ALPEK, S.A.B. de C.V. (ALPEKA) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Alpek's Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Webcast. I am Barbara Amaya, Alpek's IRO, and I'm pleased to be here today with Jorge Young, our CEO; and José Carlos Pons, our CFO, who will be presenting today's material. First, Jorge will provide an overview of quarterly results and relevant events. Then José Carlos will cover the quarterly financial results in greater detail. And afterwards, Jorge will provide greater insight into our revised guidance and how it reflects today's environment, and outlook for the remainder of the year. Finally, we will continue with the Q&A session. Please note that the information disclosed today may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's future financial performance and prospects, which are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially, and the company cautions the market not to rely unduly on these forward-looking statements. Alpek undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether it is as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. We express our financial results in U.S. dollars unless otherwise specified. For your convenience, this webcast is being recorded and will be available on our website. Jorge, I'll turn the call over to you.

Thank you, Barbara. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. For the second quarter of 2025, Alpek's financial and operating results reflect a solid performance in the Plastics & Chemicals segment, as margins and volume remain in line with our original guidance. This helped to partially offset continued volatility in the Polyester segment, where global oversupply and trade-related disruptions continue to exert pressure on margins. In addition, a combination of extended period of maintenance downtime and unplanned outages at our sites, particularly in our PTA operations contributed to lower-than-expected results. With operations successfully resumed, we expect performance to trend closer to our original expectation for the second half. With respect to our long-term pillars, let me provide a quick update on two of them. First, solidifying our core business. As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance productivity and strengthen competitiveness, we're advancing proactive initiatives aligned with our long-term vision of integrated scale-driven hubs. To achieve this, we announced the closure of the Cedar Creek facility, which will begin at the end of this month. PET production will be reallocated across our global network, but primarily to our other U.S. facilities. We will continue to enhance efficiency and ensure reliability for our customers, focusing on operations on our most competitive facilities. Additionally, progress continues on the divestiture of nonstrategic assets, also aligned with our long-term financial strategy. The second pillar I want to talk to you today is stability through consistent financial flexibility. During the second quarter, we strengthened our liquidity position by successfully refinancing $340 million in debt, originally maturing in 2027 and 2028. And we expect to complete the refinancing of an additional $200 million due in 2027 by the end of July. These actions will extend our average debt maturity from 3.5 to 4.7 years, further reinforcing our commitment to financial flexibility and disciplined cash flow management. As we continue to execute our strategic pillars, we are confident we will be able to navigate the near-term uncertainty and better position the company for long-term growth. Now I will turn the call over to José Carlos to provide details of our financial performance in greater detail.

Thanks, Jorge. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. Now allow me to cover our quarterly financial results. Volume was 1.1 million tons, down 7% from last year and flat from the previous quarter. As Jorge mentioned, this reflects the impact of an extended period of maintenance downtime and unplanned outages in our PTA operations, which offset stabilizing demand levels. Reported EBITDA was $102 million, including a $23 million negative inventory adjustment. Notably, during the quarter, we saw a significant decline in raw material prices in our Plastics & Chemicals segment, which accounted for $14 million of this adjustment. Alpek generated $125 million in comparable EBITDA, decreasing by 21% on a yearly basis and remaining flat sequentially, reflecting the challenging environment influenced by global oversupply, trade issues and operational disruptions, particularly in the Polyester segment. We estimate that under normal production conditions, comparable EBITDA would have been approximately $15 million to $20 million higher. We continue taking proactive measures to mitigate these effects and strengthen profitability. Now moving forward with the Polyester segment results. Volume was 927,000 tons, a 7% decrease year-over-year and a 1% sequential increase. PTA production during the quarter was affected by several factors. One, we advanced the annual maintenance outages of our Brazilian facility, which was originally planned for the third quarter. Two, our facility located in the south of Mexico was also taken offline for planned maintenance activities. And three, our largest facility in Altamira, Mexico experienced unexpected operational disruptions. All the facilities have returned to normal operations without further disruption. Asian integrated PET reference margins averaged $308 per ton, up 11% from the previous quarter, while Chinese PET margins increased 12% to $155 per ton. While average margins improved overall, they were marked by pronounced fluctuations throughout the period. Additionally, U.S. reference paraxylene prices rose 2% from last quarter to $1,132 per ton. Yet they are 16% lower compared to the same period last year. This resulted in a spread between North American and Asian prices of $276 per ton, a 34% decrease from the previous quarter. Polyester comparable EBITDA was $71 million, a 31% decline year-over-year, reflecting global supply challenges and tariff-related headwinds. Favorably during the quarter, the results for the Plastics & Chemicals segment remained relatively stable. Volume totaled 190,000 tons, a 6% decline both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter, reflecting a return to normalized demand levels as market players increased their inventories last quarter, anticipating a potential tariff impact amid the current political landscape. Turning to reference margins. Polypropylene margins remained flat at $0.14 per pound, yet in line with our expectations for the year, while average propylene prices declined to $0.38 per pound, down 16% from the previous quarter. And North American reference margins for EPS increased slightly to $0.31 per pound, up 6% sequentially, while average styrene prices decreased to $0.49 per pound, a 5% drop quarter-over-quarter. Plastics & Chemicals comparable EBITDA was $51 million, a slight decline of 1% from last year and a decrease of 7% from last quarter, as higher reference margins for EPS and stable conditions on polypropylene spreads offset the drop in volume. Turning to free cash flow and capital allocation. For the second quarter, net working capital resulted in a release of $9 million, an improvement over the previous quarter as inventory levels decreased. We continue to expect normalization in the second half of the year as raw material prices are expected to continue decreasing. As a result, we forecast a net recovery for the year overall, and we remain committed to strict working capital management. Operating free cash flow reached $48 million, up $40 million from the previous quarter. Alpek remains on track to deliver positive cash flow for 2025, underscoring its resiliency amid the challenging macroeconomic environment. CapEx totaled $58 million during the quarter, including $21 million in maintenance CapEx and $37 million (sic) [ $36 million] in strategic CapEx. This includes a nonrecurring item of approximately $20 million from the release of an escrow account associated with the Octal acquisition upon completion of agreed terms and completing our obligations related to this transaction. Additionally, we don't foresee declaring a dividend payment for 2025. We remain focused on preserving financial flexibility and prioritizing disciplined capital allocation. Moving next to our balance sheet and financial position. Net debt was $1.9 billion, up 10% year-over-year and 1% from the previous quarter. Last 12 months reported EBITDA was $540 million, resulting in a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 3.5x. On a last 12 months comparable EBITDA basis, the leverage ratio resulted in 3.0x. Alpek continues to implement measures to deleverage to approach our target of 2.5x by 2026. With that, I'll turn the call back to Jorge.

Thank you, José Carlos. As we close the first half of the year, Alpek has revised its comparable EBITDA guidance to reflect the persistent uncertainty and evolving dynamics across the industry landscape. Ongoing tariff-related issues have extended beyond initial expectations, reducing visibility and delaying strategic decisions. Additionally, in the United States, PET has remained excluded from reciprocal tariffs, while facing a 10% duty currently on its key raw material paraxylene, which has led to an unfavorable condition for local producers. We have proactively but partially mitigated this impact by reoptimizing raw material flows. Moreover, PET sheet rolls imported from Oman are subject currently to 10% reciprocal tariffs compared to 0% before April 2. Adequate conditions are needed to ensure the competitiveness of the industry. We have presented the case of PET pertaining reciprocal tariffs to key branches and agencies of the U.S. government and congressmen. As a result of the above factors, our updated comparable EBITDA now ranges between $525 million and $575 million, contingent on how key external factors continue to evolve. The high end of the range assumes stable reference margins in the second half of the year, supported by capacity rationalization in the polyester industry and improved trade conditions with ocean freights remaining at current levels. The low end reflects the potential impact of continuation in volatility and uncertainty, which could further pressure reference margin levels in combination with lower ocean freights. Neither scenario reflects an impact on trade between U.S. and Mexico. Based on our understanding, the recently announced 30% tariffs do not apply to products compliant with USMCA provisions. Accordingly, our exports from Mexico into the United States are expected to be excluded and unaffected. In line with this outlook, we're also updating our CapEx guidance to a range of $130 million to $150 million, underscoring our disciplined approach to capital allocation and our ability to adapt investment plans to market dynamics. At the same time, we continue to mitigate external effects by proactively taking measures on factors we can control, including cost optimization, supply-demand alignment and preserving financial flexibility. Looking ahead, we'll remain committed to transparency and will provide a refined outlook if needed for full year results as market conditions evolve. Before opening the call to your questions, I'd like to briefly update you on the merger between Controladora Alpek and Alpek entities. Based on our current progress, we expect the process to be finalized before year-end, but still subject to government regulation. Barbara, I will turn the call back to you.

Thanks, Jorge. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Leonardo Marcondes from Bank of America.

I have two from my side. The first one is related to Alpek's capacity. You have recently shut down some PET capacity, right? You mentioned this in the release. So I was wondering if you could provide more color if you continue evaluating the possibility of shutdown other plants. And if so, if this should be from the Polyester segment as well or not. My second question is regarding the divestment plan, right? I was wondering if you could provide an update on that front and maybe more details on the timing for that.

Thank you for your question, Leonardo. On our capacities, at this moment, we don't have other assets that we are planning to shut down. However, this is an ongoing process as we have already shut down a fiber plant and two PET sites and one EPS sites. I think we have made significant progress in optimizing our footprints. Most of our remaining facilities are the ones that we consider stronger because they have raw material integration or they have higher scale or are very close to key markets. However, this is a process that is always continuous. And depending on market conditions and industry conditions, we will look into that at all times. I'll ask José Carlos to talk to you about our divestment plans on the nonstrategic assets.

Thank you, Leo. Thank you for your question. Yes, as we have shared with the market, we have several assets that we're looking at divesting, mainly coming from plants that we have shut down. We have the asset in the Beaver Valley plant. We are actively pursuing an opportunity. We are in conversations with a potential -- a couple of potential interested parties. So that's ongoing. I don't know if we will be ready by this year, but that's a conversation that is ongoing. And hopefully, we'll have good news sooner. There are a couple of other sites in the U.S. that we're exploring the opportunity to divest, and that's a preliminary conversation. So hopefully, we'll have more news by the next quarter conference call. And the other one, the more relevant, it's the one that we have shared with the market, the Monterrey site, which is close to 45 hectares in this downtown area. As we have shared, we are preparing different alternatives: one, divesting it as soon as possible, and the other one potentially contributing it to someone that could develop. Because of the size of the asset, we are not yet having a lot of progress in divesting the asset as it is, but we will continue to update. That's an alternative that we like, but definitely it takes two to tango, as I say. We need to have someone interested in the asset. There are interests, but the amount of the value of the asset is high. So it's an ongoing effort. It's very high on the priority list. However, we're making some progress gradually.

And I'd like to add José Carlos, it's not until very recently where we have begun to reach out to third parties. I think a lot of effort so far has been on our side to take care of the equip or sell the disposed assets, take care of the land environmental assessment. So we feel very good about the asset, and we are just reaching out to the market and third parties. It's a huge asset, and our expectation on value is high. So the universe of potential buyers is going to be limited. But again, the location is in a prime spot in the center of Monterrey City.

Thank you, Jorge, for the clarification. We made a lot of progress in putting this asset ready to be sold. So there was a lot of work, bureaucratic work on that.

Our next question comes from Tasso Vasconcellos from UBS.

First, I would like to get some additional view on the sector, globally speaking. We know there has been several uncertainties, reason for the adjustments on the guidance here. You already mentioned a little bit about the tariffs from the United States. But looking forward, Jorge, where do you view the highest risks for Alpek? What could make spreads or margins deteriorate from now on? And on the opposite direction, where could you see some upside risks on the sector here? Where do you view some opportunities, if any, amid this challenging environment? Just trying to better understand here, looking beyond the guidance, how are you evaluating the market and how is the company positioning itself? Second question is related to the company's expectation for cash flow this year. What are you expecting for the second half of this year? Also trying to separate the leverage from here, what will come from the EBITDA buildup and what will come from cash flow? Still on this topic, can you also help us better understand the assumptions for the CapEx this year? What is maintenance, what's eventually being delayed? And how much could it actually increase in 2026? Those are my two questions.

Yes. Tasso, on your first question, it's a very good question because, obviously, our industry is facing challenges, right, like many chemical products regarding overcapacity. Sitting where we are today, as far as reference margins, thinking about Asian spreads, we think they are in the very low point. I personally don't see significant downside. However, at the same time, I have to tell you I don't see also significant upside because the overcapacity is going to last at least for another couple of years. Right now, on ocean freights, we saw an increase in the second quarter. For the most part, it has come down close to what it was before. The one exception is in Latin America, where the ocean freights have remained elevated. So that potentially -- if they stay elevated for longer, that's an upside for us. If they come down quicker than what we think today, that could be potentially some downside in the short term. As far as -- however, the bigger issue right now that we have faced this year and that's embedded in our guidance is the impact of tariffs in the United States. As we have mentioned since the last call and earlier in our prepared remarks, PET does not enjoy the reciprocal tariffs. So PET remains with the tariffs that were applicable prior to April 2. So that has not changed for PET. While some of the inputs that are needed to make PET are facing the reciprocal tariffs. So we don't think that situation can get worse from what it is. And again, that's -- we have factored that in our guidance. But right now, one of our key priorities and efforts is to make sure the PET case is understood well and clearly by the U.S. government officials. I think, obviously, they will make the right decision for the United States, but we are -- we just want to make sure the facts are understood and presented well for PET. In the event PET enjoys the reciprocal tariffs like most of the other polymers and chemicals in the United States, that could provide an upside for us, particularly in volume, potentially margin. I mean, local competition in North America remains very, very strong. But if PET becomes another product for which the reciprocal tariffs do apply, that's certainly our most significant upside. And that will be important not only for PET resin, but also for PET sheet rolls whose price -- which the price of PET sheet rolls tends to follow the price of PET resins in the United States. So hopefully, that gives you the flavor of the ranges that what we view. Certainly, it's very dynamic and volatile times and very uncertain, but those are the three key aspects I would mention. I'll have -- I'll ask José Carlos to help us with your question about cash flow.

Thank you, Tasso. Thank you for your question. Thank you, Jorge. Well, very good question. First of all, I would like to highlight that free cash flow from operations on the first half of the year has been strong, has been -- we've been able to compensate some of the downfalls in EBITDA by reducing other elements of the free cash flow. So therefore, that's kind of a highlight and continues to strengthen the message that we've been conveying that the free cash flow from operations from Alpek is very resilient, and that's something that we will expect to have for the full year. More or less for the year, we're expecting around $200 million of free cash flow from operations. And as we already indicated in the call, we're not expecting to pay a dividend. So that's going to be very close to the entire free cash flow of the business. In terms of CapEx, we will continue to be very disciplined on how we allocate CapEx. As we already shared, our range is $130 million to $150 million. Around $100 million would be related to maintenance CapEx. We have not delayed any single project or relevant maintenance activity in our facilities. That's a key priority for ourselves. And we're only making strategic investments on the most critical and the most profitable investments that we have. So I hope that answers the question. We still see a strong free cash flow for the year. And hopefully, we'll continue to do so as we have already indicated on the resiliency of our free cash flow.

Our next question comes from Bruno Montanari from Morgan Stanley.

I have a follow-up and a question here. Just to double check on the CapEx guidance. Is the strategic CapEx from Q2, including the $20 million related to Octal included or excluded from the $130 million to $150 million guidance? And then my question is, can you comment a little bit on demand and volume evolution in July? And any signals or early signals you're seeing for August now, so we're able to gauge how your volume looks like in the third quarter?

Bruno, so related to the CapEx guidance, yes, the Octal payment that we did $20 million are included in the guidance we've provided for strategic. And regarding the volume outlook, Jorge, would you like to comment?

Yes. I think it depends on the product. For example, PET, one of our key products, the second quarter began actually very strong since late March, April, first part of May. Then in June, we felt weakness, and that weakness has extended into July. I think there was probably more purchases than the underlying demand. We think the underlying demand remains steady, perhaps on the low side, but steady. And now we have signals that we might see some improvement into August. So sitting here today, before even July ends, the Q3 might be close to the Q2. But obviously, we will continue to watch. I think all in all, for PET, the summer season has been a little bit below our expectations. In other products like in Plastics & Chemicals, I think the demand remains cautious. I think we -- obviously, we feel that there could be upside when eventually items like housing comes back with more improvement that will pull demand for EPS. Polypropylene demand has been also somewhat slow, but steady. The feedstocks for propylene, as José Carlos explained, we had inventory adjustments in the second quarter that the feedstocks to make polypropylene did come down during the quarter. And that keeps the market or the customers, many of them at least at bay, right? They are waiting for the prices to stabilize. So now we are in the low point of prices. And they're not rebounding, but now that we see the demand normalizing. So I would say, in summary, similar demand into the Q2, but I feel we still might have eventually upside, especially when housing and the perception that the bottom has been reached, that might trigger some extra demand.

Our next question comes from Laura Acosta from SMBC.

I have a follow-up question regarding the tariffs for the feedstock, the peroxide that you mentioned, the 10%. Two things. Are these reflected in the high end of your guidance for the rest of the year? And also, would these tariffs mean that you would reshuffle production in the U.S.? Or how do you see this playing out in terms of volume and revenue?

Thank you for your question, Laura. Yes, in our high end of the guidance, what is factored is that we have and something that we have already executed is that for the feedstock paraxylene, which now is subject to a 10% duty, 0% before April 2, we have now redirected our sourcing mostly or, I would say, pretty much all by now to U.S. sourcing. So that will avoid the tariffs. However, sourcing paraxylene in the United States, the production plants are in the U.S. Gulf Coast in Texas, mainly. So the intra-U.S. logistics is more challenging, it's more expensive. It's better than facing the tariff, but that leaves us with a lingering effect on non-optimal logistics. Before the tariffs, the -- pretty much all the U.S. paraxylene that we were buying, it was being shipped to Mexico because that shipping route is very competitive, and we have made it very competitive over the years. So now obviously, it's going to take us probably some time to optimize the intra-U.S. logistics. We needed to react to what was available. So again, it's better than facing the tariffs, but it's not yet optimized to our full satisfaction.

And what is your expectations in terms of adjusting that cost in logistics and the impact in working capital and how you manage? Because I saw that you had like a improved working capital of plus $9 million. But how do you see that playing along in the rest of the year?

Yes. In the second quarter, I think it was a result of normalizing our inventories to some extent. I think in the grand scheme of things, I would say, from the tariffs, the effects on working capital, yes, there might be some because the transit time is a little bit longer. But they will probably not materially affect us in the grand scheme of things. It is our expectation in the second half of the year to still harvest meaning reducing -- releasing some working capital to some extent in the second half of the year. And again, we don't expect our debt to increase. We are seeking to reduce our debt because we will have a trailing 12 months more challenging EBITDA, right? So the -- in order to protect the ratio, we are very focused on maintaining working capital efficiency. And again, that's what we expect to accomplish in the second half. So in spite of the complications that we have to face from the tariffs, we still have opportunities reducing our inventories of finished products and other aspects of working capital, and we expect some improvement.

Our next question comes from Regina Carrillo from GBM.

I was wondering about Octal. Do you think you could give us more color on what the performance of Octal has been recently, especially relative to the business in the Americas? Like does it affect -- does it get affected by the same pricing and freight cost as your business in the Americas?

For Octal, it's been 3 years since we completed that acquisition. So far, we have been very pleased and satisfied with the performance of Octal. Initially, we were able to capitalize on peak conditions. And since then, it's been at or better than our expectation in what we call our project book for valuation of the project. The asset is very competitive and very flexible in the feedstocks and the logistics, normally, it has an advantage. The one -- the recent situation on tariffs is creating a headwind for Octal asset because now PET sheet rolls that are imported into the United States are facing a 10% duty. And obviously, that's a setback and we need to address that situation, and we're working on that. But for now, that's something we have to address. And so that -- other than that, the asset has been performing very well. It's very competitive. It's very as competitive as the largest Asian facilities. And again, the reciprocal tariffs is the one issue that we're facing, especially because PET resin, which has -- which is a different product than PET sheet rolls. PET sheet rolls are much more value-added product. PET resin in the United States does not enjoy the reciprocal tariff yet. So if PET in the United States could enjoy the reciprocal tariffs, there will be an opportunity for the PET sheet rolls to benefit a little bit from that as well. So that's the current situation on Octal. And hopefully, that was clear, Regina.

Our next question comes from Melissa Marcus from Jefferies.

This is Nico Fabiancic from Jefferies. You've discussed it a little bit, but I just wanted to clarify in terms of the guidance, the implication is a significant improvement in second half. I think it comes out to like 36% at mid, better second half '25 versus first half '25. And I just wanted to unpack that a little bit in terms of volumes, the impact of maintenance and then the assumption embedded there for spreads. And then second question is on M&A. I mean, you've discussed a little bit the asset sales, possibilities and progress there, but I wanted to check on your outlook and any opportunities in acquisitions. Given the weak part of the cycle, maybe some opportunities that are popping up. It was mentioned here in the press, the possibility of Alpek taking a look at Braskem Idesa, which has its own challenges, both at the asset and at the shareholder, Braskem. Is this something that could fit with your portfolio? How do you look at these kind of opportunities to be more proactive as Alpek has been in the past?

Thank you, Nico, for the two questions, very good questions. I think in the second half of our guidance, I think for the most part, we expect improved operational performance from our side. Perhaps a mild, but not very significant either recovery on reference margins and that we can enjoy that the elevated freights that we're seeing now in South America extend maybe for another couple of months. And so I would say those are the main items. In one of the previous questions, I mentioned that the item that could have the most impact in our results and -- is if PET could enjoy reciprocal tariffs. So that's something that is still to be determined. But yes, those are the main items that -- again, you have to factor an improved operational performance. I mean, José Carlos did mention that cost of $15 million to $20 million in the second quarter. And we don't expect to see that impact in the second half. And again, we have -- we are factoring, again, the impact of the reciprocal tariffs or not enjoying the reciprocal tariffs and somewhat elevated freight rates for the midpoint. And as far as the M&A, yes, I mean, we have been looking into opportunities. We have received a number of teasers and prospects, mostly for other regions. And so far, we have not found anything specific that has been appealing to us, but that's an ongoing process. We really don't have anything to comment on the Braskem Idesa. That's a product that, to some extent, is close to one of our products, polypropylene. It's in the current market. We study many companies, but nothing to -- really nothing to comment or report at this time.

Our next question comes from Pablo Ricalde from Itaú.

I have a follow-up on Jorge's comments on the merger with Controladora Alpek. I don't know if you can share more details on which milestones you have to achieve before reaching the final merger between Controladora and Alpek. I know you comment, you expect something before January 2026. But I don't know which percentage of the process or if there's like an upside risk in case you can manage to do it maybe by the fourth quarter of this year?

Thank you, Pablo, for your question. I'll try to answer your question. Well, as we have already informed the market, we're making progress towards the merger. It's something that is very important for us, and we're giving very high priority to this activity. We work with the National Bank Commission here in Mexico. We need to submit certain documents. We have already submitted the first draft of those documents. They came already with some comments, and we're in the process of sending them back with the adjustments that the authority requested. We're trying to be in the next session that they will have to, hopefully, that's aggressive, but that's our target. And we feel comfortable that we will be able to do it this year. It seems likely that it's going to be in the fourth quarter. Hopefully, we could surprise you and achieve it earlier. But at this moment, it's difficult to forecast because not all the things are in our hands.

We have a couple of questions coming in through the Q&A. I will proceed to read them. So Declan Hanlon from Santander asks, can you update us on the ongoing noncore asset sales in terms of scale and timing? I think we covered that. And the second question was, also please update us on total and available credit line availability.

Declan, thank you for your question. I think on the disposure of assets, we already answered. If not, contact our IR team, and we can clarify. On availability of credit, I'll take this opportunity to update everyone, which was already done, but we've done a strong effort on refinancing our entire debt portfolio. You saw that we increased the maturity of our debt, which is something very relevant, and it's one of the key elements for the ratings that we are having at this moment and enjoying at this moment. So that's something that we will continue to do, and that's a key activity. We've also renewed some of the revolving credit and committed credit facilities that we have. They are in the total of close to $600 million, and they are completely available. And well, that seems -- it's one of our key actions that we have to protect our liquidity. And the other thing is cash. We operate between $200 million and $300 million of cash that is available, which is also another source of liquidity. Hopefully, that answers your question.

So we had another question coming in through the Q&A. I will proceed to read it. Your volume guidance remain unchanged, but with a softer-than-expected first half and now your comments on flat volumes for 3Q, how do you expect to achieve it? So here, what we are foreseeing is, as we mentioned, an improved performance during the second half. As you remember, this quarter, we were impacted by planned and unplanned outages, particularly for polyester, which will not be part of our second half performance outlook. And in terms of numbers, it's just a 10% increase versus the first half. So again, we're seeing normalized demand, and we're not far from achieving our target for the year. We have another question through the Q&A, I will proceed to read it as well. What's the plan for refinancing the $200 million of debt by the end of July?

I'll answer that question. Thank you for the question. Yes, we are working with a bank, an American bank from the continent to refinance. It's going to be a bilateral. And we are in the final steps of just signing the document. So it seems that we will be able to achieve it by the end of July. So of course, we're not in the end, but it seems very likely that we'll be able to do this, this month.

That was the last question in the queue. Thank you, everyone, for joining our webcast. Have a great day.