Tres Tentos Agroindustrial SA

BOVESPA:TTEN3

Q1-2025 Earnings Call

[Operator]

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the video conference for the disclosure of Tres Tentos's results for the first quarter of 2025.

Joining us today are Mr. Joao Marcelo Dumoncel, CEO and Executive Chairman; Cristiano Costa, CFO; and Eduardo Motter, IR Manager at Tres Tentos; and Luiz Osorio Dumoncel, Executive Chairman.

Please note that this video conference is being recorded and will be made available on the company's IR website, where the respective presentation is also accessible. I would like to highlight that for those that need simultaneous interpretation, this tool is available via the Globe icon labeled Interpretation at the bottom of your Zoom screen. For those listening to the English version, you can mute the original Portuguese audio by clicking on mute original audio.

[Operator Instructions] Before we proceed, we'd like to clarify that any statements during this presentation regarding the company's business outlook, operational and financial projections and targets, and Tres Tentos' future growth potential, are merely beliefs and expectations of the company's management based on information currently available.

These statements involve risks and uncertainties and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur. Investors should understand that general economic conditions, agribusiness trends and other operational factors may affect Tres Tentos' future performance and lead to results that differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements.

Now I would like to hand the floor to Joao Marcelo Dumoncel. Please, Mr. Joao, you may proceed.

[Joao Dumoncel, executive]

Good morning, everybody. It's a pleasure to be here with you today, to shed light on the results of Q1's results at Tres Tentos. It's certainly a very important quarter. 2025 is an important year for Tres Tentos in that we celebrate our 30th anniversary. And especially this quarter was the quarter where we celebrated this milestone of 30 years.

Undoubtedly, the performance of Tres Tentos, which is what we shed light on in the first slide, it was a very significant performance where we had several aspects that we'd like to highlight, several positive aspects that involve the increased revenue.

The company reached BRL 3.5 billion worth of revenue in the first quarter, a very strong results, and that obviously is connected to a very good harvest that we had in Brazil as a whole, and especially in the Midwest and Mato Grosso, where we expanded our operations in the last few years.

We also had a growth in the other lines and indicators. We had a growth of over 100% in our adjusted EBITDA, also an ROI growth surpassing 20%, reaching 21.6% in the quarter. Gross margin increased and also a net income that grew by 23%. Very important numbers that make us extremely pleased about the growth of the company in the first quarter.

If you look at this performance in terms of segments, the 3 segments of the Tres Tentos ecosystem: Inputs, Grains and Industry, you can see that all 3 segments had positive results. And again, as I said, driven by record-breaking numbers in the harvest in the Midwest and also in the industry segment driven by the increased demand for biofuels in terms of Inputs.

Let's look at all 3 of them separately. You can see a growth -- a mild growth in revenue that's highly impacted first by the drought in Rio Grande do Sul during summer. That was reflected in the consumption of inputs towards the end of the harvest cycle, which -- falls within the first quarter that we're analyzing. And also, a pressure on margin, even though it's subtle, coming from the mix of products where the fertilizer also went up.

On the other hand, on a positive side, in inputs that allowed us to maintain a slightly higher revenue and results basically in line with those of last year, we saw a solid increase in the rhythm of business in Vale do Araguaia, solidifying our presence in that location, especially for those inputs related to the second maize harvest, which is totally in line with the support that we're giving to that region. In terms of maize with a view to the industry of ethanol that's now in the construction phase in that region, and that will be backed by the maize harvest, which is the main raw material.

Obviously, these balanced results also stem, as I said, 1 point up and 1 point down, depending on the climate hedge, which is something that the company has been working on, a thesis that is part of the climate hedge since the IPO, and this advanced towards Mato Grosso.

If you look at Grains, you see a big highlight in the growth of revenue, where for the first time we went over BRL 1 billion in terms of invoicing in the quarter, also margin gains that strengthened our gross profit in the segment.

And as I said before, highly driven by the Mato Grosso harvest, but also influenced by the wheat harvest in Rio Grande do Sul with higher numbers than those of the first quarter of 2024. Wheat is harvested towards the end of the year, November-December, and it's usually traded in the first quarter of the following year, and this is what we saw.

So the first quarter really reflected the wheat harvest that occurred at the end of last year. And we had this gain of margin backed by this mix of products and this mix of a region. So this brings about an increase in the gross margin.

And if you look at the Industry, you see a growth of 20%, a very important growth, given certain price stability, especially when it comes to biodiesel and also the bran. And grow 5.3% surpassing 20%, reaching 21.8% in terms of gross margin.

So we'd also like to highlight that in addition to that, the operation of our industrial expansions, the -- highlighting the capacity of Cruz Alta that occurred in the first quarter. Last year we'd had a first expansion phase, and now in the first quarter, it's the first phase with the expansion of Cruz Alta that we're going to cover later.

And obviously, I can't fail to highlight that the industrial segment closes the 25th consecutive quarter with growth with more than 6 years growing non-stop in the Industry segment at the company, which obviously makes us very optimistic and confident, especially based on the results that we've been delivering.

So to give you this first perspective. And now we'll talk about the financial aspects, and for that I'd like to ask for Cristiano's help.

[Cristiano Costa, executive]

Good morning, everybody. So now we're going to work on this slide. To highlight, as mentioned, the growth of our net operating revenue, reaching BRL 3.5 billion, a growth of 30.6% vis-a-vis last year with an adjusted EBITDA of BRL 288.8 million with a growth of 109.6%, reaching an adjusted EBITDA margin of 8.3%, an increment of 3.2 percentage points.

Every quarter we've been shedding light on this. The adjusted EBITDA added or decreased to the result of our hedge strategy and the net liquidated commodity derivatives, NDFs. So as of this quarter, there will be further detailed in Explanation 18, and they amounted to BRL 90.2 million negative in the first quarter.

If you look at the adjusted EBITDA, just kind of these effects of liquidations, we reach BRL 198.6 million, a very important growth, moving from BRL 167.7 million to BRL 198.6 million, growth of 18.4% of our results. In terms of a margin, it's a bit lower than the first -- in the same quarter last year, 5.7% vis-a-vis 6.3%, but it's in line with what we've been working.

In the next slide, we would like to show you the general overview of the company in the first quarter in terms of debt and leveraging. We saw an increase of our debt, if you look at the first quarter of last year, you'll see that. But if you look at the end of last year, the increase is much lower.

And this also shows that this debt, it came along with an increase in the cash flow. Our net debt ended the first quarter of 2025 at BRL 371.5 million, a little over the BRL 324 million of the previous year. And also in terms of net debt over EBITDA, the amount was very similar to that of 2023, 0.29x and below that of last year.

So you can see that we have a very significant balance at the company in terms of growing at 30.6% which is extremely relevant, and growing in terms of different segments and different speeds, but maintaining this balance and this financial stability, which is a characteristic of our company.

In the next slide, we show you how this growth happened between the end of last year on March 31, moving from BRL 224 million in terms of net debt to BRL 371 million, an increase of BRL 146 million, which is reflected. What we'd like to highlight is that our cash generation basically covered all of our CapEx and the need for capital. And most of the difference comes from a stock increase and dividends paid, which in this quarter had a cash effect.

So we are pretty confident in our capacity to generate cash flow to keep on growing and to work strongly on the finances of the company. Having said that, in our investments, one of the milestones is our CapEx in the Porto Alegre do Norte industry, our maize ethanol plant, which is now under way and according to the schedule.

And to talk not only about our investments in Porto Alegre, but also the other investments, I'd like to give the floor to our Executive Chairman, Luiz Osorio.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

Thank you, Cristiano. Good morning, everybody. It is a pleasure to be here talking to you. And on the first slide, I've shared a few pictures of our current status of our maize production and for the production of ethanol in Porto Alegre do Norte.

So it is within schedule and we're highly confident in the operation of this plant very soon and we're 100% prepared to receive the maize or corn, which will -- the corn will begin next month in the cycles. And the equipment, pre-dryer and all that, not only at the plant, but also in the satellite units, they're prepared.

Most of the maize has been bought already with a stock for more than 6 months, so that when the plant starts its operation, so they already have enough stock. So everything is prepared for the beginning of the harvest. And I'd like to reinforce the technology acquired by Tres Tentos for the construction of this plant. It is a leading-edge proven technology. We are not using technology that has not been proven in terms of its quality.

The professionals hired, they're 100% prepared, they're experienced. They're bringing their knowhow to Tres Tentos and basically all of the machinery is already at the construction site, which provides us with even greater confidence in the conclusion of the construction works. And the CapEx is also within the forecast, BRL 1.16 billion. So these are our plans. We wanted to show you these photos. They're from a few weeks ago, but everything is on track, as we like to call it.

I ask Joao Marcelo to give you the snapshot every quarter. This is the expansion plan that we started in January 2024, and we want to give you a snapshot of our plants. When we said in January last year, we had 63 stores, we're now with 71 and we plan to reach 100 units until 2030.

The soybean processing last year was 6,600. We're at 8,000 tons per day. And the projection, the forecast, is that we will reach the end of this year at 10,500. These are the plans and these are the movements.

In terms of soy, corn processing, our intention is to run a few tests, a few startup tests. But the idea is that the plant is working on the first quarter of 2026 with a capacity of 2,800 tons per day in terms of corn processing, and consequently producing ethanol, DDG and corn oil. The biodiesel production, we are at 850 (sic) [ 1,850 ] and with the expansion of Ijui and the other expansions, we intend to reach 3,000 cubic meters per day by the end of 2025.

In terms of growth, in terms of seed and fertilizer production, with the Mato Grosso, do Sul growth, after the expansion of the plant of Porto Alegre do Norte, we also want to show you what the ethanol in corn oil production will look like.

For this last slide before the Q&A session, in terms of the 2025 perspectives, everything is according to schedule. The opening of new stores, especially in the Araguaia Valley region. We do have a few things in Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso as well as whole. So Tres Tentos has been gearing up with these new business units of the company.

They are not -- we don't open them overnight. They require an in-depth analysis of where it makes sense to have connections with the industries or connections to the main exporting pathways. So whenever Tres Tentos is making assessments, sometimes running tests, our goal is really to increment things, to increase things, to expand and to strengthen or to keep on strengthening our ecosystem.

The industrial expansions also are the same thing. We've always been, based on data, I must confess to you that especially when it comes to the raw materials, the Tres Tentos ecosystem gives us access to this maize, the soy that give us the "guarantee." Of course, it's a consequence of a highly dedicated work, but this gives us the opportunity to originate these grains straight from the producer or from partner specialists so that we can have important volumes to industrialize and then for the internal and external markets of these products. And also for the grain trading for which Tres Tentos has been increasingly acknowledged on the market.

Also, I'd like to highlight the support to canola in Rio Grande do Sul during 2025 and 2026, probably 2 or 3 times of the year, we'll be operating the industry of Ijui with canola. So the crushing of canola will start to be done at a plant. I would say that 20% of that plant more or less per year will run on alternative product, which is extremely good for Tres Tentos and for the region. And also to let us balance out the production of biofuels with different raw materials, in this case, canola.

In Mato Grosso, I want to draw your attention to sorghum in the Porto Alegre do Norte plant for the production of ethanol. Sorghum will also be used towards the end of the corn harvest and the beginning of the sorghum harvest.

I also want to highlight the importance of TentosCap. It's been growing by admirable numbers, more than 150% in 2024. We kept on growing in terms of the participation of rural producers. This does not change our objective to be a 100% agri-based company.

It's a way for us to be increasingly closer to rural producers by negotiating with them -- the producers that we've known for a long time. We know their characteristics. We know their technology implemented at their farms, and we can often give them financial support with the products that TentosCap has.

So specifically, congratulations on the great work in this interaction and this strengthening of the ecosystem of Tres Tentos.

Obviously, I would like to -- I will have to wrap up this participation with a positive expectation for the 2025-'26 harvest and the second corn harvest. It's not small. We're thinking about 114 tons of corn which is possible. And this will give us harvest at 140 million ton or more. That is -- it's a very gratifying moment for us.

We know that the agribusiness is going through uncontrollable challenges, but we need to persevere and we'll overcome the challenges with these characteristics that are inherent to Brazilian producers.

And the aptitude that Brazilians have for the production of food and biofuels is unbeatable. We expect to have a record-breaking harvest in Mato Grosso, and there are some advisories that talk about us being able to reach 60 million tons of corn alone.

So this is where I wrap up with this final message of optimism and I think that with that, I can give the floor to the organizers for the Q&A session. Thank you.

[Operator]

Now we will start the Q&A session. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Mr. Gustavo Troyano from Itau BBA.

[Gustavo Troyano, analyst]

Well, I'd like to go back to something that Cristiano mentioned about the liquidation of the derivative contracts. Given the relevant of this adjustment for the quarter, I'd like to try to cover with you -- I'd like to understand what this refers to, this liquidation of contracts. So when it comes to the crushed grains and the FX that you contracted between the quarter.

So I'd like to understand if all of the contracts that have been liquidated are related to -- operations related to the first quarter or the fourth quarter or past quarters, to understand. Since this has an operational impact on the cash flow, how can we rethink the effective margin of the operations when we locked these hedges? I'd just like to understand the dynamics of how this spreads over time and what this refers to.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

We're going to cover that, but I'd like Cristiano to start, and then Joao Marcelo can add to that, always highlighting the fact that we're very confident and prepared to deal with the hedged aspects of the company. But Cristiano can give us greater depth.

[Cristiano Costa, executive]

Thanks, Gustavo. These are FX contracts. We gave more details -- the FX NTFs are used to lock the FX rate for buy and sell rates throughout the company. We also have an exposure policy that's very well defined, approved by the Board that also includes the other departments of the company, such as finances and raw materials or inputs. Concerning a mismatch, of course, that's just natural. It can happen between quarters, this mismatch. As well as a lineup of vessels can occur between quarters. It can occur in the NDFs.

Specifically, they usually -- when a new quarter begins, operations that were provisioned or that happened towards the end of the last month can impact. So it's just natural if a vessel arrives earlier that may move between quarters.

Having said that, in terms of magnitude, we have a number that's 45% to 50% of these results refer to the previous quarter. So these are operation structures that occurred in the previous quarter, and the maturity falls on the first business day of January. So this volatility of the FX rate was very well hedged. The margins were guaranteed in all of our transactions and operations. And it's just natural that there is a mismatch.

We're not concerned about that. We're very confident in the structure that we've been using. I understand that, that was your question, but let me know if you need further explanations, please.

[Gustavo Troyano, analyst]

That's exactly what I was looking for. It's super clear.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

Well, I would add. Tres Tentos started by opening its account in Chicago in 2004. So since 2004, we've been perfecting very carefully and learning how to do our hedging in the best possible way, doing the NDFs with the banks. So this is characteristic that we've embraced.

Tres Tentos been in operation for 30 years, as you well know. And since 2004, we've been working when the operations started to grow and we only had grains. Since 2004, we started working with a hedge-only structure. Now we have a hedge structure that is very well structured under the leadership of Cristiano in finance. And to us and to the investors, that makes us very confident in the transparency of Tres Tentos.

This structure allows us to make the contracts very clear. Of course, we cannot give details about everything, but the company in this ecosystem, it looks at the whole, contract-by-contract. And with that, we're able to cover the company as a whole to minimize or basically eliminate risks when it comes to FX rate, Chicago and leveraging the best basis moment so that we can produce positive results for the company, while still being competitive with producers. This is our MO when it comes to protections.

[Operator]

The next question comes from Mr. Matheus Enfeldt from UBS.

[Matheus Enfeldt, analyst]

Congratulations on the growth. My first question, I'd like to understand what the industry will look like in this scenario of greater volatility with CLTs and soy pricing. I mean, we hear a lot of optimism about premium for the Brazilian producers. But to you, that could reflect in slightly higher costs when it comes to soy processing. And otherwise, the biodiesel and brand has not reacted in the domestic market in the same way in terms of pricing for the producers.

So what do you think about this balance? Do you think that if we have greater numbers for the Brazilian producers for 2025 and Brazilian producers in 2026? Is it reasonable to imagine that, that will transfer to the crush margin? Or should we expect a compression of the crush margin throughout the year as a result of that? That's my first question.

And my second question is quite similar. I'd like to understand your feeling about producers. I know it's a bit early, but what are producers thinking about the 2025-2026 harvest? There is an expectation around possibly better prices for soy, a bit of optimism. But at the same time, some producers think that we might see margin compressions. So some of them are a bit conservative.

So I'd like to understand what you think about the producers' feelings when it comes to resale and how that connects with the growth of use of technology and volume on the resale side.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

Thanks for your questions Matheus. I'll make a few comments, but I'll ask for Joao Marcelo's help as well. First, about the margin of the industries, in this case we're talking about the crushed soy industry. We're talking about Mato Grosso and our other industry. They really come from a very good margin in the last 2 quarters.

We understand that this movement where Brazil is in a better condition to offer more raw grains to China that could increase the basis to producers. But with our experience, Matheus, the soy -- well, there's no detachment in the product in terms of raising our concerns.

We always need to be very aware of possible moments of buy and lock periods. That's why we have a very well-established hedge structure. And as we will immediately start hedging both Chicago and the dollar, and that obviously gives us flexibility or a better set of variation of basis.

But at the same time, as we start defining parity between ports and close the spaces, this gives us protection. We have our eyes open. Yesterday, I was talking to some business owners about the impact of the tariff wars and geopolitical scenarios in the world and how that's impacting Brazil and also China and all that. But I could say that for Tres Tentos and for the Brazilian agribusiness, the impact is neutral. It's not positive or negative. And if there is any impact, I see it as a positive impact.

I don't see it a dissociation between the producer and the business as a whole, of the industry of soy or even the industry of corn and proteins and ethanol. I see these businesses walking closely together always. And obviously, we need to be disciplined in terms of having a very well-made hedging.

I'd also like to hear Joao Marcelo's perspective, and I'd like to ask him to talk about how he sees the feelings of producers for '25, '26. I see it with a lot of optimism with the winter harvest around the corner, and they're planning for the summer harvest in Mato Grosso do Sul and Rio Grande do Sul, Marcelo?

[Joao Dumoncel, executive]

That's a very important comment. I'd like to start off by saying that we are not that pessimistic about the crush margin. We do see a trend towards premium increase due to the tariff war. But on the other hand, there are several factors that point towards an increased offer and pressure on the demand.

We have a record-breaking harvest in Brazil, which is set and done. We had a few problems in Rio Grande do Sul, but the Brazilian consolidated harvest is record-breaking with the Midwest showing high productivity.

We also have a very high Argentinian harvest, a record-breaking harvest. Also, the American harvest is developing well. Their planting pace is very good. If you look at the historical average, which is fundamental, there's also the United States and China sitting at the table to negotiate. I mean, we may not have to suffer such a prolonged stress as was the case with the first version of the tariff war in 2018.

And the U.S. is also reviewing their biofuel policies. So there is this perspective that the U.S. are going to encourage the biofuel policy, especially biodiesel, which will bring about a very positive aspect for the oil price. It will increase the oil consumption, especially their internal oil consumption, and that will put pressure in consumer oil and put pressure mutually.

So as I said, we have this vision that the soy supply will be high. I mean, it is high and we will keep at a high level. The 2 aspects that I talked about, a quicker negotiation of a bilateral agreement between U.S. and China and also the biofuels of the U.S. being encouraged, bringing about a quick change to the scenario and putting pressure on prices and not inflating them. So to summarize, that's our perspective for the crush margin. It is not -- in any case, it's not pessimistic at all.

When it comes to producers, as you asked, the producers of the south of Brazil are a bit more hurt due to the weather factors, but there's good prospectus for the winter crop. Canola is growing. 50,000 hectares are being sowed right now to provide us with raw materials towards the end of the year and from 180,000 to 300,000 hectares of canola this year.

Wheat, which is traditional, has good implantation prospectus with big areas. So I mean, producers are looking for alternative second harvests more strongly. And of course, after that, we'll go into the summer harvests where they'll start planting. The Midwest has an even greater level of expectation and the result of the -- as a result of the soy harvest, the mini harvest or crop, which will be harvested soon, they're really exciting producers.

In terms of price, there will be a bit of pressure, both on soy and corn, which will impact the profitability a bit. But the main driver for producers is productivity. They want to have big crops. Of course, they also want to see good results, but they're really excited about seeing full silos. So in that regard, we understand that we will not -- that we will have important areas for the 2025 and '26 harvest with a slight decrease in the pace of expansion of areas. But when the producers are ready for planning, that's what matters.

[Operator]

The next question comes from Mr. Pedro Fonseca from XP.

[Pedro Fonseca, analyst]

I have 2 questions. The first thing that I'd like to hear from you is your perspective about the defensive market. Last year, we heard from several players that the stock status was undergoing adjustments. But once again, we go back to hearing that there's big stocks throughout the chain. So we saw a quarter with a negative impact on the prices for defensives. So could you give us an update on your views for the defensives market? That's number one.

Number two, I had a question about your comments in the release about the logistic expenses going down since the volume of grain and bran traded was increased. So how does that connect with this increase from what I understand, a significant increase in the volumes of Mato Grosso. So I'd just like to understand that. How does that connect with the increased volumes in Mato Grosso for trading in the industry?

And a third question -- I apologize, according to our calculations the implicit prices of soy traded was BRL 100 per bag approximately, which sounds a bit low. Is there any specificity in this quarter that has led to this situation? So these are my questions.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

Pedro, thanks for your question. I'm more or less an organizer. I think Joao Marcelo could take the first one about the agrochemicals or defensives and Cristiano could talk about the logistics. So Joao Marcelo, can you start?

[Joao Dumoncel, executive]

Sure. Well, about the agrochemicals, from our perspective Tres Tentos, the stock situation is fully balanced. And we made adequate procurements. There's a bit of inventory resulting from the drought in Rio Grande do Sul with specific products that were not used due to the drought, but we have agreements with the suppliers to make adjustments to these inventories without impacting the cash flow and profitability. So our situation when it comes to agrochemical inventory is pretty balanced.

In terms of the market, well, the market is always pressured by suppliers. Companies they put a lot of pressure to have -- for us to have products to supply to the producers, but I do not have this -- my opinion is not that the market is suffering from a surplus of inventory. I don't believe there is an imbalance in this regard.

In terms of pricing, the products, they are under pricing influences. Of course, there is the FX aspect since the beginning of last year and beginning of this year that deregulated the prices. But in terms of the historical prices of agrochemicals, they do suffer a bit of pressure due to the higher amount of generics, which is increasing. But it's stabilized due to the FX rate issue. I don't think that the agrochemical prices will be much lower than those of 2024 in 2025. I would dare say that we're going to see slightly higher prices in real margins.

[Cristiano Costa, executive]

Well, that's a subject that's been brought up, Pedro, last year towards the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024. We've been working on that. And these gains are now reflected in several different ways. In this quarter, there's -- we also sell to other trades and buyers that execute part of the logistics. So it's just natural that the logistic cost will be a bit lower. And the soy price is probably a bit lower as well, but that's not really our perspective. So the logistic expenses were a bit lower, but the margin has been maintained. I think this is the calculation we need to apply.

And going back to something that we were discussing, if you look at the adjusted gross margin versus SG&A, if you look at that, you see that this difference is improving as well. So the shipping prices, they didn't have very high levels. That's probably a bit different than the forecast. So the price of soy is a bit higher according to our calculations, but that's related to how we see that internally.

So it's a combination between gains in intelligence, new routes and new sources, new origination locations that allowed for these gains in the shipping prices. That's our perception. I don't know if I answered your question, Pedro.

[Operator]

Our next question comes from Mr. Thiago Duarte from BTG Pactual.

[Thiago Duarte, analyst]

I would like to ask you to please, as much as possible, qualify the decrease in the adjusted gross margin in the assets. Some things may be explaining that, whether it is a higher geographical mix or a participation of Mato Grosso or problems with the soy in Rio Grande do Sul. Maybe you could give us greater clarity about these elements and any others that may make sense.

And I'd like to see that based on the discussions we've been having since last year, we're talking about 2025 and the expectation for this year of seeing an expansion in the adjusted gross margin in the segment considering 2025 versus 2024. So I'd like to understand that and if the expected margin expansion still makes sense.

And my second question is, I'd like to hear your comments on to what extent the impact of the lower availability of soy in Rio Grande do Sul will have on your industry margin for this year, not only from the perspective of biodiesel mix, but also a greater difficulty in the origination of soy or a more expensive soy origination as we've seen in previous years with worse crop conditions in that state 2 or 3 years ago. So those are my questions.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

It's a pleasure to talk to you. Thanks for your questions. So I'd like to -- for Joao Marcelo to explain about the margins and the inputs. We know that the mix is important, we agree in this regard. And also in terms of the impact of soy, what we see right now is that there has been an impact on the export volume. It's a lower export volume with a preserved volume for the Rio Grande do Sul industries.

The level of basis this will have, well, it's hard to ascertain. It could have a lot of impact, but I don't believe that it will be at the same level of previous years, 2022, if I'm not mistaken, which was a difficult year, 2022 and 2023, where high export volumes had already departed. This year, we don't believe the impact will be that high. I'd also like to Joao Marcelo to also talk about this subjects.

[Joao Dumoncel, executive]

Well, about the margins, we're -- as Luiz Osorio mentioned, the sold percentage of the harvest in Rio Grande is historically not high. And this year, it's been even lower. They did not anticipate their sales in the South. And due to that, this does not enable the anticipated exports. So our expectation is that Rio Grande do Sul will harvest arguably between 16 million and 17 million tons. The harvest will be a bit better than the worst expectations have been. And the industrial consumption of around 9 million. So it's basically twice as much soy harvested in the state vis-a-vis the demands of the industry.

And another aspect that does not scare us that much when it comes to pricing is that, as I said in the previous comment, the Brazilian harvest is very high and the Argentinian harvest is also very high, which is the opposite of 2022, where Argentina had harvested a pretty bad crop. So the exports will not put that much pressure to the point of impacting the volumes allocated to the industry. And obviously, we have our eyes open, but we don't think this will be a very relevant topic.

When it comes to the inputs, the processes, they're really what happened. The first thing is the mix of products. Fertilizer increased its share in the [ picture ]. First quarter of last year, it represented 15% of the invoicing. And in the first quarter of this year, it accounted for 25%. So fertilizers among the inputs, they have the lowest margin.

And in the other extreme, there was a drought in Rio Grande do Sul, which drove away the use of fungicides and insecticides, agrochemicals in general, which in the mix are the most profitable products. We had these factors impact this gross margin, leading to a decrease. Expectations for margin recovery are still the same.

Something we were not counting on this quarter were the weather-related problems in the south of Brazil, which impacted this portion of more profitable products. But as I said, we see a lot of incentive to canola. And these inputs are already important for us. And these other products are also fundamental. The products allocated to the mini crop, they are complementing and will complement the sales and the margin. I'm sure about that.

[Operator]

The next question comes from Mr. Guilherme Palhares from Santander.

[Guilherme Palhares, analyst]

A brief question. We're already in May and the liquidation of the sector occurred in April. I'd like to hear from you about the needs from the perspective of renegotiation for working capital with producers. And the defaults, maybe not so much, but I like to see how this has been happening in the April liquidation.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

Thanks for your question. All the Rio Grande do Sul is now facing a very challenging crop '24-'25. But what I can tell you, and I can ask Joao Marcelo and Cristiano to give us -- to share their opinions with us. Well, our connection with the producers is really important, which allows Tres Tentos to have an adequate performance even in very challenging years, even in a sequence of years. What allows us to do that is our close relationship with producers. We've been operating in Rio Grande do Sul for 30 years. And now we are talking to the sons and grandsons of producers that we created a connection with 30 years ago, and they're constantly looking for better technologies, and about the negotiations and about -- well, I'd like to ask Joao Marcelo and Cristiano to talk about that.

[Joao Dumoncel, executive]

Well, undoubtedly, with the negative impacts on the crop, a sequence of crops actually, producers, especially in Rio Grande do Sul have been having cash flow problems. So the most important thing for us is the quality of our portfolio. For many years, we've been working with most producers with a very good history, which gives us a very clear perspective of the feasibility of certain producers and technologies that they use and all that. So that's one thing that helps us.

Also, our close proximity with them in terms of our technical influence and the inputs and monitoring the entire crop that also gives us greater confidence because through technologies, even in difficult years -- obviously, our producers are affected, but not to the same extent as the rest of the market.

And also another thing that we've been working on incentivizing agricultural insurance and the fact that we work on the border. So yes, we'll see a level of renegotiation that will not be substantially higher than the renegotiation levels that we had last year. So we will not see an increase according to our expectations in the required levels of renegotiation with producers.

And the ones that we did renegotiate happened with viable producers with very well-conducted operations that will certainly be able to meet the requirements of the renegotiation in a very short period. Now with the winter crop, many things will already be covered.

Well, one thing that we have to highlight is the border. That's a fundamental aspect of the company. As a consequence, there might be a greater need for working capital since producers, they pay in grains, but it's nothing too different from other situations where financial difficulties caused by weather conditions, that's not too different from that -- from past situations like that.

As we grow in Mato Grosso, the weather credit also works applied towards the collection credit. We saw the opposite situation last year where there was a challenging situation for the Mato Grosso producers that were nonetheless overcome requiring a few renegotiations, but they were able to overcome them.

So we understand that the team is doing a great job in terms of analyzing credit and collections. And we understand that producers are delivering and paying their bills. And in this sense, the company has a very long history of how to do that. And producers, they work very closely with Tres Tentos and a long-term relationship. And that all leads to a better possibility of overcoming these difficulties.

[Guilherme Palhares, analyst]

Just a follow-up question. Has anything changed from the perspective of credit concession on your part? I think this is the fourth crop in Rio Grande do Sul that's been below potential. Have you changed your parameters when it comes to looking at producers? Well, I'm going to give a bit more credit to people with insurance. Has anything changed when it comes to the medium term in the company?

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

Yes. we have adjusted concepts and criteria. The level of exposure -- we control the level of exposure per hectare, financing per hectare, also insurance, barter, which has become more intense. So we started refining and adjusting our criteria to be more protected.

We had a few specific adjustments due to the fact that there were even the producers that suffered a bit more in the south of Brazil, they had good crops, rice and also other crops. That leads to a context that, of course, is still challenging, another frustrating year in terms of harvest.

But as Joao Marcelo said, our perspective is a bit better than the worst-case scenario. So we understand that the scenario will require us to be more attentive to some cases, but we'll be able to overcome the problems. Yes, we can also add, Marcelo, that we are highly prepared from a document perspective so that we always select producers that we work closely with and also that we are better protected from a document perspective.

[Operator]

The next question comes from Mr. Pedro Gama from Citi.

[Pedro Gama, analyst]

Congratulations for yet another good results. I have 2 questions. First, I'd like to understand the trading of biodiesel. There is a bit of a discrepancy when you look at the average prices of NP, the company was able to increase the price of biodiesel. So I'd like to understand what happened if it was related to a specificity of the market?

And the second question is about the store expansion plan and the inputs. I'd like to hear your comments about the performance of the new stores in Araguaia Valley. You mentioned that it was above the expectations. So what can we expect moving forward? Apparently, the stores are above the expectations. Does it make sense to slow down in this region and open up a new region in Mato Grosso? I mean, what can you expect?

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

Pedro, thanks for your questions. About the trading of biodiesel, we usually identify an organic increase in the demand or the maintenance in the demand. We have a strong relationship with distributors. So we're talking about 2013, 2014, that's when we started. And since then, Tres Tentos has been growing in terms of production and in terms of its relationship.

Obviously, the location of the industries and the logistics that takes that into account for the premium, I'll call it a premium, but it's usually -- it's really what you pay more vis-a-vis the FX in Chicago in the soy complex. Well, Tres Tentos is very well positioned.

The recognition by the buyers and a very strong relationship and an entire team prepared in the deliveries. So it's really, really a very well-made delivery, which is recognized by the market. And at the same time, we see very specific increases, and we make good use of these peaks to always make the best deals. About the inputs, I'd like to ask Joao Marcelo to help me, please.

[Joao Dumoncel, executive]

About biodiesel, this growth reflects the general average of the market and not necessarily some markets that compensate more for logistics and market characteristics, which also has an influence in addition to the aspects mentioned by Luiz Osorio. Concerning the stores, we really see very good returns, especially because of the expansion of the Araguaia Valley. It's growing at a pace that's above that, which we imagined we would see. So we have our eyes open.

And as we said, we'll keep on expanding the stores in these locations in Vale do Araguaia, there is still a lot of room for us to expand and also opportunities in Rio Grande do Sul, even though over here, we are pretty much covered. And yes, we always have our eyes open for opportunities. Tres Tentos has a very strong market access model. And we are obviously within our expectations and pace of growth. We keep our eyes out for opportunities at all times.

[Operator]

Our next question comes from Pedro Fontana from Bradesco BBI.

[Pedro Fontana, analyst]

I'd like to go back to the profitability of the Mato Grosso stores. Can you come to any conclusion about the profitability of the mature stores versus new stores? And my second question is about your perspective about your expectation around the implementation of B15 and how much that would change your margin expectation for 2025 with or without the implementation of B15.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

Thanks for your questions. I'll start with the second question, and I'll leave the first question for Joao Marcelo to answer about the profitability of mature and new stores in MT. B15 should have occurred in March. And due to a specific situation, it was postponed and does not yet have a date that will be defined in one of the upcoming meetings of S&P. Through the associations we participate in, we're working on making it happen this year. So there is that possibility.

But we're highly focused on the market with B14. We have a market that's present and Tres Tentos has been conquering and has been able to deliver its volumes in these logistics. As Joao Marcelo said, very well-located industries and delivering these products at a growing pace at 2% or 3% per year in terms of organic growth. But our expectation is that the fuel of the future, the project, I mean, the law of biofuel proceeds that and that will reach B20.

So Tres Tentos, that's what it bases itself on, but keeping its eye on today. This is a global market trend, decarbonization. And there are several types of energies, solar, wind and so many others. And biofuel is probably what gives us the security that this will happen. Biofuel where we have the main producers, Brazil, United States and Argentina will probably be the basis for us to produce biofuels and create different routes for the production of safe aviation fuel, for instance. So it is a characteristic that we see that this energy will keep on growing.

And of course, we can't really define when on which quarter that will happen, but we're very pleased with the achievements we're making and by us, I mean, the country, the world so that we can produce more food and renewable energies. So we are confident that today with the current legislation, we will grow by 1 percentage point per year until we reach B20. That's our expectation. And about the mature and new stores, I'd like to ask Joao Marcelo to talk about that.

[Joao Dumoncel, executive]

The maturity curve for a store is of at least 3 years. You see important gains in market share during that period and also profitability. So this cycle involves introducing, so to speak, the company to the market. First, the producers start to test the models, the relations, the technicians. And with that, we occupy increasingly greater spaces in terms of share and margin with -- especially because the consolidated service policy shifts the attention from the competition based on pricing.

Mato Grosso, we have the first stores now moving to the fourth crop. So they've recently matured, so to speak. And we do see increases in profitability. This varies between markets, of course. So depending on the store, the competition may be more or less consolidated. So yes, there is that variation.

One important thing to say, though, is that the Araguaia Valley stores are now driving a growth rhythm that's higher than BR-63 stores in terms of market share and increased producer confidence. And by that, I mean relationships less based on price and more based on the added value that we are able to deliver. I think that's what I can tell you.

But we are pretty pleased with the growth pace of the BR-63 stores and also profitability and positively surprised by the Araguaia Valley stores with the first crop from the first to second.

[Operator]

There is no more questions, we'll now end the Q&A session, and I'd like to give the floor to the company for final statements.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

Well, first, on behalf of Tres Tentos, I want to thank you for your interest and for the work that you do covering Tres Tentos and to all the investors that are with us today and everybody from the market who are interested in our business and the Brazilian agribusiness and the strength of this industry. We are really happy to work, to operate in this market and to create a closer proximity between the producers and investors.

We want to reinforce our commitment to Tres Tentos to the business and to these 30,000 investors that are with us today and with all of you and the 2,500 collaborators, our team, as we call them, since it's a team that makes a difference and this ownership that we have been creating. So all of us from Tres Tentos, we do our best. So we are delivering a well-done work with controlled risks and with the certainty that we are increasingly present.

I also want to highlight our switching between the roles, Joao Marcelo and I. But what I can tell you is that we're both leading the company together. And obviously, as -- I am the Executive Chairman more from a strategic perspective, but I'll be leading with Cristiano finances and human resources and very closely to all of Tres Tentos so that we can strengthen our culture, a culture of quality, performance and growth, with results that are achieved by and through people. But before that, Joao Marcelo and I said that we would say something about this. So Joao Marcelo, over to you to wrap up. Thank you.

[Joao Dumoncel, executive]

Thank you. Well, this is what we're doing, even though we made adjustments to our roles in reality, we are sharing this management so we will stay together leading the company always with a view to improving the company, improving the governance and providing more structure to give support to the company, the growth and responsibility for everything we've been doing and still intend to do.

I want to highlight sometimes we have to go back to history. In 2020, Tres Tentos invoiced BRL 3 billion. Last year, BRL 12.8 billion. So in 4 years, Tres Tentos more than tripled its size. It grew by fourfold. So it's important to say that we are in a company that has growth in its DNA and was able to take the opportunities and to position itself, and we're very optimistic about the work ahead. The projects are fully under control with an extremely healthy deleveraged financial structure that gives us a lot of confidence in the future.

So we'll see a consolidation of what we've been saying. Company is a company focused on people to produce growth and results. So that's our commitment, the commitment that I now have in my new role. And I share the perspective of Luiz Osorio, this more strategic perspective, focusing more on people and the culture so that we can increasingly have a stronger team to keep on growing towards our objectives.

So with that, I want to thank the analysts and investors that trust us and that are represented by an administration that is looking at the company as a whole and fully dedicated to our characteristics of simplicity of being humble, openness to learning every day. And as you say, with our hands on the work, we're in the field, we're in the plants on the market so that we can't really do an excellent job with a lot of content and with a strong basis.

So once again, having said that, I want to thank you, and let's move forward. And certainly, we will keep sharing great news with you. Thank you.

[Luiz Dumoncel, executive]

I'd just like to make a correction, if you allow me, when I talked about 10,400 tons of crush per day, I made a mistake about 2026, but our forecast, which is what will happen is that we will have -- we are at 8,000 a bit more than that tons per day, and we'll reach 10,400 in 2025. So before the end of 2025, we will have 10,400 tons per day, as we said before. I just wanted to make that correction. Thank you and have a great day.

[Operator]

The video conference on the results for the first quarter of 2025 of Tres Tentos is now closed. The Investor Relations department remains available to address any remaining questions. Thank you for your participation, and have a great day.