Nemak, S. A. B. de C. V. (NEMAKA) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Nemak's Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Webcast. I am Denise Reyes, Nemak's Investor Relations Officer. And I am pleased to host today's call along with Armando Tamez, Nemak's CEO; and Alberto Sada, CFO who are here this morning to discuss the company's business performance and answer any questions that you may have. As a reminder, today's event is being recorded and will be available on the company's Investor Relations website. Armando Tamez, our CEO, will lead off today's call by providing an overview of business and financial highlights for the quarter. Alberto Sada, our CFO, will then discuss our financial results in more detail. Afterwards, we will open for a Q&A session, which participants may join live or submit with questions via the Q&A function. Before we get started, let me remind you that information discussed on today's call may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's future financial performance and prospects, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially and the company cautions you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Nemak undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. I will now turn the call over to Armando Tamez.

Thank you, Denise. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Nemak's Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Webcast. I am pleased to report another quarter of positive results, reflecting our continuous focus on operational excellence and disciplined execution. EBITDA improved by 12% year-over-year, supported by a stable revenue and sustained margin performance. These results underscore the effectiveness of our strategy as we remain committed to driving financial performance, which is the cornerstone of our value creation efforts. Throughout the quarter, we remain focused on executing cost reduction initiatives across the organization. These efforts include disciplined management of SG&A expenses, optimization of manufacturing cost and ongoing activities to improve labor efficiency. Considering our current results and the outlook for the remainder of the year, we are confident in reaffirming our full year 2025 guidance. Turning to the trade environment in North America, neither Nemak nor its customers are currently paying any type of tariffs on our products. We have the ability to comply with USMCA's regional content requirements and our commercial agreements establish that customers are responsible for managing the input process and any related customs obligations. In terms of production scales, our operations have remained stable and aligned with the volumes anticipated at the beginning of the year. We maintain close communication with our customers and continue to monitor the situation closely to address any potential shift in volume. Turning to strategy execution. Our new facility in the Czech Republic is ramping up production of components for electric vehicles. This development reflects our ability to adapt to evolving customer needs and market dynamics while expanding our global footprint and advanced manufacturing capabilities. The facility incorporates advanced joining and assembly technologies and produces complex, highly engineered components that deliver significant value to our customers' electrification programs. I would like to highlight the solid performance of Rest of the World region, which comprises operations in Argentina, Brazil, China and India. Our local teams have consistently demonstrated strong execution, technical expertise and a high level of commitment. Notably, the region has delivered a steady EBITDA growth over the past 3 years underscoring the strength of operations and the relevance of our product offering. The contributions of the Rest of the World region continued to play a key role in supporting our global strategy and reinforcing Nemak's resilience across diverse and dynamic markets. On the innovation front, we are now expanding our efficiency projects in high-pressure die casting to other plants that use the same technology. These initiatives have already delivered strong results at pilot locations and by scaling them across the footprint, we aim to boost productivity and reduce costs more broadly. In parallel, we're developing innovative joining solutions to optimize costs and enhance product performance in the electromobility field. This work is being led by our outstanding engineering center in Frankfurt, which continues to play a key role in advancing Nemak's technical capabilities. Both initiatives represent solid progress in our strategy to strengthen operational performance through innovation. Turning to sustainability. Nemak leverages it's strong R&D capabilities and deep expertise in aluminum to drive innovation in low-carbon solutions. In this context, we joined efforts with Hydro as both companies bring valuable experience in low-carbon aluminum development to explore new pathways for the carbonization in our industry. This collaboration underscores our broader commitment to reducing emissions and supporting our customers in meeting their climate goals through advanced materials and process innovation. I am also pleased to highlight that Nemak earned an A rating in the Supplier Engagement Rating by CDP, the global gold standard for environmental disclosure. This recognition places us among the top-performing companies worldwide in how we engage our supply chain on climate-related risks and emissions. It reflects our strong governance, transparent reporting and direct collaboration with suppliers to reduce environmental impact. By embedding climate strategy into procurement and risk management, we are reinforcing our commitment to decarbonization across the value chain. In 2025, Nemak was also recognized as a top employer in Brazil, the Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Poland and the United States. This recognition underscores the positive people practices we have built across our global operations, one that values of talent, supports our growth and fosters a strong sense of purpose. It is a testament to the dedication of our teams and the work environment we have created together. This concludes my remarks. Thank you for your attention. I will now hand the call over to Alberto.

Thank you, Armando. Good morning, everyone. I will begin with an overview of light vehicle sales and production for the main regions where we operate, followed by a detailed discussion of our consolidated and regional financial results for the second quarter of 2025. We continue to deliver solid performance in the second quarter. EBITDA increased 12% supported by operating efficiencies and favorable commercial terms, despite a 4% volume decline year-over-year. Cash flow improved year-over-year as we continue to increase EBITDA, reduced capital expenditures and streamlined working capital requirements. We are still well on track to meet our guidance for the year, and we remain vigilant about economy and industry-related developments over the next 6 months. Turning to the automotive industry. During the second quarter, light vehicle sales in the U.S. increased 3% year-over-year on a SAAR basis, climbing to 16.1 million units. These higher sales were mainly due to anticipated purchases as consumers sought to avoid higher prices due to the imposition of new tariffs. Commercial incentives also helped sales by offsetting affordability concerns. On the light vehicle production side, a 4% decline year-over-year to 3.9 million units reflects inventory correction strategies on the OEM side amidst the ongoing tariff uncertainty. In Europe, light vehicle sales grew 2% year-over-year to 16.5 million units on a SAAR basis on the back of stable macroeconomic conditions, positive trends in the labor market, and easing inflation during the quarter. However, light vehicle production in the region showed a 5% decrease year-over-year to 3.9 million units affected by reduced exports, mainly from premium OEMs. In China, light vehicle sales on a SAAR basis increased 7% year-over-year to 27.1 million units, fueled by trading programs and incentives from OEMs, all of this mostly in the domestic market. Light vehicle production increased 5% year-over-year to 7.2 million units driven by domestic consumers as well as exports to emerging markets. In Brazil, light vehicle sales increased 2% year-over-year as demand continues stable in the region on the back of consistent macroeconomic conditions. On the production side, OEMs increased 5% on the back of robust domestic and foreign demand. Moving to quarterly results during the second quarter, Nemak's volume was 9.8 million equivalent units, a 4% decrease year-over-year. This drop was primarily due to lower light vehicle production in Europe, derived from foreign trade pressures as well as certain customers' inventory correction strategies. Revenue was $1.27 billion, up slightly from the same period of last year, supported by favorable pricing and product mix as well as appreciation of the euro. These factors helped offset the effect from lower volume. We continue to deliver positive EBITDA performance with a 12% increase year-over-year to $182 million on the back of improved product mix and pricing. EBITDA per equivalent unit rose to $18.5, reflecting the aforementioned improved profitability and cost discipline. Operating income stood at $77 million, up 35% year-over-year, driven by operating efficiencies and improved cost structure. In addition, during the second quarter of 2024, there were certain impairments of nonoperating assets, which favor the year-over-year comparison. The net result was a loss of $24 million. Net income was affected by the noncash foreign exchange effects of approximately $69 million, mainly related to our euro-denominated liabilities. Excluding these impacts, the net income would have been $45 million. During the quarter, free cash flow was $57 million benefiting from higher EBITDA and improved financial expenses and lower tax payments. These indicators show the company is in a favorable financial position and aligned with the strategic priorities for the year. In turn, by the end of June, net debt was $1.61 billion, $146 million lower than in the same period of last year despite the appreciation of the euro. This reflected our disciplined capital allocation and working capital optimization, which more than offset the foreign exchange effect on our balance sheet over euro-denominated notes. At the quarter end, the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 2.5x compared to 2.9x at the end of the second quarter of last year. As we have communicated in previous periods, the company's strategy is focused on reducing leverage. To that end, the interest coverage ratio was 4.9x compared to 4.7x, respectively, in the same period of 2024. Our cash position is $334 million, which in addition to fully available committed and uncommitted credit lines, provide us with solid liquidity and financial flexibility in the short to midterm. Capital expenditures during the quarter totaled $73 million, 8% below the same period of last year as we continue to optimize investments and leverage existing assets while maintaining a selective approach to new business. Moving on to our regional results. In North America, revenue increased 3% year-over-year to $687 million on the back of volume increases. EBITDA rose 25% to $89 million supported by operating efficiencies and the carryover effect of product repricing. In Europe, revenue declined 6% to $411 million, driven by volume reduction and unfavorable product mix, partly offset by the appreciation of the euro. In turn, EBITDA remained flat at $68 million on the back of operating efficiencies and the remainder of the commercial negotiations that were settled in 2024. In the Rest of the World, revenue increased 9% to $171 million, in line with volume. EBITDA rose 3% to $25 million, driven by volume and product mix improvements. As we navigate an increasingly dynamic market landscape, we remain firmly committed to delivering strong financial performance. Our focus on operational efficiency, margin expansion and robust free cash flow generation continues to reinforce our financial flexibility. Backed by strong liquidity and a resilient strategy, we are well positioned to create sustainable long-term value for all our stakeholders. With this, I would like to turn the call back over to Denise.

Thank you, Alberto. We are now ready to move on to the Q&A portion of the event. [Operator Instructions] The first question is from Andres Cardona from Citi.

Congratulations on the second quarter results. On my question is about why to reiterate the guidance at this point. We have about $231 million EBITDA during the first 6 months. Yesterday, we had the S&P update for light vehicles production forecast in the second half was upgraded for the second time over the last couple of months and the EBITDA per equivalent units has been trending upward . So for me, it's hard to understand like why not to do an upgrade, to guide us at this point.

Thank you, Andres, for your question. As I indicated in my remarks, we are reaffirming our guidance. We certainly had a very, very strong first half of the year. We need to remind you that -- and the rest of the audience that the first part in this industry represents about 55% of sales. The second part of the year is about 45% related to normal shutdowns that customers make in their own assembly plants and engine plants basically to change a model year, plus the holidays that are normally on the second part of the year. So that we're still, again, with a certain uncertainty in the global markets. And -- but as always, Nemak will strive to exceed our guidance. And certainly, once we have better indication of what will be the volumes for the second part of the year, we can again think if it is worth to change the guidance. But as I indicated, we are confident and reaffirming our guidance for this year.

The next question is from Jonathan Koutras from JPMorgan.

Armando and Alberto, congrats on the quarter. I have 2 questions on my side. First, you mentioned the ramp-up of the Czech Republic plant towards the components for the electric vehicles. So could you share how evolved you are on this ramp-up in terms of capacity being used? And could you remind us of the expected annual revenues of this plant once it's fully ramped? And the second question, SG&A remains rather lean, at around 6% of our revenues if my math is correct. So could it remain at this time in the coming quarters? Or were there were any specific perhaps one-off savings in this quarter?

Yes. Thank you, Jonathan. The start-up of our plant in the Czech Republic has been outstanding. Our sales and also the customer is extremely happy with the performance of our colleagues in the Czech Republic. We are making there a very sophisticated state-of-the-art battery trade that comprises different technologies that are the state of the art. The volumes have been extremely high for the ramp-up, and we're moving up. The expected revenues for this plant once the volume is at peak is expected to be at EUR 80 million approximately. That is what we are expecting. And as I indicated, the customer is a German premium OEM that has, again, a very successful vehicle that today has been received very well by the market and we're very, very happy and excited about the progress that our team has made in that facility.

Jonathan, could you just elaborate a little bit more on your second question?

Sure. On the SG&A component, right, it's been rather lean or very low in terms of year-over-year, in terms of how much represents of top line. So this represent -- does it still remain at this level around 6%? Or you see more SG&A savings going forward?

Yes. Well, related to the SG&A, and I think this is consistent with what we have been communicated on previous calls, we have been focusing ourselves on yes, generating efficiencies and reducing our cost structure to realign our position to the volatility that we have seen in the market. So based on that, we have been actively adjusting both our fixed costs as well as our expenses to that line. In this particular quarter, we have about half of the reduction that you saw from -- compared to last year associated with the efficiencies and cost adjustments. The other half has to do with some reclassifications on within SG&A and COGS. But the focus has been on optimizing as much as we can and realigning our cost structure, both from the cost side as well as from the expense side.

The next question is from Pablo Dominguez from Debtwire.

I have a question on a couple of items of the cash flow statement. One is the taxes paid. In the past, you said that following high payments in 2023 and in the first half of 2024, for 2025 and the following years, '26, '27, you were expecting around $65 million to $70 million in tax payments. But what we saw in the first half is much lower than that, it's only $13 million year-to-date. So I'm wondering whether you are still sticking to that outlook of $65 million to $70 million per year or maybe you are forecasting lower tax payments this year and next year? And the other one is regarding the interest payments. In the first half also, they were much lower than in the previous quarters, around $40 million compared to more than $30 million per quarter in the previous 3 quarters. I would like to know what the reason for that is? And also, I would like to have your view on the second half of the year and 2026?

Sure. Thanks for your question, Pablo. Related to the comments around taxes, I think the outlook that you highlighted, it's aligned with our view. There are some time items on the tax side that get reflected on the second half versus the first half. I think what we explained in the past is that we had provisional payments in the last couple of years, which were higher than what actually was the tax to be paid and that was reconciled on our year-end tax filings. Going forward, we see the numbers more aligned to the number that you indicated, even though the first half was a little bit lower than what you would extrapolate for the full year. So I think the number to plan for should be around the 60% to 70%, as you correctly pointed out. And related to interest payments, as we have been generating more cash due to the improved results as well as reduced capital expenditure and even optimization a little bit on the working capital, we have been in the need to use less amount of debt. And that, together with lower reference rates has allowed us to reduce our interest payments associated with the debt. So yes, you're seeing lower numbers in this, let's say, first half of the year versus what we had last year.

Thank you, Alberto. Our next question is from GBM. GBM please proceed with your question and present yourselves.

Can you hear me? I'm sorry, I'm having trouble. My chart is disabled, so I was unable to say that I'm Alex Azar from GBM. Two questions. The first one is a follow-up on Cardona on the guidance and it relates to the historical high EBITDA per unit so above $18 in this quarter. I was just wondering if during the -- I mean, in the second quarter of 2025, you had lump sums of onetime benefits from your commercial negotiations and if this is also as our view is that you guys had some of these benefits, let's say, lump sums paid to you during the second half of 2025. That's why you might be looking at a tough comparables for the second half of 2025, and that's why you are not upgrading your guidance when you compare your EBITDA during the last 12 months of $650 million versus your guidance of north of $600 million. That would be my first question. I don't know if I could explain myself.

Yes. Thanks for the question, Alex. And yes, I think -- I mean, we have been all along, I mean, last year and this year, certainly being very active with our customers, looking for opportunities to compensate from some of the items that have affected our cost structure. I think we did a lot of those activities last year. There are some carryover this year from what was done last year. So there is a little bit of onetime effects as well in the second quarter. I would say, those are mid-single-digit effect in terms of millions on the EBITDA side. And as you may, I mean, recall from seeing our performance along the year in our history, it is normal to see that the second half of the year tends to be lower than the first half of the year due to the volume activity from our customers. As you're aware, in the second half, our customers during the month of July, August and the month of December, that's when they do their scheduled stoppages and they do that for changing model year -- doing model year adjustments on the operation for the new vehicles as well as a normal vacation stoppages. So normally, the second half is lower than the first half. And if you do that computation, you will see that we will be, as Armando highlighted, at our guidance as of the end of the year. So certainly, depending on how volumes evolve, there could be, let's say, tailwinds. But at this point, we are seeing that we should be within the range of our guidance probably on the high end.

Is there any way Alberto to have the EBITDA per unit closer to a normalized level or without those lump sums?

Well, traditionally, again, the second quarter has been favorable. When you look at our EBITDA per unit of our guidance, that's around $15.2 to $16 per piece. Last year, we were at $16 per piece on a full year basis. So I think even though last year, we had some extraordinary, this year, we should be within that range, probably close. So I think that will give you a good view of where we stand in terms of our average profitability on a per unit basis. There are obviously things that we need to take into consideration going forward. I mean, we need to see how volumes evolve and how exchange rate takes place, and that may have a little bit of a positive or negative effect. But I would say that on average, we should be at that level close to $16 per piece.

Okay. And my second question is on the volume side. If you guys -- I was personally surprised by the growing year-over-year volumes in the U.S. If you can give us more color on what are you seeing in North America, both in Mexico and the U.S., how is your capacity utilizations across both regions? And also in Europe, if you are seeing, let's say, a normalization of the dynamics, what is happening in Europe and if you see that how the dynamics are going to evolve in the next couple of months, let's say?

Yes. Thank you, Alex, for the question. We are seeing very, very strong volumes in North America from our main customers. They are running in some products, 24/7. This is for us, let's say, good times in terms of the components that we are selling to them. Actually, most of the customers are requesting full capacity and we are making our best efforts to continue supplying them as many parts as they need. I think the Detroit 3 are very well positioned with this new regulations that the current organization in the U.S. has imposed on some tariffs on foreign products, and I think they are taking advantage gaining market share. So that's also beneficial for us. So we are again confident that they will continue, again, with good track, gaining market share and also continue with high levels of production. On the other hand, in Europe, what we are seeing is that the European market is a little bit more stable. Actually, they have lost some volume, especially exports that they were making to China, those are -- those have been reduced to some extent. There are also economic uncertainties in Europe. And as everybody knows, the European consumer is a little bit more cautious about making this type of expenditures. We don't see a radical decline in volumes, just some adjustments a little bit to the downside, but we are confident that eventually those volumes should return to normal levels.

Our next question is from [indiscernible].

I wondered, management, if we can quantify the production schedule for 3Q and 4Q. I suppose OEMs generally would give you some visibility into the future. Is it possible to give us a figure what the North America and Europe look like for the second half of the year? The second question is, have you heard of any progress on the USMCA negotiation and potentially, how would that impact you? And the third question is a bit more long term. So in Europe, there's quite a bit of defense budget being planned by Germany. I wonder if you are interested in expanding into heavy vehicle to take advantage of this military spending in Europe. Those are my questions.

Yes. Thanks for the questions. Well, related to the second half of the year, I think -- I mean, our guidance -- our volume guidance is at levels of 36 million to 37 million -- sorry, 37 million to 38 million equivalent units. So we are seeing ourselves at that level, probably at the middle of the range, slightly higher than the middle, but we are not seeing any deviation from what we saw on our guidance. It's probably a little bit more, let's say, influenced on the North America side, where we're seeing slightly higher than what we had anticipated, but that has been compensated by slightly lower figures than what we had anticipated in Europe.

Yes. So 37 million and change would be the volume that you ship to OEMs? I'm kind of curious what OEMs own production schedule year-on-year because year-to-date, I think they're down 4%, 5% and second half, what are they telling you?

Well, I mean they give us schedules on, let's say, on a rolling basis over the next 3 months. That's more or less a visibility that we have on a firm basis. It think that has been consistent. What I would say is that, let's say, directionally, we have been seeing higher in North America and slightly lower in Europe. So I think that will be -- and that explains the reason why we're seeing our sales volume also.

To your question related to the USMCA, certainly, we know that negotiations are being conducted already. Unfortunately, we don't have any type of details. Those will be released at a later stage. But on the positive side, as everybody knows, what it is called, the Big Beautiful Bill Act for that auto industry and for EV tax, we see very positive news for Nemak. This will introduce a tax reduction up to $10,000 for interest in vehicle loans. This is only for vehicles assembled in the U.S. Also the bill also is declared a termination of the federal EV tax credits effective September 1, the $7,500 elimination. So that certainly have a benefit on vehicles that are the internal combustion that will be more competitive. Also the elimination of the CAFE, the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency fines not meeting emissions regulations will become 0. And also the Clean Air Act waivers for California have been revoked. And so those are some of the things that, in our opinion, are positive drivers for the aero industry and especially we see potentially higher volumes for ICE vehicles over the next few years.

Okay. And then Europe, Germany defense budget?

Yes. In that regard, certainly, we see that as a positive to, again, have the economy growing. Definitely, most of the European nations are increasing their defense budget. We are not in that industry. However, we have indicated in the past that we are already with contracts for electric trucks. This is a new segment for Nemak for battery trades that we're producing for several OEMs, very strong OEMs located basically in Europe that will require to electrify the, let's say, trucks or heavy duty vehicles, but not in the defense area.

We have a next question from [indiscernible] from GBM.

I was just wondering if you could give us some color on free cash flow expectations for the rest of the year. Seeing a last 12-month metrics, we can see you have generated over $250 million, and you still have a negative effect from working capital, something that we have seen reverted during this year. Should we expect this trend to continue and expect a higher free cash flow generation for the rest of the year considering your working capital needs?

Thanks for the question. And yes, as you correctly pointed out, the cash flow generation in the last 12 months has been substantial. And for the last 12 months, what we have is a very favorable second half of last year and very favorable first half of this year compared to how we normally see the free cash flow cycles. The second half of the year tends to be lower contrary to what we saw last year because last year, we have the conclusion of a number of commercial negotiations and adjustments for the unused capacity. So we see the cash flow, let's say, output for the second half following more the seasonal effects that we normally see. Having said that, we're expecting as of the end of the year to have free cash flow generation on a net basis to be around $130 million. So that should be reflected as a net debt reduction for the full year, we compare our figure from let's say, year-over-year basis. So even though, again, we had a much stronger free cash flow generation for the last 12 months, that has a very favorable effect of the second half of the last year, favorable this year which will normalize during the remaining months of this year.

Thank you. There are no more live questions. We will now move on to written questions. The first question is from Stefan Styk from Barclays and it reads, what was your constant currency revenue and EBITDA growth in Europe this quarter? What are your expectations on the currency benefit this year for Europe?

Yes. Thank you, Stefan, for the question. Yes, there is a component of the euro appreciation in our both revenue and EBITDA figures. But we had this quarter in terms of revenue in terms of euro, we had close to EUR 337 million. And the EBITDA effect this quarter was close to -- or the -- sorry, the EBITDA figure for the second quarter was around EUR 60 million. So that gives you a little bit of the effect of euro versus U.S. currency. If you do the math and if you see how we have performed in previous years, you can see that the net effect on our results of the appreciation of the euro should be around $2 million per every cent of currency that we see of movement, and that's a pure translation effect. The results that we have in Europe are euro denominated both from the top line as well as the cost side. So we don't have a currency effect on an intrinsic basis, but when we translate the numbers as we do with our debt, that is in euros, the number could be higher or lower based on the exchange rate.

Thank you, Alberto. The next question is from Elizabeth [indiscernible] Capital. Do you currently have any agreements, negotiations or ongoing projects with Chinese automotive brands considering their growing presence in the global automotive industry?

The answer is yes. We have established solid relationship with Chinese OEMs. As we have indicated in our remarks, our plants in China are performing very, very well. And definitely, we are pursuing with other Chinese OEMs opportunities, and we're confident that we will get some agreements for the parts that we make.

Thank you, Armando. Next question is from [indiscernible] Capital. Could you share an update on Nemak's current order book for electric vehicle components? How does it compare to previous quarters or years in terms of volume and value?

Well, yes, as we have been highlighting, that has been a very active segment for us in the last years, where we have increased our order book both for the structural and the EV side. As of now, as we know, those perspectives on the EV side have been reducing the speed with which the electrification takes place. So we are in the process of evaluating the -- what's going to be the effect of these delays in some projects by some OEMs on our order book. That's something that we should be communicating in due time. But what we can tell you is the fact that we are very vigilant about the perspectives of those volumes and whenever we see adjustments or delays, we are adjusting our CapEx figures as well. So we don't see ourselves with any, let's say, major effect on our balance sheet, other ones that -- other than the ones that we communicated last year, and we're observing that situation closely. So we will be communicating once we see more clarity on how those plans behave, but we are adjusting our CapEx and assets accordingly.

Thank you, Alberto. The next question is from [indiscernible], CFA. Could you provide some color on the impact of Trump's proposed tariffs on your business? In previous calls, you mentioned that shifting more production to the U.S. would be inefficient and costly for clients. Do you steal that as the case?

Yes. Thank you for your question. All our products that we make in Mexico are 100% compliant with the USMCA Act in which we need to have more than 75% local content. And we are, in all products, not only meeting but surpassing this percentage. Secondly, and very, very important, we have indicated in the past that all our contracts are related to selling our parts free on board at our plants and it is our customer responsibility to pick them up and transport those to the assembly or engine plants in the U.S. So the customers, at the end of the day, if any tariff will be applicable which at the moment, they aren't, will be responsible for the logistics and also for any potential tariffs related to new movements from the U.S. government, if any. But I would like to reaffirm that our products are not paying any tariffs and we are also knowledgeable that our customers are not paying also a single dollar in terms of duties or taxes for the imports of our products produced in Mexico.

Thank you, Armando. The next question is from [indiscernible] from Scotiabank. You continue generating positive free cash flow and as you mentioned before, this is accelerating your debt reduction. I understand you are targeting reaching your goal of 2x net debt-to-EBITDA next year before thinking about dividends. Any chance you expect reaching this goal sooner?

Well, certainly, we're aiming to improve our free cash flow generation through the different elements that we have been discussing. On one side, continue adjusting our capital expenditure schedule tailored to the actual needs and the reduction of the speed with which electrification is picking up. We're also maintaining prudent approach towards working capital. We have tax adjustments because of the items I disclosed earlier in the call. So all in all, I think we should be favoring or we should be seeing a favorable scenario of free cash flow generation. Having said that, that is applied to debt reduction. And our view, based on our current expectations is that we should be coming closer to the 2x target somewhere next year. It's hard to tell at this point if we can anticipate that, but certainly, we should be moving into that direction.

Thank you, Alberto. We have another written question from Laura Acosta from Sumitomo. Do you expect any further adjustments in pricing in the U.S. given the imposition of tariffs and higher expected volumes in the U.S.?

As we have indicated already, we don't see any tariff effect in our products and our customers as well. So we don't expect any increase related to loss since they are not paying any taxes or duties on the products that we make.

Thank you, Armando. We have received another live question from Alejandro Azar from GBM.

I just wanted to ask a question more on the long-term side. If we analyze your financials during the last 10 years, you see that volumes have come down from close to 50 million units to the guidance of 2025, which is around 37 million, 38 million units. But EBITDA per unit in that same time frame remains close to the high end with that $16 per unit. So my question is, if we think of Nemak in the next 10 to 15 years, do you guys see that you have the flexibility, you have the relationship with your clients that as the powertrain business comes down, you will be able to negotiate on maintaining that profitability of the -- or the returns on that business as it, let's say, starts to lose weight in terms of across the industry?

Yes. Thank you for your question. Certainly, what we are seeing is that our products that we are making today have higher value-added than the products that we made 10 years ago. So there is more content on the products, more complexity and certainly that at the end of the day, requires also higher prices. And we're confident that if the industry continues moving towards more electrification that the powertrain components certainly will have to increase prices. And we are looking also to improve our profitability with higher efficiencies and also better pricing. I think we have already negotiated in some instances with some customers, what we call, volume assurance for the next 10 years in, what we call it, sunset pricing to assure that we will get the right profitability to continue producing these parts at a lower volume, especially in regions like Europe where we see a potential decline. So that is something that we see achievable. We are confident that the company will continue again moving on. And yes, we have lost certain volume over the last few years. We're expecting to recover a significant portion of this with the new products that we are launching on the structural side as well as on the electric and to offset some of, let's say, reduction that we are seeing in the IC components.

Thank you, Armando. There are no further questions at this time. And with that, we conclude today's event. I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for participating. Please feel free to contact us if you have any follow-up questions or comments. This does conclude today's event. Have a good day.