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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Auren's conference call to discuss results regarding the third quarter of 2023. This conference is being recorded, and the replay can be accessed on the company's IR website, ir.aurenenergia.com.br. The presentation is also available for download. [Operator Instructions].
Before proceeding, we would like to clarify that any forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Auren's management and current information available to the company. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties as they relate to future events and therefore, depend on circumstances that may or may not occur. Investors, analysts and journalists must understand that events related to the macroeconomic environment, industry and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the respective forward-looking statements.
Here with us at this conference are Mr. Fabio Zanfelice our CEO; and Mr. Mario Bertoncini, CFO and IRO. The Investor Relations team is also here with us. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Fabio Zanfelice, who will start the presentation. You may proceed, sir.
Good morning, everyone. It's an honor to have you here attending our conference to discuss the results of the third quarter of 2023. I would like to move straight to the agenda. So we are going to cover the highlights for the Q3 '23. We are also going to discuss the energy market, the operating performance as well as the financial performance, and provide some details on the innovation and growth in social environment performance, and then we are going to have our closing remarks.
Moving on to the highlights of Q3 '23. From the operational viewpoint, we observed a 17.7% increase in hydroelectric generation in comparison to the previous year due to better hydrological condition in the period, especially in the basin of Parana River, which is where our main asset is based for Parana.
Consolidated wind generation stood at nearly 40% due to the start-up of Ventos do Piauí II and III wind complexes. If we consider the same base of assets of the same quarter last year, there was a reduction in the wind generation at 10.2% due to lowest wind resource may be the lowest ever in the historical series since 2011. We are going to provide more details about this performance during the presentation.
As to the market -- as to the financial aspect, adjusted EBITDA reached BRL 453.2 million in Q3 '23, an increase of 46.4% when compared to the Q3 '22, driven by the EBITDA of Ventos do Piauí II and III and the better performance on the trading segment and also the receipt of taxes and the dividends. We also have the accounting effect of the recognition of Três Irmãos, which was an amount of BRL 1,037 million and a cash outlay of BRL 578 million, impacting the company at negative [ BRL 800 million ]. Otherwise, it would be BRL 200 million positive terms.
In relation to the growth of innovation of the company, Sol do Piauí is our first hybrid project. It has been fully completed and is planned to start operating in November, this month. And the construction of Sol de Jaíba, which is our solar complex in the north of Minas Gerais is progressing as scheduled and on budget.
Okay. Now moving on to the energy market. As always, we bring information and the analysis of the natural energy and stored energy. This was another quarter of excellent conditions. Storage levels were high, reaching 95% of the long-term average. Again, 79% as we reported in 2022. The inflow in the first 9 months of the year is very close to the average, reaching 98% aligned with the values of 2022 and higher than what we observed in 2021, which stood at 72% that being the worst year in our historical series in relation to hydrology.
EARM has a high level of storage, 73% at the end of the third quarter versus 57% in the third quarter of last year, and we ended this quarter with the highest level of storage on record since the year 2000. Very favorable conditions, reflecting the production of the hydroelectric production in the segment. In the following slide, as a result of the performance of the wind assets in the third quarter, we prepared some material for us to discuss what we observed from the sector viewpoint in relation to wind generation. So we bring to the left comparisons of generations, which is the physical guarantee per state. These were numbers complied by the energy plan by the company. We observed [indiscernible] with nearly 95% of generation in relation to the physical guarantee. And this is a proxy of the capacity factor of those states.
It's not exactly the capacity factor because this would compare -- this would install the power. So we see the performance according to the states and we also see Piaui at 72%.
When we compare the half of the year, considering every month, we have a breakdown of all those figures according to weeks. As we can see in the green bar, we can see the generation on a weekly basis. The yellow line shows the seasonality physical guarantee for each of those months and the average generation for each of those months. So we would like to show that in July, when we consider the sector as a whole. This is the production of the whole month. So it's above the fiscal guarantee. So August, there was a frustration, especially in the last 2 weeks of the month because the wind speed was much below expectations that made the generation to drop. In September, we saw that generation was exceeding the physical guarantee. So this is just for you to show that August was the one that impacted the most the generation of the sector as a whole, and it was a one-off event.
On the graph below, we can see the capacity factor by region and market, all considering the interconnected system. And we can see the relationship of 74%. When we look at the performance of Auren, when we compare to the state average and the average first market, we can see the performance of the company was much better than the numbers grouped according to the region, reaching 97% when we consider the generation and the physical guarantee. And that makes us understand that when there was a quarter, whose generation was very low, even so, the performance was much -- was very good.
On the following graph, we also would like to show -- Okay. Okay. On this graph, we show a segregation across the period before the blackout of August 15 and the period after the blackout. So we separated in terms of figures, and we show the comparison according to state on July 1 until August. And then August, up to the September 30. So it shows that after the August 15, there was a change in the standard of operation of the system because we increased the resilience in the Brazilian system. And some states were much more impacted than others. On the graph below, we show the comparison per submarket and also per region. What was the performance pre and post the blackout, which happened on the 15th, showing that Auren performed well. The curtailments offered by Auren was 1.4% of its generation of the period before the blackout and after the blackout, it was even below of what we had observed in the first weeks of the quarter.
This is also to show again the characteristics of the assets of the company and also to show the geographical positioning that favor the assets that are located between Piauí and Pernambuco. This was very beneficial from the viewpoint of transmission system as a whole.
On the following graph, we are going to go to the operating performance. Next slide, please. So we're going to discuss the operating performance of the Hydroelectric Assets. The generation, as we had mentioned, was 80% in comparison to the previous period. If we compare the generation according to the physical guarantee, we generated more than the physical guarantee 102% against the average GSF. The company maintains high levels of availability, 96.7%, much higher the ANEEL reference of 92.3%. In other words, it was a very favorable quarter for the hydroelectric generation.
On the following slide as for wind assets, wind generation, based on the information of the sector as a whole, this was a challenging period for the company. We see a generation, which is in line with P90 and in August, much below of what we expected in relation to the certification of complexes. So we had this impact in this period, but we show the resilience of the assets, and the impact was not too great.
On the next slide, we show details of how we measure the performance of those assets from the wind resources and also the performance of the equipment we show here that the wind resources were the ones that impacted the most. So we see that the P50 regeneration was reduced by 9.3% due to the wind asset and the other assets are related to the internal electric system and WTGs. And we see the performance better than the perimeters of the project. And we also see the restriction for the quarter that led to 91% of realized generation in relation to P50, right?
Next slide, please. We also bring the information that we keep at a leadership in the market. Trading 3.9 average gigawatts considering the consolidation of the activities. And if we look at the trading company activities, it ended at 3.4 average gigawatts for this quarter. So that's nearly 200-megawatts higher than the one that is coming second.
So our energy balance has a high level of contracting as we have observed since the second quarter of 2022. So in 2023, we stand at 98% with contracting level. So we have a very important averages for the next years. There is no reduction of the hedge for the coverage of GSF for the hydropower plants. So these are the physical guarantees and the total resources. This be the requirement of the energy.
On the following slide, we open the part of financial performance. So I'm going to turn the call over to Mario Bertoncini.
Thank you, Fabio. Now going to Page 15, we show the highlights in terms of revenue and EBITDA. We ended the quarter with -- at 4.2 gigawatt. This is how we reached a growth of 35% when compared to the level that we reached last year in the third quarter. The revenue for the quarter in monetary terms increased by nearly 6%, amounting to BRL 1.6 billion. And the main drivers of this growth in revenue were the better performance in the hydro segment and higher volume in the trading area.
In relation to the EBITDA, we ended the third quarter with BRL 453 million, an EBITDA margin of 28% and a growth of 46% in relation to the same quarter of last year. In the first 9 months of the year, we had a very good EBITDA margin of 29%. The main factor that made up the growth for the quarter was the start of full operation of Ventos do Piauí II and III that were not operating at full performance last year and the best result in the trading area.
I would also like to show 2 points. The first one is in relation to the PMSO expenses, people, materials, services and others. In nominal terms, we maintained the BRL 143 million of PMSO for this quarter is the same level of -- that we reached last year. We would also like to add that since then, we have start of operation of Ventos do Piauí II and III and also the inflation. By means of other expense reduction, we managed to offset those effects and present exactly the same nominal numbers.
I would also like to mention, as mentioned before, by the way, is that this quarter, we had the accounting effect of recognition of IR/CSLL and PIS/COFINS as a result of Três Irmãos HPP indemnity. And this is associated to those taxes, as I mentioned, of related to Três Irmãos. The cash effect for the quarter stands at BRL 578 million. And this is associated to the payment of the income tax and social contribution. The PIS and COFINS in the amount of BRL 125 million were paid only now on October 30, some days ago, and it will affect the cash, not the accounting expenses of the fourth quarter.
We would like to mention that the company continues doing the analysis together with our legal area, and we reserve the right to challenge all those taxes if considered adequate.
On Page 16, we show the indicators of capital structure, we ended the quarter with a net debt of BRL 1.3 billion and a leverage of 0.7x in terms of net debt over EBITDA, our debt profile has not changed. What we're going to see in the future is a gradual change in the installments of [indiscernible]. And in terms of debt profile, they are basically divided equally. So we have resources from BNDES and also resources from debentures related to infrastructure and a 10% share of lending from banks and also BNB.
We ended the quarter with a cash position of BRL 4.9 billion in cash. Even though we had not made a decision, but it's according to the expectations that we anticipated for the market in relation to the dividends for the fourth quarter of the year.
As to cash flow, as of the adjusted EBITDA of BRL 453 million, we reached the cash flow -- operational cash flow of minus BRL 158 million as we can observe. But I would like to say something. First, this operating cash flow, we will already deduct the debt service. So this is an amount that will be used for the repayment of the debt. If it were not for the offset effect of income tax and social contribution and the indemnity of Três Irmãos, we would have FCO of BRL 339 million, because the impact of the income tax will impact not only this column of the income tax and social contribution, but also the working capital, because it will be affected by it. So if we disregard the physical effect of Três Irmãos, we would have a cash conversion of 75%, which would be very high and above the average that we have recorded lately. I turn the call back to Fabio now.
Thank you, Mario. Okay. Now moving on, talking about innovation and social activities. We have the hybrid farms Sol do Piauí 100% completed. Our engineering team is finishing the commissioning of the substation. And it's planned to start operating in the next phase. It has a lot of meaning for us because not only will it add 50-megawatt of capacity to the system and to Auren's portfolio, but also it counted on the participation of [indiscernible] and other associated projects. And this is an innovation to the sector. And it also maximize the natural resources in the combination of wind and solar power generations. And it did not add any other line in the generation system.
So there was a reduction in cost because of this optimization and bringing benefit to the other consumers in the electrical sector. So this is related to innovation. We are very happy also to announce that we caused a very positive impact with this project to the society and to the local community. Since this project was built with 0 incidents, LTIs. So this is great value for us and 50% of the professionals who worked in the construction of the projects are from the local region. So we use the local community labor in order to build this project.
In addition, the product had a very innovative initiative in relation to the social impact. We are developing a project of reforestation of 145 seedlings in 85 hectares in the region. And this will be a reforestation of fruit trees in the region, and we are going to look after those trees together with the local community in a format of sustainable management with the purpose of generating income to the local community by doing this reforestation.
And we are also going to recover the local area, which will also help the community providing another income source. And we are very proud to have this project. And in the next few weeks, we are going to announce the start-up of operation of this project.
Next slide, please. Now talking about the final considerations. In relation to the wind generation, it has been a very challenging quarter, but it also paves the way and shows how resilient our portfolio of assets is. We have a very challenging quarter in terms of wind production. In hydrology, the performance was good. And the diversification of the geography of the assets favored us together results. And our performance was better than that of the same period of previous year, showing how resilient the portfolio of the company is. And we are glad to say that we continue being leaders in the trading of energy with 900 clients. And Sol do Piauí and Sol de Jaíba continues its development as we mentioned previously on schedule, on budget. Sol de Jaíba will start operation in the beginning of 2024 as planned. And the operation will start up along the year. With this, we completed the presentation. We are available should you have any questions.
[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Guilherme Lima with Santander.
I would like to talk about dividends and the capital allocation. You ended the quarter with BRL 4.9 billion cash position, as you showed. I would like to have an update on what you're thinking of the potential destination allocation of this capital. You mentioned distribution of a second tranche. So I would like to know what's in your mind in terms of the allocation of the second tranche. And you mentioned of CapEx of BRL 1.5 billion for the second half of the year. I would like to know if you maintain this expectation, could you provide an update and what you expect in terms of the hybrid pipeline in addition to Sol do Piauí. I would like to know if you have already discussed this with the Board. And in terms of inorganic growth, what have you been observing in the market? Are you considering greenfield, brownfield? And I would like to understand the characteristics of the potential targets and which states would make sense for you to have those renewable projects?
Guilherme, thanks for the question. I'm going to start answering your questions, and then Mario will complement. In relation to dividends, we continue as planned. We said that will be another tranche of BRL 1.5 billion for the second half of the year. So we continue with this planning. We have already made the decision and no resolution has been made, but we are going to put it to be voted along this period. So nothing has changed in terms of those plans.
So we are going to continue as planned. In relation, we have the reimbursement of the investments of Jaíba, and we are going to continue making those investments along the period of this year.
In relation to inorganic growth, [indiscernible] M&A continues evaluating all the opportunities. And considering the opportunities that emerge. We are preparing the company. The engineering and construction area is already conducting the studies to continue or to evaluate the continuity of the hybridization of the other farms that we have in Piauí. So the company intends to continue with this project. We have already made any decisions by the Board.
So considering the CapEx and also the reduction in the cost of investment, especially the solar panels, we understand we are likely to continue with the project. But however, we haven't made a decision yet.
In relation to other states and regions, the company continues with a vision that today, the best source or the best resources to be installed in greenfield is the solar photovoltaic generation. So the company, as I mentioned before, has the intention of -- with a hybridization project and the company is already evaluating some other greenfield projects to be acquired. In some regions, we do not consider only the region, but of course, the Northeastern areas and the Northern areas are the areas where the irrigation is better and that influences the capacity factor.
But obviously, we have to meet different requirements. One is the connection in the transmission system and the transmission that be feasible in terms of deadline. So we are making the valuations. And there were some cases where we were not able to build at the right time because of those limitations. And some projects required upfront investment. So there are some projects that have some restrictions. There are other projects, however, where the conditions are more favorable. When the company have been evaluating the opportunities of evaluating and expanding the portfolio possibilities and assets. Mario, I don't know if you'd like to add anything.
In relation to the last point mentioned by Guilherme, which is the capital allocation for the fourth quarter. So Guilherme, for the fourth quarter, we planned a total CapEx of BRL 635 million, and most of it will be used for the expansion of Jaíba -- BRL 610 million will be used for the expansion of Jaíba. And as I mentioned previously, in the fourth quarter, we paid the PIS and COFINS taxes of Três Irmãos BRL 125 million on October 30, and the dividend aspect of BRL 1.5 billion. So these are the 3 allocations of capital for the period.
[Operator Instructions] The question-and-answer session is closed. Mr. Giuliano has sent us a question. You may proceed, sir.
Can you hear me? Fabio, Mario, can you hear me? Okay, great. Let me ask 2 other questions, more conceptual questions in order to understand your strategy. I believe that we have seen some consequences of the blackout after 15th even show this in the results. The second point is the drop of solar generation when there is a moment of demand. And there's a gap that is being -- was covered by thermal energy. As a consequence, we saw intraday volatility. So the first conceptual question would be how to protect the solar farm considering the scenario, and what have you been doing in relation to this? What is the strategy you're going to adopt?
So how you're making money using the trading area? And how do you see the price dynamics for the average and for the medium and long terms? So these are the 2 conceptual questions that I have.
Thank you for your questions, Giuliano. On our everyday operations, we have different ways of looking at the long term. And there are some restrictions of transmissions that are going to be solved along the time. But you can have some restrictions now and then, and this is what we have been observing in the sector. As we show our wind assets do not offer so much with the curtailment, we are going to evaluate the performance of the solar farms, especially Jaíba. But the best solution is to diversify the portfolio. And this is what we have been doing, not to put -- place all [ bets ] on a single source. So diversification brings in resilience and we can use the last quarter as an example, and having a good balance of all those portfolios, hydro, solar and wind. And this is what we've been working on. If there is any recession in the future or any problem.
But today, we have not identified the scenario for the projects that we have. No other bottlenecks. And another way to mitigate this risk is to have a very intense trading activity. The trading activity in addition to being very profitable for us, it complements our segment of generation, both for hydro and wind and now solar. This is a center of intelligence for the market. So this is another hedge that we have in the company. Considering the amount of energy that we trade. It's a very good hedge that we have to protect us from any of the risks that we may be posed to in terms of generation.
So in other words, the solution is to diversify the portfolio of energy and maintain trading activity at very intense levels. And with those 2 pillars, we are going to be able to mitigate many of the risks as we have observed. And this is going to play out for the future of the company.
The question-and-answer session is closed. We would like to give the floor back to Mr. Fabio for his final remarks.
Thank you very much for attending our earnings results call. I would like to thank you for the questions that make our communication much more enriching. As we have shown, this has been a very challenging quarter, but very interesting for us to show you the resilience of the portfolio of the company. So I hope I can see you next time for the results call of the fourth quarter. Enjoy the weekend and the holiday.
Auren's conference call has been completed. We would like to thank you for your participation, and have a nice day.
[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]