Consorcio ARA, S. A. B. de C. V. ($ARA)

Hello, and welcome to today's first quarter 2026 results conference call and webcast. My name is Leslie, and I will be your event specialist today. [Operator Instructions] Please note that today's conference call and webcast are being recorded. [Operator Instructions] To follow the conference online, please visit https://consorcioara.transmision.com.mx. The word transmision is with one S only. [Operator Instructions] It is now my pleasure to turn today's program over to Alicia Enriquez, Administrative and Financial Director. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Leslie. Good morning, and a warm welcome to our conference call on the first quarter 2026 results of Consorcio ARA. This call will be also transmitted via webcast accompanied by a slide show for visual support. With me on the call to discuss the results are Luis Ahumada Russek, Vice Chairman of the Board; Miguel Lozano, Chief Executive Officer; and Felipe de Loera, Chief Financial Officer. I want to alert everyone that certain statements and comments made during the course of this call must be considered forward-looking statements as defined by the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Consorcio ARA believes that such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, but there are no assurances that current outcomes will not be substantially different from those discussed today. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to the company on the date of this call. The company is under no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information that may become available in the future. As usual, at the end of our prepared remarks, there will be time for Q&A. We'll wait until then to open the queue for questions. Results for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter of 2025. We began the year with solid financial and operating results, a performance consistent with our expectations. In the first 3 months of the year, revenues, EBITDA and net income grew strongly, advancing 23.6%, 35.4% and 12.2%, respectively, over the first quarter of 2025. In addition, we generated positive free cash flow for the year of MXN 62.5 million, and our working capital cycle continued to improve, shortening by 46 days. Total revenues amounted to MXN 2.8 billion, MXN 2.21 billion of which were housing revenues, 24.1% more than in the same period of last year. A total of 1,591 homes were sold, 10.3% higher than in the first quarter of the previous year, resulting in an average price of MXN 1,390,300, a 12.5% year-over-year increase. The double-digit 24.1% growth in housing revenues was driven by the middle income and residential segments. Middle-income home sales totaled MXN 1.05 billion, an increase of 21.4%, and residential revenues totaled MXN 605 million, a notable 64.9% growth, largely driven by a new development we opened at the end of last year. Meanwhile, affordable entry-level housing revenues came to MXN 559 million, up 1.4%. Revenues from other real estate projects in the first quarter of this year came to MXN 70.6 million, a growth of 8.1% compared to the first quarter of 2025 due to higher revenues both from the sale of commercial land and from shopping center leases. In the revenue mix, affordable entry-level homes accounted for 24.5%, middle-income homes 45.9% and residential homes 26.5%, while the remaining 3.1% came from other real estate projects. In the first quarter of 2026, operating income totaled MXN 230.4 million, a 26.7% increase compared to the first quarter of the previous year. The operating margin was 10.1%, up 30 basis points. As I mentioned at the start of this call, the first 3 months of the year saw a 35.4% growth in EBITDA to MXN 332.2 million, attributable to both the increase in revenues and the 160 basis point reduction in general expenses in proportion to revenues. Thus, the EBITDA margin was 14.6%, a year-over-year expansion of 130 basis points. Net income totaled MXN 201.5 million, up 12.2% with a net margin of 8.8%, 90 basis points below the first quarter of 2025, largely due to the decrease in interest income. Financial position as of March 31, 2026. Cash and cash equivalents totaled MXN 2.02 billion, 3.9% lower than at the close of 2025 due primarily to the payment of principal and interest on the debt. Accounts receivable ended the first quarter of the year at MXN 769.5 million, 8.4% higher than on December 31, 2025, due to an increased volume of homes titled in the last weeks of the quarter. Accounts receivable turnover was 32 days. Total inventories as of March 31, 2026, amounted to MXN 19.57 billion, a slight 1% increase. On the same day, cost-bearing debt came to MXN 2.59 billion, a 2.6% decline from the close of 2025. Short-term maturities, meaning debt coming due in the next 15 months, made up 63.5% of cost-bearing debt and long-term debt 36.5%. As we mentioned in our February conference call, we will be refinancing the ARA 23X note for MXN 1.2 billion, which comes due on November 25 of this year. As of March 31, 2026, 65.5% of our cost-bearing debt was in the form of the ARA 23X and ARA 21-2X notes. 12.8% were simple unsecured bank loans without real estate collateral, 11.8% were simple secured loans for our shopping centers, and the remaining 9.9% were lease liabilities. Net debt at the close of the first quarter of the year was positive by MXN 569.2 million. As we commented yesterday, our strong results were underpinned by the financial strength we are known for. As of March 31, 2026, the EBITDA ratio stood at 2.08x and the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio at 0.46x, both slightly lower than at the close of last year. The interest coverage ratio was 4.07x. And if we base this ratio on coverage of net interest, meaning interest expense less interest income, it would be 7.41x. On February 27, Fitch Ratings reaffirmed Consorcio ARA's long-term national scale rating of A+(mex) with a stable outlook as well as AA- for its issuance of long-term bonds with ticker symbol ARA 21-2X. In reaffirming these ratings, the agency cited the company's market position, its track record in the industry and its solid financial position, all of which will provide it with flexibility to address economic conditions and industry-specific challenges. This report can be viewed on our corporate website. Housing industry performance. According to Mexico's National Institute for Statistics and Geography, INEGI, as of February 2026, in annual terms, overall industrial activity weakened by 1.3% compared to the same period of last year. In contrast, the construction industry saw a growth of 1.2%, and the building subsector, which includes housing and industrial base, grew by a slight 0.1%. According to data from the Unified Housing Registry Group, 115,586 homes were registered in the first quarter of the year, a significant 135% increase over the same period of the previous year, driven primarily by the registry of homes under the federal housing program and 29,438 homes were produced, 3.2% [ high. ] Regarding mortgage lending. In January of this year, based on data from SEDATU, Infonavit granted 11,893 loans for the purchase of new homes, which is a growth of 11.7% compared to the same month of 2025. These loans represented an investment of MXN 9.47 billion, a 3.2% decline. The average size of a new home loan in January of 2026 was MXN 798,000, a 9.6% increase compared to January of the previous year. Fovissste for its part granted 794 loans for new homes in January of this year, 10.7% less than in the same month of 2025. And the investment in this totaled MXN 890 million, a slight increase of 0.8%. The average size of our loan granted in the first month of 2026 was MXN 1.12 million, which was 12.9% higher than the same month of last year. As for commercial bank home financing, in January of this year, 5,196 mortgages were granted for the acquisition of new and used homes, a 10.3% reduction compared to the same month of 2025. And the investment in this totaled MXN 13 billion, a 6.8% decrease. The average size of our loan granted in the first month of this year was MXN 2.5 million, 3.9% higher than in January 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, 56.6% of our revenues came from homes financed by Infonavit, 11.9% from Fovissste and the remaining 31.5% from commercial banks and homes purchased without financing. Shopping centers. Our shopping centers division also reported very positive results across its key indicators. In the first 3 months of the year, revenues came to MXN 136.7 million, 8.6% higher compared to the same period in 2025, while NOI amounted to MXN 97 million, a growth of 11.3%. These results correspond to shopping centers that are 100% owned by ARA and are consolidated into our financial statements as well as 50% of Centro las Américas and Paseo Ventura according to our stake in those properties, which are entered on the equity net. Total gross leasable area in our shopping centers and in uni and mini shopping centers stands at nearly 212,000 square meters. Occupancy rate as of March 31, 2026, was 94.5%, remaining at a very competitive level. A resolution passed in the Annual General Shareholders Meeting. On April 22, Consorcio ARA shareholders met for the Annual General Extraordinary and Ordinary Meeting. Among the most important resolution passed were a dividend payment totaling MXN 200 million, equivalent to 22.1% of our '25. The dividend per share amounts to around MXN 0.164584 per share, a yield of 4.4% based on the closing price of 2025, which was MXN 3.74. This dividend is paid out of the company's retained earnings from 2014 fiscal year's accounts and the net fiscal earnings account, which means it is not subject to tax withholding. You may recall that Consorcio ARA has a policy of paying out dividends to its shareholders equivalent up to 50% of net income from the prior fiscal year, providing balance in the net fiscal earnings account and is generating positive free cash flow. Shareholders also voted to approve the cancellation of 2,711,375 shares acquired using the stock repurchase fund, representing 0.22% of our capital stock. After that cancellation, our capital stock consisted of 1,215,182,851 shares. Conclusion. Encouraged by this particularly strong start to the year, we will continue our disciplined focus on meeting our goals. The fundamentals of the housing industry remains solid as measured by housing demand and the housing shortage in Mexico as well as the availability of mortgage loans. Thank you, and we will now move to the question and answer.

We will now start the Q&A session. [Operator Instructions] The first question from the audio line is from Mr. Andrés Aguirre from GBM.

Congrats on the results. Two questions from my side. The first one is regarding Vivienda para el Bienestar. Have you seen any new developments or opportunities emerging from the program? And if so, would you be interested in participating? My second question is regarding the dividend payment. Do you have any expected time line for the payment?

Thank you, Andrés. Well, regarding the government affordable housing program, yes, we are very interested. And in fact, in the second quarter, we are going to announce news about it. As we have mentioned last year, we are excited about the possibility of contributing to the government's goal. We have experience, land research, financial strength to make it happen. So it's very highly probably that in the second quarter, we are going to announce something, Andrés. And regarding dividends, do you want to know the date of payment?

Yes.

Okay. Well, in fact, we are -- thank you, Andrés. In fact, we are figuring out the payment date, and it will most likely be sometime in the third quarter. So obviously, we are going to announce also on time the payment date.

Our next question is from Mr. Carlos Alcaraz from Apalache Research.

First, residential revenue was up 64.9% year-over-year. How much of that was driven by demand? And how much was simply related to the timing of higher ticket deliveries? And my second question is on working capital. It improved the cycle by 46 days in the quarter. What is the target by [ June ] 2026 [ around ] the main level to keep improving cash conversion?

Okay. Well, regarding your first question, well, the performance of residential segment in this quarter, we have that increased because a new development located in a state where we have been -- well, we have consistently achieved strong results. So I can tell you this is why we have that incredible increase in this segment. And just to tell you the affordable entry-level segment, we expect to grow in the coming quarters because as we mentioned in previous conference call, we completed a very successful development in Tijuana. And also, the good news is that we have already opened a new one. And in fact, we expect to start generating revenues in the second quarter from other projects in the same city of Tijuana. And regarding new income, the increase was mainly due to the third stage of development located in the state of Mexico. Our target is to have around -- in this year and in the coming years is to have around 30% of our revenues coming from affordable entry-level segment, around 40% of middle income, and residential, it could be 25% or a little higher, and the rest in other real estate projects, Carlos. Regarding our reduction in the working cycle -- in the working capital cycle, it's continue reducing. As we have been increasing our revenues, we are able to continue with this reduction. So we expect to have the same rhythm that we have seen in the last 2 quarters.

Thank you very much for your questions. We have finished with the conference call questions, and we'll now continue with the webcast questions.

Thank you, Leslie. It's Elisa from BTG Pactual. Could you provide more detail on which regions drove the continued revenue growth this quarter? Also, regarding the -- well, first, let me answer your first question. Well, in this quarter, which regions? Well, it's important Nayarit, also in Quintana Roo, and obviously, the state of Mexico. And also Guerrero contributed in a good proportion. And the second is, also regarding the 2 million square meters land reserve allocated to nonresidential projects, do you have any visible time line or expected time lines? No, Elisa, at this moment, we don't have any specific plan. We are working very hard on that, but it is still very premature to tell you any specific plan, but the important thing is that land that the value is very important and very high. And there are no more questions in the webcast. So please, Leslie, can we finish the call?

That was the last question. This concludes the question-and-answer session for today. Consorcio ARA would like to thank you for participating in today's conference call and webcast. You may now disconnect.