Estadão E-Investidor by Beatriz Rocha - 11/13/2024
By Writing Team
Posted in November 13, 2024
The company’s EBITDA also recorded a new high of R$ 515.3 million in the third quarter of 2024. (Photo: Ambipar/Disclosure).
Ambipar (AMBP3) reported a net profit of R$ 44.5 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 27.9% compared to the same period in 2023. Net revenue hit a record R$ 2.1 billion, up 79.5% year-over-year. Adjusted revenue, which excludes R$ 639.5 million from asset sales, reached approximately R$ 1.5 billion, a 25.4% increase over the same period last year.
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) also recorded a high of R$ 515.3 million, marking a 37.0% increase compared to the third quarter of 2023.
Speaking to E-Investidor, Ambipar’s CFO, João Arruda, explained that the historic results were driven by several factors. In the Environment segment, specializing in waste management with a focus on value addition, the company completed several projects contributing to positive revenue, with a 15.9% year-over-year increase in average ticket for waste from January to September. Partnerships with other companies, such as Heineken, also contributed to the results.
In the Response segment, which deals with chemical and pollutant emergencies, crisis management operations were concluded, with continued support to American authorities in incident management, including ongoing efforts to remove the M/V Dali cargo ship in Baltimore, USA. In Brazil, the company also supports clients in protecting their assets against fires and drought.
“Our revenue was quite diversified, which gives us a lot of comfort and confidence that this result will remain sustainable,” Arruda emphasized, noting that non-recurring factors also boosted the numbers, stemming from new agreements to renew the company’s fleet as part of the asset demobilization plan.
The CFO also highlighted that CAPEX (capital expenditure to grow or maintain operations) reached its lowest level relative to revenue ever recorded by the company. The indicator represented 6.3% of net revenue in this year’s third quarter and 9.0% of adjusted net revenue.
“We’ve reiterated to the market over recent quarters that this would happen, and now it’s bringing this metric to a very sustainable level. We’re on the path to stronger cash generation, with lower capital intensity and very healthy organic growth, so we’re growing our revenue organically, which gives us a lot of comfort,” said Arruda, signaling his expectation for positive results from Ambipar going forward.
In this article, we showed that one of the primary concerns among market analysts regarding the company was its high leverage. This metric showed signs of improvement in the new balance sheet, reaching 2.62x net debt/adjusted EBITDA, a reduction of 0.20x from the second quarter of 2024 to the third. “We’re moving towards more deleveraging throughout the year, in line with our guidance of 2.5x by the end of 2026,” Arruda said.
What does Ambipar’s CFO expect for the company’s shares going forward?
In 2024, Ambipar’s shares have already accumulated a 857.85% increase on the Brazilian Stock Exchange – and the company’s CFO still sees room for more growth, as he believes that, compared to global peers, the company’s shares still trade at a significant discount. “We believe that by delivering results, maintaining sustainable organic growth in both revenue and EBITDA, generating cash, and deleveraging, we should see even more positive performance from the company in the coming quarters,” he emphasized.
According to the market, behind Ambipar’s significant stock price rise in 2024, the standout figure is the company’s CEO, Tércio Borlenghi Junior. On July 10 of this year, the company informed the market that the executive increased his stake in the company, reaching a total of 122,165,450 shares, approximately 73.135% of the total and voting share capital.
Arruda highlighted that he cannot comment on the next steps of Ambipar’s controlling shareholder, but he stated that he believes this move reflects the shareholder’s commitment to the company, which “provides reassurance that the company is on the right path.”
This year, Trustee-managed funds also increased their stake in Ambipar. Currently, the firm holds 11.89% of the company’s capital, equivalent to 19,862,870 common shares.
“My view on Trustee is that it’s a market investor that bought Ambipar shares and nominated members to the board of directors. I think new names on the board are always welcome, but I can’t speak to their motivations. It’s a market investor who bought shares on the stock exchange, like any other,” Arruda concluded.
