Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the results announcement for Três Tentos relative to Q1 2022. Today with us we have Mr. Luiz Osório Dumoncel, CEO, Mauricio Hasson, CFO and IRO, and Eduardo Motter, RI manager for Três Tentos. This event will be recorded and has simultaneous translation into English. During the event, all participants will be connected in listen-only mode. After that, we'll start a Q&A session and when further instructions will be provided. Questions can be made through audio, clicking on the Raise Hand icon on the bottom part of your Zoom screen. To send questions by text, simply click on the Q&A icon also available in the bottom part of your Zoom screen. Participants connected via telephone may ask their questions by pressing star nine.
Before moving on, we'd like to say that forward-looking statements made during this call concerning the company's business outlook, financial and operational targets, and also future growth potential for Três Tentos are based on assumptions and beliefs on the part of the company's management, based on information currently available. 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, agro conditions, and other operating factors which might affect the company's future performance will lead to results that will differ considerably from those expressing these forward-looking statements. I'd like to turn the floor over now to Mr. Luiz Osório Dumoncel. Please, Mr. Dumoncel, you may carry on.
Good morning, everyone. I am happy to be here with you today once again to talk about Três Tentos' quarterly results 2022, Três Tentos once again continues to grow at a very fast pace amidst some adverse moments because of climate issues and other factors, but still always with an eye at hard work, dedication, and the company's great knowledge in the agribusiness. The growth around the three pillars, input, grains, and industry that did happen in this quarter.
Mato Grosso state, Sorriso is in the slide, but it has contributed with 15% of revenues from inputs in the 1 Q of 2022, and that gives us a lot of satisfaction because our communication with the local farmers has been very efficient and very welcome by growers in the region. We have businesses already being put together across the three units, Sinop, Matupá, and Sorriso. That, of course, makes us all very, very happy and excited about going on.
The expansion in Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso continues to go forward with new business units and stores, as we call them here, and in Mato Grosso the same. In addition to opening new business units, we already have over 50% of our plant installed. In a moment we're going to be going into details, and for the rest of the year we have very positive expectations, not only for the year, but I'd say that Três Tentos has managed, for the last 26 years, we have established our own ecosystem on a very robust basis. Our team is focused on innovation, is focused on new technologies, and we're also focused on delivering good results for the company, for shareholders, and for our clients, growers.
With that, we have this block, this group of people, who are winners at the end of the day. I'd like to move to the next slide, please, if we may, where we can see that ecosystem working. Inputs, grains, and fertilizers for different crops, technology across the board with over 1,500 employees, 80,000 growers involved in this ecosystem. Production as a result, Três Tentos is getting ready to originate that grain or those grains, and through those grains, in the case of soybeans, on an industrial basis, for soybean meal, biodiesel, soybean oil, and of course that strengthens our structure across the board.
Irrespective of adverse aspects coming from the war, from the pandemic, or from climate issues or whatever it is, still food and energy are key, are fundamental, and we are well-positioned to carry on with that ecosystem. I'd like to turn it over to Mauricio. He will be going into detail about the company's numbers. I'll be around and I'll be back for the Q&A session. Thank you.
Thank you, Luiz. Good morning, everyone. Moving on with the presentation. The highlights for the first quarter of 2022 are there on the slide. The company always talks about growth, margins, returns, and it's no different this time. We're not lagging behind. Quite the opposite. Revenue grew by 66% for the whole ecosystem. We had an adjusted gross profit of BRL 200 million, removing the effect from mark to market of commodities.
EBITDA, BRL 96 million, up 37% from last year. Adjusted net income for Q1, also very good, growing 40% and reaching the level of BRL 84 million. It's worth mentioning that in addition to growth across all segments, gross margins has increased and has become stable when compared to last year. This already contemplates a larger contribution from other areas, and we're gonna be going into detail about that in a moment as well. The result, both in net income and in EBITDA, those results reflect the seasonality, which is a mark of Q1, which is usually weaker for the company, and that is reflected there. When we talk.
When we break it down by segment, when we talk about inputs, we had two major events, one more local, which was the crop failure in the southern region of South America, affecting mainly the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and without a doubt, of course, the war in Russia and Ukraine. Those were the two major events that took place in the first quarter. Despite that, the inputs segment performed really well, growing by 28% in the quarter. As you can see, have expanded margins to 21% on the right-hand side of the slide. When we talk about what happened, for the first time, we had a geographic diversification happening in the inputs segment. As Luiz mentioned, Mato Grosso represented 15% of inputs revenue in the first quarter. The fertilizers market also very, very active.
Well, the Q1 usually is not a quarter where we sell a lot of fertilizers. Still, we had an important level of growth, 80% in volume of fertilizers. Of course, that's not very representative in terms of the year's results. Still an important figure. When we look at the effect on gross margins, without a doubt, the efficient management of stocks for that operation, when we look at freights and logistics returns for fertilizers, our capacity of placing products in Mato Grosso in an efficient manner, that caught everyone's attention and also contributed to an increase in gross margins. In terms of grains, we have a highlight in the quarter in terms of volume.
The trade, the volume in wheat, something close to 100,000 tons coming from a wheat origination which happened in the previous crop, which ended in November last year. Part of that crop was sold in the fourth quarter, as it should happen seasonally speaking, and part of it was traded in the first quarter, now 2022. The good news for wheat is that we can already envision an increase in acreage for wheat for 2022. In other words, when we look at the long run for wheat, we have good evidence, starting with an increase in acreage, right? That's a good sign for the year. We expect to have by the end of the year, by the fourth quarter this year, first quarter next year, we expect to have a good volume for wheat origination and sales.
As for corn, even amidst a crop failure scenario, we have higher origination. We grew by 80% in originating corn for 2022. Part of that was traded in this quarter, part will be traded in the coming quarters. Without a doubt, our ability to increase our origination share calls the attention, especially for mature stores. We call the attention for mature stores because of their ability to do that, originate grains. The margin for that segment has been affected only by the mix, including soybean, corn, and wheat. Corn and wheat have better margins than soybeans. Speaking specifically now about the industry, we have to highlight that this is a segment which is impacted by the hike in commodity prices.
In this quarter, we had a contribution which was significant from the sales of soybean meal, which helped contribute to that growth of 50% in the industry margin. Pricing for biodiesel started this quarter. We have a new model happening this quarter, different from what we had last December. We moved from an auction model to a model where we have a free negotiation model between plants and distributing companies. We're still going through a moment where demand for biodiesel is established at B10. In other words, it's a low demand, somewhat low, but still, given the high prices for oil, we expect an impact on biodiesel as well. Exports of meal was also a highlight for the industry segment.
Still under biodiesel, we worked with lower volumes considering that margins for biodiesel, the incremental margins, I mean, on in relation to oil, are still very low because of the low demand. Still, we also grew by 31%. We have margin recovery in biodiesel when compared to the fourth quarter of last year. Margins for soybean meal when compared to Q1 2021 are lower, and that helps explain why we had a lower margin when compared to Q1 2021. When we look and we show that in our release, when we look from the standpoint of unit margins of contribution from soybean crushing, the company has been growing significantly, over 500 BRL per ton of crushed soybeans. Part of that reflects the high price in commodities that we have right now.
When we look at EBITDA, the good news is that we grew 37%. As I mentioned early in the presentation, gross margins accounts for BRL 80 million in increase in EBITDA. It is a level of margin that includes the mix effect. In other words, if we exclude the mix effect, that margins would have been one percentage point higher in Q2, given the participation of grains. Having grown in margins, that segment brings on the lowest margin for the company, grains. Grains is known as a segment that presents narrower margins. The company's operating expenses have grown. They grew close to 100%, BRL 49 million in terms of expenses. Out of those BRL 49 million, we have to understand that BRL 21 million arise from the mix and an increase in grain trading and an increase in exports of meal.
The costs for storage and logistics are individually higher, and also because of the grain, the volume of grains and meal which have been traded and exported. Out of that increment of BRL 49 million, BRL 13 million are coming from a readjustment of our structure and non-recurring items at a lower level, driven by the recovery of tax credits and BRL 7 million which are expenses for new stores which are not yet generating equivalent revenue, so investments in the company's expansion, in other words. When we see a parameter for the company's expenses, or those 30 million in readjustments, that figure would be an incremental figure that we see also going forward for the company. We are closing the quarter. Once again, as a reminder, this is a quarter where we are weaker. It's a seasonally weaker quarter.
If you've been with us for some time, you understand that Q1, we have a lower participation from the industry segment, and as a consequence, expense dilution becomes more of a challenge. To a certain extent, we had an excellent EBITDA, close to BRL 100 million in Q1, a margin of 7.5%. The low net debt variation, the company is still cash positive. We closed the quarter with BRL 27 million in net cash in the company. I'd like to highlight something I've been saying quarter on quarter, the strong cash generation that we provide. The company generates cash of BRL 100 million, very close to the company's EBITDA.
This EBITDA cash in the first quarter, which is a quarter that seasonally increase our working capital, it hasn't been enough to offset the increment of BRL 247 million in the company's working capital. When you look on an annualized basis, we have repeatedly seen our growth in working capital being funded by the company's own operations. That's purely related to the quarter, just to be sure. In terms of investments, out of those BRL 122 million in CapEx invested in the quarter, most of it was allocated to industrial units. We are now finalizing our plant in Rio Grande do Sul in the city of Cruz Alta, and most of the investments is going towards Vera in Mato Grosso.
Just to make a connection, the Cruz Alta plant in Rio Grande do Sul will go into operation as of June, and this will move us from 1,000 tons of capacity of processing soybeans to twice as much. As a consequence, we're talking about CapEx, something we mentioned before and anticipated, and we are now confirming that this is actually happening as we indicated to the market. Return levels, even though they are high, they have been downtrending, and they'll continue to decrease until 2023 when we start having more mature stores and we have the plant at Vera starting to contribute with a good part of the results over the investments. Still, we have a ROIC of 21% right now and a return on our own capital of 42% on an annualized basis.
About investments in expansion, I think I call Luiz back. Luiz was just recently visiting Mato Grosso, and those pictures were taken there today. João Marcelo is there on site, the company COO. Luiz, if you could comment on your visits, your impressions on the expansion, that'll be great, Luiz. Over to you.
Sure, Maurício, thank you. Well, investments, as we mentioned earlier in the presentation, investments are totally in line with what we expected, both in terms of construction of the plant and in terms of opening up new business units, what we call stores. They're going at a faster pace than we had planned. Over 50% of the plant is ready, and by June, late June, we will be receiving corn at this plant in Vera, in addition to other contracts for Matupá.
The amount of corn that we had expected will be even higher than that in terms of corn origination in Mato Grosso. We are on a fast track, if I may, with those plants and also with the manufacture of equipment. The civil works are also within our timeline, so the company will be operational by mid-2023, May or June 2023. We'll be originating soybeans for the next crop in Mato Grosso. We'll be originating soybean at this unit which can be seen on the slide. The second storage already ready. Those bins have the equivalent amount underground as it has above ground, 120,000 tons or 2 million sacks of grain. We have space to add another bin. On the next slide, we can comment on the future.
In other words, everything on track. Anything else, Maurício?
In terms of capacity, okay, we start with a crushing capacity of 3,000 tons per day. We want to start at 2,600 and going up to 3,000. When we reach 3,000, the plant will be ready for a few adjustments for us to get to the level of 4,000 tons of crushing a day, and this will happen throughout 2023, maybe late 2023. The production of biodiesel also being ready. We're ready to produce 1,000,000 liters a day or 1,000 cubic liters of biodiesel per day. So that's the context for that plant in Vera, located 28 km from the city of Vera and 30 km from Sorriso, and 33 km from Sinop on BR-163.
This is really a landmark for agriculture in Brazil, I'd say. A wholly Brazilian company being implemented at the heart of soybean country. All right? The heart of soybean country in the world. Sorriso is the largest soybean producer city across the world, along with other municipalities in the area who are also focused on high yields, technology and integrating high yields with a healthy environment, generating jobs, revenues, returns. We are very confident in this project as this is only first steps, but we expect it to deliver significant returns when it's mature. Luiz, if you could comment on the perceptions of the Mato Grosso farmers, now that we are taking our whole ecosystem to that region. How are they welcoming us? We are enjoying a very positive level of receptivity.
We're very proud and happy with the way we are being received by local growers. They have a lot of confidence. They want to ask questions. They want to understand our ecosystem and how we can better help their operations. Several farmers across Mato Grosso will then have access to the best seeds, the best crop planning, the best crop management using fertilizers and crop protection products, that of course will help growers have better yields, and they'll be able to deliver, as I said, higher yields, which of course fills us all with a lot of pride, and reaching a positive bottom line so that the Brazilian agricultural production will continue to grow and invest. Okay. Investments and expansion, as I said, are going full steam, not only on the industrial front, but also in terms of our commercial units.
With the new units, we are reaching now 1,000,000 tons of storage capacity, including Rio Grande do Sul, and there just opened unit in Matupá, which was opened in January. Most of that amount still is in Rio Grande do Sul, and based on that footprint in the state with this larger storage capacity, based on that, we are enjoying a higher capacity to originate soybeans amidst a challenging scenario with a crop failure, as I mentioned. For 2022, five new stores will be delivered in the second and third quarter, so we will soon have news on that front about those store openings in the state, and two more stores in Mato Grosso, which have already been opened. This happened in January. Now, I'd like to close by calling Luiz back to talk about the outlook for 2022.
Okay, Mauricio, thank you. Well, speaking of inputs, Mato Grosso has a strong representation in our business. As I mentioned, three units already up and running, another two being expected to start working still this year. The unit in Vera, which will be the fourth unit, will be operational in June, as you mentioned. Of course, this places us in a position of being operating as an important player, bringing about important solutions for local farmers. The growth in technology, the growth in investments from farmers to invest in cost-effective solutions, that's what we offer them. Of course, we enjoy moments or we benefit from moments, for example, now the war in Europe, that of course presents challenges to us in terms of volume, in terms of availability of fertilizers.
At the same time, it also brings about opportunities, because we are able to operate abroad by importing fertilizers and importing raw material and doing the mix here or selling it directly to farmers. We also have access to partner companies, multinational companies with which we have good partnerships. That we can see that that provides us with an important competitive advantage so that we can take those products to farmers. Of course, seeds and crop protection also play an important role.
In terms of grains, I'd like to highlight that this is a year in which we will be originating less grains and less soybeans for trading, but we will be originating corn and wheat with a focus on offering an alternative to our clients for them to trade better at the best moments so that they can become profitable and delivering results. The same for us, the results we have been delivering for 27 years. The wheat crop is a reality. We're gonna start planting wheat in May. It is expected to grow up to 40%. 40% of growth in terms of area, of acreage. Farmers will optimize the use of land and fertilizers, but they will fertilize, I have no doubt about that.
They'll be managing their crop with crop protection products as well. Corn, which will start being planted in August, and soybeans, which will be planted in October. This coming crop, 2021-2022, it's becoming our part of our past. Going forward, we will reach the crushing level of 1 million tons a day. 50,000 tons of crush. Also producing oil for the external market, biodiesel for the internal market, oil and meal for our internal and external markets. We already have 50,000 cubic meters being produced in biodiesel, an estimation of 210,000 for the year. Três Tentos is operating well in around the two more relevant products, right?
A bit over 25% of the way having been covered, and that leaves us all very confident in 2022. We know, we are aware of that seasonality. We know that Q1 is a bit slower, plants going to collective vacations, but we are now ready to move forward with the remaining of the year. Cruz Alta will start the year in good shape, ready to increase capacity, ready to double its capacity actually in terms of crushing. We're gonna go from 1,000 to 2,000 tons a day in a very modern structure. That's outside of the IPO plan, those are resources generated by the company.
I am very, very confident, and I am increasingly confident I have to say, that investments from farmers, in addition to working here as a CEO, I know growers, I know farmers, and I can tell you that investments in technology might vary year on year, but that investment is there. It is a constant on the part of farmers. Farmers will embrace technology increasingly more for their crops. They will continue to invest. They will continue to digitize their processes. They will of course place us in a distinguished position in the market. Três Tentos working with food, renewable energy, and working across that ecosystem that we built in a very natural, organic way.
Today we can offer growers in Rio Grande and Mato Grosso, we can offer them solutions that are at the forefront, and we are offering them that, and it's coming straight to farmers. Três Tentos is becoming an increasingly relevant company for growers in those two states, and we expect to become even more relevant for Brazilian growers as a whole. Our planning, our path will be marked by a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication. Those increases that we see in SG&A, we are totally focused on those expenses so that we can have the best management around those. We know, we are aware of this period we are going through, where we've become a listed company. We know all that is entailed. We are aware of non-recurring expenses, and we also know that those expenses came also from higher volumes, higher inflation.
The more you export, the more you spend in terms of port, expenses, freight, also. We are paying close attention to that, the logistics in Mato Grosso and Três Tentos across all locations where we are. We will always be taking care of all details so that we can deliver growers and society as a whole where we operate, above average results. Shareholders can also be confident in that our message, our takeaway for shareholders is that we are a company that works hard, a company that is passionate about what it does. Our team is what makes us different. We invest in people. We are focused on talent, and we want to serve farmers who want to break records on and on and deliver results which are always positive. We are a company which is always at the forefront seeking the best technologies, proven technologies.
They were focused on ESG, not because this is en vogue, because everybody's talking about it, but Três Tentos has been working on it for a long time, and we want to become a B Corp. We do have a seal of integrity from the Ministry of Agriculture. That's something we achieved by our own efforts. In terms of digital, I can tell you that growth has been phenomenal. The participation of growers has been strong. I was talking to a marketing director yesterday, and he shared a number. Since we started the app, we already have over BRL 40 million in soybeans, corn, and wheat traded online, so growers doing that from their farms, doing that in a much more practical and safe way.
Today, when a grower delivers grains or invoices those grains, they do not have to touch a single piece of paper. It's all done via the app, and they have all security to do that. That of course makes agriculture increasingly more modern. Três Tentos will be ahead of the pack in the digital realm. Mauricio, we can now move on to the Q&A session. Over to you.
Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now start the Q&A session. Questions can be made through audio, clicking on the Raise Your Hand icon at the bottom part of your screen right now, or at this moment, you'll be prompted to unmute your mic, and then you click on Unmute.
To send your question by text, click on Q&A also available in the bottom part of your screen, and then type in your question. Participants connected via telephone may post their questions by pressing star nine. When your question is collected, you will be prompted to unmute your mic by pressing star six. Questions in English will be received exclusively in writing. Our first question comes from Mr. Gabriel Barra from Citi Bank. Please, Mr. Baja, you may proceed. Our first question comes from Ms. Isabella Simonato from Bank of America. Please, Ms. Simonato, you may carry on.
Good morning, everyone. Can you hear me?
Maurício, Luiz?
Yes, Isabella, we can hear you.
Good morning. I have two questions. The first one about Mato Grosso. It's interesting to look at that number, 50% accounting for sales. The portfolio being sold there, is it a complete portfolio?
What are you selling there? Given the seasonality that you have in terms of products for retail, if we were to annualize that, or in other words, think about a balanced mix for the whole year, what would Mato Grosso account for in terms of retail today? Just for us to have an idea of whether there is an impact from the products you're selling or from the seasonality factor to have a clearer picture of where Mato Grosso stands. A second question is about the sale of fertilizers. You mentioned in your release that you anticipated some purchases, I mean, farmers anticipated the purchases. I'd like to hear from you, how do you expect this to unfold going forward, especially in the second half of the year?
Of course, we can understand, farmers' behavior, but still, what do you expect to see going forward and effects on seasonality? Thank you.
Okay, Isabella, I'll start, Maurício, and then I'll give it over to you. Well, Isabella, thank you for your questions. The first one, the offer of inputs is ready and poised to go. Our multinationals who work with us in Rio Branco, they are with us. In Mato Grosso do Sul, Três Tentos today has a portfolio which is exactly the same as the one we have in Rio Branco, which is differentiated in terms of quality products, safe products, and that of course makes us very confident. In other words, this is already happening. Those 15% in Q1, we believe that number will further improve throughout the year. When I said that internally, that's not a surprise.
That might surprise the market, but not for us. We knew, we were sure that we would start with the right foot, with our best foot forward, because we had been there for a long time. We knew from consultants, from farmers, we knew that Três Tentos would be well-received. Today, we have over 60 people in Mato Grosso working full time. I have been visiting there once a month. I spend a week there. João Marcelo also visits. João Marcelo is now there. A couple of days ago, we had a meeting in Sorriso, gathering 150 farmers. Last night in Sinop, we also had a meeting with farmers. We have been gathering farmers. We introduced the company, we introduced our culture and our local team. Out of those 60 people that we have hired, only one came from Rio Grande do Sul.
The remaining 59 are local professionals. After a very well-conducted onboarding, that team is already totally integrated with our culture, with our brand. As for your second question, Isabella, in terms of what we expect from the fertilizer front, we expect good volumes, higher than last year's volumes. I do expect to see that happening, not because all farmers will be using more fertilizers. They may be using the same amount of fertilizers per hectare, maybe even less than last year. Três Tentos is growing in acreage, is growing in footprint, increasing in share. Fertilizers in terms of volume can only grow, and with very higher prices. Why do I trust that farmers will use fertilizers adequately? Because the exchange or the swap, exchange remains. Chicago meal, 430, oil, $85 per pound.
In other words, agri commodities, I'm not even gonna mention wheat at 11 and corn at $8. No. Only talking about the first items that hedge that is able to made, to make with Três Tentos, with our guidance, with the best cost-benefit relation. That is a win-win situation for the next crop. We are quite confident that those volumes will increase in terms of fertilizer. Mauricio? Now that's it. I think just once again. In our Q4 results for last year, when we looked at the year 2021, we talked about 12% in terms of Mato Grosso accounting for 12% of revenues. It is starting off at 15%, 15. Seasonally speaking, sales are the same. We expect to grow quarter-on-quarter.
The idea is to, at the very least, deliver the same level of contribution from Mato Grosso.
Okay, thank you.
Our next question comes from Mr. Gabriel Barra from Citi Bank. Please, Mr. Baja, you may carry on.
Hello, Maurício and Luiz. Can you hear me now?
Yes.
Yes. Good morning. I have three questions. First, about fertilizers as a follow-up to the previous question. My question is about supply. There was some concern, especially early in the war, about supplies to Brazil. I think today the base case is that we should have no problems or across the board problems in terms of supply. There were some discussions about one-off problems, isolated problems related to specific suppliers. Based on what we saw in the glyphosate issue, where there was a lack of supply, some players do have access to that product.
I'd like to draw an analogy with that. Do you see the company as having higher scale and thus having the possibility of bringing in fertilizers in better terms when compared to other players, if that's the case? Perhaps being helped by some shortage in the market. If you could discuss that. A second question, a chart that caught my attention was the ROIC one. We've seen ROIC dropping over time. Because of the company's growth, of course, that has an impact on returns, and returns tend to drop. I'd like you to elaborate on it a little bit. What would be the trend for that going forward as stores become more mature, especially after the investment in Vera, Mato Grosso? When do you see the ROIC becoming flat in that area?
Lastly, if you could have a breakdown of investments, how much of that is being allocated for expansion? How much is being allocated for maintenance so that we can envision a more normalized scenario going forward? Those are the questions. Thank you.
Okay, Gabriel, thank you for your questions. I'll start, and then Maurício will take the other questions. In terms of fertilizers, you are correct. Not only Três Tentos, but of course, Três Tentos is very well-positioned in terms of access to fertilizers. That also happened when there were smaller cuts in the supply of glyphosate. It's a good analogy. Glyphosate vis-à-vis fertilizers. But for fertilizers, this will be more of a challenge for those companies or other players who do not have the same level of access that we do to sources such as internal market or some other alternative origins and even internal sources.
Situation for them might be a little bleaker. This of course will change the playing field, but Três Tentos is ready, as I said. Whenever we think about it, Gabriel, we strengthen that ecosystem, we strengthen our business model, which is very, very difficult to replicate. We know that. It's not because we are at Três Tentos, but we know what we did for that to happen, for us to be confident that our clients, over 80,000 growers, how they can have access to the best products at the right time, at the right price point, and bringing good results for everyone across the board. We are very confident, as I said, and we are receiving those products both in Rio Grande do Sul and in Mato Grosso.
The first quarter for crop protection products was allocated for the planted corn, which will start being harvested in June, but other inputs already being used for the soybean crop going forward. We are sure there will be no shortage of inputs. We are working with the market to have access to those inputs. Then focused on quality and timing.
Okay. As a complement to your answer, you said it well, Gabriel. Even before the company went public, even before we had an IPO, we had anticipated that the levels of return on invested capital, ROIC, they would be lower than we had before. For obvious reasons, we are increasing our invested capital base without having the right level of maturity from those investments.
During the presentation, I highlighted events which are not only affecting CapEx. I called your attention to the BRL 7 million in terms of sales expenses with stores that had just been opened, so they are not yet producing or generating adequate revenues, not yet. That impact on ROIC is driven, of course, by that expansion, that fast growth the company has enjoyed, no doubt. The level of stability, it should resume growth as of 2023. We will have less investments in Vera, which is actually the main investment consumer, quote-unquote, then. We are finalizing Cruz Alta in May in Rio Grande do Sul. In June next year, we will finish the other plant of Vera, right? The two main CapEx consumers. Then we'll start having revenue from the industry segment.
In nominal terms, that's revenue that is faster to come in and higher in volume. You do not need to wait for products to mature in the industry segment, unlike what you have in the retail front. All of that combined, I'd say that 2023 is a year where we'll start witnessing a growth in return levels. Having said that, we're talking about return levels which are already pretty high. We should close the year at 25% in terms of ROIC and over 40% in terms of ROE, return on equity. Still talking about high levels of returns. We just called your attention because we're moving from even higher levels to the ones we have now.
In terms of CapEx, as you mentioned, Gabriel, I can tell you that most of our CapEx, almost all of our CapEx in Q1 was allocated to expansion projects. Cruz Alta will be finishing now in May. Vera still has about BRL 200 million until completion, BRL 200 million or something close to that. Those are the two major investments in terms of industry. As for investments in stores or commercial units, are going to continue as per our new stores schedule. If I could add to your answer, Mauricio, we always look at ROIC because we know those levels will resume historical levels. In other words, around 40%, give or take.
I apologize if I insist on the ecosystem concept, but that approach that we have 365 days a year in close contact with growers, that is very, very true. We go to the field in December. That drought, which was seen in the south, that did not caught us by surprise because we had been planning for that for two months when it happened in terms of negotiating with farmers what they were able to pay or not, what they had to delay. We had everything down, and the same farmers are originating wheat, soybean, corn. All of that makes it so that our structure explores all potential that those growers have in their fields. Of course, results will come back. Right now, when we are investing heavily, that the ROIC will be impacted.
It's only normal to see a drop in ROIC in this moment.
Okay. Thank you.
T hank you.
Our next question comes from Mr. Luiz Carvalho from UBS. Please, Mr. Carvalho, you may go on.
Hello, everyone. Good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. I have three questions. Number one, I'd like to understand those 15%. Mato Grosso accounted for 15% in inputs. Is this the level expected for the year, or is there a seasonality effect affecting that number vis-à-vis Rio Grande do Sul? Number two, I'd like to understand the contract volume for biodiesel with distributing companies. The volume was relatively low in the first quarter, but I'd like to understand from you what you expect to happen in the coming quarters, and I'm thinking about recurrent volumes in contracts.
Lastly, given the fact that you've had significant success in expanding in retail, you have actually exceeded your initial plans. I'd like to have some color on the appetite that you have to go beyond your initial plans, maybe revisit those initial plans and be slightly more aggressive and speed things up a bit. Thank you.
Thank you, Luiz. It's a pleasure to talk to you. I'll start, and then Maurício will take over. That figure, 15%, it's not a seasonal number. No, we expect it to remain throughout the year. In my view, I think, I believe that number will be even higher as we go forward.
Maybe not this year, but after that, I am sure that number will go up based on the size of the state of Mato Grosso, the size of the fields, the size of the crops, and the need for investments that they have in Mato Grosso. The second crop, which became a very, very important crop, even though it's called a second crop, it's a huge crop. When we got to Mato Grosso back in the day, people would say, "We were planting 30% corn, 40%, maybe 50%." When Lucas and Mutum started planting 50%, 70%, and those numbers will double. We'll have actually two actual crops in the same year. With the right technology, the right people, growers will do that. Of course, with new technologies, especially in terms of genetic, breeding, we'll have, soybean and corn every year.
Soybean and corn. That's already happening, so that demand for inputs is growing. The participation of inputs, the share of inputs in Mato Grosso is also growing. We're starting at 15%, and we expected 12, as I said. We're starting at 15, and that number will only grow. As for your second question, for biodiesel, unfortunately, it came down to 10, and we expect the whole year to remain at that level. All associations, Aprobio and Abiove, they continue to work in Brasília with politicians so that we can resume a scale-up movement around that number. Because of the moment we're going through in Brazil and in the world, we are prepared for that 10%, a volume of 210,000 cubic meters in for the year, 215,000.
We have already traded 50,000 cubic meters. I think I've said this before. That's the type of trading that for us as a company, for us as Três Tentos, and then for distributing companies, it's a more comfortable level for us to work because we have safe margins in place, because prices are defined on a weekly basis, sometimes biweekly. There is no mismatch. There's no need to hedge that product for two months, for example. I believe volumes will also grow. I believe in a higher demand as soon as the percentage goes up, that number goes up from 10% upwards. We're ready for that. That number is in our budget for 2022, and we are ready for it. That number will grow as demand grows or as that percentage grows.
In terms of expansion, I'd say that, appetite is something that we do not lack, right? We're always ready to grow, and we expect to speed up growth, but always with an eye on our number one rule, safety, solidity, robustness. Actually, Três Tentos has shown that we have increasingly more robust structure, we have more knowledge, and that allows us to assess growth possibilities at a faster pace. Always, as I said, with an eye on discipline. We will never, ever risk our shareholders or risk this history that we have built throughout decades.
Okay, thank you. Thank you for your answers.
Next question from Mr. Henrique Brustolin from BTG Pactual. You may carry on.
Good morning. My question is about the inputs division. We saw a very good margin for Q1.
I'd like to hear from you what led to that good number. Was there a mix issue or you had good inventory? If it makes sense for us to think of that margin to continue to expand throughout the year. That's the first question. The second question also, around inputs. If you could help us understand how margins are compared when we split numbers between Mato Grosso and Rio Grande. How will that play out going forward? Then thinking about a comparable product mix or even thinking about a different product mix for those two geographies. Thank you.
Thank you, Henrique. Good morning. I think, Maurício, can you start? Well, good morning, Henrique. Well, about margins, we envision Q1 with good margins.
You will remember that we talked about a margin recovery throughout the year, and that happened, and we delivered a margin of 24% at the end of the year. That we are close to the 25%, which we believe to be a stable margin for the company for inputs. Mato Grosso, we saw a price effect which played in our favor. Part of the sales that we made was a second sales. We understood that farmers in Mato Grosso had already planned for their crop year in January and February when there was a need to buy crop protection products. That was an emergency purchase, as we call it, and that's the very nature of the state, the second purchase. That, of course, was done at a higher price level. There was an important tailwind for us at the time.
I wouldn't say this would go on, this will last for the rest of the year. This is not an indication that I'll be 3-4 percentage points above margin for 2022 the whole year. No. We do have a seasonal effect. Not only because of that, if we go up, it'll be for other reasons, but I'd like to highlight that event specifically. In terms of comparing margins between those two geographies, it's difficult to say. I think we still have our vision that usually Mato Grosso will operate at lower margins when compared to Rio Grande do Sul. We have higher volumes being purchased, higher acreages, and that leads average margins to be lower. The same type of negotiation happens here in Rio Grande do Sul as well.
With higher volumes, you end up having lower margins. It's only natural to expect that on average, Rio Grande do Sul will present better margins. It's pure math, pure mathematics, better than Mato Grosso. I would complement Henrique by saying that I agree with Mauricio. He is right in what he said, but I'd like to complement by saying that when we assess the competition with the information we have access to, Três Tentos has a very important competitive advantage because of the fact that we work across all areas with the farmers. That allows us to have that level of margins. Três Tentos is very relevant for multinational companies, so our procurement is well-planned and very positive. Of course, we'll have safe margins and also growing margin, I have no doubt, as we mature our stores.
Again, we see farmers having confidence in what we do. Thank you.
Thank you.
Once again, to ask a question through audio, click on Raise Your Hand icon. To send a question in writing, click on Q&A. This concludes the Q&A session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Mr. Dumoncel for his final remarks.
Thank you all for participating in our earnings call. Thank you for being with us. This is our earnings call for Q1 2022. We remain confident we will face challenges together. Brazilian society is with us, and we want to strengthen agribusiness in Brazil so that it can continue to spread prosperity across the country. The importance of Brazil in agriculture is undoubted. We need to continue producing food and renewable energy. Thank you very much, and thank you to our team as well.
Três Tentos earnings call is now over. Thank you all for participating, and have a nice day, everyone.