Earnings Labs

Ultrapar Participações S.A. (UGP)

Q4 2014 Earnings Call· Fri, Feb 27, 2015

$5.87

+1.21%

Key Takeaways · AI generated
AI summary not yet generated for this transcript. Generation in progress for older transcripts; check back soon, or browse the full transcript below.

Same-Day

-2.49%

1 Week

-8.72%

1 Month

-3.26%

vs S&P

-1.25%

Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. At this time, we would like to welcome everyone to Ultrapar’s 4Q 2014 Results Conference Call. There is also a simultaneous webcast that may be accessed through Ultrapar’s website at www.ultra.com.br/ri. Please feel free to flip through the slides during the conference call. Today with us, we have Mr. Andre Covre, Chief Financial and Investor Relations Officer, together with other executives of Ultrapar. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded and all participants will be in listen-only mode during the Company’s presentation. After Ultrapar’s remarks are completed, there will be a question-and-answer session. At that time further instructions will be given. [Operator Instructions] we remind you that questions which may be answered during the Q&A session may be posted in advance in the webcast. A replay of this call will be available for one week. Before proceeding, let me mention that forward-looking statements are being made under the Safe Harbor of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1996. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Ultrapar management, and on information currently available to the Company. They involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, because they relate to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Investors should understand that general economic conditions, industry conditions and other operating factors could also affect the future results of Ultrapar and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Now, I’ll turn the conference over to Mr. Covre, who will present Ultrapar’s results in the quarter and discuss about perspectives. Mr. Covre, you may now begin the conference.

Andre Covre

Analyst

Thank you very much, good morning everyone. It’s a great pleasure to be here with you to discuss Ultrapar’s performance and the fourth quarter and in the year off 2014. Here to help me answer your questions I’ve executive officers from our business units and investor relations team. I’d like to start our discussions by emphasizing parts consolidated performance last year which was once again very good particularly in light with the worsening market economic scenario creating an increasingly challenging business environment. The economic environment was marked by successes, reductions in the GDP growth expectations which stated the year at around 2% at its currently tempting towards another progression, according to the first graph at the bottom of the slide. As a result diesel sales at Ipiranga both LPG and ultra gas. The specialty chemicals sold in Brazil by Oxiteno which are all strongly related to PDP were flattish in 2014. In relation to the FX rates, our worsening scenario in the economy is normally followed depreciation of the Riyal. However, what makes 2014 not only challenging but also atypical is that almost the positive movement procured in the first nine months. Until September the Riyal appreciated will remain stable against the U.S. dollar. This fact created a second negative effect in Oxiteno in addition to the lower volumes as its contribution margins is in dollars. We also saw a strong growth in the interest rates compared to 2013 which increased financial expenses in a year in which the dollars progression was pressured by the factors I just mentioned. All considered in 2014, we presented consolidated EBITDA of 3.2 billion in net earnings of 1.3 billion 8% and 2% above the previous year. Our consistent earnings growth and the result in cash generation have allowed the company to increased dividends.…

Operator

Operator

Thank you. The floor is now open for questions. [Operator Instructions] The first question will come from Frank McGann of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Please go ahead.

Frank McGann

Analyst

Good day. Two questions, one: just in terms of demand trend, I am just wondering how you are seeing peak in Ipiranga demand growth in the early part of the year and what your expectations are now that it seems that the economy is weakening somewhat more than have previously been expected? And then secondly, a little bit more of big picture question but just looking at your investment program and the returns on your different businesses, I am wondering how you are seeing the return on your investments say in Extrafarma versus Ipiranga versus some of the other segment and how that effects your decision of work to deploy capital?

Andre Covre

Analyst

Thanks Frank. We are happy you are with us today. In terms of the demand trend for Ipiranga, we continue to see the combined demand of gasoline, ethanol and natural gas for vehicles following the evolution of the fleet of cars. For the last year, the fleet grew about 6% - 5.5% to 6% in Otto cycle fields as well and we are sooner to putting up here and it seems that expectations that I passed just a few moments ago. There was a [indiscernible] correlation [indiscernible] through economy so we have had flattish to negative evolution and that’s the trend for the moment. In terms of the return investment question, we sensibly take our investment decisions on a case by case basis for considering the cost of capital of each one of our business units and the risks with [indiscernible] opportunity and its potential benefits. [indiscernible] as textbook says, we want to have significant MPV, positive MPV and we will now compare the returns of the project and business A with project or business B. At least, so far we haven’t done that because our investment process has not so far overall these years was to have more cash than projects. In other words, if we have the positive MPV project we are good. If we don’t have the positive MPV projects then we don’t do it. We haven’t had the situation where we only have as much as to do with too many positive MPV projects. So again it’s our philosophy to deal with on as a phase by phase basis. Probably the reason we never had the situation where we had excess projects in relation to excess cash is that our corporate governance is designed both to generate a lot of business opportunities but also to be still and separate and separate the good ones from the bad ones. So when it comes to decide we only have the very answer I have.

Operator

Operator

The next question will come from Gustavo Gattass of BTG Pactual. Please go ahead.

Gustavo Gattass

Analyst

Good afternoon guys. I have three quick questions, the very first one it’s probably more of a an accounting or holding company allocation nature, I was just trying to understand it’s been I think the second quarter we have seen and quite a long time in which if we add up the EBITDA that you guys have per business unit that is reported, we get a significantly larger number than the consolidated sector. So this quarter in particular we had about R$17 million less than EBITDA than the sum which seems to indicate and I just wanted to check if there is any particular event that was rising that or if there was any kind of a shift in the accounting policy that you guys have that would lead us to have to forecast that for the future. So that’s the first point. The second is just a quick check, when you mentioned in your outlook for the first quarter in Ipiranga I was writing it down and I have got - we expect to have better of these projections than in the fourth quarter, I just wanted to double check did you mean in your looking for something that’s better in absolute terms or was it a more positive trend than what you are seeing before and the third one if I could just touch on this: over the course of this last year, we heard a lot of noise about the potential for changing and the procedures that were really done in your negotiations between yourself and service stations over those five year contract I was just wondering if you talk about anything about whether or that idea to potentially change the relationship you have with the service stations is evolving in any different way or if you guys think that is just going to continue in the way that has been for the last years. Thank you.

Andre Covre

Analyst

Thanks for the questions. On the first one, there is no shift in account polices. The numbers that you see relates to two things, one is the negative EBITDA of ConnectCar which is part of its early success, it’s in the income stages of its life and therefore has negative EBITDA. Second element there is a number of expenses related to the Extrafarma transaction. So those are the basically the two most relevant once than explained, between 80% to 90% of it.

Gustavo Gattass

Analyst

Are those in any way you recurring?

Andre Covre

Analyst

No Extrafarma - no it’s finished now. ConnectCar I want to believe that obviously it will be a positive EBITDA in some time in the future but it will probably take next year. Can I move to the next one?

Gustavo Gattass

Analyst

Yes sure. Sorry about that.

Andre Covre

Analyst

And the expectation for Ipiranga in the first quarter, I meant to say that the percentage of the evolution would be higher than the percentage of evaluation between four quarters.

Gustavo Gattass

Analyst

Perfect.

Andre Covre

Analyst

And the third question I believe is about I suppose is about the way - so called ramification works between the [indiscernible] Brazil and [indiscernible] is that correct?

Gustavo Gattass

Analyst

Yes.

Andre Covre

Analyst

Okay, both ways of contracting the payment, the service station owners exist in the market, the most common one is where you make enough from payment when the gas station owner signs the contract, that amount of money is normally used to service the gas station or to construct to fits a new gas station and it’s accounted as a intangible asset and it amortize over the life of the contract. The second type is using a discount to the gas station owner and the price of fuels that acquires. If he achieves certain metrics normally of volume purchase over the life of the contract, this one is accounting as a discount to price so it reduces the gross margins. Most of the market practice both of them and we are not different. The first one the upfront one is by far the most relevant one. We have heard true investment community that one of our competitors and find it to be more of the second type and maybe that’s for sure [indiscernible] we are open to both cases. It depends on what is better our interest and the reseller interest. And evolution of the subject will depend for on how [indiscernible] on both parts evolve over the time.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] and we have a question from Marcelo Audi of Cardinal Partners. Please go ahead.

Marcelo Audi

Analyst

I have two questions one is you always recently give the guidance that the electricity of the auto-cycle should be considered in line with the increase of the fleet. What is changing is that the disposable income of the families who likely deteriorate which is something that we haven’t seen at least not since 2003, do you consider a more conservative assumption on the growth of the auto-cycle in the coming years?

Andre Covre

Analyst

Well Marcello, we had last year’s indication already because last year wasn’t a good year and every respect of the economic scenario and the auto-cycle did grow in line with the fleet and we are seeing anything different so far this year. So we don’t expect any meaningful effect in relation to that.

Marcelo Audi

Analyst

Okay and my second question is do you plan the launching of any new initiative regarding loyalty strategy of customer such as the kilometer [indiscernible] the am/pm any new strategy related to loyalty plans for this year or next?

Andre Covre

Analyst

Marcello we have this philosophy to run our Ipiranga distribution [indiscernible] mentality and it is one of the well known aspects of the key management that you have to do novelty all the time. So we have as a philosophy to bring at least something, one thing new every year. The number of years go was the Ipiranga brand [indiscernible] then the kilometer of advantage then the bakery I think last we have the [indiscernible] as I mentioned and there will one or two new things this year which we will be able to talk about once they are launched in larger scale may be in the next -- stating in the next quarter.

Marcelo Audi

Analyst

Okay. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

And ladies and gentlemen that will conclude our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Andre Covre for any closing remarks.

Andre Covre

Analyst

Thank you very much for your presence. We look forward to have you on the first quarter, this one we have finished with reiterating two aspects. One is we are with the consensus that the economic environment in Brazil inspires a lot of [indiscernible] that we feel very blessed be in a position where we can look towards 2015 expecting a better year than we had in 2014 in terms of evolution of EBITDA and profits. We look forward to seeing in the next call. Thanks.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, the conference has now concluded thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may disconnect your lines at this time.