By Equipe de Redação
Posted in August 14, 2023
The company has returned to registering growth and increased margins. Photo: Ambipar Promotion.
After two quarters considered weak by investors, Ambipar — a Brazilian company operating in emergency response and waste management segments, with Gisele Bündchen as a shareholder — has just announced that it has once again increased its revenue and expanded its margins. The second quarter report is the first one released after the founder returned to lead the company, and in the view of the CFO (Chief Financial Officer), Thiago da Costa Silva, it should mark a sort of turning point in how the company is perceived by the market.
“It’s the quarter where the potential of everything we have acquired in recent years will become clear to investors. It was a 100% organic result, stemming from an improvement in the macro scenario, but also from the synergies we are seeking within the company. It’s a chance to see the company at cruising speed. It has all the elements to be a turning point,” he told the column.
Gross revenue totaled R$ 1.34 billion, a record for Ambipar and a yearly increase of 39%. Compared to the first three months of the year, the growth was 7%. (In the first quarter, this figure had shrunk by 4% in this comparison). The Ebitda margin, one of the main profitability metrics of a business, rose from 25.5% to 30.7%.
The Ebitda itself, which is profit before interest and taxes and corresponds to the cash generation capacity, reached R$ 369.8 million, a quarterly increase of 27.2% and a yearly advance of 67.5%. Net profit stood at R$ 23.9 million.
“There was indeed some retraction in the company’s topline (gross revenue) in the last quarters, but that was within the focus we had on increasing margins. We also had the new management, which has, among its focuses, reducing leverage. The reduction in interest rates helps on the macro side, but within the company, our task is to work on margins. All of this makes us optimistic for the second semester,” argued Costa Silva, adding that the demand from the industry, which forms an important part of their clientele, is warmer than at the beginning of the year.
Leverage is the relationship between a company’s debt and its cash generation capacity. At the beginning of the year, Ambipar’s rate was 3.4 times — in other words, the company would need nearly three and a half years of cash generation to eliminate its debt — and it has now fallen to 2.9 times.
The change in leadership at Ambipar occurred at the end of June when founder Tércio Borlenghi Jr. took over the CEO position. Until then, he was the chairman of the board. His main mission is to increase the revenue and reduce the company’s debt. This suggests that Ambipar’s acquisition machine, which has been a hallmark of the company since it debuted on the stock exchange in mid-2020, will likely remain stationary.
“We are still in the synergy period. We still do not have a timeline for a return to acquisitions, although there are great opportunities in the market,” confirms the CFO.
Ambipar’s efforts to impress investors are well-founded. The company debuted on the stock exchange selling shares at R$ 24.75, but the stock is now valued at R$ 20.90, reflecting an accumulated loss of 15%.
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