Yes, of course. My name is Francisco Paz.
Good morning. Francisco Paz. I'm part of the utilities of Banco Santander, and today we are with Aguas Andinas to introduce the financial results of 12 months of that year of the company. In case you want to listen to this call in English, we have it in Spanish or English, so you can choose the translation, and we have the buttons on the bottom of the screen. Then we will have a Q&A session in which you can send us your question.
Chile utilities analyst at Banco Santander. Today we are with Aguas Andinas to present the company's 12-month 2023 results. In case you want to listen this video call in English, you have an available option of simultaneous translation. To access, you must go to the bottom of your screen, press the option More, Interpretation, and choose English language. For this conference call, the company will make a presentation, and afterwards, we will have a Q&A session where you can send us all questions via chat. [Foreign language] Dicho esto, voy a proceder a presentar a nuestros panelistas del día de hoy. [/Foreign language]
Having said that, I'm going to introduce the panelist. We have the Director of Aguas Andinas, Miguel Sanz, that is, has a degree in Administration of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and has a diploma in the Business Sciences of the Universitat de les Illes Balears, and a postgraduate of IESE Business School. He had some development in the school of master, where he was a general manager of IESE for different sectors in Barcelona, Madrid for the year 2021, year in which he assumed as a Financial Director for Aguas de Barcelona. In the year 2023, he reached Aguas Andinas. We have with Paz Andrés Polete, Planner of Aguas Andinas with more than 20 years in the health system and Idrica Resources International and National.
He has been performing functions of infrastructure, planning of the development of the area of technology and strategic consultancy as well. We have to underline the participation in academia, master's in technology with the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, the Polytechnic University, and the UNAB, and has had a development in board of directors with the participation as a director of the Idrica branch, Idrica Chile, and the point of vigilance, rivers, and channels in review of Aguas Andinas, introducing and underlining the group of the vigilance of the Aguapozo and the group of Arián. Having introduced our panelists today, I'm going to hand the floor to the company so he and they, if they may, introduce the company. Good morning, all. Let us start, first of all, putting us in context.
As you see here on that regard, this year has been a place that has been standardized with the last purposes of what has happened in the last years. This has allowed to fill the vessel of El Yeso. This dam is now filled, and this hasn't happened in many years. Also, we have different temperatures in the near term depending on previous year, and the impact is a part of the last months to come. Concerning the arrival, I wanted to introduce a couple of aspects. A level four in levels of efficiency and the corresponding growth concerning what we have accumulated for three months with a good work in the areas contributing to this success. In the bad debts, we have the rate of 1.9%.
We believe that we were going to have some levels over the 4%. In the last years, we have been introducing these rates with the current part downward as well and having a decrease arriving to the 9% that we have at the end of the year. As we know, at the end of the year started the fourth tariff process with the basis. As we explained before, this is a long process that is going to finalize in January of 2025. We are still in the middle of those phases.
Now we're going to review the account of results with an increase of the rate for all of 2022 and the recognition of all these events and also the indexation that we have had in February 2022 of 1.6%. This period coupled with a positive effect of overconsumption in the first term of the year 2023. An overconsumption that in the last term was negative coming from the different decreases in the town areas. Altogether the year had a positive balance of 0.3%. To the low temperatures, we have to add something concerning the rainfall in the last years.
As we said, in the last months of the year, we are having in the month of November a maximum temperature of 4 degrees concerning previous years. That trend is going to be getting up to the start of June. In the part of costs, in the improvement that is explained in bad debts and inefficiencies, we have introduced normal transfers of water in the reservoirs of the year, and this allows us to have the El Yeso dam at 100%. Also, we have other events. In January, we haven't had any significant differences that have impacted in a negative manner in the account or results.
In the increase of cost by EPC and operating ones, we have had an increase in the first term with some pressure concerning the reduction of the dollar and in line with the evolution of the inflation and with lower complementary services in the situations of contingency as the one that we have had in the first part. Then the financial results, we would like to underline the UF that has allowed a relevant improvement of financial results that is going to be depending on the IPC in a superior manner to what has been said before. If we go now to the generation. Here, I would like to underline the generation of the cash during the last year. This has allowed us to maintain the endowment in line with the objectives.
Among all the things, we have a level of payment of taxes that is well superior to the one stated, and this is going to be something positive at the end of this year. At the level of debt, what do we have? I would say that this year has been a year of transition. We are going to start with a level of treasury that is very high, that is well superior to our needs, with CLP 179 million. This has allowed to give some counter results to finance something important to take into account that we're going to do this year, but starting with the cash position that is comfortable with $109,000. We will have this much better if we had another level of cash. In the investment part, what do we have?
We have closed the year 2023, complying with the plan that is stated in matters of investment, with a focus in efficiencies to ensure the continuity, the operational continuity. Also, at the same time, we have been developing some projects that allow another level of profitability and a rate with some figures that are going to materialize at the very end. Everything being compliant with the demand of the Superintendency at the end of with the delivery of networks efficiency, where we have seen some collectors that are essential for the plans that will allow to have something more active and more specific.
That plan of investment that is ambitious, it has been developed maintaining a balance from a financial point of view and increasing the EBITDA over 3.7%, improving at the same time at the level of pre-pandemic, reaching practically CLP 22 per share at the end of this year, 2023. These improvements, financial improvements, have been hand in hand with positive advances in matters of ESG, with different recognitions that have been recognized. I'm not going to mention them all. Here we have a summary, but I wanted to underline the part of the Directors of Chile, and in first place, in the level of the relationship that we have with the investors. We are very proud of that result.
Also, we have other recognitions and improvements that we have seen here with the Río Crespo that we observe in this slide. Without further delay, now we're going to hand the floor to Edson. Good morning, all. Edson Landeros.
Yes, I have the microphone on. I'm going to hand the floor now, start talking about vision of the hydrology that come 2023 to 2024, and this considers a plan for what is coming in the year 2025, concerning the predictions that we have at present date. First of all, to understand a bit how does it work, how is the supply working in terms of Santiago.
Our main sources, superficial sources, they are in the middle of the 80% of the supply of Santiago, and they come from the Maipo River, from these dams and the basins of the Mapocho. These are the two main sources of superficial waters of Santiago. Then the other thing that is in the Maipo River, the El Yeso basin, that allows the filling of that area. The hydrology as well. This is still a regime with a strong component of accumulation of snow. The hydrologic year is quite different. By now, we're leaving the end of what could be the hydrological year 2023-2024.
2023, we have the El Niño phenomenon that was there in the second half of the year, and we're going to see the hydrological register that is moderate and is superior to the records that we had during the last years with the megadrought. In terms of rainfall, we can see how has this happened in Gran Santiago and in the El Yeso dam, and in the first rainfall that was less than the average, going now after June to a condition of the above average, most of all at the mid-season. Then we're going to see how we have behaved with the flows of this year. This was an average of the line that you see here on the upper left graphic.
We see how this has behaved near the average, starting with a condition that is different in the first half of the hydrological year. This was way superior to 2021, 2022, and the hydrological year. On the other side, El Yeso, what do we have here, started with a situation that is drier than the average, but finalized with values that are well over the ones that we have. This is related to the rainfall in the valley of Santiago concerning the mountains, and this gives an average of all the levels that we had in the sector of Santiago. This is a hydrological similar year after all. The next one, please. Here, we have a level of the first part of the year.
We have different flows, and now we have the trend that we have been following in the period of drought. In June, we see the first peaks of the great rainfall that we had at mid of June. This is a rainfall that it was very specific and never left any not much accumulation of snow, only at very high levels. At the end, at the very end, we had volumes that were considered at the beginning. We have a condition until December, considering the icing, if we compare that to normal levels. We commented at the same time that during these months, we had low temperatures or lower than expected in the Maipo River.
With another level of this snow, this was reflected in the month of January and December, with a volume of flow, with a new low average to the averages that we have. The comparison to the drought in the year 2019 and 2022 is big. We have a lot of flow depending on what we had before. The next one, please. These great models allow the filling of the dam at the beginning of January. Here we can see the infrastructure valves of discharge of the river that works when the dam is fully filled. Here we can see the waste disposal as it takes place, the labor of waste disposal. Here we have an image on how the dam is filling. How do we see that?
This is an unexpected situation since 2017. This allows to have during March a good level, in 2025, a good, full capacity, dam. Here, the next one, please. What happens at the level of the consideration and what is going to happen during the next months to come? We have a diagnosis with the different climate models that are giving a transition towards a neutral condition on the autumn and towards a condition that is during the second term of this year. This, obviously, this condition is associated in a general basis to a situation that is drier to the El Niño condition.
Nevertheless, what we can see here is that the dispersion of the models is large, and in general, we have a certain level of that area. This is updated every month, and these rates are the same time of when the El Niño starts and when do we have that neutral area varies a lot. We observed in the years after 2009, we have had two years that are similar, and we have a similar condition. We have an El Niño condition that are for 2016 as well. We have these two years, this is part of the area of the light blue part.
We have an observation, and we have different flows, which is depending also on the megadrought that we have had during the last year to come. On the other side, let us assume that the hydric condition is part of this period and part of the start of this period, and is depending on a first dam that is full at the very beginning. This depends of course on the different conditions that we're going to have in the next months to come. If we look at the level of probability, these two years under 25%, and there is less that we have in the megadrought that we have at less than 35%. Finally, what happened? If we want to project the... What about the projections of the El Niño and summer?
This is the highest level of consumption. This is at the end of August when we have closed the period of rainfall that is between June and August, and we are going to get you the projections for the next months to come, and the next week is up till March 2035. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much, Edson and Miguel. Once we have finalized the presentation, we're going to start a session of Q&A. Let me remind you that to get your questions, this has to be through the chat, and we have to press the option plus, and then the Q&A. Then what happens then, you can work with, it's going on. Let's see, first of all, the levels of the dam.
That is the first question and the phenomenon that is coming concerning in the next months to come. This is the change of the things that we have to observe. What about the measures or the short term? What are the things that are going to happen and the phenomenon of La Niña that we have another level of drought concerning the investments that have been planned? These are something constant, and maybe you can give us a bit more of color, a bit more of detail. We have started from this hydrological year. We have a full dam, and this is projected and controlled until the end of March. Then the idea of the dam, of course, is to use the different conditions of El Maipo, and we are monitoring the hydrological situation in the river.
We have the agreements valid to see the hydrological conditions they are to be unfavorable, and they can guarantee the supply and to maintain as well the required levels of the dam. Okay. Thank you. Also aligned with the dam or the different phenomena, what are the costs that we have and the level of mitigation of the things that we are going to see? What about the cost of the electricity? It is like a matter of pumping, right? With the first resource area. This is an area of the climate change, especially for this type of costs. This should be more relevant.
Here in the last years to come, we have had the trend from the 15% that we have from a historic point of view in well water. The truth is that if the trend to optimize the water of deposits as a whole and as what we have on a permanent basis decreases as we have it with the rivers. We've measured that with the rivers. At short term, as it has been said, as Edson said, this meteorological situation in winter is part of the determination on how this mix is going to be between underground at the end of the year. Also beyond that, we have a trend the use of underground waters.
I will take the chance to say again that depending on the level of efficiency that we have, we have the efficiency to use this at a higher level with the costs, the sanitary costs of extraction that are the other way around.
Thank you so much, Miguel. We have a question from the chat. I believe that it can be written down with Iván Yarur. What are the relevant changes that are observed, and how can we do this on this different rate? One of the things that we have on this process is an incorporation in a rate with the ones that are necessary to give some contribution and to give more safety and resilience to the system after all. I would qualify this as the most important and relevant thing.
The rest is a process that is quite necessary and is standard and without changing. Thank you. Related to the timing here, what are we going to expect over here for these decree, the basis? I'm going to go over these rates. This has been published. We have published the preliminary basis, 28 November. These dates, those preliminary basis, they were observed on the 26th of January, and at the same time, the Superintendency responded this week on the 13th of March, the answers to our observations. Also in a posterior basis, there's an instance of something quite brief concerning the rates.
As a second reconsideration of the answers of the Superintendency, then the relevant milestone, that is the first of October, is the change of rates that goes hand in hand with the base rates. Then we have a month in which the company will prepare discrepancies to the Superintendency based on the study to evaluate that. Then the fifth part, we have a period of direct negotiation in which we have an agreement. Then if we reach that decree right away, we can have another level of rate for the company that will be dealing from the first of March of the year 2025.
If we don't have any agreement during the first 15 days of November, the company has the option to call the committee of experts, a committee that should be solved in the delay of 1 month, 1 month and a half. In January next year, we have to know which is the results of the process. Yeah. Thanks very much, Ivan. What about some expectations and some costs area? What about the costs? What about it? What can we do for the rate available of the cost? What about the cost? I mean, we haven't. What about the lines? We have increased this more than the IPC and the increase with the collectible, with all the type of demands.
What we're doing here, what we are observing is another level of expenses that is quite specific to say, so we have to be careful. Now we have another question from the chat, and this is concerning the investments for the year 2024. Can you give us some more detail if the... You are so kind, please. For this year, 2024, we consider a level of investment that is part of the 2023. We see it in the figures. We are decreasing some percentage, but it's not going to be very different to what we currently have.
Online with an investment, we have another question where we say, which is the current idea, what is going on with the collection of the dams and the production plants and the reuse water. What about this? Do we have any plan for development? Concerning the first project to come, in the first alternative of the condition that we have for the instruction and the bid catches, this is in the middle of a process. This depends on how much do we want to deal with the environment, and this is subject to that. The aspect of reuse, we have one. We got it one step forward, and we are in the operation of the environment and associated also to the project.
We're not getting with this part of environment and the timing that we have. We are managing having this procedure and at the end, these conditions depend on entrance, and the return is subjected to the rate at the end.
Thank you very much, Edson. We have another question that is directed to Iván, and the question is: Are you going to propose some parameters of the model of the regulatory that is for the water and is collectible as well? When can we know if the SISS and the proposals are going to have any value? Well, we're going to know when the exchange happens, the exchange of the rates, how much is going to incorporate each part.
Of course, we're going to incorporate everything that we can, everything that we're looking for, at the product of the five years. I don't know what else can I add to that information. Per basis, this is going to continue, of course, and this is also parameters. We don't have any relevant restrictions to incorporate what's going on or the reality that we have experienced in the last time to come. In line with the regulatory subject, Iván, have you seen any? Do you have any perception of how we have discussed any alteration of any regulation of the sector? Not for this process. This is maintained. We maintain the same parameters. There's no changes. That belongs with or what's going on. Okay, here, what do we have?
We have some housing, like the policies of what's going on with the utilities, with 100% of the payout. Here we have the dividends of what's going on, and the distribution is going to be generated with the shareholder on the 24th of April, where we have especially the 2023. Historically speaking, could you remember that we have some subsidiaries that are relevant for this exercise, and this depends on the assets and the volatility of what happened after the pandemic, as well, of course, and the effect of the markets that we have. As well as that, as I said, the policy and the test and the dividend multiple, the test is something that will depend on the moment that there is a definitive conclusion after all. Thank you so much, Miguel.
We have another question on the chat that indicates in the short term, do we have any management of assets for the debt financing? Do you expect to do that? As I said in my intervention, in 2023, we have had a year of transition, where we have had the high level of what was going on concerning what we have so far. We've been able to give an amortization to the market. In the year 2024, it is considered that we have to refinance that, and we are working in that. Of course, we have a review of depending on the level of opportunities at any time. Thank you so much, Miguel.
Okay, now, for the sake of time, we're going to put an end to this call, and before I end, I'm going to hand the floor to the company to perhaps some final questions. Thanks very much. This is part of the presentation. Thanks very much for presenting the presentation result of the company, and we will be seeing in a couple of months, so we can review the first term of the year 2024. Thank you so much, Edson and Miguel, and have a good day and also a good weekend.