Release Date: March 25, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- Fertilizantes Heringer SA (BSP:FHER3, Financial) focused on profitability and premium products, leading to an increase in the delivery of premium products, particularly in the coffee sector.
- The company successfully increased its share in the coffee market, which is highly remunerative for growers and the supply chain.
- Despite a reduction in conventional product deliveries, there was an exponential increase in premium product deliveries throughout the year.
- The company managed to serve the anticipated market demand for coffee, aligning with its strategic focus on value creation.
- Fertilizantes Heringer SA (BSP:FHER3) achieved a positive gross result of BRL131.8 million for the full year 2024, a significant improvement from BRL8.5 million in 2023.
Negative Points
- The company experienced a 2.9% decrease in net revenue for Q4 2024 compared to Q4 2023, primarily due to lower volume.
- EBITDA was negative at BRL83 million for Q4 2024, worsening from BRL41 million negative in Q4 2023.
- There was an 8% decrease in volume for the full year 2024 compared to 2023, affecting overall performance.
- Financial expenses increased significantly to BRL769 million in 2024, largely due to a 14% depreciation of the BRL against the dollar.
- The company ended the year with a negative net income of BRL1.1 billion, despite improvements in certain areas.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can you provide an overview of the company's strategy and its impact on deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2024?
A: Rogerio Pompermayer, Chief Commercial Officer, explained that the company's strategy focused on profitability and premium products, which led to a reduction in volume. The delayed soybean market impacted the delivery of second crop corn, which was postponed to the first quarter of 2025. Additionally, climate issues affected sugarcane deliveries.
Q: How did the focus on premium products affect the company's performance throughout the year?
A: Rogerio Pompermayer highlighted that there was a significant increase in the delivery of premium products, more than three times compared to conventional products. Coffee played a major role in this increase, aligning with the company's strategy for value creation and profitability.
Q: What were the key financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024?
A: Fausto Pereira Goveia, Chief Financial Officer, reported a net revenue of BRL1.3 billion for Q4 2024, a 2.9% decrease from Q4 2023. The gross result was BRL15.6 million, a 60% reduction from the previous year. EBITDA was negative at BRL83 million for Q4 2024. For the full year, the company had a negative EBITDA of BRL192 million, an improvement from BRL322 million negative in 2023.
Q: How did currency fluctuations impact the financial results?
A: Fausto Pereira Goveia noted that the depreciation of the BRL by about 14% against the dollar in 2024 significantly impacted financial expenses, which amounted to BRL769 million.
Q: What is the market outlook for raw materials and grain production?
A: Rogerio Pompermayer discussed that potassium chloride prices saw a 5% reduction, while phosphate prices increased due to global demand-supply dynamics. Nitrogen fertilizers experienced natural oscillations. The company projects a record national grain production, with fertilizer use estimated at 45.7%, returning to productivity levels seen in 2022-2023.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
