Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the video conference for the release of Três Tentos' Q3 2022 Results. Here with us we have Mr. Luiz Osório Dumoncel, the company's CEO, Mr. Maurício Hasson, the company's CFO and IRO, and Mr. Eduardo Motter, IR Manager at the company. This video conference is being recorded and will be made available at the company's IR website, where the respective slide deck can also be found.
I would like to point out that for those of you who need simultaneous translation, we have this tool available on the globe icon that says Interpretation, which can be found in the bottom center part of the screen. For those listening to the conference in English, there is the option of muting the original audio in Portuguese by clicking on Mute Original Audio.
During the event, all participants will just be listening to the company's presentation, and then at the end we'll have a Q&A session. Questions can be asked via audio by clicking on the Raise Your Hand icon, also found at the bottom part of the screen. To send text questions, simply click on the Q&A icon, which can be found in the bottom of your Zoom screen, and then type in your question.
Before moving on, we'd like to state that forward-looking statements made during the company's presentation concerning the business's prospects, operating and financial projections and targets, and also the future growth potential of Três Tentos are beliefs and expectations on the part of the company's management and are based on information which is currently available. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not materialize.
Investors should have in mind that general economic conditions, agribusiness conditions, and other operating factors that may affect the future performance of Três Tentos and thus lead to results that will differ considerably from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. I now would like to turn the floor over to Mr. Dumoncel. Please, Mr. Dumoncel, you may carry on.
Thank you, Bruno. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining in our earnings call, where we'll comment on the numbers for Q3 2022. I would like to start with this slide. The BRL 2 billion net revenue, that's a historic landmark for Três Tentos. Every month, agriculture has been offering us different alternatives, and we have to work with those options.
What leaves us all very confident, increasingly confident, and that has been the case for the past 27 years where we have operated, and with a very good prospect going forward, is that the work in agriculture, all the way from planting the crops, planting the seeds to be used, all the way down to harvest and soybean industrialization, all of that creates a natural ecosystem which was created by Três Tentos, which is quite resilient.
2022 has proven to be very challenging. We started with a very severe drought in the south of Brazil and also in Argentina, and we had a failure of 50% of the soybean crop. 50%. The company showed positive results even amidst such a challenging scenario.
We'll be talking about that throughout the presentation, and we'll be back to that during the Q&A session so that we can explain how we are performing at the same level, even in a difficult year. The company has been opening new stores as scheduled in Rio Grande do Sul. Five business units which have been opened in the state, four units opened in Mato Grosso, totaling nine.
We'll reach December with 57 business units working around that ecosystem, the three main pillars, inputs, grains, and also taking those grains to the industry or to Três Tentos logistics hubs. The Vera factory is now at 80% of completion, and we'll be going into detail about that, show you some pictures of the facilities during the presentation. We will intend to start working in mid-2023. That's within our schedule, within the deadline.
We're quite happy with the progress of that unit. We have already received the second crop corn at that unit, which was an important landmark. Since September, we have been part of what we call FTSE, right? Our shares are now being measured at this very important international index so that international investors can now access numbers for Três Tentos and reach out to us as they try to understand the relevance of this Brazilian company in the agribusiness scenario in the states of Rio Grande and Mato Grosso.
We now offer this ecosystem to other partners around the world, including technology, logistics, management, and grain trading. Those conversations have been very interesting. We have those companies coming in, new investors coming in, and we are quite happy with that journey as well.
On the next slide, we see the numbers, and I'll focus on that growth across those nine months of 2022. We have reached a net revenue of BRL 4.7 billion, a growth of close to 28%. Adjusted gross profit of BRL 267 million or BRL 654 million in the nine months. The EBITDA also saw a drop in the third quarter, but we maintained growth across the first nine months. That margin of 70% is falling short of what we expected, but we'll get there. In terms of net income for the nine-month period, BRL 347.2 million, and BRL 170 million in the quarter, a growth of 72% in the quarter.
Those numbers, for me personally, as I share them with you, those numbers, to me, they are the very essence, the proof of our resilience, the importance of how well we balance those businesses, and that reflects in the net revenue. On the left-hand side, 39% inputs, 22% grains, and 39% industry. Those numbers are very dynamic. They change every month.
When we look back, we see that that balance is very dynamic. Depending on the different moments, it is important for us to be able to balance, to have good planning in place so that Três Tentos can continue to deliver good results. Those 20,000 clients we have, farmers, they are also successful because of that balance dynamic. Our aim continues to be to meet and exceed clients' expectations, and we have felt that materializing throughout those 27 years.
Especially after the company went public, became listed. Today, we have a very consistent guideline, but we do not forget past experiences, those gathered throughout those 27 years. I'll be back to those numbers as we come close to the end of the presentation, as we look into the future. I'd like now to turn the floor over to Maurício, who will be talking about the figures for Q3. Over to you, Maurício.
Thank you, Luiz. Good morning, everyone. It is a pleasure to be with you here today once again. Going into more detail of the numbers, we have an important highlight in the Ag Inputs segment. The Ag Inputs segment grew by 68% in the year, and the quarter was responsible for 72% of growth. The Q3 alone, 72%. We have to highlight that within that, those numbers.
Well, number one, the expansion of covered areas, that's driven by the newly opened stores, not only in 2022, but also in previous years. The expansion of the company has been very important, not only for the Ag Inputs segment, but also important during this period where we had crop failures. The idea of diversifying our footprint was important.
Within the acreage, we saw an increase in volume, both in seeds and in fertilizers, and pesticides also. We always mention that every quarter, pesticides are difficult to compare year-over-year because of the concentration of molecules, so the volume becomes an indicator which is not that precise. Just so you know, the company has expanded both in seeds and in fertilizers. Still, Q3 was a little late in terms of planting of soybeans.
Those revenues will take a little longer to come in. When we talk about profitability, gross profit, gross margin for the Ag Inputs segment, we've had stable margins throughout the year 2022. A slight drop in the third quarter because of a worse mix in Q3. Q3 was impacted by the high volume of fertilizers, which is a product which have margins which are comparatively lower when compared to seeds and pesticides.
Those are tighter margins for fertilizers. When you look back in our timeline, Q4 usually is the quarter where we have better margins for that. We sell a lot of seeds in the Q4, and that helps boost the company's margin in the fourth quarter.
The company also always seeks to integrate seed production and industry, so we produce part of those seeds in-house, as you know. Now, moving on to Grains, we cannot forget the early months of the year where our capacity to originate soybeans saw this crop failure in Rio Grande do Sul. A crop failure of something close to 50%. We have been discussing that with you as of recent.
This was a period where the grains segment was negatively impacted by the lower volume of sales of soybeans, 114,000 tons less in terms of soybean sales in the period. Just to give you an idea of the size of those volumes, 114,000 tons of soybeans, that accounts for about BRL 350 million in the quarter. Those are approximate numbers, of course.
Still corn and wheat sort of offset that for the first nine months of the company to be able to offset our revenues. When you look at gross profit, once again, what soybeans did not deliver for the reason I have just explained, corn and wheat stepped in, if I may, contributing for a better mix during that period, and delivering a stable gross profit at the end of the day.
This is yet another example of how that ecosystem mentioned by Luiz just now works like a hedge. The company has at its disposal different segments to explore inputs, grains and industry and different crops also. There was a period there where we had a crop failure for soybeans, but that was offset by corn and wheat.
Once again, I have to go back to the early times of the origination operation for corn in Mato Grosso, which started this year. All of that combined shows that the company has different growth drivers, one hedging the other, if I may, as different facts emerge throughout the period or the crop. Moving forward now talking about the industry segment on slide number seven.
The industry segment was of course impacted by the crop failure throughout the year. We had sales volumes of biodiesel which were lower than those of last year, driven by a couple of factors. Number one, margins. Because of the lower concentration of biodiesel, we moved from B3 and then to B10.
Because of that, biodiesel margins were very, very tight and that led the company not to buy oil from third parties as we did in the past to produce biodiesel. Because of that, we have a more modest crushing operation. Throughout the year our decision-making processes around the crushed volume are linked with a difficulty in having competitive margins for the crushing business.
We showed that in our release we delivered BRL 354 per ton, 354 per ton in gross profit for soybean in the quarter. In the year, sorry, in the year. No, rephrasing again, in the quarter. Much of that drives our decisions to work with more modest volumes. Still, we've seen growth in the soybean meal volume.
There's an important landmark in Q3, which was the start of the new operation in Cruz Alta. We increased our capacity substantially, moving from 1,000 tons a day to 2,000 tons a day. That brings to Três Tentos an expectation of becoming self-sufficient in producing oil for biodiesel.
Today in Rio Grande do Sul, Três Tentos for the capacity that the company has to produce biodiesel, so within the scenario of expansion of biodiesel, Três Tentos now has a crushing capacity which is able to produce enough oil to meet the supply of our biodiesel plant or the processing of the oil. Looking forward, when you look at the whole year, still we had a very difficult year in the origination of soybeans, one of the main drivers of value for the company and for the industry segment.
We deliver BRL 260 million in line with what we did last year. To put this into perspective so that you can understand where those value drivers are coming from for the company, we have always talked with investors about this. We have three value drivers in this segment. Number one. The incremental margin brought in by biodiesel this year was a very low margin.
The second value driver was a comparative advantage as we buy soybeans. That advantage comes from the fact that we work with several farmers and growers, and we work as a grain elevator would with those who buy high volumes of grains. This gain in margin, the more we buy from growers, the better it is for the company.
The third value driver, which makes us all very proud, is to have a high quality industry segment with a high level of productivity. This year, unfortunately, because of the quality of the soybean grains, that quality was affected as well. When we understand all those attributes of our industry segment, we can see that the impact suffered this year may not be present in a normal, quote-unquote, year.
That's my final message for the industry segment is that it was a difficult year with impact on our margins, delivered a result which was compatible with that yield last year, but falling short from the growth experienced by other units of the company. When we look at 2022, we understand that the main attributes of the company are still there, especially when we have.
We look ahead to a more normal year going forward to 2023. Now, speaking about the company's EBITDA, Luiz did mention something about this. We see the EBITDA margin of 7% fell short of what we expected for the company, 6.9% to be exact in terms of EBITDA margin, and that is coming from what I have just explained, and also because of an increase in sales expenses. We see that as investments being made to improve profitability going forward.
Out of the increase in sales expenses, which was the main extra impact that the company suffered, those BRL 36 million that you see there, an increase in sales expenses, BRL 14 million had to do with new stores, new structures, new facilities which were built to mature investments, and BRL 8 million of non-recurring events, consultancy services, tax consultancy services.
When you add 14 + 8, that's BRL 22 million. If we were to exclude that just for comparison purposes, those are non-recurring, we'd be back to a margin of 8% when compared to the net revenue. The rationale is analogous to the nine-month period. The number is pretty close. We'd be having an 8% margin across the nine months vis-à-vis the net revenue. Now, talking about one of the company's main attributes, which is cash generation.
In the period, we have increased our debt, net debt by BRL 213 million, our net debt. We are, we remain net cash as of September, but we have realized in the period that this was an important year of investments for the company, BRL 536 million, most of it allocated to the Vera factory, some remaining investments for 2023 in that factory, and the expansion in the number of stores, both in Rio Grande do Sul and in Mato Grosso, BRL 35 million in that front.
I'd like to highlight the company's capacity to generate cash with its operational activities. The 322 EBIT cash, which was close to the accounting EBIT, very close to our financial statements. That has been happening year after year after year, EBIT cash figures.
We have a cash conversion rate which is quite robust. Working capital in the quarter was lower, already having positive impact coming from the intercrop period where you have, you know, less capital. Looking at the end of the year, we are now approaching a period of the wheat crop, and we have a period until December, which is strong in terms of purchase of wheat in the market.
We'll be spending with the purchase of wheat. But as in previous years, we'll be having strong cash generation again. It's not covering the whole CapEx because of the high volume of investments being made that started in 2021 and then 2022 again, right?
With that, our profitability levels have reached this plateau close to 20% in terms of return on invested capital for the last quarters. Two main drivers. Number one, we have been discussing a significant part of our investments are being added to the invested capital, and that's obvious of course. Our results when we look at NOPAT, our results are being impacted by investments seen as expenses.
When you have operating expenses which are higher to fund or to support the organic growth of a store. Once again, the expansion of Três Tentos until now has happened organically 100%. Organic expansion has those two effects, i.e., you have to increase your invested capital base before you generate equivalent revenue. The same thing happens with expenses at a lower extent, but it happens just the same.
For 2023, we can see a turning point for that curve where we'll resume return levels which will be more compatible with our historical levels. For the year 2023, this is, as I said, a turning point for the return levels. The industry in Mato Grosso will be responsible, and next year be responsible for a considerable portion of the company's revenue and EBITDA when we have the Vera factory operating full steam mid-next year.
Those are recent pictures. You can see here on the slide, most of the civil works have been completed. I think 20% to go. Not much as you can see. We still have dirt roads. Those will be paved, but until June next year it'll be fully operational and the volumes will be close to 500,000 tons of crushing capacity. This for 2023 once again.
Now, in terms of expansion, we are following according to plan. We have completed the opening of five new stores in Rio Grande do Sul and Porto dos Gaúchos in Mato Grosso still pending for Q4, also in line, and it will be operational in the fourth quarter, totaling nine expansion units for the year. Now to talk about the outlook for 2022 and next year, I'd like to turn the floor back over to Luiz so that we can wrap this up.
Thank you, Maurício. Just for us to look at these remaining three months, or two months actually now, and talking about the three main pillars of the company: inputs, grains, and industry. Our footprint in Mato Grosso increasing. We have been very welcomed by local growers in Mato Grosso, and Três Tentos is moving forward for the next crop.
Second crop corn, which will be planted in December and January. Today, Mato Grosso is planting. They delayed planting, but then the rains came back. They're also harvesting wheat and planting soybeans. New stores, 22% more in terms of covered area for 2022-2023. We know about input price levels, so it's difficult to say what's gonna happen.
We work with indications, and sometimes you need to change a forecast because of market dynamism, right? With a market that changes every day. Also, the contribution from our financial and digital services. In terms of Ag Inputs, TentosCap has been growing, working close with farmers both in Rio Grande and also in Mato Grosso. I have an updated number here.
Today, we have 27 core brands within our Três Tentos units working with services, helping growers to better manage their properties. We are reinforcing our mission of delivering a different type of technology for growers, for them to reach better results, have better crops, so that they can, at the end of the day, have better management capacity.
Under the Grains pillar, we have a very positive outlook for 2022-2023. Mato Grosso has a very stable climate, so we are quite optimistic about that. We are originating significant amounts of soybeans to start crushing in mid-next year. We have increased our storage capacity 1,500 tons, an increase of 16% in terms of storage capacity. We know that really impacts the results. We are not forced to pay high prices for logistics, so we're able to better balance that product.
We are better able to store and transport at a more timely manner. Strong grain origination in Mato Grosso to serve our plants in Vera in the second half of next year. We are ready. I am in São Paulo today working at the BiodieselBR Conference. We've had meetings early today. Our commodities director, our commodities manager also.
We are already working at the port terminal front, both in Santos and Paranaguá, and also in the north. We are working on logistics today. In the afternoon, we'll have more meetings about that, and throughout the day after this call, I'll go back to the conference, biodiesel conference, where we're also discussing the biodiesel issue.
That industry, one of the reasons why we have reduced crushing and the sale of biodiesel, it started at 13% in the first quarter, March and April, and then went down to 10% and will remain at that level until the end of the year. That's a federal resolution. The National Oil Agency director is here at the conference. He has confirmed that for next year, 14% the first couple of months, and then 15%.
Of course, changes might occur because this is a political decision, in essence, but they don't see it as likely because that predictability will start now on November 20th. We are quite optimistic with those numbers. Today at this conference, we have 400 people. The biodiesel market is also quite optimistic with the RenovaBio also. Those renewable fuels will continue to be appreciated as Brazil grows.
An increase in capacity with Vera over 60%, as we have mentioned throughout the presentation, and we expect to recover margins. Of course, we know that agriculture, and I said this early in the presentation, we had a very challenging year. At the same time, we look at those challenges, we look at what we had to do, we look at what the competition did, and we look at what happened with our margins.
Still, we have grown. We have grown in revenue, we have grown in share, market share, and delivering positive results. To reach that, of course, we need to have this very synchronized management of all the sectors, and that's what sets us apart and makes us very proud.
We have a team which is quite disciplined, hardworking, dedicated, focused on innovation, and of course, focused on delivering growers the best results. We are quite happy with that, and we know that in 2023, we'll have the use of this new pesticide in Mato Grosso, and then overcoming all those challenges which are posed in 2023.
A wheat crop which was magnificent, if I may, in terms of quality, in terms of volume also. We see mid technology level crops reaching 55-60 bags per hectare and high technology areas reaching 80 bags per hectare. Those are yields which are quite impressive and need to be highlighted across the world.
I am happy to say that we will reach a record level of wheat, which will help us in our bottom line for the end of the year, and we are quite bullish for next year. As I said, with normal situations, normal climate situations, we are 100% ready to reap those benefits. Now to the Q&A, and we'll remain available for questions you may have.
Thank you, Luiz. We'll now start the Q&A session. Questions can be asked through audio by clicking on the icon Raise the Hand, which is available at the bottom part of your Zoom screen. At that point, a request to activate your mic will appear on the screen. To submit your question in writing, simply click on the Q&A icon also available at the bottom part of your Zoom screen, and then simply type in your question.
Our first question comes from Mr. Guilherme Palhares from Bank of America. Guilherme, you may carry on. Please, you may proceed, Mr. Palhares.
Good morning, Luiz and Maurício. Can you hear me?
Yeah. Yes, we can. Good morning, Guilherme. Good morning.
Good morning. Nice talking to you. I'd like to take the opportunity to ask about CapEx and the number on the expansion for Vera and new stores. If you could tell us what else is in your pipeline in terms of CapEx until the completion of the Vera factory. That's the first question. The second question, if you could give us more detail how you feel demand from farmers, especially in Rio Grande do Sul.
We see headlines talking about a lower demand for fertilizers or lower level of purchase of fertilizer because of high prices. Can you confirm that or do you see demand growing despite the delay in planting? We still see a possibility of a larger acreage. How do you see demand at the grower level?
Thank you, Guilherme. I'd like to ask Maurício to jump in. I think he has the numbers for question number one, and then I'll address the second question. Okay, Maurício?
Yes. Well, Guilherme, in line with the information we have, the total budget for Vera was BRL 600 million. To complete that factory, we still have BRL 150-200 million. I need to find that number for you. This will happen throughout the third quarter and in the next year, 2023. I think that's the main CapEx that still needs to be realized in terms of that factory in Vera. As for other factories in Rio Grande, that CapEx has been concluded.
The expansion of Vera is the one remaining. Then the CapEx relative to new units is being realized as stores are built. Guilherme, as for investments from growers, in the first quarter, you are right. In the first quarter of 2022, growers were affected by drought. They were very hesitant. We anticipated a significant failure, which happened, as we've mentioned, 50% of crop failure.
Instead of 22 million, we harvested 11 million tons. It was literally half of the crop breaking or failed. Growers were hesitant in buying fertilizers. As we moved towards the end of the harvesting period, growers had had seven consecutive crops of very good numbers, very good prices. They had an adequate, if I may, purchase capacity.
They were able to settle their accounts with banks, credit institutions, so they started to reschedule their purchases for the 2022, 2023 crop. Today, Três Tentos is quite optimistic with an increase in fertilizer volumes, an increase in seeds, and also an increase in pesticides. We should conclude the year, we should be above 230,000 tons of fertilizer for this year.
Growers took into account the war, the price, the availability of potash was lower, as you know, but we were able to, using other sources, we were able to find that input and deliver that to growers. Growers also used their quote-unquote savings account at the ground level. They had a better nutrient absorption capacity at that same soil. We'll be closing a very positive crop this year and going forward to an even better crop next year.
Thank you. Have a nice day.
Thank you.
Thank you, Guilherme. Next question comes from Mr. Thiago Duarte, sell-side analyst from BTG Pactual. Thiago, you may carry on.
Hello, good morning. Luiz, Maurício, I'd like to talk about margins. You made it very clear during the presentation as you explained the drivers for that. For industry, that was quite clear. Soybean origination, the crushing market, biodiesel. Expenses were also well covered by Maurício when you talk about that cruising speed. I'd like to talk about the margins for the retail business, for the Ag Inputs. Number one, for the last quarter or the previous one, you had a sales percentage for inputs for Mato Grosso.
I'd like to know if you could break that number down for us once again. That's an important figure for us. It seemed to be very promising when you first showed that in terms of growth potential and the share for those newly opened stores in Mato Grosso. That's the first question. What can you tell us about the margins of those stores as compared to that gross margin for inputs?
Is there an important difference when compared to the profitability in Rio Grande do Sul? That would be an important point. Number three. During the presentation and your release, you signal that margins and inputs might improve in Q4 because of this shift in demand from September to October, especially for that richer, if I may, mix, including pesticides. I'd like to understand if that's your perception for Q4. Thank you.
Would you like to start, Maurício?
Yes. Let's go, Thiago. Myself and Luiz will address. About Mato Grosso, as I've been saying recently, we are quite happy with the operation in Mato Grosso. We were happy not because of the results, 12% in the first quarter, but because of the way the business was being structured. It's not a simple task, but the attributes that helped us being so welcome in that region.
In the third quarter, specifically, the share of inputs was 7% in Mato Grosso total inputs share. Mato Grosso accounted for 7% of input sales in Q3. In the year, the first nine months of the year until now, we are now at 9%. Again, we need to be careful when you look at the numbers isolatedly.
In Q3, in terms of seasonality for Mato Grosso, that is slightly different than that experience in the Rio Grande. For the fourth quarter, we see stronger sales in Mato Grosso because they're still a little behind when compared to Rio Grande do Sul. As for your second question, Thiago, about margins in Mato Grosso, can you share that number with us when compared to the average margin, the 20%? Well, margins are very much in line. No major gaps or differences in margins.
We can see a difference based on the size of the clients, much more than difference between margins across the different states. What we did say was the unit margins for the fourth quarter, which historically have been higher because of the reasons you have raised. It's a richer mix.
We're talking about more seeds, more pesticides, and less fertilizers, and that, at the end of the day, that ends up improving the margins at the end of the year.
Okay. My question was if you believe that that dynamic makes sense for this year, which was a different year.
Yes, it does. The answer is yes, it does.
Okay. Thank you.
Luiz, anything to add?
No, I think it was well said. Thiago, anything else? Have we answered your questions?
I believe so.
That shift, of course, will depend on the rainfall regime in Mato Grosso. That's when growers make decisions in terms of inputs. We start delivering when rains really start. That's when we start sending pesticides, seeds and so on. Fertilizers are, of course, scheduled earlier for late July, early August, extending through late September.
As for higher added value inputs such as pesticides and seeds, they are all delivered starting in October and extending through late November. In December, we expect Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul areas to be 100% planted. Then we continue to sell chemicals, sprays. That will extend through January and through March.
Okay. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next question comes from Mr. Gabriel Barra, sell-side analyst from Citi. Gabriel, you may ask your question now.
Hi, Luiz, Maurício. Thank you for the call, for taking my questions. I have three questions. Number one about the competition. Your history, as you've mentioned, is focused on organic growth, M&A of people, as you like to say. That's very important. I'd like to understand how you've seen this dynamics around the competition in the sector.
Some players have been very aggressive in terms of M&A, and international companies such as Nutrien making some acquisitions in Brazil, especially in the region where you focus your growth. If you could give us a brief update on how you see that market and the competition you've been facing, especially in Mato Grosso, and maybe the difficulties you may be facing in hiring sales consultants, that will help us understand the future of your growth.
Also about biodiesel, number two, question number two. We just had a presidential election. There's gonna be a change in administration. The question is about, what's the potential, in your opinion, of this new administration, its respective impact on biodiesel? Do you see that in a positive or negative lens? What can we expect for next year? Can we resume previous targets?
Would that be favorable or not for your industry pillar? Also, if I may, as for the guidance, a last question. Your materiality you released numbers for 2025. If you could explain that a little more, the reason why you have discontinued, and what can we expect going forward in terms of guidance? Those are the two questions.
Thank you. Hi, Barra. Good morning. I'll answer number one and two, and then Maurício will help me out and start answering question number three. Maurício, please. As for competition, it is very fierce and has been like that always. We started way back in Rio Grande, and people say Mato Grosso is worse, but it's not. We have been working with growers there for 20 years, right? As growers.
Now Mato Grosso, and for the last two years, we are also present as Três Tentos, right? We know the area. But we feel, of course, a fierce competition in place. International groups coming in. Nutrien, as you mentioned, is one of those. Very good, well-established companies. But it is a very, very vast market, still very fragmented. Três Tentos is trying to consolidate that market in Rio Grande do Sul, and now starting to do the same in Mato Grosso.
We do have plans to carry on with our expansion across other regions. All that planning is being made on taking into account logistics, inputs, industry. All of that is being well planned. Of course, we do not have the intention of closing a market or buying out a market. No, of course not.
What we do is we conquer a portion, an important portion of the market. Growers who want a different distinguished service, irrespective of their size, growers who are producing more, who have better yields, better management, and that's where we come in with our distinguished solutions, which sets us apart from the competition.
That distinguishing approach has been well received in Rio Grande do Sul, and now also the same happening in Mato Grosso. We are quite confident. We know that the market is increasingly more competitive, but again, we are very confident in the company I have helped found. Today with investors, we are managing it together, if I may. With a very true focus on technology, a very true focus on delivering reliable solutions for growers.
Also focused on originating that production, in a very efficient way for growers, for the communities across the board. That people M&A that you mentioned, Barra, is like we call it, as you said, our people M&A. No embarrassment, in terms of saying that. I have nothing against companies M&A, but the professionals coming to the company are really passionate, about what they do. They identify this as our purpose, and with that, we are now conquering new clients with them.
We are quite happy with that. As for your second question about biodiesel, I mentioned earlier today, I am participating here in São Paulo at the 30th BiodieselBR Conference. As I said, over 400 people present. All biodiesel plants are present here today at this conference. Other ethanol plants also present with us today. All the main actors, distributing companies.
The overall comment is that the expectation from this new administration is that they will continue with that law which was passed in Congress. It started with 10%-11% to 12%, 12%-13%, then went back because of the pandemic, oil prices, and then the war. Went back to 10% until the end of the year. The forecast now is that it'll resume the levels of 14%-15% early in the next year. We are also quite confident. The market is confident.
Y esterday, the president of the Frente Parlamentar Mista do Biodiesel, a congressman who is leading the effort, he leads a group of congressmen and he told us that they are confident that biodiesel, renewable energy, not only biodiesel, but corn-based ethanol, sugarcane-based ethanol, those sources will gain relevance as we transition to a new energy mode. We know we are part of that.
The more biodiesel we produce, the more meal we produce, the more corn ethanol produced, more DDG we produce as well. With that, the industry will be helping offer more food. That's the overall feeling, that belief that I see here in this conference, and we're also quite happy about that and very optimistic as well. As to your question about the guidance, thank you for asking that. It's a great moment to make that very clear.
We are quite confident in terms of the operating guidance we have, in terms of volumes produced, volumes sold, we are quite confident. The revenue guidance was removed for 2025, until 2025, because it involves assumptions that are farther away from our control, for us to provide guidance, like, the right way or the way you want.
We thought it more adequate to remove that guidance for markets in terms of revenue. 'Cause at the end of the day, we all have our assumptions in terms of commodity prices, so it's difficult for us to monitor that on a day-to-day basis.
In any event, it is quite appropriate now to try and understand that despite any commodity curve that might have an impact on the market, value creation for our industry segment is independent from commodity prices. When you look at Três Tentos, you have to see a capacity to manage grains and industry, and the capacity to deliver margins, or even crushing margins, for the business.
Of course, the produced volume, which is always the fundamental basis for value creation. The fundamental piece of our value here sits around those three businesses being one single organization. That's why we have comparative advantages, both in industry and in grains.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you for the answers.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next question comes from Mr. Mateus from UBS. Carry on, Mateus.
Good morning. My question has to do with the guidance, trying to understand the assumptions for volumes. As we resume B14 and B15 next year, will that change the company's estimates for biodiesel volumes, or was that something expected?
Would that impact the company's forecast? A second question about biodiesel. A year into the end of the auction period, how are negotiations going with distributing companies? Does margins have a potential to increase next year because of a higher mix, or have you sold forward at a tighter margin as we've seen? I'd like to understand the potential for biodiesel margins next year.
Thank you. Maurício would like to tackle the first one, please.
Mateus, thank you for the question. As for the guidance, nothing changes in terms of volume. The company, as we chose to produce either oil or biodiesel, so nothing changes in terms of percentage of the mix.
Next year, biodiesel moving to B14 or B15, nothing will change in our volumes. Intuitively, what should change is that the market will no longer be over-offering biodiesel. There's an idle capacity today, which is close to 60%. For B15, we have more balanced levels, which would lead to better margins for biodiesel, in theory. When you talk about the industry, biodiesel is one of the three value drivers. An incremental margin for biodiesel on the oil margin is one of the main drivers for growth.
Mateus, thank you for your question. Good morning. The end of the auction period happened at the same time where we had a drop to B10, and with that, the offer, supply and demand, well, supply was quite comfortable for distributing companies.
With that, negotiations squeezed on the margin side. I said, "Well, when we had options, it was better or not." Anyway, predictability was better, of course. Auctions brought more predictability. Today, during this conference, we are discussing ways to have better tools to try and control predictability for the next periods. I have a very positive expectation that as we resume B14 and then B15 early next year, we'll have supply and demand more balanced.
The difference in logistics, product quality, relationships, which is what we have on our side, will of course make a difference. With that, we will improve our margins. That's what we expect to see happening. That's what we are working for.
Thank you. If I may, one final question. The negotiations with distributing companies, have you been talking to them every month, every two months? Margin discussions are happening. How often are those negotiations happening?
Well, we start with oil, export oil. That's something we do and calculate between production and distribution, the basic cost, and then we work based on that number. We have a good relationship with all the main distributing companies in the country, and we have reached adequate margins, lower than we expected or wanted, but adequate, appropriate to the time.
This will happen until November 20th, and then we'll start predicting for January and February. That's why people here at the conference are quite confident that when we go back to B14, B15, we'll start off on the right foot for next year. Distribution also needs to be prepared for that. Production needs to be prepared. The origination of feedstock needs to be prepared, of course.
Soybean today accounts for 72% of the raw material for biodiesel, and then it's basically animal fat, cattle fat. That feedstock is already getting ready, prepared, so that materials are delivered early next year in the first two months. We'll continue with our clients, in this case, the distributing company, so that we can deliver the best products at the best places.
Okay, thank you.
Conference call to discuss third quarter results for Três Tentos Agroindustrial is now over. The IR department of the company is available to address other questions or comments you may have. Thank you very much for participating, and have a nice day, everyone.