EZTEC Empreendimentos e Participações S.A. ($EZTC3)

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to EZTEC's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Hello. My name is Pedro Lourenco, Head of Investor Relations at the company. Joining us today are Mr. Silvio Ernesto Zarzur, CEO and member of the Board of Directors; Mr. Samir El Tayar, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors; [indiscernible] Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer. Please note that this event is being recorded [Operator Instructions]. You can also find the presentation slides on our website under the download center. All information is presented in Brazilian reals in accordance with BR GAAP and IFRS applicable to real estate development entities in Brazil unless otherwise stated. Before we begin, I'd like to mention that any forward-looking statements made during this conference call regarding EZTEC's business outlook including projections and operational and financial targets are based on the company's management beliefs and assumptions as well as currently available information. Remarks about the future are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions as they refer to future events and therefore, depend on circumstances that may or may not occur. Investors should understand that general economic conditions, industry conditions and other operating factors may affect EZTEC's future performance and may lead to results that differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Now to begin, I'd like to hand over to Mr. Emilio Fugazza, who will start with the presentation. Go ahead, Emilio.

Thank you, Pedro. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure to be here for this earnings call for the first quarter of 2026. This quarter demonstrates the strength of our results, especially from the operational standpoint in the first quarter. Our main highlight is our largest performance, which was BRL 925 million for the first quarter. This is the result of a strong effort from the fourth quarter of 2025 when we launched BRL 783 million. So in 2 quarters only, we have reached over BRL 1.6 billion. If we were to look only at 2026 where we posted in January a guidance of launches between BRL 2.5 billion and BRL 3.5 billion, about 30% of it has been covered by the 4 launches that we made during the first quarter of 2026. It's a strong volume, and we are seeing strong sales volumes, and the company holds about BRL 9 million in its land bank, plus about BRL 4 billion in land under suspective clauses. Now I'd like to show you a few of our launches. We have [indiscernible] second phase. The second phase is 63% sold. This land in [indiscernible] has 4 phases. The Boskyphase is 60% sold in total. It's a middle end enterprise with apartments from 3364 square meters. And the next one is spectacular in sales, Metropolitan by Lindenberg. It was launched near [indiscernible] Mall in Chacara Santo Antanio, very close to Lindenberg Alto das Nacoes, [indiscernible] towers. This is a region that has been receiving a lot of demand for this kind of product, which has apartments from 2274 square meters. So we hold 70% of this and Lindenberg holds 30% and 86% has been sold until today, which is a revenue of BRL 56 million in addition to this quarter's revenue. And that is spectacularly performing lounge was [indiscernible] in partnership with Cury, we have 5 phases to be launched in this area. And the first one was launched with 100% of units sold, which is BRL 146 million in additional PSV. These results have been recognized. So the income from this phase is already posted. The next one is Casa Nacional. This is our own land on [indiscernible], very close to Morumbi Mall. It's very well located, and it allows the company to do at least 3 launches. Apartments are 114 to 136 square meters and 16% has been sold until this date. And our understanding is that this kind of launch, this is the right speed because we are at the appropriate price level, and we're very well positioned in the region. And that concludes it. I'd just like to mention that in the second quarter, we have already launched 1 more phase of Sao Caetano area, which is GranResort Reserva Sao Caetano. 14% of it has been sold. It was just recently launched at the end of April. So looking at the 3 phases, the Bosque space has been 58% sold, Parque 70% sold and now we are starting the GranResort phase and 40% of it has been sold. I'd like to remind you that this was started in the fourth quarter. So thus far, in less than 6 months of launches, we have had absolutely incredible sales for these projects, 100% of EBITDA in the last 5 to 6 months. Finally, still on launches. We are going to see Azzure Resort Life. It's an enterprises [indiscernible] close to the Bradesco headquarters with apartments from 63 to 120 square meters, and we're going to add BRL 400 million in PSV this quarter. Now let's talk about deliveries. This is not as relevant as it was in 2025 for the company. We have BRL 951 million in deliveries. And in the first quarter, we delivered Chanes Street with 75% of units sold, and it represents a PSV of BRL 176 million. So this shows that our inventories are low in this kind of product as well. The next was to be delivered in the second quarter are East Blue, Lindenberg Ibirapuera and all of them have been selling very quickly. So on average, everything that is being delivered until today, 80% has been sold and 20% has remained in our inventory thus far. So that concludes our operational highlights. Now net sales, we reached BRL 697 million in net sales this quarter. The main highlight is the size of our growth versus the first quarter of 2025, which was BRL 377 million. So it was an 85% growth. Nonetheless, we can also see the 12 -- the last 12 months a year ago, we were at around BRL 1.7 billion a year, and now we are close to BRL 2.3 billion in sales for the year. Contract cancellations are under control, and we're following the same monthly dynamics that we also saw in the fourth quarter. So here, we have launches and sales behaving very well. And in the next quarters, we're going to start to see this going into our revenue. So this will impact our financial and operational results. And now we can start discussing our financial highlights. Net revenue is starting the year at BRL 323 million. This net revenue mainly comes from the sales of the enterprises that have been launched, some of the ones that are still under construction, but although right now, we have 19 areas of execution, we are starting construction for all of these enterprises. So we should expect more traction in the next quarters. In our net revenue, we also have BRL 102 million in completed inventory. This was better than the fourth quarter of 2025. As a reminder, we often see sell-side reports and see worries about our inventory, but we are completely aligned with these concerns on the completed inventory. And this quarter, we're starting to see a recognition of the revenue, which is important when it comes to selling this inventory. There was a completion of the suspensive clauses for the Metropolitan and Cidade Parque Enterprises. So with that, we can continue with our gross profits. Our gross margin are 38.7%, which is in line with what you've seen in our results to be appropriate, no expected or [ actual jobs ] here. The difference between our gross margin and the reference margin will always be due to the financing programs, which has been 2 to 2.5 percentage points. And about half of the rented tax, specifically PIS and [indiscernible]. Now our financial results. This was also a highlight for the company. A significant part of it is due to our fiduciary alienation portfolio. We are continuing to grow BRL 615 million, a gain of [indiscernible] versus BRL 661 million this quarter. The main highlight here was the volume. If you look at the BRL 43 million in payments and amortization, if we were to look at this at an annual rate, this is about 30% amortization, but this is for the yearly portfolio. And this demonstrates the strength of our portfolio and the fact that people are seeing this as a new bridge. As a reminder, this is an IGP portfolio, which means that in the next 3 months, we will have an additional financial results due to IGP, which has gone up for the last few months. And this is an average rate of 10.2%. We know that in this area, we are creating a bigger inventory at the 12% rate. Now the company's net profit and ROE. We are at BRL 120 million in net profit with an ROE of 11.1%. We also can see the results we have here for our shareholders' equity. Most of what we see here are areas operated by the company. When you look at the table that is produced by our Investor Relations team, you're going to see the enterprises that are operated by EZTEC except for [indiscernible]. So all of these make up the company's business efforts in the real estate development. When you look at the results that led to Parque Avenue this quarter, this is 50% under EZTEC, but it's completely managed by the company. Now continuing with dividends, 25% of our net income represents BRL 28 million, the date is May 14 and these dividends will be paid on May 29, 2026, which is about $0.10 per share. Now to conclude before we hand it over to Silvio Zarzur, I have to mention the company's capital structure this quarter, given the cash generation that we've been having because of repasses that are taking place and the debt payments. We have sum of net cash, BRL 7 million versus BRL 147 million at the end of 2025. As a reminder, at the holding, our position us much more comfortable for the consolidated [indiscernible]. With that being said, I will now hand it over to our CEO for his closing remarks before we continue with the Q&A. Go ahead, Silvio.

I'd just like to say that this quarter, sales have been very strong. We were able to sustain an aggressive commercial policy. We were very good with our media. The way the products reacted was very positive. We're always concerned about the future scenario with the war, with some construction price hikes. This is always a concern, but I think we're surpassing what we had foreseen in a couple of areas. From my perspective, it's still acceptable if we want to sustain this sales speed. So we don't have any other negative factors. We're going to keep this under control. Emilio mentioned our Alienation portfolio, and it's very strong. We have a lot of sales in this area. As you saw, we had a net increase of BRL 50 million, a net increase of BRL 50 million. And this is a very important sales device. It helps the company to control the interest rates we offer to our clients. So we can use it if we need to, so that we can add speed to the company's sales and improve our PSC. We've also been able to sustain engineering costs under control. I'm not saying that we're not going to be affected by what we're seeing. But this has been mapped. We understood what is happening, and we've been able to face it in the best way possible. The company is perfecting its administrative side. Our governance has been improving. So I think the company is leaving the level it had before when we were a smaller company, and now we have governance tools of a big company. So that's it. I don't know if [indiscernible] anything to say.

Yes. Just adding to what Silvio said, we had a record quarter with expressive sales. Launches have been significant as well. Our structure is completely under control. And this is aligned with our market. So we are very strong in selling our inventory in the products that are under construction. So with this entire effort and if the market lets us, we're still going to overcome all of the records for this year.

Thank you, Marcelo. So thank you, gentlemen. And now we will open up for a question-and-answer session. We are going to start from sell side according to this order that was previously established and is listed on the screen. Please raise your hand. And if time allows, we will also receive questions from the chat. If we are unable to answer your question, please send it to our Investor Relations team, so that we can answer you.

The first question will be asked by Mr. Igor from Goldman Sachs.

I'd like to ask about first about the main topic in the industry, which is the construction. With the world [indiscernible], up. But we know that your construction basket doesn't necessarily reflect that. So should we expect EBIT to be impacted by inflation? If you can tell us anything about that, that would be helpful. And the second point is the JV results here. This was a strong lever in your results, and this also happened in the previous quarters. So I'd just like to know what we can expect from now on if this will continue and especially if you can tell us about low-income projects. We know that about 100% of the Cury projects have been sold. So what is your appetite for the low-income area? If you can tell us anything about that, that would be great.

About the construction cost, let me answer that. EZTEC is very accurate controls, and we showed relevant savings last year. So we have our eye on all the stages of the -- of our construction. We have some materials that have been purchased in advance like PVC, copper. So we bought a lot of materials in advance. I think in some materials, we're going to see higher prices, but this will not affect our construction that much, and we will definitely have positive results. If it doesn't get worse, of course, we'll be able to surpass these challenges easily. And this is not new for us. Speaking only about the last 10 years, I'm not going to talk about the last 40 years, but we had the COVID pandemic where the supply chain was significantly disrupted, then we have the Ukraine war, which also had a significant impact. And now we're seeing this new war. So when you look at supplies, first of all, we have controlled our prices versus MCC. We're keeping our eye on that. And we did this many times, and we will do it again. So this is a business in which each project takes 4 years. When you look at these issues, they have been cyclical. This happens, you get an impact and then the impact dissipates. So we have our inventory. We have the inventory under construction. We'll be able to get a better margin from that. We're going to see some new things being built over some time. And we're going to be affected, but this will tend to dissipate. You also talked about a detachment from ITC cost centers. We've controlled it, but then it loses control of gain. And at certain points, it will improve again. And so at some point, NCC will reach the company. So we will continue to adjust our sales to the NCC. It might be slightly higher. We expect it to be around 8.5% to 9% this year. So we have good margins and we can control it with our margins. And we have several instruments. So I don't think we're going to be affected negatively by this asset. So that answers your first question. And partnerships are a natural part of our business. In this case, it's got a partnership. It's a controlled area. But this is contributing to BRL 8 million this quarter. It was BRL 16 million in total, but we are getting 8% of that. So it was [indiscernible]. But it was about [indiscernible] total. We have other partnerships that we're looking at with Lindenberg. We have several partnerships. And we continue to invest in that. And once again, this is all cyclical. We're going to see an increase in launches. And as we planned in our partnership, this will add to our contributions. So we have an exposure in low income with the partnerships that have been taking place right now, and we're -- and we've acquired a land area with a PSV of BRL 1.5 billion. Half of this is [indiscernible], but we purchased their share, and we have BRL 1.5 billion to perform internally. We have a couple more acquisitions that will be used in the low-income sector and which we can develop internally. So we're getting prepared to work directly again in this area. I don't think we -- it will take very long to go back to this market. So this land area is significant. We have another one, which is about BRL 400 million and this is dedicated to the low income bracket.

The next question will be from Itau Bank, it will be asked by [indiscernible].

My first question is about demand. You mentioned potentially reaching [ 8.5 or 9], during COVID pandemic, it seems like the demand reduced a lot when INCC improved. So I'd just like to understand your side about this. Is this a concern for you? Are you comfortable with this volume of launches that you have for the guidance? And I'd also like to understand more about your cash generation? Do you still see a good cash flow volume for the next quarters or has most of this has already been passed?

We reached record sales from the demand side. So of course, we get concerned. If you are responsible, you're always concerned. If your goal is to launch [indiscernible]. And our aim is, of course, to surpass our guidance. So we get concerned, but it's going very well. And this quarter, we started selling very well. So what I can tell you is that, yes, it is a concern, but while the engine is running, we can't stop. But -- so we can't start, but we have financial models. And in order to manage the company, we have to keep our eye on it. We're looking at sales. It is a concern. We're doing well. We're considering that it will be better, but what's our margin here -- it was 37%. So 3% more or 3% less won't make a big difference. If it's because of these 3%, I mean we're going to continue selling. We're going to sustain our IRR, our sales. So we know how to operate with this. And I also want to remind you of something. We're operating at these margins in a very adverse market. And that is without considering the war. The interest rates are at about 15%. So this is already terrible for the market. And we're still able to sustain this margin. Now when the market improves, we'll be able to expand that margin significantly. So just as we're selling for less to sustain our liquidity, this is our specialty. When we see that there's any space to grow, we'll see a big difference between sales prices and costs. Whenever we get the chance, we're going to get as much as we can. So in the market is positive, we can multiply our profits again. And if the market is poor, we'll have to reduce our margins a bit more. But we don't expects to reduce our speed or any of that. And to answer your question about cash generation, the situation we're currently in, in the first quarter, we still haven't generated what was calculated based on the fourth quarter of 2025. There are things that are still being passed on. There are apartments that are still being registered. So 2026, except for the land areas that can be purchased, this is a year that will generate net cash. This is already happening in the second quarter, and this will continue to the next quarter. So cash generation is still happening. If you look at our balance, you have about BRL 1 billion in receivables in our inventory, and I said that there was BRL 660 million in fiduciary nation. So at the end of the first quarter, we have a significant amount that is still in transit. We're talking about sales and revenue generated. Does that answer your question?

It's very clear.

The next question is from JPMorgan, and it will be asked by Mr. Jonathan.

I have 2 questions on my side. The first is about the land sales that you had before. If you can tell us why this didn't progress? Was it because of you or the seller? And also, if you can talk about Star towers, if you are expecting it to -- for the first half to be concluded by the end of the year. And what has the conversation been like with other potential renters?

Jonathan, thank you. So we've included a line at our release about this. This was a transaction that took place in 2012. We give up on this purchase. And this recovery was judicialized, this ended at the end of 2026. We negotiated -- we negotiated the settlement and has generated BRL 23 million in revenue. And about BRL 5 million and BRL 6 million was the value that was initially given as a deposit. So the cost of this was about EUR 5 million, and we reversed this provision in other revenues, which gave us a balance of BRL 23 million.

I'd just like to add something. This is for administration. So when you buy something and the other side doesn't comply with what was said, and if you can convert this into profit for the company, that's good. When you recover the cost paid, this is good management. When you manage anything in the company, we recently recovered the company's approval, which was BRL 40 million. It didn't go to the balance yet, but it will at one point. So we've recovered this from authorizations that have been granted. So an important part of the company's results is managing things carefully. We have [indiscernible] the other directors who are here, [indiscernible] everyone is managing the company very closely. So being careful, I mean if I were to tell you what happened here across each business, we are getting better results. Sometimes we get things for very low prices and then sell them at higher prices. And this was one such case. In this case, we were able to get this result, which was significant. And about [indiscernible], Jonathan, we're at the end stage signing the contract with the first renter in these 10,000 meters. So we've been seeing a strong demand from customers who are looking for some space [indiscernible] very good spaces, and there are very few players in the market that have this contiguous area. So we're very excited about the next few years. And we're going to give you some very good news. Does that answer your question, Jonathan?

It does, thank you.

The next question will be by Mr. Rafael Rehder from Safra Bank.

I have 2 questions that I'd like to discuss here. First, about the inventories, your completed inventory. A part of this repassing process is ending now. So I believe that helps in selling the units you deliver. From a qualitative perspective, what initiatives do you have that might help with the liquidity of these products? And another point I'd like to ask about is the fiduciary alienation portfolio. You mentioned that this would be used to boost sales, but I just like to understand is there a level that you believe would make you not so comfortable because this has been a very significant factor contributing towards your results.

Rafael, like I said, we're also concerned about our inventory. We've been making many campaigns and like I said in the beginning of the presentation, we are making a very strong campaign with Smiles, a mileage program through partnership, and we believe that we will be able to sell our inventory very well, more than before. We have margins that we can sell, and we will definitely sell more than we had in the past. We had a strong campaign with actor [indiscernible] in the first quarter. So we didn't sell exactly what we wanted, but it was a reasonable amount. And now we will be even stronger with Smiles. You have to do something that draws people attention. And this campaign will do that. We also mentioned that we're going to invest more in media than we already are. And we opened a new selling company recently. We have tech vendors, which is a sales machine and it's been selling, well, it's a spectacular company. It's been working very well, and we also have easy brokers, which is strong. It's representing about 15% to 20% of our general sales, which is a significant number for a company that is just starting. So imagine this, [indiscernible] sold this year about 40% more than in the first quarter of 2025 and brokers have been selling 20% of this of the general sales volume. 80% was done by [indiscernible] and 20% was done by brokers. And this also helps to sell our inventory. With these companies working the way they are, this is going to help us with liquidity -- sorry, was [indiscernible]. This was a real life opportunity. They're very similar.

So I'm going to talk about the alienation portfolio. You asked if there was a comfortable level for that. I'd just like to remind you of this, one of the highlights was that we started 2026 with BRL 615 million, we generated new AS representing BRL 17 million with interest rates of BRL 20 million. So that's [indiscernible]. And we received BRL 43 million in payments during that quarter. So although we grew BRL 19 million at the end, half of that from that portfolio was reduced in payments. So this is a very liquid portfolio now. We're not concerned about reaching this comfortable level because the amortization level is quite high. So we hope to use this as a sales tool. Yes, and we can pass on a part of it. If we see that for any reason that this is changing, it's very easy to pass this on, very easy. It was very easy, at least a part of it, but we also like to have it in the company. Rafael, does that answer your question?

If I can also ask something else in your portfolio, what's the average duration? Is it still 10 years profile is lower than that?

Pedro has a description in the release of how the duration is doing, but you'll notice that a large part of it is in the second system. So if we were to split this into 2, it would be a 60-40 split. So the average maturity is about 8 years. But when you look at the amortization volume, it's about 30% a year. So that reduces the average time to less than 4 years. So the liquidity is incredible despite having an average maturity of about 8 years.

The next question will be asked by Ms. Fanny Oreng from Santander Bank.

I have a couple of questions. The first one, well, I always remember Emilio saying that when he goes to a boost to buy clients are looking more at the INCC than the future interest that they will contract. What I'd like to hear from you is what your perception of the demand is due to this deterioration in INCC clients already have this perception. And if in the future, this can impact your pipeline for the year. That's my first question. The second question is about G&A. We noticed that this is a bit lower than what you had before, and you talked about contracting. So if you can share with us what perspective you have in this line? And what hires you have?

Of course, when customers listen to this, this is discovering, but this is not worse than what they had -- when they have the year end money, only getting 50% a year in the bank. The psychological aspect in practice leads to decisions that are not exactly the ones we expect. So we have record sales and why is that? Because people understood that this 15 doesn't pay offer what happens to the real estate prices, and buildings that are nearly ready already. And then when they get there, they need to pay 13% more, but they can get something that has already been built or that has already included all of its costs there. So I do think that this is a concern for customers. But like I said, we expect to see a variation of 3% or 3.5%. Our margin is [indiscernible]. So that's my first point. And also when you post on this throughout the -- and when you dilute this through the contract, it gets diluted. So I have no doubt that this will impact the sales speed, but I understand that the company, if it actively manages these issues will sustain -- I know that the company is able to sustain its sales speed. Things can get worse. The war started, and we don't know when it's going to end. But right now, as things are with the increases we're seeing and with the current scenario, I understand that we can in the case of our company, sustain these sales season volumes, even if we have to see a lower margin. And I'd also like to say this. The operational level, as we saw in 1 year, increased significantly. So when we compare what we did in 1 year to what we did to the previous 12 months, it went up significantly. This hasn't been reflected in our revenue yet. In our projects, these [indiscernible] are not so relevant. So we will see it is going up as construction advances. So we had some operational cost increases, the company is becoming more professional. And there was a number of directors working with lower salaries, and we have to adjust it as we hire professionals to come into new positions. But when we look at the percentage of what was sold, it did not go up. What happens is that in the accounting system, we still haven't increased our operational volume. How much did we sell this quarter? And how much was in our revenue. So we sold BRL 700 million and in our revenue, we had [indiscernible]. So when we get the remainder, this expense will be diluted. And this happens as we execute this. I don't know if I explained it very well, but [indiscernible].

So just to add to this answer, Fanny, I think Silvio explained our operational growth. And I think you want to understand what this represents in this quarter. Well, in the first quarter, we have a -- this is a proxy for the year 2026. So what we expect -- well, this represents the growth that we had and the adjustments that are being made to our administration -- the directors ended the changes to the company. Does that answer your question?

The next question will be asked by Mr. Joao Pedro Rodrigues from XP.

I'd like to ask about the corporate market, commercial -- commercial enterprises. We're seeing some news about the [indiscernible] region, having some renters leaving going to [indiscernible] new corporate destinations. And we've also seen that rent is expected to go up in [indiscernible]. And they mentioned that, that activity is very strong. So I'd like to understand your take for your vision for the [indiscernible] region. If you expect rent there to catch up in the next few years? Especially [indiscernible] seems to be a strong difference between these 2 regions. And how do you imagine this will influence rental demands and your future sales?

Joao, first of all, about [indiscernible], this is the best project, the most beautiful project that Sao Paulo has with the 2 towers, we're not going to accept a reasonable price for it, but then we're expecting premium customers, and we are getting them. They're paying reasonable prices, which we believe are fair for the product and in the next year, we will fill the tower, and it may be even the second one can be filled. As I said, there are customers who are looking for areas that only exist there. So we're feeling very comfortable about this with the product that we have there. And I think now is the time in which we're going to get the results and we're going to make this happen. We're confident. It's not that we're certain, but we're confident. Does that answer your question, Joao?

It does.

The next question will be asked by Bradesco Bank represented by Mr. Pedro Lobato.

I'd like to understand your take on the competition. Your -- at least you are one of the only companies that is solely traded that has been working in the middle income bracket and has been performing very well. So do you believe that the competition is weaker in this segment. Or is competition still strong? I'd also like to ask about dividends. Emilio mentioned that the cash generation is doing very well. So what do you think will trigger an increase in payout?

Thank you for your question, Pedro. I think this is a regional industry. If you go to Sao Caetano, for example, we don't have the same competition that we get in Tatuape. Of course, the Tatuape market is much stronger than Sao Caetano, but we have a number of competitors there who are very strong, and we're working in the top end. But in Sao Caetano we are the only ones in the middle income practice. So this gives us a better selling conditions. It's a tight market. [indiscernible] you saw recurring losses and there's a different way of working there. There's another point as well. These are major enterprises. So when we launched 600 apartments in the same building with a 50-meter pool, I mean, that's a working methodology and it's one way of working. I'm talking about Sao Paulo here. So of course, when you're in [indiscernible], you have less of a competition than you do when you go to [indiscernible]. This is just an example when it comes to income. But if you look at the sector as a whole, there's a lot of competition when you look at Sao Paulo. But I think Sao Paulo was a bit left behind and it gave us some space to work in.

Should I start answering about dividends? So Pedro, to answer your question about cash generation and dividends. Pedro this is a year in which net cash generation is a reality, considering how much we delivered in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. But the company is intending to launch BRL 2.5 billion to BRL 3.5 billion this year, which is significantly higher than the last years from a practical perspective, of course, considering all of the external market factors, the company intends to continue at these levels. Notice how our land bank was purchased to be used over the next 3 years. And we have an additional year due to the system cost. So when we look at the city of Sao Paulo, the Greater Sao Paulo area, all the time it takes to develop these projects, get licensed and launch them, this would not be enough. So we do need to get this and this is one of our considerations. So given the events that we have, we have the elections this year, we have the World Cup, we're expecting a higher sales volume. So when we understand the scenario for 2026, then we'll be able to plan this payout as we had in 2024 and 2025. It is very conservative, and we are as well, but I want to remind you that we had a huge payout at the end of 2025, which advanced some of the dividend, which doesn't mean that throughout the year, we won't be able to do more safely. If it does, if we do think it's possible we will do it, but we'll need to look at the future scenario, how business will develop, how our liquidity is doing, and our goal is to pay out above 25% on the medium term, so 1 or 2 years.

The next question will be asked by BTG Pactual. It will be asked by Mr. Gustavo [indiscernible].

I have a single question when it comes to gross margins. You have higher margins due to these older projects, but you also have newer ones starting this year. So my question is about how you see this gross margin trajectory for the next quarters and also for 2026, for the full year 2026.

Gustavo, thank you for your question. So Gustavo, I like the graph that we have on Page 8 of the release, where they mentioned the gross margin variations per season project. So your question is very fitting because then we'll be able to talk about the fact that when you look at the most recent seasons, it's about 33% gross margins. When you look at the older ones, they are above 40%. The inventory that's being formed has margins above 40%, which gives us some room to work in the commercial area. We can have sales campaigns based on this. On the other hand, with the newest seasons, it's important to mention that we have the AVP effect. And that removes at least 4 percentage points from our margins in each of these, especially because we're at a high level of interest rate. So [indiscernible] higher rate, and it basically concludes at the end of the enterprise. Also, there's a significant sales component here that happens over time. The land has been paid for. So within the customers' receivables, we have the construction cost in INCC and the margins plus the land is of free INCC and the margins. So as you have higher INCC phases, the more recent launches will have a better margin recovery and we'll be much closer to our current rep. So I have the condition that the rest that we're showing to you, which is at around [ 39 ], and as you can see in this release is a proxy of the company's future results, and that includes the mix seasons that we've been discussing. Any comments, Silvio?

Yes. What Emilio is saying is that INCC changes year-on-year on the project's results. So if something is launched this year, it will be affected by INCC next year and the next, and the next. So this margin varies and it will reach the levels that we had before. Again, we're working in a very adverse market. I've never worked in such a difficult market as the current one. We have excess supply of 15% interest rates. There's a number of factors. So as a real estate developer, we have to go and find the customers where they are. And that is what makes these margins this low. So when interest rates go down if the environment is better in Brazil than we can get better margins. This is accounting. If we keep the sales as they are, I understand that we're going to keep the same margins, but if the business environment improves then our margins will also go up. When the sales volume increases when we double our volume, we're going to have G&A dilution. But we still haven't received that. Now that we got BRL 600 million in the first half of the year, you'll see that SG&A will go down and the base will go up. So what Emilio is saying is that there's an accounting size, there's a part that is given. And what I'm saying is that with the market, we can overperform. Similarly, if interest rates go up to 20, we will underperform. That's it.

The next question will be asked by Citibank on behalf of [ Mr. Piero Tata. ]

I have 2 questions. The first 1 is a quick follow-up about INCC. I'd just like to understand what you [indiscernible] some suppliers are already passing on this price through their end products. Do you believe that there will be some detachment between your cost basket to INCC? So we know that the basket there is different from EZTEC. And if you think there's a possibility of being some detachment. We know that receivables are adjusted based on INCC, but if your costs go up, that it could be higher than your adjusted receivables. That's my first question. My second question is, do you see any difference in appetite for banks in LTV percentage or interest rate, because a part of it is being passed this year and a part of it was passed last year. So I'm asking because of the 5% that was released for FSH and I don't know how much you do with cash, but budget went up from [ BRL 65 billion to BRL 90 billion ] this year. So just like to ensure there was any change in appetite in the banks. That's all.

Sure, as I said earlier today, there is an increase in INCC, but this is under control at EZTEC. It might be detached by 2% or 3% versus the cost, but we can equalize this, but if the work continues, if we have any other factors, we can fix this. We had a control mechanism. Last year, we had a significant savings. So we're prepared to go through this period without any major issues.

[indiscernible] it's a pleasure to talk to you. This issue that you mentioned is happening in the following way. In the last 12 months, we had significant [indiscernible] because of the projects that we delivered over some time. What we realized was that our bank, which was Itau specifically made a huge effort to absorb these units. And we do see an effort to pass -- pass on through these levels of rates. And these are market rates. Sometimes a bank will make an additional effort if they are financing a project through the rate or through the total volume that they need to finance for those clients. So when we look at fiduciary alienation, in the past, on average, a reasonable time was 5% only. And in this period, it was 25%. So that means that 75% of enterprises were really passed on to banks. And that demonstrates that banks have made a significant effort about this. You did that mandatory percentage make a big difference. And this is my opinion, okay? I think it makes a bigger difference for cooperations, but not necessarily individuals. Individuals, in this case, the big difference was the number of [indiscernible] guarantee. This also makes a big difference. But the mandatory part is mostly for corporations. Does that answer your question, Piero.

As there are no further questions. I will now hand it over to our directors for their closing remarks.

I'd just like to mention one thing, which is the administrative security in the business security. In the company, we try to be aggressive. We try to find a good level of profit, a good ROE. We know that we [indiscernible] we have to give an ROE to the company, and we need to post better profits. And I think that is the main goal of this acceleration, but our results are being delivered safely. So we're confident that we're not getting into trouble, that we're not going to get any issues, have a liquidity problem or have a significant cost issues. So we're being aggressive with keeping it safe. That we will reach the profitability that we need. But in order to do it, we will let go of our safety -- administrative safety, governance, being aggressive, and managing the company well because this is our obligation. We're being very careful about our management, and I speak here about the entire Board of Directors. We're conservative, but we are also aggressive and we're focusing on sales. The company is all about development. It's not a bank. It's all about development. We're buying land, we're selling. We're doing engineering. This is what the company has in its DNA. So I'm very confident about our future. [indiscernible] what he said. In the last 2 years, we organized the company we're posting record over record in the last few quarters. These are difficult times. Interest rates are high. All we need is for interest rates to be lower. And when that happens, we'll be able to sell a lot in profit very much. Thank you very much. Thank you for your attention. Have a good day and a good weekend.

This concludes the company's conference call. Feel free to use our AI solutions and the materials for this conference will be available in our Investor Relations website. Thank you. Have a good weekend. And we'll see you in the next quarter.