Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. At this time, we would like to welcome everyone to Ultrapar's fourth quarter 2022 results conference call. There is also a simultaneous webcast that may be accessed through Ultrapar's website at ri.ultra.com.br and MZiQ platform. Please feel free to flip through the slides during the conference call. The presentation will be conducted by Mr. Rodrigo Pizzinatto, Ultrapar's Chief Financial and Investor Relations Officer. In the Q&A session, we will have the presence of Mr. Marcos Lutz, Ultrapar's CEO, and the CEOs of the businesses, Mr. Tabajara Bertelli, Decio Amaral, and Leonardo Linden as well. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded, and all participants will be in a listen-only mode during the company's presentation. After Ultrapar's remarks are completed, there will be a question and answer session. At that time, further instructions will be given.
Should any participant need assistance during this call, please press star zero to reach the operator. We remind you that questions will be answered during the Q&A session, may be posted in advance in the webcast. A replay of this call will be available for seven days. Before proceeding, let me mention that forward-looking statements are being made under the safe harbor of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1996. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Ultrapar management and on information currently available to the company. They involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions because they relate to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.
Investors should understand that general economic conditions, industry conditions, and other operating factors could also affect the future results of Ultrapar and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. I'll turn the conference over to Mr. Rodrigo Pizzinatto. Mr. Rodrigo, you may now begin the conference.
Good morning, everyone. It is a pleasure to be here once more to talk about Ultrapar's results. Starting off with a short retrospective of 2022, a year of important advances for the company, despite the volatility and uncertainties. Ultragaz and Ultracargo achieved record results, while Ipiranga advanced in its profitability recovery path, mainly with the pricing and resellers engagement fronts. We completed a relevant process of rationalizing our portfolio with the closing of Oxiteno and Extrafarma investments. We also announced the acquisition of Stella and NEOgas, which mark Ultragaz entry into renewable electricity and compressed natural gas and biomass in segments, expanding its offering of energy solutions. The acquisition of NEOgas was approved by the Antitrust Authority and was concluded on this past February 1st.
We continued our management succession and renewal process, including the succession process in the Board of Directors, as detailed in the material notice that we disclosed yesterday. I'll now go through our results presentation and going to slide two, I would like to remind you that at this moment, both the earnings release and this presentation consider the company's pro forma consolidated information. That is, Ultrapar's data for 2022 considers the sum of continuing and discontinued operations to enable the comparison with 2021. Let's now move forward to slide three with an overview of some of the main indicators that affected our businesses in 2022. The Ukraine War, as you know, had a huge impact on the prices of oil and derivatives.
The commodity prices in general, as well as the effects of both the pandemic and the exchange rate, affected the inflation indexes and consequently, our expenses. The rising interest rates to fight inflation also affected our financial result. With the post-pandemic recovery, the Brazilian economy grew by approximately 3% in 2022, which sustained higher volumes of diesel and bulk LPG, besides boosting the sales and circulation of light vehicles that led to greater auto cycle volumes, as you can see in the charts on this slide. Moving now to slide number four with Ultrapar's consolidated results.
As you can see in the chart in the upper left side, our recurring EBITDA from continuing operations totaled BRL 750 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, 4% lower than that of the fourth quarter of 2021 due to lower EBITDA Ipiranga despite Ultragaz and Ultracargo's higher EBITDAs. Looking at the yearly result, our recurring EBITDA from continuing operations totaled BRL 3.6 billion, a 39% growth compared to 2021, with record results registered at Ultragaz and Ultracargo and results recovery at Ipiranga. Ultrapar's net income in 2022 was BRL 1.8 billion, 108% higher than that of 2021 due to the growth of the business' recurring EBITDAs, in addition to the extraordinary tax credits, despite the higher financial expenses.
Our board of directors, as already disclosed, approved the payment of BRL 110 million in dividends, equivalent to BRL 0.10 per share. To be made as of March 3rd, in addition to the interest on equity payment made in August 2022, totaling a distribution of BRL 560 million in 2022. Investments from continuing operations totaled BRL 1.8 billion in 2022, 12% higher than that in 2021, mainly due to higher investment in Ipiranga as a result of greater opportunities for branding service stations. I want to highlight that we disclosed our BRL 2.2 billion investment plan for 2023, an amount that is higher than the investments made in each of the last five years, due to expansion opportunities with great returns.
We registered in 2022 cash generation from operations of BRL 2.2 billion, lower than in 2021, resulting from higher investments in working capital, mainly due to fuel price increases throughout the year, despite the higher EBITDA from continuing operations. Moving on to slide 5 to talk about our liability management. We ended the year with a net debt of BRL 6.7 billion, a reduction of BRL 760 million on a net debt position of September 2022. The reduction is mainly driven by the operating cash generation, with emphasis on the working capital release due to fuel price re-reductions in the first quarter of 2022. Our leverage decreased from 1.9x in September to 1.7x in December 2022, on the back of the net debt reduction and the EBITDA growth from continuing operations.
I like to point out that the numbers of net debt of the fourth quarter of 2022 do not include pending receivables of BRL 1.1 billion related to the sales of Oxiteno and Extrafarma. Should they be considered, our leverage would be, well, 1.4x in the fourth quarter of 2022. To give more visibility in relation to our numbers, we included at the bottom of this slide a table with the total amount of draft discounts and vendor lines, as well as pending receivables from the sales of Oxiteno and Extrafarma. All lines highlighted in our balance sheet. The total number of December 2022, including draft discount, vendor and receivables, would be BRL 8.7 billion.
The average cost of our gross debt went from CDI plus 1.5% in 2020 to CDI plus 0.6% in 2021. Now to CDI plus 0.2% in 2022, due to the extensive review of the debt and financial investment profiles that we have carried out in the last two years. Moving now to the next slide six, to talk about another excellent quarter of Ultragaz. The volume of LPG sold in this fourth quarter was 4% higher year-over-year, due to a 4% increase in the bottled segment on the back of greater market demand. A 3% increase in the bulk segment with higher sales to the industry segment.
In 2022, the volume sold remained stable due to a 2% decrease in the bottled segment on the back of lower market demand. The bulk segment, on the other hand, grew by 3% with higher sales to the commercial services and industry segments. Ultragaz SG&A in the first quarter 2022 was 33% higher than that of the fourth quarter of 2021 due to higher expenses with personnel, mainly collective bargaining agreements and variable compensation, aligned with the progression of results, along with higher expenses with sales commissions, expansion and productivity projects, and freight. Ultragaz recurring EBITDA reached a record level of BRL 365 million, 65% higher than that in the fourth quarter of 2021. In 2022, Ultragaz recurring EBITDA also reached a record level of BRL 1.2 billion, an increase of 61% compared to 2021.
This growth is mainly explained by better margins due to efficiency and productivity initiatives implemented in the last month to better sales mix and to the inflation pass-through effect, partially offset by higher expenses. For this current quarter, we expect the good results to continue, with profitability at similar levels to those seen in the second semester of 2022. Moving now to slide seven to talk about another great quarter of Ultracargo. The company's average stock capacity was 955,000 cubic meters in the fourth quarter of 2022, a 4% growth year-over-year on the back of the operational start-up of the Vila do Conde terminal in December 2021.
Ultracargo's net revenues totaled BRL 228 million in the first quarter of 2022, 22% higher than that of the Q4 2021, led by contractual readjustments and by higher cubic meters sold mostly at Vila do Conde. In 2022, Ultracargo's net revenues was BRL 867 million, 22% higher year-over-year, also resulting from contractual readjustments and higher cubic meters sold, mainly due to the capacity expansions. Combined cost and expenses were 15% higher than those in the Q4 2021, mainly impacted by costs and expenses of the Vila do Conde terminal, which started operations in December 2021, accounting for about 42% of this increase. In addition to higher costs with personnel, maintenance, and consultancy services linked to expansion projects. These effects were partially offset by productivity and efficiency gains in the last 12 months.
Ultragaz's EBITDA totaled BRL 130 million in the quarter, a growth of 28% year-over-year due to capacity expansions with profitability gains, contractual readjustments, as well as efficiency and productivity gains. EBITDA margin was 57% in the fourth quarter of 2022, 3 percentage points above that of the fourth quarter of 2021. In 2022, Ultracargo's EBITDA reached a record level of BRL 510 million at 29% growth over 2021. EBITDA margin was 59%, also a yearly record. For this current quarter, we expect Ultracargo's good operating performance to continue, with results at similar levels to those seen in the second semester of 2022 and gradual growth in Vila do Conde's contribution due to greater handling of products at the terminal. To conclude this presentation, moving now to slide eight to talk about Ipiranga's results.
Volumes sold increased 7% over the fourth quarter of 2021, with a 7% growth in both diesel and auto cycle. In 2022, Ipiranga's sales volume increased at 3% year-over-year, with a 3% growth in diesel and a 2% growth in the auto cycle volume. As anticipated in the last conference call, there was a high degree of volatility and uncertainty in fuel prices in Brazil and the import parity of gasoline and diesel in the first quarter of 2022, which added to the dynamic of greater supply of imports, generated import losses and resulted in more pressured commercial margins than those reported in the third quarter of 2022.
We ended the first quarter with a network of 6,771 service stations, 169 stations less than that of the third quarter of 2022, which is aligned with our strategy of managing the legacy of low-potential service stations. A total of 87 new service stations were opened with an average volume contribution of 207 cubic meters per month, and 256 were closed with average volumes of 32 cubic meters per month. Despite the reduction of the number of service stations, the volume net effect was positive, reinforcing our strategy of more density and higher standards in our service station network. In addition, we ended the fourth quarter with 1,598 AmPm stores, with same-store sales growth of 12% year-over-year.
Ipiranga's SG&A decreased by 16% in the quarter due to the positive net effect of credits and provisions of BRL 69 million in the first quarter of 2022, and a one-off concentration of contingencies provisions of BRL 88 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Despite higher expenses with freight and personnel, mainly collective bargaining agreements and variable compensation aligned to the progression of results. The other operating results line totaled negative BRL 110 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to a positive BRL 50 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, mainly due to higher costs with carbon tax credits and lower constitution of extemporaneous tax credits. The disposal of assets line totaled BRL 41 million in the quarter, mainly due to the sale of 13 real estate assets.
Ipiranga's EBITDA totaled BRL 1.1 billion in the quarter, 53% higher than that of the fourth quarter of 2021. Recurring EBITDA was BRL 316 million, a reduction of 41% year-over-year due to more pressured margins in the quarter, as I mentioned before, despite the higher sales volume. In 2022, Ipiranga's recurring EBITDA totaled BRL 2.1 billion, 24% growth year-over-year due to better margins and higher sales volume throughout the year, partially offset by higher expenses. Despite the volatility observed throughout the year, we ended 2022 with a more robust Ipiranga and a healthier service station network, in addition to important improvements in the recovery plan underway that should be largely concluded during 2023.
For this first quarter, we expect a sequential improvement in profitability levels to levels close to those observed in 2022, despite the seasonally weaker volume. With that, I now conclude my presentation. I appreciate your interest and attention, and let's now move on to the Q&A session. The CEOs of our three main businesses, as well as Marcos and I, are available to answer your questions. Thank you.
The floor is now open for questions and answers only for investors and analysts. Should you have a question, please press star one on your touchtone phone. If your question has been answered, you may withdraw from the queue by pressing star two. Questions will be taken in the order they are received. We ask you to please pick up your touchtone phone when asking the question to provide optimum sound quality. Please hold while we pull for questions. In case you're following through the webcast, please click on Questions to the Host to send your questions to the company executives. Our first question is from Luiz Carvalho from UBS.
Good morning. Thank you for taking the questions. I have two questions. The first referring to the information on the call.
Of course, you have had a change in process with the arrival of the new CFO, and there has been a significant change in the board of management. I would like to remark on this process and what you're thinking in terms of alignment of strategy, if you could give us more color regarding this, because it would be interesting when it comes to capital allocation and will also, of course, contribute to the new strategy that is underway. The second question refers to the operational part and refers to Ultragaz. I think it's the first time that the EBITDA of Ultragaz is the highest for the quarter. This, of course, is something that draws attention.
You have an accrued margin. We would like to know if this is recurrent, how you're looking upon the market, and if you could also refer to Ipiranga as a whole. The results are quite stable in a highly challenging market. The results are perhaps lower that we had expected. We know that the market is very restricted. There is a great deal of volatility. If you could explain to us what is happening in that trajectory of the closing and what will happen with your margin, vis-a-vis the main competitors. Thank you.
Allow me to answer your first question. In fact, we are renewing our board of management in a very significant way. From the 11 councilors, Pedro and Freddie are leaving. They were the CEO of the company in the past.
This is another step in a very significant evolution towards having a company that will be designed for the coming 30 years. Well, I can state that the change is quite complete at present. This is a journey. This is an in-house trajectory. You did refer to two operational questions, but I have been referring to this. We have companies that find themselves in very different stages. Some are very mature in terms of the value proposition. They're growing, they're stable. We have some niches, structural niches that have opted for energy. We're carrying out minor acquisitions to enhance our organic growth. This is very different from Ipiranga, that has had an outstanding evolution. There's a great deal going on, a great deal of learning, and without a doubt, the year 2022 ended much better than it had begun.
We still have time. We will end up becoming a benchmark in the segment. You spoke about the changes in our governance, what I can say is that this has been thoroughly discussed and planned in-house. The novelty, perhaps, was the maintenance of the CEO for an additional two years. This was something innovative. It was discussed at length, it seemed to make sense to remain two additional years in the day-to-day of the company because of the structure, the acceleration of some projects. Of course, we have made adjustments in the board of management for this. Now our board has a more financial side. It goes beyond that of a company that is fully financial and that works with capital. To summarize, that is it. I would like to pass the floor so that we can conclude answering your questions.
Still speaking about that more financial profile and of course, the different stages at which the companies find themselves, Ultragaz and others now in the horizon of the company. Of course, at the right time, we're going to have an operational turnaround. This is something that we're still looking at. Once again, we have never deemed this to be a plan, simply a possibility. And when you put a company like Ultrapar, a company with share, of course it has to have that tool for sharing in some of its business, a driver, and of course, value that it is offering partners, that it is also incorporating the market and securities that we can create with a daily listing. Now, all of this will add a great deal.
This has to be part of our menu of possibilities, and the company has to be in the right financial position to take these highly assertive steps. It was not a concrete plan, but of course, it does constitute a possibility.
This is Mr. Tabajara Bertelli speaking. Now to speak about your question referring to Ultragaz and the evolution of profitability. This is something that we have been discussing in the last quarters, the evolution of the company. We have conversed about this at length, and we're speaking about the evolution of our operational excellence. Of course, we do have that commercial counterpart. Well, this is our vocation in terms of operation. We're evolving, getting ever closer to what the customer wants, especially in the entrepreneurial segment. We have had a significant reception post-pandemic, of course, in terms of our operations.
There has been a significant evolution in the company, and I hope that this responds to your question that referred to the evolution.
Well, good morning. This is Linden. Allow me to address the questions referring to Ipiranga. Yes, we're very satisfied with the year at Ipiranga. We are not happy with the impact that we had in Ipiranga in this quarter. Now, if we look at the dynamic of the fourth quarter, and if we put it into perspective, the fourth quarter was one where we had an inverse parity. It was closed for most of the quarter, practically 70 days, and this highly impacted the market. We had a very open parity in the third quarter. Of course, this generated losses, which in the final accounts have an impact on margin.
We had 2 movements of reduction of prices in Petrobras with an impact on the year. One of these movements caught us at a time where we were creating our inventory and believing that we would have a return of COFINS, a scenario we had worked with until December 31st. There were other events that took place in December, such as a blockade and others. In the fourth quarter, we did have that scenario of a lower margin, a loss of inventory because of the reductions at Petrobras and because of what happened with the imports. If we look in the rear view mirror, it's always easier to assess the past. There are learnings, and there are things that we could have done differently.
For example, we work with a great deal of imports in our product mix, and perhaps We didn't have the ability to change everything when we had that inversion in parity and we had the odd distribution of products with an impact on the margin. The impact on the margin was more in terms of supply and not in terms of our ability to price. Of course, this impacts the margin of the market as a whole. Our learning here is more in the part of supply. Finally, there is a third factor that had an impact on us. It was a decision that we took of increasing the inventory at the end of the month. We were working with that scenario of COFINS that did not materialize. It did not materialize.
We had a break in our prices, and we ended the year with a full inventory, which is not the way we normally work. We did have some positive points when it comes to the vision of the full year. We did eliminate some important gaps in the financial part. We have the four pillars that we had decided to tackle. We're doing very well in terms of pricing and the evolution of resales. There are still some areas of attention that are well known. We have always mentioned them in our work plan, and they are very clear as part of our four pillars. First of all, we still have a certain direction that we have to tread when it comes to logistics. We have room for evolution vis-à-vis the first quarter when it comes to our supply strategy.
Yes, we do have to tackle, and we are tackling, but we have to put in place these enhancements in some of the key processes of the organization, which do have an impact on our supply strategy. Therefore, the work has been consistent. We have had a journey of enhancements, a great deal of learning, and we continue on. Thank you. Thank you very much. Our next question is from Pedro Soares from BTG Pactual. You may proceed, sir. Good morning, and good morning to everybody. I do have two questions. At my end, a sort of a follow-up of the previous question regarding Ipiranga. As Mr. Pizzinatto mentioned in the last call, you mentioned that the Ipiranga margins were very similar to those of the third quarter at that time.
As the margins have had a deterioration, we can imagine that December was very difficult because of prices, because of the opening. I would like to clarify, perhaps this was not mentioned. If you could quantify how much was due to a loss of inventory, how much was caused by a greater competition in December, or if you could speak about the relative importance of each of these items in the company's profitability. Another question about Ipiranga. You didn't execute the full CapEx that you had announced in the last quarter. Was this something that happened by chance? Are you going to do this going forward, or were there factors that contributed to that? Thank you very much. Pedro, regarding our margins, I believe I have addressed this.
What did happen differently since that period onwards was a reduction of prices, a reduction in inventory, and the dynamic of the market that extended more than we had expected throughout the quarter. When it comes to our CapEx, well, there could be a bit of everything, a problem of timing. What we had set forth to do, we did do. There were some factors that offset the CapEx. In truth, there is no lagging behind in terms of our planning. Okay. That is very clear.
Thank you. Our next question is from Bruno Montanari from Morgan Stanley.
Good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. A follow-up of Ultragaz and some products sold at Ipiranga.
The margin that is extremely healthy, is this fully structural or is there a component referring to the context, the transfer of inflation, for example, that could imply higher gains? If this is not a relevant factor for the level of profitability of the business, I simply wanted to check some points regarding Ipiranga, that problem of oversupply, if this has been resolved. Your inventories continue to look somewhat high. When do you expect to mitigate the level of inventories in the chain? Finally, that cleansing process that has been very intensive and necessary, how much of the network still needs to be cleaned out so that the level of return can continue to grow as you believe would be adequate? Thank you. Let's begin with Ultragaz and the evolution of profitability. In the previous question, I remarked on this.
This is a very structural evolution based on the plan that we had highlighted with an operational highlight. Last year, we operated in the Northeast. We had a very relevant logistic network set up, and we built a network that is closer to the customers. We have expanded the resales for our entrepreneurial or industrial customers, and all of this will enable us to position ourselves differently in the market. We can also underscore that this provided a higher upside that we had expected. The new uses of LPG also has contributed a great deal in the last quarters. This is something structural. It has an impact on our performance. In the fourth quarter, in terms of our sales mix, I do believe we have positioned ourselves much better in the industrial market and of course, the results are being positive.
This is not something temporary. It's due to the market context. We did have that transfer of the inflation that persisted throughout the year 2022. This is of course something structural. We have been following up on the evolution of the strategic measures set forth by the company, and well, this has had a positive impact on our market share so far. It is a positive combination as a whole. We have been able to have an evolution in market share, once again working in that segment, which is our true vocation. Here we have 3 points regarding Ipiranga. The market has been somewhat impacted, but not with the same levels of the fourth quarter. Yes, we do have a very high inventory level. We have observed some adjustments and of course, the level will return to normal stock levels.
In terms of this cleansing, it should, we have 70% of what we wanted to do. The rest will be carried out during 2023. The impact of this will be practically null on our business. We're speaking about volumes without any negative financial contribution. Quite the contrary.
Thank you. That was very clear. Thank you very much.
Our next question is from Regis Cardoso from Credit Suisse.
Good morning, everybody. Thank you for taking my questions. Some very quick topics. Is there a definition of who will be the chairman for the board? I did not see this in any relevant way. In terms of the margins of the first half of the year, you're speaking about margins aligned with the rest of 2022. They were good margins. Which are the drivers for this very good evolution of margin?
We should keep in mind that we have had a price reduction during the quarter. Are you counting upon fees, COFINS or markets with higher margins for the first quarter, something that will offset the inventory you have? If you allow me a last question on Ultragaz. I don't know if Tabajara Bertelli can help me to understand where your margin evolution comes from, if it refers to all segments. It was a highly relevant margin evolution, almost doubling. I would like to understand if this is due to new segments that are coming in with a disproportionately higher margin, much higher than the margins you have so far, vis-a-vis your consolidated margin. If it's a margin increase across board in the segments that already existed in the retail segment, in the bottled segment. Thank you.
This is Marcos Lutz.
In our bylaws, the chairman of the board is elected by the board itself. The entire board, if elected, will hold its first meeting to define who will be the chairman of the board. Referring to Ultragaz, to simply speed up the questions, you refer to all of the topics, basically the margins, COFINS, the different segments. We also do have that segmentation and that type of service, services with margins in Ultragaz, and we measure this based on tons, and perhaps we lose something out here. We have a great deal of service, and we could add value with a different approach towards this segment, perhaps. Regis Cardoso, regarding the assumption for the first quarter, it's what you said, and I would add that our assumptions for margin are to have that return of fees and COFINS. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Our next question are from Gabriel Barra from Citibank.
Good day, everybody. We have two questions at our end. Two questions referring to Ipiranga. 2 points that are not very clear in my opinion. When you look at Ipiranga during the quarter, a great part of the release of highs comes from your vendors, your suppliers. This is a factor that seems to appear consistently at the end of every year. If you could explain this more in depth, if this is recurrent, when this will return to a normalized level in this first quarter. This is my first question.
The second point that you have already harped on, significantly, higher inventory, of course, some market players, taking advantage of the tax system in the 10 as a whole, and the fact that there is a higher inventory now. What is your vision of this dynamic? Will there be an exacerbation vis-a-vis what we saw in the fourth quarter because of what we observed in the market, or are things not as bad as they seem to be? The last point, an interesting factor is the switch of volume for cost. It's interesting here when you look at the price of gallons for Ipiranga. On the other hand, we see a decrease in volume. We see very well structured and well-operated service stations. Of course, this is your great competency and the convenience stores, the AmPm.
Is this simply a one-off factor, something we have not understood, or is this also part of that cleaning process? Are there some stores that have not carried out their work? Thank you very much. These are my 3 points. Gabriel, let's answer your questions. I think I got everything. First of all, cash. There was increase in inventory, greater cash burn, and the calendar of the end of the year, which was somewhat atypical, and of course, the price per gallon. Now, when it comes to the high inventory, I think that I have already remarked on this. Yes, we do have a high inventory that we're going to mitigate during the first quarter with an outlook of the return of petrol fees. Of course, we can reduce the inventory at any point.
Now, when we speak about our service stations, when you clean out the network, of course you gain productivity at the service stations and the stores accompany this. This is the rationale, and this has a financial justification.
Thank you. Our next question is from Christian Audi from Santander Bank.
Good morning, everybody, and thank you for taking my questions. I have three. Lucas, you have always spoken that since you joined the company, this process is a journey. What is happening with the speed of this journey, in your opinion, given everything you were able to do last year and the enhancements, are you going to continue with the speed of enhancements? Are you at a very good point? Simply to understand, how much is left, vis-a-vis what you have already done. The second question about Ipiranga.
Your work with the vendors, I would like to understand your logistic and supply pillars. How much is missing to enhancing those pillars? Are you at the first stage, the second stage at the end of the game, therefore? How much is missing to be able to conclude this process? The last question refers more to your capital. You have announced a new CapEx, which will probably not change as it was set forth recently. You have been able to reduce the leverage to 1.7x . Now, are there any remarks in terms of this? Is there any room for further reduction? Do you expect an enhancement in Ipiranga, and if you're going to improve the payout of dividends? Thank you. Let me see if we can respond to all of your questions.
Regarding this journey, we don't know how much longer it will take. Joking aside, this is a journey that will never end. We're opting for things that are easier and faster, and I would say that in logistics, we have a very significant number still pending for the coming three years. Relevant areas where we still will continue to seek out deficiencies, but when we get there, we will be ever more efficient. When it comes to processes in general for the company, we have had a considerable evolution. There's still a great deal missing in terms of the integration with industries. It's difficult to respond to. We're trying to speed up the process, but in my reading, the speed of the process is quite adequate. Because we do have to work in the day-to-day management.
We have to evolve, enhance the processes without impacting them. Yes, we had a quarter with a great deal of learning, with a combination of areas. We have ended the quarter with a learning, which means that we will never have the same problem in a similar quarter. The journey continues to be a lengthy one. When it comes to capital allocation, we believe that the total amount is adequate. Reminder that we still have BRL 1 billion to receive in terms of receivables, and we will then reach the ideal indebtedness level. We will have a strong cash that should come, and the future evolution of Ipiranga will bring in greater cash drivers. In fact, the future outlook is for dividend payout to improve. We all have that desire and hope, of course.
It's extremely important for the company to have growth plans that are healthy. As a company, we do have to create investment opportunities that are above and beyond what shareholders would have in general. We have already consumed our ROIC in such a way that we could accelerate this capital allocation. We're doing our homework. As you can see, the company has gained in terms of cash generation. We have an ideal leverage. Brazil has enhanced its investment grade, and the rest, of course, will come as a result of all of this. What is left over of capital will, of course, be paid out as dividends.
Our next question is from Leonardo Marcondes from Bank of America. You may proceed.
Good morning, everybody, and thank you for taking my questions. 3 questions on our end. First, about Ipiranga.
You had a net loss of service stations this quarter. I would like to know if you can give us more color in terms of your branded service stations for 2023. How many are you planning to close down this year? The second question refers to Ultragaz. How many M&As that you have and which will be the impact on the company this year already? My third question, which would be the main goals for the next two years of mandate for the CEO? If you could perhaps list the three main goals so that we can better understand which will be the focus for Ipiranga. Thank you very much. Well, first of all, regarding the branding of service station, you used a word, you said a loss of service stations in 2023.
That cleansing out is not really a loss, it's a business decision. When it comes to 2023, the plan is to have a very similar plan for that of 2022, to invest selectively in businesses that will add productivity at higher levels than those that we normally have in our station network, to bring the good businesses in-house when those opportunities do exist, and to clean out, eliminate what does not increase our productivity. Your question referring to Ultragaz. Once again, we are following the plan that we disclosed very recently. The business on our platform, our network of vendors, and our work with industries. We began this operation this month. Really it won't be relevant, but it is a strategic decision. We spoke about the goals, the goals are to organize the company, prepare it to invest more.
Obviously, the government is under a process of becoming fully stabilized. I would say that we have attained the goal regarding that, but... The Ultra Group as a whole is a company that generates cash. It has a very strong balance, and we want to make investments with returns that are above what we expect for our dividends. Well, thank you. Thank you very much.
Thank you. As we have no further questions, we will return the floor to Mr. Rodrigo Pizzinatto for the closing remarks. Mr. Rodrigo Pizzinatto, you may proceed, sir.
Well, thank you all for your questions, for your attendance. The IR team will respond to the questions of the webcast, and we do expect to see you in the next conference call and the event we will hold on March 6th. Thank you very much. Have a good day.
Thank you. The earnings result call for Ultrapar ends here. You can disconnect. Thank you once again.