Kepler Weber S A : profit grew 2% in the first quarter of ...

Kepler Weber's profit grew 2% in the first quarter of 2024

Globo Rural­- 29/04/2024

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Kepler Weber's revenue grows 17.7%, driven by a 'more favorable sales mix'

Adjusted EBITDA was R$91.3 million, an increase of 18%

São Paulo, April 29th - Kepler Weber (KEPL3) closed the first quarter of the year with a 17.7% growth in net revenue. According to the Company, net revenue reached R$380.3 million, compared to R$323.1 million recorded for the same period in 2023.

The performance led to an increase of 18% in adjusted EBTDA, from R$77.4 million to R$91.3 million. The Company highlighted it had "a strong quarter with robust profitability", in a statement made to the market this Monday (29).

Net profit reached R$52.2 million, increasing by 2% over the same period of the previous year. Net margin was 13.7%, (-2.1 p.p.).

The message from management stated that "The outlook for the coming quarters remains positive, driven by opportunities in the segments of Agribusiness, Ports and Terminals, and Replacement and Services, in addition to the potential growth in orders in the Farms segment, despite macroeconomic challenges".

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) closed at 43%, "maintaining consistency in this important indicator", informed management, highlighting the Company's cash balance of R$319.7 million, "in spite of the amortization of R$50 million in financing and consumption of R$42.5 million in Working Capital, which is a natural trend in a period of negative inflection in sales seasonality".

Farms

The Company highlighted, in the statement, its 22.8% growth in the Farms segment, which serves rural producers.

"Compared to the same period in the previous year, the increase was driven by a sound portfolio by year-end, which supported revenues in 1Q24".

The geographic diversification strategy favored the results achieved, in particularly for the South of Brazil. "Despite facing severe droughts in the North region, we were able to take advantage of the favorable climate in the South region for the first time in the last three years, which boosted the resumption of investments in storage".

During the first three months, the Company's new sales totaled R$35.5 million and will contribute to revenue in the second and third quarters. The units sold will be built on farms in Bahia, Roraima, Goiás, Paraná, Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais.

International Business

The Company's segment that exports post-harvest solutions recorded a growth of 70.2%. The Company recorded relevant performance in Paraguay, Venezuela and Ecuador. For Kepler Weber, the leader in the Latin American market, this increase "reflects our excellent performance in sales of larger projects that were agreed in the fourth quarter of 2023. Added to the robustness of the year-end portfolio, this segment contributed with the highest % growth for the quarter".

The Company also mentioned the sale of three projects to grain producers in the quarter, totaling R$22.9 million, which will impact results in the second half of the year.

Ports and Terminals

The segment closed the quarter with revenues 46.5% higher than the same period in 2023. According to the Company, its results were driven by three large projects, in Bahia, Pará and Mato Grosso.

"Additionally, two projects in Paranaguá (PR), which is one of Brazil's main grain ports, are in advanced stages of implementation. They will play a crucial role in increasing flow capacity and will be instrumental in boosting agricultural units in their respective regions", the Company informed.

Agribusiness

Responsible for serving large companies and cooperatives, the segment recorded revenues of R$106 million.

"In the quarter, we strategically prioritized the allocation of resources to most profitable segments. As a result, we were able to maintain a stable level of net revenues in absolute numbers in this segment", the Company explained.

Kepler Weber reported R$119.3 million in new sales in the period, which should be invoiced during the second half of the year. This includes projects for two cooperatives, four grain producers and four agribusiness companies.

Replacement and Services

With a "robust" order portfolio, the segment grew 11.8% in the quarter in relation to the previous year, totaling R$57 million.

"This increase is mainly explained by the consolidation of Procer, which contributed with an increase of R$9.5 million compared to 1Q23 and 1Q24", the Company explained.

During the period, the Company increased the number of customers served by 6.3%, totaling 1.8 thousand, and processed 3.6 thousand orders, up by 10%. The South region of Brazil accounted for the largest business volume.

Kepler Weber also stated it is developing two projects to train the labor force, one through Grãos de Conhecimento, a distance learning platform, and another through Checklist Kepler, a diagnostic and preventive maintenance application. "Both projects aim at continually generating value in customer relationships and facilitating the receipt of automated purchase orders through the diagnosis application", stated the Company's management.

Capital Markets

According to the financial summary, in March, Kepler Weber's shares reached R$11.3 million in average daily liquidity. Share prices decreased by 3.3% over December 2023. "In the same period, the Ibovespa index dropped 4.5%, while the Small Caps index dropped 4.1%".

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