Tupy S.A. ($TUPY3)

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the earnings conference call of Tupy S.A. for the First Quarter of 2026. This conference is being recorded, and the replay can be accessed at the company's website at ri.tupy.com.br. The presentation is also available for download on the IR platform and website. [Operator Instructions] This presentation is being recorded and translated simultaneously. Translation is available by clicking on the interpretation button. For those listening to the video conference in English, there is the option to mute the original Portuguese audio by clicking on mute original audio. Before proceeding, I would like to reinforce that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Tupy's management and on information currently available to the company. Such statements may involve risks and uncertainties as they refer to future events and therefore, depend on circumstances that may or may not occur. Investors, analysts and journalists should consider that events related to the macroeconomic environment, the industry and other factors may cause results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. The following executives are present at this conference call. "Gueitiro Genso, Interim CEO and Vice President of New Business, Innovation and Investor Relations Officer; Rodrigo Périco, CFO; Ricardo Fioramonte, Vice President of Structural Components and Tupy Investor Relations team. I would now like to give the floor to Mr. Gueitiro Genso, who will start the presentation. Please, Mr. Genso, you can continue.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for attending this conference call. To begin our presentation, I will briefly comment on the company's performance in this period. The quarter was marked above all by the execution of our core business strategy, obtaining the first results from the main drivers communicated to the market for this year. First, optimization of structural capacity; second, operational efficiency; and third, revenue from new contracts. We took significant steps to optimize the industrial footprint, relocating production according to the specific needs of each plant. This has already generated gains of BRL 22 million in the quarter with a total potential of BRL 100 million projected for 2026 and BRL 180 million per year from 2027 onwards. In addition to the gains resulting from reduction in fixed costs, we started several actions to reduce costs such as poor quality, maintenance and service-level improvement, which have already yielded results in the first quarter. Added to this is the continued automation of critical stages in the production process. In recent years, we've expanded our portfolio of new contracts, gaining market share, especially in segments with high potential for growth. These new projects have contributed additional revenue of BRL 100 million in the quarter and are expected to total revenue exceeding BRL 600 million in 2026. The quarter was also important to reinforce our constructive view on the gradual recovery of relevant markets, especially commercial vehicles in the United States and Europe. This scenario is already reflected in the revision of our clients' public projections and also in our order book with expected sales volume exceeding the budget. From a financial standpoint, the net revenues reached BRL 2.3 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 4.3%. Despite the improvement compared to Q4 '25, the indicators have lower -- were lower than those of Q1 '25, reflecting the drop in volumes, affecting the dilution of fixed costs and an unfavorable exchange rate scenario, which were partially offset by efficiency gain initiatives. The main highlights was generation of cash from operations, which reached BRL 198 million, the highest volume of the company's history for the first quarter, mainly reflecting our discipline in working capital management. Now I hand it over to Rodrigo, our CFO, who will comment on the first quarter results.

Thank you, Gueitiro, and good morning, everyone. As mentioned, revenue totaled BRL 2.3 billion in Q1 '26, a 7% decrease compared to the same period of the previous year, mainly reflecting lower sales volume and currency appreciation throughout the period. The geographic distribution of revenue was 41%,in South and Central America, 38% in North America, 18% in Europe and 3% in Asia, Africa and Oceania. In terms of business record, 85% of revenue was generated by structural components and manufacturing contracts, focusing on cast iron and higher value-added services such as machining and component assembly. Distribution segment accounted for 8% of revenue, focusing on sales of spare parts and hydraulic products. The remaining 7% came from the Energy & Decarbonization segment with emphasis on generator sets, proprietary engines and solutions for the decarbonization agenda. In the next slide, looking at the domestic market, the revenues of units, Structural Components and Manufacturing Contracts, were impacted by the weaker performance of the commercial vehicle market, especially in the heavy and extra heavy segments, reflecting high interest rates, higher default rates and a more pressured agribusiness with effects on off-road applications as well. This scenario was partially offset by the performance of the Manufacturing Contracts business unit with machining operations, engine assembly and engineering services. In the international market, despite the drop in sales, the increase in truck orders from OEMs in the first months of the year is already reflected in the order book and should translate into sales in the coming quarters. In Europe, there is a recovery in commercial vehicle sales, supported by fleet renewal, infrastructure investments and increased demand for freight. Finally, higher value-added products accounted for 44% of the unit's revenue, reinforcing the strategic performance of solutions with greater technical complexity and greater contribution to profitability. Moving forward, we highlight the performance of the Energy & Decarbonization unit. The quarter's performance was primarily driven by revenue growth from proprietary engines used in mining and construction in Brazil and abroad, offsetting the lower volume of generator sets. As a result, this business unit grew 5% compared to Q1 '25, 17% in the domestic market and accounted for 7% of the company's total revenue in the quarter. Next is the spare parts units. This performance was dropped by 4%, reflecting the worsening macroeconomic environment with high interest rates, pressured freight costs and poor performance in agribusiness, impacting inventory levels in the supply chain and postponing maintenance by distributors and carriers at the beginning of the year. Next, we have costs and expenses for the period. The drop in production volumes exceeding sales levels pressured the dilution of fixed costs and impacted the gross margin, which reached 10% in the period. We also observed cost and labor pressures in addition to the appreciation of the Mexican peso, effects partially offset by cost-reduction initiatives and operational gain -- efficiency gains, while operating expenses remained stable compared to the same period of the previous year. Now we highlight the adjusted EBITDA, which totaled BRL 99 million in the Q1 '26 with a margin of 4.3%. The traditional business margin in the quarter was 2.5%, reflecting a drop in sales and production volumes with impact on operational efficiency, worsening of fixed cost dilution and pressure on quality indicators. On the other hand, MWM operation had a margin of 9%, stable when compared to the previous year. At the bottom of the slide, we see a net loss of BRL 94 million resulting from operational factors. Next, I highlight the main effects that impacted the adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2026. The reduction in sales and production volume caused a negative impact of BRL 89 million, while currency appreciation mainly of Brazil real and Mexican peso added a negative effect of BRL 95 million. These impacts were partially offset by cost and expense reduction initiatives and a more favorable product mix, which contributed to BRL 50 million in the period. Looking at the financial results for the period, financial expenses grew by 10% compared to the previous year, mainly reflecting higher interest rates in Brazil, impacting the provision for interest on debt in local currency, partially offset by the reduction in indebtedness and currency appreciation. Financial revenues increased by 38%, driven by higher returns on financial investments due to interest rate levels and the growth of cash in reals. Finally, the exchange rate variation on balance sheet lines in foreign currency, combined with the results of hedging generating an expense of BRL 100,000 compared to BRL 48 million in Q1 '25. Regarding the main working capital accounts, cash conversion cycle decreased by 15 days compared to Q1 '25 and 7 days compared to Q4 '25. Compared to the previous quarter, accounts receivable grew by BRL 77 million with an impact of 4 days on the average collection period, mainly reflecting seasonality and a greater concentration of sales at the end of the period. Furthermore, accounts receivable in foreign currency, which account for 66% of the total were impacted by the [ appreciation ] of the Brazilian real. In terms of inventory, there was a reduction of BRL 92 million equivalent to 4 days, reflecting working capital management initiatives, particularly for finished goods. Accounts payable, there was an increase of 7 days mainly due to the higher volume of purchases, especially at the end of the quarter in addition to management actions. Continuing with the presentation, efforts in working capital management supported the best level of operational cash generation ever recorded in the first quarter with BRL 198 million. This result reinforces capital allocation discipline, which will remain a priority throughout 2026. Finally, net debt at the end of the first quarter of 2026 totaled BRL 2.1 billion, a reduction of 18% compared to the same period of the previous year and 7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. Leverage was 4x the adjusted EBITDA for the last 12 months, mainly reflecting lower accumulated EBITDA throughout the year. In terms of debt composition, 57% of obligations were denominated in foreign currency. On the other hand, 54% of cash position was also in foreign currency, which provided a natural protection for the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with a cash position of BRL 1.8 billion, strengthening the company's liquidity. Now I hand the floor to Ricardo.

Thank you, Rodrigo. Well, we remain positive about coming quarters. Our clients' earnings releases show clear signs of gradual recovery in markets relevant to the company. In North America, the reduction in regulatory uncertainties with the confirmation of EPA27's entering to force in January of 2027, coupled with improved freight prices and the need to renew fleets, has been reflected in increased orders from transportation companies. In addition, nonresidential construction activity remains quite robust, particularly the construction of data centers, boosting sales of generators, machinery and trucks. In Brazil, we still have a scenario pressured by high interest rates, more restrictive funding conditions and challenges in agribusiness. In Europe, the outlook is positive. Investments in infrastructure, equipment replacement and increased transportation activity have boosted sales of commercial vehicles. This scenario confirms the expectations of recovery in the foreign market. Our clients have revised their 2026 estimates upwards and have been preparing their operations, mobilizing supply chains for an increase in activity levels throughout the year. These movements are already visible in our order books and will be reflected in additional volume for Tupy over the next few months, pointing to demand exceeding the projected in the company's budget prepared at the end of last year. In addition to the impact on the market recovery in our legacy business base, the launch of new products, which -- with gains in market share in important segments such as Class 8 vehicles in the North America market will drive our growth. Revenue from new products was approximately BRL 100 million in the first quarter of '26 with expectations exceeding BRL 600 million for the year. Therefore, we expect to grow at rates higher than the market average. We're also benefiting from the return to the market of products such as HEMI engine, which uses [ Tupy blocks ]. This product was discontinued 2 years ago and was brought back from -- for [ ramp ] pickup trucks in response to high demand from American consumers. In the following slides, I will show some indicators that support our expectation of a recovery in the American commercial vehicle market throughout 2026. The gradual reduction in cargo capacity and consequent reduction in freight supply has been supporting an improvement in the fundamentals of the transportation sector. Over the past few years, the significant number of small carriers have left the market. A more stringent regulatory environment with which among other things, restricts the availability of drivers, accelerate this process and contributes to reduced capacity and consequent increase in freight prices with a positive impact on the profitability of carriers. Also, the low level of scrapping and the postponement of fleet replacement in recent years has resulted in an increase in the average age of vehicles, which is now above the historical average. Thus, the reduction of uncertainties combined with an improvement in the sector's fundamentals is beginning to restore the confidence of truck buyers and drive investments in new equipment, reflecting an increased orders and an expected increase in production in the second half of the year. Now we'll talk about the execution of the capacity reduction project, which as discussed before, is not a response to current factors, but rather a planned move aligned with our strategy. We are ahead of schedule and have already captured BRL 22 million in gains in the first quarter with a total of BRL 100 million expected for this year. We made important moves in the month of April. The portfolio has been consistently reallocated, aligning production, vocation and operational efficiency of each plant. Given its technical characteristics, the Betim plant in Minas Gerais will play a significant role in the production of cast iron parts for applications with high technical requirements, such as suspension components, brake systems and torque transmission systems, a business with an annual revenue of approximately BRL 1 billion. Improving operational efficiency also involves a set of actions initiated in 2025, which have already resulted in gains for Tupy. I highlight projects focused on reducing costs associated with poor quality, maintenance and improving the level of customer service. Automating critical stages in the production process is also an important element of our strategy for 2026. Now I will turn the floor to Gueitiro, who will speak about MWM's performance.

Thank you, Ricardo. Revenues generated by the subsidiary, MWM accounted for 27% of the company's total revenue amounting BRL 630 million, an 8% increase compared to the same period of the previous year with stable margins. This performance stemmed primarily from the Manufacturing Contracts business unit which encompasses higher value-added services such as machining and assembly of third-party engines as well as engineering services. The replacement parts segment, which is countercyclical and has higher margins than the traditional business, had a 4% drop compared to the previous year. This scenario mainly reflects the worsening macroeconomic environment, the inventory reduction strategy of distributors, which has affected the entire auto parts supply chain. The new Masterparts and Optional accessories product lines, which already account for 22% of segment sales, grew by 7%. Energy & decarbonization unit grew by 7%, driven primarily by revenues from proprietary engines applying segments as mining and construction. The quarter was also marked by the start of sales of biomethane and CNG engines for new vehicles. The first project in partnership with BMB, the special solution unit of Vamos Group, involved the delivery of 100 trucks used for the collection of urban solid waste in Rio de Janeiro. The technological and commercial partnership with Yuchai, one of the world's largest engine manufacturers, contributed to expanding the portfolio of products and services offered to our customers. This enables us to apply biomethane and ethanol engines in various segments. It will allow for more intensive scaling solutions for urban waste collection vehicles, public transportation and trucks for the ethanol and biomethane production segment as well as a large-scale generator sets and marine engines. Before opening for the Q&A, I would like to talk about the CEO succession process. As announced to the market in March, Rafael Lucchesi submitted his resignation due to strictly personal reasons. During his tenure, the company continued to advance in the execution of its strategy with new contracts, portfolio diversification and operational efficiency initiatives. This succession process was conducted in a structured manner by the Board of Directors under the direct coordination of its Chairman with the support of specialized international consulting firm. As a result, the Board elected Harro Burmann as the new -- the company's CEO, and his term will begin on June 1. He is a senior executive with over 35 years of experience leading industrial operations in the automotive industry and other sectors in Brazil and abroad. The company expresses its gratitude of Rafael Lucchesi for his contribution during his time leading Tupy and welcomes Harro, who will be with us at the next conference call. Now we'll begin the Q&A session.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Kiepher Kennedy from Citi.

I wish success to Rafael in his next challenge. First, you mentioned these low weeks results regarding the cycle, especially two regions outside Brazil. On the other hand, in Brazil, we still have a weak outlook and exchange rate, which is not helpful. So I would like to give -- to have some color from you, especially in revenues. And now we see as of the second quarter that the basis of revenues and profitability are lower, do you expect an improvement in the second quarter? Or will we still see a peak of leverage further on? What is the path in the core or traditional business, especially considering May -- the month of May that would help us understand the vision of the company? And the second question is about Class 8 contract with the United States, it's BRL 100 million that already are included in the net income or the results, 5% of the traditional business, and they have a better margin. So I would like to understand better these contracts. What do you expect in terms of ramp-up of revenue to reach BRL 600 million consolidated? What should we expect in coming quarters? How better is the margin of this contract compared to other contracts of the company? What are the risks for execution? Some more details about it.

Hi, Kiepher. This is Ricardo Fioramonte speaking. First, I would like to -- Harro Burmann, the new CEO arrives on June 1. About the new contracts, I think you put it well. You pointed out revenue of BRL 100 million in this first quarter. And we have 3 products, engines, motor blocks and cylinder heads for customers -- 2 customers in the United States. And they are in ramp-up, and they should attain the maturity of volumes in the third quarter. And then we would have not only the benefit of this new product entering as well as expected increase in the production pace in the United States in the second half of the year, which will contribute to sustain the outlook of BRL 600 million for these contracts in the year or even exceeded. These are all products with value-added services. And one of them has a full assembly. So the cylinder head is provided with machining and goes straight to the assembly line of our customer.

Now looking at the first question about revenue and leverage, we are following religiously what we committed to the market. 2026 is a transformation year for the company. We have new agreements that naturally have better margins. You can see that in 2026 that amounts to BRL 100 million. Our project to reduce capacity is in place. We are ahead of schedule, and we are already able to see BRL 22 million in cost reduction in the first quarter. And we have this production concentrated in more efficient lines. So we naturally have a gain in efficiency that raised the quality of products delivered by the company throughout the year. For the second half of the year, we are in ramp-up. So the second quarter will naturally be better than the first one. our return is clearly seen in the third quarter given this return of the market -- I mean, the coming back of orders from the market because new contracts caused the company to grow up faster. We'll see leverage that's slightly higher in the second quarter, but still far from what we negotiated with the market and our creditors. As for exchange rate, there are tools in-house to defend, to protect the company. In a clear, simple way, we use hedging. And I'll turn the floor over to Ricardo. He can talk more about that.

About the exchange rate and the impact -- its impact on our revenues, it's important to recall that 60% of our sales are abroad and 1/3 of these revenues are protected by transfer clauses in terms of foreign exchange appreciation. So they are protected. But there is a delay of 3 months. So the average exchange rate of the first quarter will be reflected in the prices of the second quarter, in summary. But that's not all. We have long-term relationships with our customers. Our customers have interest that are interested in our success, and they're open to discuss the transfer and the impact of exchange rates that are not built into the contracts. Of course, we cannot give any guarantees. But if what happened last year is an example where there was an impact of tariffs, which was not expected and through relationships of our customers, we're able to solve that. And we expect that the same openness to discuss will be seen this year because, as I said, customers are interested in our success.

Our next question comes from Fernanda Urbano from XP.

I have two questions from XP. In the traditional segment, thinking about the volumes for the year, I understand that you had additional revenues amounting to BRL 100 million from new contracts. I would like you to help us separate how much of the growth for this year depends on the BRL 600 million from new contracts or how much it depends from the OEMs resuming their volumes? What's the overall amount in physical volumes, if you could give us? And do you see any better signs from OEMs that you mentioned in the release? And the second question is just a follow-up on the line production lines reorganization process. There was a gain of BRL 22 million in the first quarter. Could you give us an update in terms of capacity usage? In previous calls, you said you were running at about 65% of occupation. Is that at a different level now? Or was this gain due to use of more efficient lines? And thinking about nonoperational expenses, the first quarter is better than the fourth quarter. Is that a new rate? Or should we expect any further adjustments as the process advances?

This is Gueitiro speaking. Fernanda, thank you for your question. I'll start talking about the new contracts. We reported that we already earned BRL 100 million in revenues. These products, we have signed contracts for them. So we are in the ramp-up phase as we have already told the market before. And even if the market moves sideways in 2026, this is a market share increase. In addition to new contracts, we see -- we saw as of April, May, and then I'll hand the floor over to Ricardo to talk more about it because he's talking to OEM companies every day; we've seen additional orders in excess of what we budgeted. So not only our customers are reporting in their guidance and releases that their quarter was better, but we see that in demand. Now I'll hand the floor over to Ricardo because he could give a more informed opinion about this.

Yes, that's it. Gueitiro put it well. We see the demand for -- throughout the year. We see new orders for trucks in the United States, for example, growing in the 53% in the first quarter compared to the first quarter of last year. That is reflected in orders from OEMs with us. Of course, there is a period to prepare the supply chain so that all these new orders are met, but we see this in our book order -- order book, I'm sorry, in the first and second quarter. There are no clear signs that could make us sure that would be a strong movement like last year or previous years when the new rule, if so, there will be an additional upside, but we are quite protected. Talking about expenses, we are in a cleaner quarter and the company's strategy is to have a new road map so that we are better adjusted to the new size of the company. About your question about the use of capacity in production, we continue to operate. I mean, despite the efforts to reduce and optimize the footprint that are in progress, we only have production lines that are disabled or discontinued only at the end of the year. So right now, we are at 60% of use or occupancy.

Our next question comes from Gabriel Frazao from Bank of America.

I have a question about the development of margin for this year. We understand that profitability leverages, the recovery on heavy-duty vehicles for the U.S. and the efficiency programs. But some of the detractors of margins will remain, especially the off-road and heavy-duty vehicles in Brazil and the appreciation of Brazilian real and Mexican peso. Could you give us some color on that? I mean, do you expect the company to attain the margin to attain a double-digit figure this year?

Well, Gabriel, this is Gueitiro speaking. There are two variables that, as you may know, are very important to us, volume and exchange rate in terms of volume and volume diluted into higher or lower capacity. As you mentioned in your question, we are working with both variables and executing on them. The removal of capacity, we haven't closed down [ one line ], but we reduced the number of shifts, the headcount. So this full project will be attained, and we are ahead of schedule. Until the end of the year, it will be attained. And on the other hand, exchange rate, the new additional volumes that still come not in such significant amounts, but exceeding budget help to offset this mix. And these new products have more added value services, machining, added services, which help us to continue to pursue this challenge of developing a better margin in the second half of the year to attain a 2-digit level. So this is the current challenge, and we continue to execute on it and pursue the strategy.

The next question comes from Gabriel Rezende from Itau BBA.

I would like to add a follow-up to the backlog on the industry. I think -- how do you see the risk of fuel costs impacting the end user of trucks and the whole economics of the chain to may be causing a delay in this recovery? So the ramp-up of these orders or possible postponement of orders, could that happen due to the significant inflation in fuel costs? The portfolio that you saw or the order book that was created in the beginning of the year, does that already reflect those impacts? Or should we see those impacts from now on? Thank you.

This is Ricardo speaking. We don't see signs that transportation companies are taking their feet off the gas. Of course, diesel is more expensive that impacts their margins. But it's worth remembering that scrapping of trucks is really low in the -- it's one of the lowest levels in the last decade. And so the age of fleet is very high, and it costs a lot of money to drive an old truck. So that makes us believe that we shouldn't see a very high impact despite increase in fuel prices. Also, in a moment where demand is resuming and the possibility of a prebuy, the production slots of OEMs are getting filled due to this strong number of orders in the first quarter that's above previous years, considering seasonality. Some OEM companies, they risk losing their space, their place in the line, so to speak, if they don't place orders now. So this is the trend we see, and we are betting on it for the rest of the year.

This is Gueitiro speaking now, Gabriel. Just to give some color on what Ricardo said, we have a good cycle challenge because our main plant here in Brazil in [ Joinville ], the team has the challenge of getting those shifts back in order to deliver on -- deliver the orders that our customers abroad. are making. And they are -- and we haven't reached the peak of this upward movement yet. The first signs are here. We have sales in Joinville, the sales -- the order book is above -- I'm sorry, the unit in Joinville, we are above what we expected.

Our next question comes from Andressa from UBS BB.

Thank you for the questions I think people asked most of the questions. But if I could ask two questions. Now thinking of the resumption of volumes in the United States, there is this question of how much could be a prebuy and how much would be an organic upward movement. What you see from customers is the continuity of the demand for 2027. So let's think of how much this could be a movement that would last in 2027 rather than something of a one-off movement and then a new drop again? And the second question is about the working capital dynamic. It's been a positive point for the company. But as the volumes come back, what could we expect for that line?

Andressa, this is Ricardo speaking. I was with a customer in the U.S. 2 weeks ago, and I heard an interesting hypothesis from him. Due to the huge drop experienced in 2025, there is a scenario in which the demand may be much stronger this year, given the high age of the fleet and a possible prebuy, and that we may not have enough time to respond to that demand. And part of the demand for 2026 would then go to 2027. So we expect a strong market for 2027 as strong as the second half of this year, which will be stronger than the first half.

Okay. Now this is Gueitiro talking about the working capital. This is a good thing to experience. As sales increases increase the working capital margin, and that's being properly priced in new price quotations and the continuity of our business. So we can say that we made a good reduction, as mentioned to the market. We have capped to what we promised. We lowered inventory levels by more than BRL 150 million comparing quarters. In the second quarter, we'll also have some divestment there. The sales level is higher than the production level.

[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Jonathan from JPMorgan.

I would like to make a follow-up. we see a significant sequential reduction in that line. What do you expect in terms of investments for the rest of the year?

This is Rodrigo speaking, Jonathan. Well, we do have an investment in CapEx, but that's the same level that's usual to the company. We always estimate around 50% linked to maintenance and the other 50% dedicated to new projects. So we'll probably stay in line with our estimates of BRL 550 million per year.

[Operator Instructions] The Q&A session has now ended. I would now like to turn the floor over to Mr. Gueitiro Genso for his final comments.

To wrap up, I would like to leave three main messages. The quarter reflected challenging volume and exchange scenario, but there were improvements in strategy. The new contracts contributed to BRL 100 million in the quarter and will total BRL 600 million in the year. We're gaining market share with products with better margins and value-added. We see clear signs of resumption or upward movement in markets such as United States, which provided orders above our expectations, and that places the company in additional -- in a different level in our relationship with customers. The efficiency agenda is generating results with a gain of BRL 22 million in the quarter with out of BRL 100 million foreseen for the quarter. We still have biomethane and ethanol engines that are beginning to mature and will provide revenue next quarter. 2026 will be here to execute the design footprint and a very intense commercial agenda to monetize our capacity and focus on financial discipline. As of January, as on June 1, we'll have Harro that will help us with his experience of more than 35 years to improve the project at the plant and in the relationship with our customers. Thank you very much for your presence. And the Investor Relations office area remains available for any questions you may have.

The Tupy conference call has ended. Thank you for attending, and have a good day.