We are very aware and have it very clear in our minds what we will have to do. We know that a few days from now, we will be planting corn and soybean and wheat, and the ag business sector will help the state to recover to an even stronger state than before. We know this is a difficult time that we're facing, but we're also very confident about what we will do and that we will do it even better.
So I'd like to say thank you so much to my fellow citizens of Rio Grande do Sul, and also to my friends and colleagues on the call. So if you would like to contribute even more than you already have, please check out our Sempre Presente program. 3tentos' Q1 2024 earnings conference is now closed. The company's investor relations department is available to answer any additional question you may have. Thank you all for joining us, and have a great day.