Ambev SA (ABEV) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, good afternoon, and thank you for waiting. We would like to welcome everyone to Ambev's 2023 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results Conference Call. Today with us, we have Mr. Jean Jereissati, CEO for Ambev; and Mr. Lucas Lira, CFO and Investor Relations Officer. As a reminder, a slide presentation is available for downloading on our website, ri.ambev.com.br as well as through the webcast link of this call. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded. (Operator Instructions).

早上好，下午好，感謝您的等待。我們歡迎大家參加 Ambev 2023 年第四季和全年業績電話會議。今天與我們在一起的有 Ambev 首席執行官 Jean Jereissati 先生；以及財務長兼投資者關係長 Lucas Lira 先生。請注意，幻燈片簡報可在我們的網站 ri.ambev.com.br 上以及透過本次電話會議的網路廣播連結下載。我們謹通知您，該事件正在被記錄。 （操作員說明）。

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 Ambev's 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 Ambev and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements.

在繼續之前，我要提一下，前瞻性陳述是根據 1996 年《證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港作出的。前瞻性陳述是基於 Ambev 管理層的信念和假設以及公司目前掌握的資訊。它們涉及風險、不確定性和假設，因為它們與未來事件有關，因此取決於未來可能發生或不發生的情況。投資者應了解，總體經濟狀況、行業狀況和其他營運因素也可能影響 Ambev 的未來業績，並可能導致結果與此類前瞻性聲明中表達的結果有重大差異。

I would also like to remind everyone that, as usual, the percentage changes that will be discussed during today's call are both organic and normalized in nature, and unless otherwise stated, percentage changes refer to comparisons with 2022 Fourth quarter and full year results. Normalized figures refer to performance measures before exceptional items, which are either income or expenses that do not occur regularly as part of Ambev's normal activities. As normalized figures are non-GAAP measures, the company discloses the consolidated profit, EPS, operating profit and EBITDA on a fully reported basis in the earnings release.

我還想提醒大家，與往常一樣，今天電話會議中討論的百分比變化本質上是有機的和標準化的，除非另有說明，百分比變化是指與 2022 年第四季度和全年業績的比較。標準化數字是指未計入特殊項目的績效衡量標準，這些項目是 Ambev 正常活動中不定期發生的收入或支出。由於標準化數據是非公認會計準則衡量標準，因此該公司在收益發布中以完整報告的方式揭露了合併利潤、每股盈餘、營業利潤和 EBITDA。

Now I'll turn the conference over to Mr. Jean Jereissati. Mr. Jereissati, you may begin your conference.

現在我將會議交給Jean Jereissati 先生。 Jereissati 先生，您可以開始會議了。

Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining our Q4 and full year 2023 earnings call. Today, I will cover our last year performance and then shed some light on what to expect in 2024, so let's get started. 2023 in review, it was a noisy year with a lot of distractions. But commercial strategy in Brazil continued to work led by our premium brands, CAC recovered, thanks to [DR] which even went beyond 2021 results. Preparedness in Argentina made the difference with more cash flow in dollars being generated and profitability came back in a big way with gross and EBITDA margin expansion pretty much across the board, while ROIC also improved.

大家好，感謝您參加我們的第四季和 2023 年全年財報電話會議。今天，我將介紹我們去年的表現，然後闡述 2024 年的預期，所以讓我們開始吧。回顧2023年，這是喧鬧、幹擾較多的一年。但巴西的商業策略在我們的優質品牌的帶領下繼續發揮作用，CAC 有所恢復，這要歸功於 [DR]，甚至超越了 2021 年的業績。阿根廷的準備工作發揮了作用，產生了更多的美元現金流，盈利能力大幅恢復，毛利率和 EBITDA 利潤率幾乎全面擴張，而投資資本回報率也有所改善。

Translating this into numbers, EBITDA grew 43% organically and 7% in nominal terms despite the impact of FX depreciation in Argentina. Gross margin expanded 240 basis points and EBITDA margin 430 basis points. Cash flow from operating activities grew 20%, reaching almost BRL 25 billion and free cash flow step a change to BRL 17.7 billion. Normalized profit reached over BRL 15 billion. However, it was flattish on the account of increased taxes mostly due to higher effective tax rate and currency devaluation in Argentina. All this, while challenged by tough industries in Canada and Argentina, a tough comp on tax credits in Brazil and a steep FX devaluation in Argentina.

將其轉化為數字，儘管受到阿根廷外匯貶值的影響，但 EBITDA 有機增長 43%，名義增長 7%。毛利率擴大了 240 個基點，EBITDA 利潤率擴大了 430 個基點。經營活動現金流成長 20%，達到近 250 億雷亞爾，自由現金流則增加 177 億雷亞爾。標準化利潤超過 150 億雷亞爾。然而，由於稅收增加，成長持平，這主要是由於阿根廷有效稅率提高和貨幣貶值。所有這一切都面臨著加拿大和阿根廷艱難的工業、巴西嚴格的稅收抵免以及阿根廷外匯急劇貶值的挑戰。

And this performance was driven by a consistent commercial execution throughout the year with focus on the consumer with industry volumes growing in half of our top markets and 7 out of such top 10 markets delivering a net revenue per hectoliter ex marketplace performance above inflation, a continued development of our digital platforms, over 90% of our gross turnover in Brazil was transacted via BEES supporting our NPS at all-time high levels once again. GMV of our third-party marketplace products growing over 44%, totaling BRL 3.3 billion, Ze delivery in Brazil, expanding coverage and awareness, reaching 5.7 million monthly active users and growing GMV by 8% and effective decisions around optimizing our business. As a result, cash COGS per hectoliter and cash SG&A grew below net revenue growth supporting both gross and EBITDA margin expansions. This shows how sound our operations are and how well we manage to convert commercial momentum such as in Brazil and CAC into free cash flow or offset commercial headwinds to protect our financial performance, such as we did in Argentina and Canada.

這項業績是由全年一致的商業執行所推動的，重點是消費者，我們一半的頂級市場和前10 個市場中的7 個市場的行業銷量不斷增長，每百升市場表現的淨收入高於通貨膨脹，持續成長隨著我們數位平台的發展，我們在巴西的總營業額超過 90% 是透過 BEES 進行的，這再次支持我們的 NPS 達到歷史最高水平。我們的第三方市場產品的GMV 成長了44% 以上，總計33 億雷亞爾，Ze 在巴西交付，擴大了覆蓋範圍和知名度，每月活躍用戶達到570 萬，GMV 增長了8%，並圍繞優化我們的業務做出了有效的決策。因此，每百公升現金銷售成本和現金銷售管理費用成長低於淨收入成長，支持毛利率和 EBITDA 利潤率的擴張。這表明我們的營運有多麼穩健，以及我們如何成功地將商業動力（例如在巴西和CAC）轉化為自由現金流或抵消商業逆風以保護我們的財務表現（例如我們在阿根廷和加拿大所做的） 。

Now I would like to share some highlights by geography. So let me start with Brazil Beer. In Q4, premium volumes grew in the mid-20s and we estimate having gained market share in the segment for the fourth consecutive quarter with brand health indicators continuing to improve. Corona was the highlight, once again, proving the effectiveness of our strategy. Other segments, however, led total volumes to decline 1.1% as we faced a tough comparable from FIFA World Cup last year. Net revenue per hectoliter performance continued with momentum in the quarter, while cash COGS and cash SG&A grew below net revenue, leading to 27% EBITDA growth, coupled with gross and EBITDA margin expansions. In the year, we checked all the boxes. We grew almost 3 million hectoliters in premium volumes, coupled with brand health movement. EBITDA margin expanded 500 basis points to 32% resulting in an EBITDA of BRL 12.5 billion, the highest in our history.

現在我想按地域分享一些亮點。讓我從巴西啤酒開始。第四季度，高端銷售成長了 20 多歲，我們估計該細分市場的市佔率已連續第四個季度成長，品牌健康指標持續改善。新冠疫情再次成為亮點，證明了我們策略的有效性。然而，由於我們面臨去年 FIFA 世界盃的嚴峻考驗，其他細分市場導致總銷量下降了 1.1%。本季每百升淨收入的表現持續保持強勁勢頭，而現金銷售成本和現金銷售及管理費用增長低於淨收入，導致 EBITDA 增長 27%，同時毛利率和 EBITDA 利潤率也有所擴張。這一年，我們檢查了所有的方框。我們的優質銷售量成長了近 300 萬百升，同時也開展了品牌健康運動。 EBITDA 利潤率擴大 500 個基點，達到 32%，EBITDA 達到 125 億雷亞爾，創歷史最高水準。

So let's go for Brazil NAB. Volumes grew over 6% in the quarter driven by the consistent implementation of our commercial strategy, increasing both the number of buyers and number of SKUs per [POC]. Our Diet/light/zero portfolio grew over 22% with a highlight to the new Guaraná Zero and the continued success of Pepsi Black. The 0.5% decline in net revenue per hectoliter was explained mostly by increased VAT taxable base for carbonated soft drinks and some channel mix with the increasing of the third-party distribution in our mix. Cash COGS per hectoliter and expenses, however, declined supporting an EBITDA growth of 15% and EBITDA margin expansion. For the full year, we estimate our market share remained stable while we continue to grow in energy and health and wellness, both with ours and our partners' brand, delivering an EBITDA of almost BRL 2 billion, the highest since 2015.

那我們就選擇巴西國民銀行吧。在我們商業策略的持續實施的推動下，本季銷售量成長了 6% 以上，增加了買家數量和每個 [POC] 的 SKU 數量。我們的低熱量/低熱量/零產品組合增加了 22% 以上，其中突出的是新的瓜拉納零和百事黑的持續成功。每百升淨收入下降 0.5% 的主要原因是碳酸軟性飲料增值稅計稅基數增加，以及我們組合中第三方分銷增加的一些通路組合。然而，每百公升現金銷貨成本和費用下降，支持 EBITDA 成長 15% 和 EBITDA 利潤率擴張。我們預計全年市佔率保持穩定，同時我們和合作夥伴的品牌在能源、健康和保健領域繼續成長，實現 EBITDA 近 20 億雷亞爾，這是 2015 年以來的最高水準。

So let's talk about LAS. In Argentina, volumes in the quarter declined driven by an industry that was impacted by macroeconomic conditions. However, a new financial and commercial playbook on how to operate in the Argentina environment allowed us to accelerate revenue management while keeping market share stable, offsetting increased costs and expenses due to accelerate inflation. So in the year, cash flow generation in dollars improved significantly even taking into consideration the [FX] depreciation in 2023 and the gap between parallel and official rates. As we implemented this new playbook. So in 2024, we already started to repatriate this cash generated in 2023. As for the other operations in LAS full year EBITDA grew in the mid-teens with margin expansion, resulting in the highest nominal EBITDA in [H2].

那我們來談談LAS。在阿根廷，由於產業受到宏觀經濟狀況的影響，本季銷量下降。然而，關於如何在阿根廷環境中運作的新金融和商業手冊使我們能夠加快收入管理，同時保持市場份額穩定，抵消通貨膨脹加速而增加的成本和成本。因此，即使考慮到 2023 年[外匯]貶值以及平行匯率與官方匯率之間的差距，今年以美元計算的現金流量仍顯著改善。當我們實施這個新的劇本時。因此，在 2024 年，我們已經開始匯回 2023 年產生的現金。至於 LAS 全年的其他業務，隨著利潤率的擴張，EBITDA 增長到十幾歲左右，導致 [H2] 名義 EBITDA 最高。

CAC volumes grew 7.7%, led by the continued recovery in the Dominican Republic this quarter. A positive industry supported volume growth as Presidente brand family continued to recover and premium brands grew ahead of total volumes. Net revenue per hectoliter was up 4.5% while costs and expenses grew below net revenue, translating into gross and EBITDA margins above 40%. This was a year of turnaround in CAC volumes, top and bottom line were back to growth with margin improvement.

在本季多明尼加共和國的持續復甦帶動下，CAC 銷量成長了 7.7%。積極的行業支持了銷量的成長，總統品牌系列持續復甦，優質品牌的成長領先於總銷量。每百升淨收入成長 4.5%，而成本和費用成長低於淨收入，這意味著毛利率和 EBITDA 利潤率超過 40%。今年是 CAC 銷售出現好轉的一年，營業收入和利潤均恢復成長，利潤率有所改善。

And as for Canada, volumes declined on the back of a continued tough industry performance in the quarter in a growing cash COGS per hectoliter affected by the lower volumes really impacted our EBITDA growth. In the year, EBITDA grew low single digits, thanks to initiatives to curb costs and expenses considering a sluggish top line.

至於加拿大，由於本季產業表現持續嚴峻，每百公升現金銷售成本不斷增長，銷量下降，銷量下降確實影響了我們的 EBITDA 成長。今年，由於收入低迷，採取了控製成本和支出的舉措，EBITDA 成長了較低的個位數。

Now changing gears to 2024. First, let's talk about operations. This year, we want to deliver consistent results with operational performance being the driving force behind our sustainable value creation path, being able to translate this commercial momentum into more free cash flow generation. And to illustrate why we are confident in our strategy. Let me use Brazil as an example. Although today, Brazil represents one of the largest beer per capita consumption in the world, we still see opportunities to grow such as in the North and Northeast regions of the country.

現在轉向 2024 年。首先，我們來談談營運。今年，我們希望提供一致的結果，營運績效成為我們永續價值創造道路背後的驅動力，將這種商業動力轉化為更自由的現金流產生。並說明為什麼我們對我們的策略充滿信心。讓我以巴西為例。儘管如今巴西是世界上人均啤酒消費量最大的國家之一，但我們仍然看到了成長的機會，例如該國的北部和東北地區。

And as for premium beers, it is growing, but it is still under-indexed in terms of participation in both beer and alcohol spaces as well as in the number of occasions, it is consumed. Since 2019, our premium volumes grew about 8 million hectoliters while our total volumes grew over 11 million hectoliters, which is greater than the industry growth for the period. And in terms of costs, we expect to face less input cost pressure, given currency and commodities tailwinds, partially offset by mix and fair value adjustment of payables. Therefore, assuming current commodities and FX prices, we expect our cash COGS per hectoliter in Brazil beer excluding non-Ambev marketplace products to decrease between 0.5% and 3% in the year.

至於優質啤酒，它正在增長，但就啤酒和酒精領域的參與度以及消費場合的數量而言，其指數仍然較低。自 2019 年以來，我們的優質銷量成長了約 800 萬百升，而總銷量成長了超過 1,100 萬百升，高於同期產業成長。在成本方面，鑑於貨幣和大宗商品的順風，我們預計將面臨較小的投入成本壓力，並被應付帳款的組合和公允價值調整部分抵銷。因此，假設當前的商品和外匯價格，我們預計今年每百公升巴西啤酒（不包括非 Ambev 市場產品）的現金銷售成本將下降 0.5% 至 3%。

Second, let me share a little bit how we kicked off the year. Carnival in Brazil was great, and we are off to a good start to the year. Brahma, Guaraná Antarctica and Beats sponsored the 3 largest Carnival festivals in Brazil, Salvador, Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo and brought over 31 million people together during the period. Sales volumes during Carnival were great and brand connection will last for the rest of the year. Carnival is a huge moment for our brands to connect with our consumers and to present innovations. So we delivered a strong brand execution for Brahma and the new Guarana Antarctica Zero and scaled up [Beats Tropical] as the innovation of the season, performing over 2x better than what [Beats] did last year.

其次，讓我分享我們如何開始這一年。巴西的狂歡節很棒，我們今年有了一個好的開始。 Brahma、Guaraná Antarctica 和 Beats 贊助了巴西薩爾瓦多、裡約熱內盧和聖保羅 3 個最大的狂歡節，期間吸引了超過 3100 萬人聚集在一起。嘉年華期間的銷售量很高，品牌聯繫將持續到今年剩餘時間。嘉年華是我們的品牌與消費者建立聯繫並展示創新的重要時刻。因此，我們為 Brahma 和新款 Guarana Antarctica Zero 提供了強大的品牌執行力，並擴大了 [Beats Tropical] 作為本季的創新，其表現比去年的 [Beats] 好 2 倍以上。

And third, perhaps our main challenge relates to taxes in Brazil. In 2023, we paid approximately BRL 32 billion in taxes, nearly BRL 11 billion of federal taxes and almost BRL 22 billion in state and municipal taxes. Our effective tax rate was higher than 2022, mainly as a result of higher profits in Argentina, the Dominican Republic and Canada and last IOC tax deductibility. And in December, Congress in Brazil passed a legislation on deductibility of IOC and state VAT government rents that should impact our effective tax rate going forward. However, the precise impact is not yet entirely clear. Lucas will come with more information about this topic.

第三，也許我們的主要挑戰與巴西的稅收有關。 2023 年，我們繳納了約 320 億雷亞爾的稅金、近 110 億雷亞爾的聯邦稅以及近 220 億雷亞爾的州和市稅。我們的有效稅率高於 2022 年，主要是由於阿根廷、多明尼加共和國和加拿大的利潤較高以及國際奧委會上次的稅收減免。 12 月，巴西國會通過了一項關於 IOC 和州增值稅政府租金扣除額的立法，這將影響我們未來的有效稅率。然而，確切的影響尚不完全清楚。盧卡斯將帶來有關此主題的更多資訊。

So let's summarize our call. We are confident about accelerating volumes, especially in Brazil. We step changed the free cash flow generation, and it will remain strong and solid in 2024, a year that will present its own set of challenges, just as every year since [2023]. Nevertheless, my team has been managing to overcome them and deliver continuous and consistent improvement. Therefore, I would like to thank my team again for the great 2023 and I'm counting on them to deliver in 2024, the next step in our transformation journey by doing what we have been doing the best, acting as owners listening to consumers and clients working collaboratively with our ecosystem, having a disciplined execution in the short term while laying the groundwork for sustainable value creation in the long term.

讓我們總結一下我們的通話。我們對加速銷量充滿信心，尤其是在巴西。我們逐步改變了自由現金流的產生，它將在 2024 年保持強勁和穩固，這一年將面臨一系列挑戰，就像 [2023] 以來的每一年一樣。儘管如此，我的團隊一直在設法克服這些問題並實現持續不斷的改進。因此，我要再次感謝我的團隊，為我們帶來了偉大的2023 年，我指望他們在2024 年實現我們轉型之旅的下一步，透過做我們一直在做的最好的事情，充當所有者的角色，傾聽消費者的意見，客戶與我們的生態系統合作，在短期內嚴格執行，同時為長期可持續價值創造奠定基礎。

So thank you very much. Now let me hand this call over to Lucas.

非常感謝。現在讓我把這通電話轉交給盧卡斯。

Thanks, Jean. Hello, everyone. We had four financial priorities for 2023. First, to improve financial discipline, focusing on liquidity as well as cost and expense management while reinvesting for growth; Second, to improve profitability by increasing our return on invested capital but also expanding margins; Third, to further our value creation agenda, growing economic profit as well as free cash flow; and Fourth, returning excess cash to shareholders over time. I'm happy to report that we progressed on all fronts.

謝謝，讓。大家好。 2023年，我們有四個財務重點。首先，改善財務紀律，重點關注流動性以及成本和費用管理，同時再投資以促進成長；其次，透過提高投資資本回報率和擴大利潤率來提高獲利能力；第三，進一步推動我們的價值創造議程、不斷增長的經濟利潤以及自由現金流；第四，隨著時間的推移，將多餘的現金回饋給股東。我很高興地報告，我們在各方面都取得了進展。

Liquidity remained solid throughout the year, which was valuable in the year where several other Brazilian companies faced numerous challenges stemming from the credit crunch in the country. Disciplined cost and expense management resulted in cash COGS and cash SG&A growing below inflation with or without considering Argentina. We continue to invest for growth with sales and marketing totaling BRL 6.5 billion and CapEx totaling BRL 6 billion. Return on invested capital expanded over 330 basis points, thanks mostly to better NOPAT margin but also better asset turnover while gross margins and EBITDA margins also expanded as Jean already mentioned.

全年流動性保持穩定，這在其他幾家巴西公司面臨該國信貸緊縮帶來的眾多挑戰的一年中非常有價值。無論是否考慮阿根廷，嚴格的成本和費用管理導致現金銷售成本和現金銷售管理費用成長低於通貨膨脹。我們持續投資成長，銷售和行銷總額達 65 億雷亞爾，資本支出總額達 60 億雷亞爾。投資資本回報率擴大了 330 個基點以上，這主要歸功於 NOPAT 利潤率的提高，以及資產週轉率的提高，而毛利率和 EBITDA 利潤率也有所擴大，正如 Jean 已經提到的那樣。

Economic profit grew compared to last year, while we delivered record levels of cash flow generated from operating activities at nearly BRL 25 billion. And finally, we paid ELJ BRL 1.7 billion in connection with the exercise of the Dominican Republic put option and still return BRL 11.5 billion to shareholders. And all this while dealing with looming headwinds in Brazilian taxes and Argentina.

與去年相比，經濟利潤有所成長，同時我們的經營活動產生的現金流量創歷史新高，達到近 250 億雷亞爾。最後，我們因行使多明尼加共和國看跌期權而向 ELJ 支付了 17 億雷亞爾，但仍向股東返還 115 億雷亞爾。所有這一切都是在應對巴西稅收和阿根廷迫在眉睫的不利因素的同時進行的。

So let me tackle these 2 because they are relevant going forward as well. The constitutional amendment required for the tax reform on consumption was finally approved by Congress in December, and we now move to the next phase in the process, which is to pass enabling legislation before the transition period begins in 2026. Lots of work to do here to ensure we move towards a less complex system and that does not increase the total tax burden of the industry, which is already among the highest in the world. And in terms of income taxes, changes were made to the rules regarding the income tax deductibility of the IOC and of state VAT government grants.

因此，讓我來解決這兩個問題，因為它們也與未來有關。消費稅改革所需的憲法修正案最終於 12 月獲得國會批准，現在我們進入下一階段，即在 2026 年過渡期開始之前通過授權立法。這裡還有很多工作要做確保我們轉向一個不太複雜的系統，並且不會增加該行業的總稅收負擔，該行業已經是世界上最高的稅收負擔之一。在所得稅方面，國際奧委會和國家增值稅政府補助的所得稅扣除規則也改變了。

On IOC, adjustments were made to the legal parameters for purposes of calculation and deductibility of the IOC. Accordingly, pursuant to the terms of the new law, the main change to our IOC basis is that as of January 1, 2024, it will be adjusted downwards by the value that was recorded in the carrying value adjustments account in connection with the stock swap merger carried out in 2013 that allowed us to move to a one share, one vote system. As for the deductibility of state VAT tax incentives, the new laws are already being challenged by several parties on constitutional grounds. As a result, it's still premature to say whether or not there will ultimately be an impact on our results and if so, to which extent.

在國際奧委會方面，為了計算和扣除國際奧委會，對法律參數進行了調整。因此，根據新法律的條款，我們的IOC基準的主要變化是，自2024年1月1日起，它將根據與股票互換相關的帳面價值調整帳戶中記錄的價值進行向下調整2013 年進行的合併使我們能夠轉向一股一票制度。至於國家增值稅稅優惠的扣除問題，新法已經受到多方基於憲法的質疑。因此，現在判斷最終是否會對我們的結果產生影響以及影響程度如何還為時過早。

We will do our best to offset these headwinds as much as possible, be it the income statement impact, be it the cash flow generation impact where we see more opportunity given that we have other tax credits to be used over the next few years. This is important because it gives us time to reassess our capital structure in an orderly fashion as well as look for other opportunities within Ambev's corporate structure.

我們將盡最大努力盡可能地抵消這些不利因素，無論是對損益表的影響，還是對現金流的影響，鑑於我們在未來幾年可以使用其他稅收抵免，我們看到了更多的機會。這很重要，因為它讓我們有時間有序地重新評估我們的資本結構，並在 Ambev 的公司結構中尋找其他機會。

And finally, on the tax litigation front, we ended the year with BRL 95 billion in disputes with a possible, but not probable, chance of loss. During the year, we had a BRL 17 billion positive impact in these disputes due to favorable decisions at administrative or judicial courts as well as certain legislative changes. And so far in 2024, there have already been an additional $4 billion of favorable decisions as disclosed in [Note 32] to our financial statements. We will continue to keep the market updated as new developments arise in our main disputes, many of which we continue to expect will be subject to decisions at the administrative level during the year.

最後，在稅務訴訟方面，我們在年底時發生了 950 億雷亞爾的糾紛，有可能（但可能性不大）損失。年內，由於行政或司法法院的有利裁決以及某些立法變化，我們在這些糾紛中產生了 170 億雷亞爾的正面影響。到目前為止，2024 年，我們的財務報表[附註 32] 中揭露的有利決策已經增加了 40 億美元。隨著我們的主要糾紛出現新的進展，我們將繼續向市場通報最新情況，我們仍然預計其中許多糾紛將在年內得到行政層面的裁決。

Now Argentina. Our results under IFRS were materially impacted from an accounting standpoint given the Argentinian peso devaluation in mid-December of 124%. Page 15 of our press release contains a detailed description of the different impacts. However, we have been preparing for this for over a year, so we will continue to follow our game plan. And not all is bad news, though. Despite the accounting impact, the combination of operational performance, gradual reduction of our FX financial hedges and structural reduction of our exposure in U.S. dollars, allowed us to end 2023 having generated more cash flow in USD than in 2022. Capital controls have also eased, which has allowed us to begin repatriating funds.

現在是阿根廷。鑑於 12 月中旬阿根廷比索貶值 124%，我們根據 IFRS 得出的結果從會計角度來看受到了重大影響。我們的新聞稿第 15 頁詳細描述了不同的影響。然而，我們已經為此準備了一年多，所以我們將繼續遵循我們的遊戲計劃。不過，並非所有都是壞消息。儘管存在會計影響，但營運業績、外匯金融對沖的逐步減少以及美元敞口的結構性減少，使我們能夠在 2023 年底產生比 2022 年更多的美元現金流。資本管制也有所放鬆，這使我們能夠開始匯回資金。

We still have a long road ahead, but we know what needs to be done, and the team has demonstrated its ability to execute and deliver despite these extraordinary circumstances. And speaking of the future, I wanted to call out that as from January 1, 2024, our definition of organic revenue growth will be amended to cap the price growth in Argentina to a maximum of 2% per month and corresponding adjustments will be made to the organic growth calculation of the income statement in our press releases going forward. We believe that given the circumstances, this more closely represents the underlying performance of the business. and is in line with practices adopted by other CPGs.

我們還有很長的路要走，但我們知道需要做什麼，儘管面臨這些特殊情況，團隊仍然展現了執行和交付的能力。談到未來，我想指出，從2024年1月1日起，我們對有機收入成長的定義將進行修改，將阿根廷的價格增長限制在每月2%以內，並對我們未來新聞稿中損益表的有機成長計算。我們認為，考慮到這種情況，這更能代表企業的基本績效。並與其他 CPG 採取的做法一致。

Turning to our financial priorities for 2024. It's all about consistency. We will continue to focus on liquidity, financial discipline, profitability, value creation and capital allocation. We have important headwinds indeed. However, since 2020, we've had to navigate a lot of uncertainty and volatility, but we found ways to overcome them to keep delivering growth, profitability, resilient cash flows all while building our path to sustainable long-term value creation.

談到我們 2024 年的財務優先事項。一切都與一致性有關。我們將繼續關注流動性、財務紀律、獲利能力、價值創造和資本配置。我們確實面臨著重要的阻力。然而，自2020 年以來，我們必須應對許多不確定性和波動性，但我們找到了克服這些不確定性和波動性的方法，以保持成長、獲利能力和彈性現金流，同時建立可持續的長期價值創造之路。

Finally, before moving to Q&A, I would just like to call out some of our highlights on the sustainability front. Sustainability is about impact. And in 2023, we took concrete steps towards that end, particularly on the environmental front. Our 2025 environmental commitments are on track. We were the first company of the brewing sector in Latin America to receive final approval for our emission reduction target from the science-based targets initiative. We closed the year with an average of 2.37 liters of water used per liter of beverage produced improving by more than 8% versus 2022 as well as with 15 carbon-neutral plants. More details to come in our sustainability report, which should come out in the coming months. Stay tuned.

最後，在進行問答之前，我想談談我們在永續發展方面的一些亮點。永續性關乎影響。 2023 年，我們為此採取了具體步驟，特別是在環境方面。我們的 2025 年環境承諾正步入正軌。我們是拉丁美洲釀酒業第一家獲得科學目標倡議最終批准減排目標的公司。到年底，我們生產每公升飲料的平均用水量為 2.37 公升，與 2022 年相比提高了 8% 以上，並擁有 15 家碳中和工廠。我們的永續發展報告將提供更多詳細信息，該報告應在未來幾個月內發布。敬請關注。

With that, let's go to Q&A.

接下來，讓我們進入問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Isabella Simonato with Bank of America.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自美國銀行的 Isabella Simonato。

Good afternoon, everyone. I have a couple of questions. First of all, of course, on the cost side, right, for Brazil Beer. I think it was a consensus view that costs could decline more than probably what you guys announced given the movement that we saw on commodities and the FX relief, right, from the BRL. So I wonder if you could break that expectation down a little bit. I mean, you mentioned the [APP] and also the mix, right? So if we could split right, the key drivers of cost per hectoliter, I think that would be very, very helpful.

大家下午好。我有一些問題。首先，當然是在成本方面，對吧，對於巴西啤酒來說。我認為，鑑於我們看到大宗商品的走勢以及巴西雷亞爾的外匯減免，成本下降的幅度可能會比你們宣布的要大，這是一個共識。所以我想知道你是否可以稍微打破這個期望。我的意思是，您提到了 [APP] 以及組合，對吧？因此，如果我們能夠正確劃分每百公升成本的關鍵驅動因素，我認為這將非常非常有幫助。

The second thing is on SG&A, right? So you guys have said, delivered a more efficient SG&A in 2023. So I wonder when we don't see that much of a cost that you [went] in 2024, how SG&A plays out as a margin driver potentially for the year.

第二件事是SG&A，對吧？所以你們說過，在 2023 年交付了更有效率的 SG&A。所以我想知道，當我們沒有看到你們在 2024 年花費的那麼多成本時，SG&A 如何成為今年潛在的利潤驅動因素。

And finally, my last question is on Argentina. I think, of course, there was a big headwind from FX. But on the other hand, margins were quite strong as increased prices. So how can we think about the top line margin equation for 2024 in this new environment?

最後，我的最後一個問題是關於阿根廷的。我認為，當然，FX 帶來了很大的阻力。但另一方面，隨著價格上漲，利潤率相當高。那麼，在這種新環境下，我們該如何思考 2024 年的營收獲利方程式呢？

Isabella, this is Lucas. Let me kick off with question #1, and then we'll take the other 2, the SG&A [Jean will inch in on]. So with respect to cash COGS per hectoliter, a few points, Isabella. I think first, when we factor in only FX and commodities, right? And here commodities I'm referring to not only what we can financially hedge but also what we can physically hedge. And when we factor in efficiencies on top of that, we would get all else equal, we would get to a mid-single-digit decline in cash COGS per hectoliter, okay?

伊莎貝拉，這是盧卡斯。讓我從第 1 個問題開始，然後我們將討論另外 2 個問題，即 SG&A [Jean 將逐步介紹]。因此，就每百公升的現金銷貨成本而言，有幾點，伊莎貝拉。我想首先，當我們只考慮外匯和大宗商品時，對吧？在這裡，我指的商品不僅指我們可以在財務上對沖的商品，還指我們可以在物理上對沖的商品。除此之外，當我們考慮效率時，我們將在其他條件相同的情況下，每百公升的現金銷售成本將出現中等個位數的下降，好嗎？

However, when we account for the higher premium mix right? I think we had some commentary on how our premium volumes are growing well ahead of the rest of our volumes of our brands. And it's important to remind everybody that there's a benefit in obviously the mix shifting more towards premium because even though it impacts COGS, it has a positive effect in net revenue per hectoliter and in terms of profitability, right? Then when we factor in as well the payables fair value adjustment, which, by the way, has a virtually neutral effect on net income, right, because there's the impact on our finance results.

然而，當我們考慮到更高的保費組合時，對嗎？我認為我們對我們的優質銷售如何遠遠領先於我們品牌的其他銷售的成長有一些評論。重要的是要提醒大家，顯然，這種組合更多地轉向高端是有好處的，因為即使它影響銷貨成本，它也會對每百升淨收入和盈利能力產生積極影響，對吧？然後，當我們將應付帳款公允價值調整考慮在內時，順便說一下，這對淨利潤的影響幾乎是中性的，對吧，因為這對我們的財務表現有影響。

And then general inflation and, to a lesser extent, kind of change in royalties because there was a new law passed last year. That's how we get to the low single-digit guidance. Those are kind of the building blocks. So if we were to look only at FX and commodities, mid-single digits, but when you factor in premium mix, payables fair value adjustment, inflation and the royalties, you get to you get to the low single digits that we're providing guidance for. And within those 4, the 2 biggest ones are really the ones that we called out on the press release, which is [Mix], number one, and number two, the NPV. And those two correspond to more than 50% of the impact, okay?

然後是普遍的通貨膨脹，以及在較小程度上，由於去年通過了一項新法律，特許權使用費發生了某種變化。這就是我們得出低個位數指引的方式。這些都是構建塊。因此，如果我們只關注外匯和大宗商品，中間個位數，但當你考慮溢價組合、應付帳款公允價值調整、通貨膨脹和特許權使用費時，你就會得到我們提供的低個位數指導.在這 4 項中，最大的 2 項確實是我們在新聞稿中提到的，即排名第一的 [Mix] 和排名第二的 NPV。這兩者對應的影響超過 50%，好嗎？

Isabella, Jean here. So moving into SG&A. I think SG&A was -- it was a great year for SG&A in 2023. Cash SG&A declined by 2.3% year-over-year in Q4, right? It was a combination of a good grip on administrative expenses. Basically, because we changed the way we operate, working more as a platform with less silos and really leveraging the whole company for all the business that we have, like beer, nobs, innovation, tech. So there was a big reshuffle internally that led to a very good performance on (inaudible), the investments in tech that made us more efficient; two, distribution did very well. The combination of commodities and higher efficiency in our logistics footprint with Ze delivery efficiencies kick in. So these are 2 high note points.

伊莎貝拉，讓在這裡。所以進入SG&A。我認為 SG&A 2023 年對 SG&A 來說是偉大的一年。第四季現金 SG&A 年比下降了 2.3%，對嗎？這是對行政費用的良好控制的結合。基本上，因為我們改變了營運方式，更多地作為一個平台來工作，減少孤島，並真正利用整個公司來開展我們擁有的所有業務，例如啤酒、nobs、創新、技術。因此，內部進行了一次大的改組，這導致了（聽不清楚）技術投資的出色表現，使我們提高了效率；二、發行做得很好。商品和物流足跡的更高效率以及 Ze 交付效率的結合開始發揮作用。因此，這是兩個重點。

And moving forward, looking ahead, we are seeing more of (inaudible) coming back in to (inaudible) as I referenced inflation. We begin to see an equation where we're going to put more fire on sales and marketing really to support our portfolio, support the brand, but with a more disciplined CapEx. So this combination of a very rational CapEx after years investing in technology capacity of brewery, we feel comfortable with the level that we are but time for us to invest more in the brands and distribution will be a good year for the distribution expenses again.

展望未來，我們會看到更多（聽不清楚）回到我提到的通貨膨脹（聽不清楚）。我們開始看到一個等式，我們將加強銷售和行銷力度，真正支持我們的產品組合、支援品牌，但資本支出更加嚴格。因此，經過多年對啤酒廠技術能力的投資，我們對目前的水平感到滿意，但我們對品牌和分銷進行更多投資的時間將再次成為分銷費用的好年頭。

Okay. Moving to Argentina. So yes, Argentina, I think we changed the way we operated over there. We created a new playbook of commercial and finance playbook on the way we would operate. We changed the way we did deals with suppliers. We changed the way we priced our product. We changed the way we hedged ourselves from more financial hedge to more operational hedge. So it's a completely changed on how to operate. It paid off last year. So in the end, we ended the year of -- even though with this impact on the translation on the P&L, cash wise, we really end up in a good place with more cash in the bank being able to begin to bring cash back in 2024 now in the beginning of the year.

好的。搬到阿根廷。所以，是的，阿根廷，我認為我們改變了在那裡的運作方式。我們根據我們的營運方式創建了一個新的商業和金融劇本。我們改變了與供應商進行交易的方式。我們改變了產品定價方式。我們改變了對沖方式，從更多的財務對沖轉向更多的營運對沖。所以操作方式完全改變了。去年就得到了回報。因此，最終，我們結束了這一年——儘管對損益表的換算產生了影響，但在現金方面，我們確實處於一個好位置，銀行中有更多現金，能夠開始將現金帶回現在是2024年年初。

And what we're going to see in Argentina now, it is that's a correction overall in the industry in volumes as the price follows what's going on in the inflation. And the biggest part of margin expansion will kind of stay moving forward, but the big upside was really in this year. So now it is to protect ourselves on the inflation and understand how it's going to be the resilience of the consumers over there. And based on that, we are going to play a very nimble over there, really disciplined, but we have to understand where the volumes will land.

我們現在將在阿根廷看到的是，隨著價格跟隨通貨膨脹的變化，整個行業的銷售將出現調整。利潤率擴張的最大部分將繼續向前推進，但今年確實出現了巨大的上升空間。所以現在我們要保護自己免受通貨膨脹的影響，並了解那裡的消費者的彈性。基於此，我們將在那裡發揮非常靈活的作用，非常有紀律，但我們必須了解銷售將落在哪裡。

And then just to add one comment here, Jean. If you go beyond EBITDA in Argentina going back to Jean's comment around focus on free cash flow in U.S. dollars, I think another point of note for 2024 that given that our hedge position, right, in Argentina was reduced significantly and we started the year without financial hedge, we should, during the course of the year, not have, right, the carry cost impact. And that should also help us deliver free cash flow in U.S. dollars as well. Okay, Isabella.

然後在這裡添加一條評論，Jean。如果你超越阿根廷的 EBITDA，回到 Jean 關於關注美元自由現金流的評論，我認為 2024 年的另一個值得注意的點是，考慮到我們在阿根廷的對沖頭寸大幅減少，而且我們年初時沒有金融對沖，我們在這一年中應該不會受到持有成本的影響。這也應該有助於我們提供以美元計價的自由現金流。好吧，伊莎貝拉。

The next question comes from Leonardo Alencar with XP.

下一個問題來自 Leonardo Alencar 的 XP。

I have two questions, mostly focused on Brazil. You mentioned the decrease in volume for the fourth quarter because there's a hard comps due to the World Cup in 2022. But then when we look at the prices, it was quite a positive surprise to see the 7.2% net revenue per hectoliter to increase. I understand that probably a good part of that increase is due to the volumes of premium increasing as well. But then I wanted to understand to get a little more color into this. If there was room for volume increase and the strategies is different or if there's changing in strategy for the short term as well. What you're expecting from the first quarter if the events, Carnival and everything is also doing well. If it's going to be more room for volumes in the next quarter but that was a very good number to see the price increase despite the volume coming lower?

我有兩個問題，主要集中在巴西。您提到第四季度銷量下降，因為 2022 年世界盃帶來了硬性競爭。但當我們查看價格時，看到每百升淨收入增長 7.2%，真是令人驚喜。據我了解，這種增長的很大一部分可能是由於保費數量的增加。但後來我想了解一下，以便對此有更多的了解。銷量是否有增加的空間且策略有所不同，或者短期策略是否也有變化。如果活動、嘉年華和一切都進展順利的話，你對第一季的期望是什麼。下個季度的銷量是否會有更大的空間，但儘管銷量下降，但價格上漲是一個非常好的數字？

And the second question is regarding the nonalcoholic beverages. We've mentioned the third-party distribution that helped increase volumes but also impacted negatively the prices. I wanted to look to get a bit of understanding on that because for the last quarters, we've been seeing the strong performance of BEES helping NAB and this strategy was positive for volume, but then sacrificing prices. It was interesting to see that. So just to get a better understanding of just two questions.

第二個問題是關於非酒精飲料的。我們已經提到了第三方分銷有助於增加銷量，但也對價格產生了負面影響。我想對此有一些了解，因為在過去的幾個季度中，我們看到 BEES 幫助 NAB 取得了強勁的表現，這種策略對銷量有積極作用，但隨後犧牲了價格。看到這一點很有趣。所以只是為了更好地理解兩個問題。

Hello, thank you for the question. Let me try to give you a broader overview on Brazil once you asked about Q4 and Q1. So we are very happy with the Brazil beer performance. Brazil was very solid in 2023. It was a great year in our view, looking back to 2019 when -- like before the pandemic and in 2023, the industry of the country grew 11 million hectoliters and 100% of this growth came to us, okay? So when we compare 2023 with 2019, 100% of the industry growth came to our products. And we made it clear that in 2023, we had a priority that it was once top line was very resilient and growing. It was time for us to reignite margins, and it was a year of 500 basis points of margin expansion that was very solid. So the combination of the journey of really volumes up, strong top line and then recovering margins in 2023, that it was our priority. We really felt that it was great.

您好，謝謝您的提問。當您詢問第四季度和第一季時，讓我嘗試向您提供有關巴西的更廣泛的概述。所以我們對巴西啤酒的表現非常滿意。巴西在2023 年表現非常強勁。回顧2019 年，我們認為這是偉大的一年，就像大流行之前和2023 年一樣，該國的工業增長了1100 萬百升，而這一增長的100% 都來自我們，好的？因此，當我們將 2023 年與 2019 年進行比較時，100% 的產業成長都來自我們的產品。我們明確表示，到 2023 年，我們的首要任務是讓收入變得非常有彈性並且不斷成長。現在是我們重新激發利潤率的時候了，這一年利潤率擴張了 500 個基點，非常穩健。因此，我們的首要任務是在 2023 年實現銷售的真正成長、強勁的營收以及利潤率的恢復。我們真的覺得那太好了。

So what we are seeing -- and then when you go to Q4, specifically, so we had a tough comp of the World Cup. So as -- I mentioned in last quarter that the performance of volumes in Q4 would be similar to the performance of the full year and it landed pretty much there with the caveat that we had a tough comp that we did a good World Cup in the previous year. So if you take this effect out, and as we move by the end of the quarter, what we are seeing it is that a strong industry in Brazil, that kind of surprised us because it's really resilient, and we are entering Q1 with a lot of momentum because the industry is solid. And our market share is very well positioned for the start of the year. So what we saw, it is really volumes igniting into 2024.

所以我們所看到的——特別是當你進入第四季度時，我們在世界盃上的表現非常艱難。因此，我在上個季度提到，第四季度的銷售表現將與全年的表現相似，而且它幾乎達到了這一水平，但需要注意的是，我們的競爭非常激烈，我們在世界盃上表現出色。前一年。因此，如果去掉這種影響，當我們在本季度末採取行動時，我們看到的是巴西的一個強大的行業，這讓我們感到驚訝，因為它確實具有彈性，我們進入第一季時有很多動力強勁，因為產業穩固。今年年初，我們的市佔率處於非常有利的位置。所以我們看到，到 2024 年，銷量確實會激增。

When we talk about prices, I always mention that -- so [EPCI] is a reference for us to us, it measures the basket and disposable income of our consumers is another one. And then on top of that, we have the plus and minus of mix. Sometimes you have brand mix helping, sometimes you have regions negatively appointed as we are growing into Midwest into Northeast and Northwest, but it was very solid the price in Q4 overall to [beer] and we're going to continue to aim the (inaudible) with the plus and minus of our performance, okay?

當我們談論價格時，我總是提到——所以 [EPCI] 對我們來說是一個參考，它衡量我們消費者的籃子和可支配收入是另一個參考。除此之外，我們還有混合的優點和缺點。有時你有品牌組合的幫助，有時你有負面指定的地區，因為我們正在向中西部發展到東北和西北，但第四季度的總體價格對[啤酒]來說非常穩定，我們將繼續瞄準（聽不清） ）以及我們表現的優缺點，好嗎？

So but what we see in beer is really volumes accelerating, okay? When we come to NABs, we launched it by the end of the quarter, the new variant of Guarana, Antarctica Zero. And it was amazing to see the response of the trade and of the consumers about the product. It didn't impact the full Q4, it will impact fully the Q1 of this year, and we are super excited about how it is performing. So part of our volumes was that and it's amazing how consumers are saying that there is no difference into Guarana Antarctica regular with sugar in this new Guarana with no sugar. So the ability to acquire new consumers with Guarana Zero is being amazing.

所以，我們在啤酒中看到的確實是銷量在增加，好嗎？當我們談到 NAB 時，我們在本季度末推出了瓜拉納的新變體「南極洲零」。看到產業和消費者對該產品的反應真是令人驚訝。它沒有影響整個第四季度，它將完全影響今年的第一季度，我們對它的表現感到非常興奮。所以我們的部分銷售就是這樣的，令人驚訝的是，消費者說，在這種新的無糖瓜拉納中，常規加糖的南極瓜拉納沒有任何區別。因此，瓜拉納零吸引新消費者的能力是驚人的。

So having said that, the biggest impact that we have in the net revenue per hectoliter of NAB, it was more on the VAT change than on the mix, okay? And the mix, these things happened. It was a combination of expanding into Midwest and Northeast and North that a part of the distribution cost kicks in the net revenue per hectoliter because the wholesaler compensation kicks on the net revenue per hectoliter. It is something that we're going to see this part of the equation happening as we grow towards Midwest, North and Northeast, but it's something manageable inside the whole mix that we have. So single serve, it is something that we have to drive energy [Red Bull] with something that has another. So we have another levers to compensate in this equation of moving Northeast, Midwest. That is something really that is planned, something that we want to do, and it will continue to do that. It benefits a little bit the SG&A too so because we allocate in others. So this is planned, and it's something that is intentional.

話雖如此，我們對每百升 NAB 淨收入的最大影響更多的是增值稅變化而不是混合，好嗎？混合在一起，這些事情就發生了。這是向中西部、東北部和北部擴張的結合，部分分銷成本計入每百升的淨收入，因為批發商補償計入每百升的淨收入。當我們向中西部、北部和東北部發展時，我們將看到這部分的情況發生，但在我們現有的整個組合中，這是可以管理的。所以單發球，我們必須用另一種東西來驅動能量[紅牛]。因此，我們還有另一個槓桿來補償東北、中西部移動的等式。這確實是計劃好的事情，我們想做的事情，而且我們將繼續這樣做。它對SG&A 也有一點好處，因為我們在其他方面進行分配。所以這是有計劃的，也是有意為之的。

Okay. For now, I believe it's 100% clear. Just a quick follow-up, just to get your perspective. This reaction to the lower volume in Brazil seems that the most investors are kind of expect something different than what you've been disclosing for the last few quarters. As you mentioned, the expectation was really to focus on margins now. And despite seeing that delivered, we're still hearing lots of questions regarding the volumes coming lower than expected just to get your feeling on that.

好的。現在，我相信一切已經 100% 清楚了。只是快速跟進，只是為了了解您的觀點。對巴西成交量下降的這種反應似乎表明大多數投資者的預期與您過去幾季披露的情況有所不同。正如您所提到的，現在的期望實際上是專注於利潤率。儘管看到了這一成果，但我們仍然聽到很多關於銷量低於預期的問題，只是為了了解您的感受。

Yes. So I'm not exactly sure about the reactions at this point on our Q4. I'll tell you that we are excited about 2 KPIs. So 2024, we are confident on volumes. We started well, it was something that at some point in time, beginning of 2023, I mentioned that was the big question mark because every other thing is on our hands. So let's see how the industry will be resilient. So I'm much more confident in terms of industry and volumes and our market share performance in 2024. So I'm really confident on that, that this will accelerate, as I mentioned in my summary.

是的。所以我不太確定第四季目前的反應。我會告訴您，我們對 2 個 KPI 感到興奮。因此，我們對 2024 年的銷售充滿信心。我們起步不錯，在 2023 年初的某個時間點，我提到這是一個很大的問號，因為其他所有事情都在我們手上。那麼讓我們看看這個行業將如何保持彈性。因此，我對 2024 年的行業、銷量以及我們的市場份額表現更加有信心。所以我對此非常有信心，正如我在總結中提到的那樣，這將會加速。

And another thing is that even though despite all the noisy and the changes in the hyperinflation and the discussion on the tax side, free cash flow generation is something that we stepped up in 2023, and it will stay solid into 2024. So 2024 volumes and cash, I'm really -- we are really confident on that.

另一件事是，儘管惡性通貨膨脹以及稅收方面的討論存在所有噪音和變化，但自由現金流的產生是我們在2023 年加強的事情，並且它將在2024 年保持穩定。所以2024 年的交易量和現金，我真的——我們對此非常有信心。

The next question comes from Ben Theurer with Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Ben Theurer。

Yes. Just wanted to follow-up on your expectations just from the last question as it relates to the volume outlook across the different verticals. Maybe help (technical difficulty) and what you're going to do differently in order to drive a volume upside from a commercial perspective? How should we think about marketing expense into 2024 on the execution side? And how do your digital platforms play a role in helping you getting that growth you just talked about?

是的。只是想跟進您上一個問題的期望，因為它與不同垂直領域的銷售前景有關。也許有幫助（技術難度），為了從商業角度推動銷售量上升，您將採取哪些不同的做法？我們該如何考慮 2024 年執行的行銷費用？您的數位平台如何發揮作用來幫助您實現剛才談到的成長？

So we've been building for a while now this new portfolio of brands that we started like innovating in white spaces and really supporting a basket of brands in a more intense way, like really unlocking corona capacity that is something that 2 years ago I couldn't do. And during this period, we invested a lot on capabilities on our supply side to be able to sell Corona this pattern performance that is something to -- that is doing great.

因此，我們已經建立這個新的品牌組合有一段時間了，我們開始在空白領域進行創新，並以更強烈的方式真正支持一籃子品牌，例如真正釋放新冠病毒的能力，這是兩年前我無法做到的不做。在此期間，我們在供應方面投入了大量資金，以便能夠向 Corona 出售這種模式性能，這非常出色。

So Budweiser is another brand that really reignite -- reignited in the previous year and as a strong growth. So somehow, we've been building a better portfolio. So the KPI that we follow, there is love from our consumers towards our portfolio continue to increase. I have 4 million people more declaring that loves one of our brands in our portfolio. So this is really 4 million when we compare with 2019. So this is still growing.

因此，百威啤酒是另一個真正重新煥發活力的品牌——在前一年重新煥發活力，並實現強勁增長。因此，不知何故，我們一直在建立更好的產品組合。因此，我們遵循的 KPI，消費者對我們產品組合的喜愛度不斷增加。還有 400 萬人宣稱喜愛我們產品組合中的某個品牌。與 2019 年相比，這實際上是 400 萬。所以這個數字仍在增長。

So somehow, we are very well set in our portfolio, and we made a statement on the premium side, right? So 2023 was a year that we -- you really win on the high end materially, right? So it was really a year where Corona performance, Spaten performance. Stella is doing well. So our portfolio is very well set. We're going to allocate more money in marketing for these brands. So this is in our plan. And we're going to continue to increase with really investing on platforms, bringing platforms from the U.S. to work down in Brazil. So somehow marketing dollars is something that we're going to -- we'll be investing ahead of inflation.

因此，不知何故，我們的投資組合非常完善，並且我們在溢價方面發表了聲明，對吧？所以 2023 年是我們在高端領域真正取得實質勝利的一年，對嗎？所以這確實是 Corona 表現、Spaten 表現的一年。斯特拉做得很好。所以我們的投資組合非常完善。我們將為這些品牌的行銷投入更多資金。所以這在我們的計劃中。我們將繼續增加對平台的真正投資，將美國的平台引入巴西。因此，以某種方式行銷美元是我們要做的事情——我們將在通貨膨脹之前進行投資。

The good news is that the CapEx really to produce Corona, to have the capability to produce nationally. And the CapEx that we had it should do digital platform. So the big tick is behind us, now I can be more rational on that and I have the capabilities moving forward. And so on top of that, I'm seeing -- I saw the industry in Brazil. So we are seeing -- we have been seeing that by the end of the last year, and we've seen the start of 2024 with momentum industry overall, our market share overall, and we did a great carnival. So somehow a little bit more rational CapEx, more money to support brands, a very good performance on the high end and important innovations that are really coming in the pipeline.

好消息是，資本支出確實可以生產 Corona，有能力在全國範圍內生產。我們的資本支出應該用於數位平台。所以大問題已經過去了，現在我可以更理性地對待這一點，我有能力繼續前進。最重要的是，我看到了巴西的這個產業。所以我們看到——我們在去年年底就已經看到了這一點，我們已經看到 2024 年伊始，整個行業、我們的整體市場份額都呈現出強勁的勢頭，我們舉辦了一場盛大的嘉年華。因此，不知何故，資本支出更合理，支持品牌的資金更多，高階產品的表現非常好，以及真正正在醞釀中的重要創新。

So we have been investing on functionality in beer. So we have the zeros really accelerating. So but zero is a success and Corona zero is coming for the Olympics in the middle of the year. So this is very accretive and is doing very well. Stella, no gluten is involved into Stella Pure Gold with no gluten, low carbs. So this is really performing very well. We started by the end of last year, and it's really surprising us. And beyond beer is really something that we made a huge goal during the Carnival with the brand beats with this idea of putting famous cocktails in cans like we did with (inaudible) last year, we did now with [famous] drink here in Brazil that's called [Tropical], is yellow fruit with Gin that we put in the can and we'd explode it. So somehow brands better positioned, innovation working, digital platforms really supporting all this growth and the industry that looks good. So I'm really excited about our voyage.

因此，我們一直在啤酒的功能性方面進行投資。所以我們的零點確實在加速。所以，零已經是成功了，科羅納零將在今年年中的奧運會上亮相。所以這是非常有成效的，而且效果很好。 Stella，Stella Pure Gold 不含麩質，不含麩質，低碳水化合物。所以這確實表現得非常好。我們從去年年底開始，這確實讓我們感到驚訝。除了啤酒之外，我們在嘉年華期間還制定了一個巨大的目標，品牌的想法是將著名的雞尾酒放入罐中，就像我們去年（聽不清楚）所做的那樣，我們現在在巴西這裡用[著名的]飲料做了這件事稱為“熱帶”，是黃色水果和杜松子酒，我們將其放入罐中，然後將其爆炸。因此，不知何故，品牌定位更好，創新有效，數位平台真正支持了所有這些成長和看起來不錯的行業。所以我對我們的航行感到非常興奮。

The next question comes from Thiago Duarte with BTG Pactual.

下一個問題來自 BTG Pactual 的蒂亞戈·杜阿爾特 (Thiago Duarte)。

Yes, I was looking to go back to the discussion on the Brazil beer volumes in the portfolio. But with the hope of breaking down both the expectation for 2024 and also the performance in the fourth quarter of 2023, particularly with regards to the core and the core plus segment, right? I mean it's clear from many of the things that have been said already, you talk about a more balanced performance, top line performance between revenue per hectoliter and volume. Jean, you sounded very, very confident about the volume performance and the market share protection that you're intending to have in 2024.

是的，我想回到有關投資組合中巴西啤酒數量的討論。但希望既能打破對 2024 年的預期，又能打破 2023 年第四季的表現，特別是在核心和核心+部分方面，對嗎？我的意思是，從已經說過的許多事情中可以清楚地看出，您談論的是更平衡的性能，即每百升收入和銷量之間的頂線性能。 Jean，聽起來您對 2024 年的銷售表現和市佔率保護非常非常有信心。

So the question is really, what should we expect to be the toolkit for protecting the core and the core plus parts of your portfolio? Because as you said, you did a statement in the premium segment. That's clear. But it seems based on what we saw in Q4 that it's really these 2 parts other than the value, but in terms of the ones that are more representative. These are the 2 parts of the portfolio that lost a little bit more of market share and seem to be the ones that could command a better recovery in 2024. So just if you could elaborate on that. Is it just the pricing initiative or there is a lot more than that. So just if you could comment even from a competitive point of view.

所以問題實際上是，我們應該期望什麼工具包來保護您的投資組合的核心和核心加部分？因為正如你所說，你在高端市場做了一份聲明。很清楚。但根據我們在第四季度看到的情況，似乎除了價值之外，確實是這兩部分，但就更具代表性的部分而言。投資組合中的這兩部分失去了更多的市場份額，但似乎可以在 2024 年實現更好的復甦。請您詳細說明。這只是定價舉措還是還有更多因素。所以，如果你能從競爭的角度發表評論的話。

And if I may, as well, and this one, I think it's to Lucas. Lucas, when you debated the impacts of the new regulation regarding the deductibility of IOC. Back in many conference calls ago, you mentioned that the company had a toolkit to address that. It's something you have been working on, either with regards to changing the Capital structure of the company. Is there anything now that we know what the final impact is going to be and how it affects your effective tax rate and so on. Is there anything that you could share with us already with regards to what we can expect in terms of either levering up the company, more dividends, acquisitions, capitalization of reserves, whatever? Something that we could expect to see going forward?

如果可以的話，我想也是給盧卡斯的。盧卡斯，當您討論有關國際奧委會扣除額的新規定的影響時。早在之前的許多電話會議中，您就提到該公司有一個工具包來解決這個問題。這是你一直在努力的事情，無論是關於改變公司的資本結構。現在我們知道最終的影響是什麼以及它如何影響您的有效稅率等等。關於我們在提高公司槓桿率、增加股利、收購、儲備資本化等方面的預期，您有什麼可以與我們分享的嗎？未來我們可以期待看到什麼？

Let me start with the volumes. So in the end, yes, I'm confident about volumes. Happy with the high end, as you mentioned, really doing well. What we envision for the core, it is that the core in 2023 was in line with my overall performance, okay? When we put my 3 brands, it was pretty much in line with my total okay? And what we see, it is that I aim to maintain my core brands in line with the industry. It's really something that we missed a little bit because we missed the total but somehow, I see my core brands with potential to perform in line with the overall industry.

讓我從卷開始。所以最後，是的，我對銷量充滿信心。正如您所提到的，對高端感到滿意，確實做得很好。我們對核心的想像是，2023年的核心符合我的整體表現，好嗎？當我們把我的 3 個品牌放在一起時，它與我的總數非常一致，好嗎？我們看到的是，我的目標是保持我的核心品牌與產業保持一致。這確實是我們錯過的一點，因為我們錯過了總數，但不知何故，我看到我的核心品牌有潛力與整個行業保持一致。

The high end is really -- there is a lot of growth over there, and we're going to see the core plus reigniting to the positive territory again with Budweiser really leading the way. And (inaudible) that was really an innovation that went up and it's finding its new base volumes in 2024. So the combination of these 2 brands will be positive again in 2024. With Budweiser really doing well. And the value is where we made a conscious decision in terms of revenue management, in terms of allocation of my supply capabilities to really be made the decision that I did on really reducing promotional activity over there. So what I see moving forward, it is a strong high end, a core plus reigniting in a core in line with the industry, and let's see where the value can land.

高端市場確實有很大的成長，我們將看到核心產品再次重新進入積極的領域，而百威啤酒確實處於領先地位。 （聽不清楚）這確實是一項創新，並且在 2024 年找到了新的基本銷售。因此，這兩個品牌的組合將在 2024 年再次發揮積極作用。百威確實表現出色。價值在於我們在收入管理方面做出了有意識的決定，在我的供應能力分配方面真正做出了我在真正減少那裡的促銷活動方面所做的決定。所以我認為未來的發展是一個強大的高端，一個核心加上重新點燃一個與產業一致的核心，讓我們看看價值能落地到哪裡。

Lucas here to cover your question on IOC. The alternatives that we have, Thiago, to seek to offset as much as we possibly can, right, the impact from an income statement standpoint or from a cash standpoint haven't changed. The first and perhaps the most important one in the short term relates to other tax credits that we have already recorded in our asset base, right? It's there in our financials. And so as the IOC is no longer deductible, right, at the same levels as in the past, we will look to right, use these other tax credits over time, and that should help us offset the cash impact, okay? That's where it will be most relevant, number one.

盧卡斯在這裡回答你關於國際奧委會的問題。蒂亞戈，我們擁有的替代方案是尋求盡可能抵消從損益表或現金角度來看的影響，這一點沒有改變。第一個，也許是短期內最重要的一個與我們已經記錄在資產基礎中的其他稅收抵免有關，對嗎？它存在於我們的財務中。因此，由於國際奧委會不再可扣除，對吧，與過去相同的水平，我們將尋求正確的方法，隨著時間的推移使用這些其他稅收抵免，這應該有助於我們抵消現金影響，好嗎？這就是它最相關的地方，第一。

Number two, the capital structure, you're right, we have alluded to this in the past, and this continues to be an alternative. But it's an alternative that we are still in the process of reassessing. No decision has been made yet, in part because of the fact that we have these other tax credits to use. So there isn't necessarily in the short term, a need to revise the capital structure just yet, but it's a live conversation internally and this will be discussed with the Ambev Board in due course.

第二，資本結構，你是對的，我們過去已經提到過這一點，而且這仍然是一種替代方案。但這是我們仍在重新評估的替代方案。尚未做出任何決定，部分原因是我們還有其他稅收抵免可供使用。因此，短期內不一定需要修改資本結構，但這是內部的即時對話，並將在適當的時候與 Ambev 董事會進行討論。

And then number three, as I've mentioned in the past, we also have within the Ambev corporate structure, certain transactions, right, between Ambev and its subsidiaries in Brazil and abroad that may be revisited over time again, given that we have these other tax credits to use in the meantime, but we're also in the process of revising those, okay? And as we have more clarity in connection with this combination of other tax credits, reviewed capital structure and corporate transactions within the Ambev structure, we will obviously update the market from time to time, but that's what we have for now.

第三，正如我過去提到的，我們在Ambev 公司結構內也有Ambev 及其在巴西和國外的子公司之間的某些交易，鑑於我們有這些，隨著時間的推移，這些交易可能會再次被重新審視。同時使用其他稅收抵免，但我們也在修改這些稅收抵免，好嗎？隨著我們對其他稅收抵免的組合、審查資本結構和 Ambev 結構內的公司交易有了更清晰的了解，我們顯然會不時更新市場，但這就是我們目前所擁有的。

The next question comes from Carlos Laboy with HSBC.

下一個問題來自匯豐銀行的卡洛斯·拉博伊。

Might you comment on the rhetoric that's coming from the European spirit side that, that spirits consumers in Brazil are trading down into beer. And I'm asking because is it possible that perhaps beer is premiumizing better and holding on to beer consumers better and capturing and holding on to women in the category better. And that's really what the dynamic is that we're seeing starting to happen. In other words, premiumizing a beer rather than down trading from spirits.

您能否評論一下歐洲烈酒的言論，即巴西的烈酒消費者正在轉而購買啤酒。我問這個問題是因為啤酒是否有可能更好地高端化，更好地留住啤酒消費者，並更好地吸引和留住該類別中的女性。這確實是我們所看到的正在發生的動態。換句話說，就是提升啤酒的品質，而不是降低烈酒的銷售量。

Laboy, in the long run, beer category is very healthy down here in Brazil in terms of share of [throat] in terms of being part of the culture of the young generation in Brazil, as we are seeing really excitement about our category. We are in a good level of share of throat when we compare with other countries. But still, we see upside on regions, North and Northeast, for example, on occasions.

Laboy，從長遠來看，就成為巴西年輕一代文化的一部分而言，啤酒類別在巴西的市場份額非常健康，因為我們看到我們的類別非常令人興奮。與其他國家相比，我們處於領先水準。但我們仍然偶爾看到北部和東北部地區的上漲。

If I could break down a little bit occasions to you, so beer, it really leads on this social bonding occasion. It's the main product for social bonding and our stronghold is there. But we are seeing that high-end brands has been able to gain traction in occasions like mixed social bonding, relaxation pretty much led by Corona, for example. Food out of home with (inaudible) really being brands that really part of this occasion in Brazil and Paris, okay?

如果我可以向您介紹一些場合，那麼啤酒，它確實可以促進這種社交聯繫。它是社交聯繫的主要產品，也是我們的據點。但我們看到，高端品牌已經能夠在混合社交、休閒等場合獲得吸引力，例如新冠病毒主導的休閒活動。外出美食（聽不清楚）確實是巴西和巴黎這次活動的一部分的品牌，好嗎？

So we are seeing that we maintain our stronghold in occasions. We are gaining traction in mixed gender, in relaxation, in [food out of home] and we are again closing the gap in parties overall that we see overall spirits with a strong performance. Somehow, when we look at consumer -- so the average consumer of beer and spirits is the same. Usually, we have 50% of the consumers that transitioned in between the 2 categories, but what we are seeing is that the high-end beers are being able to be more time with this consumer because it's really leading in new occasions for beer.

所以我們看到我們有時會維持我們的據點。我們在混合性別、放鬆、[外出美食]方面越來越受歡迎，我們再次縮小了派對整體上的差距，我們看到整體精神表現強勁。不知何故，當我們觀察消費者時，啤酒和烈酒的平均消費者是相同的。通常，我們有 50% 的消費者在這兩個類別之間進行轉換，但我們看到的是，高端啤酒能夠花更多時間與這些消費者在一起，因為它確實引領了啤酒的新場合。

I think another point it is that this round of innovation that we had in Brazil that the (inaudible) established in the Brazilian market and the (inaudible) came and then the pallets that were more bitter like [Beck's] and the craft and now we spot income coming with this concept of being stronger. And the zero beers and the low carb beers coming, and we have seen a lot of traction on functionality on zero and low carbs. I think this is -- it was a strategy that reopened the connection of beer with another occasions with the same consumer that goes into the 2 categories, okay?

我認為另一點是，我們在巴西進行的這一輪創新，（聽不清楚）在巴西市場建立起來，（聽不清楚）出現了，然後是像[貝克的]那樣更苦的托盤和工藝，現在我們現貨收入伴隨著這種走強的概念而來。零啤酒和低碳水化合物啤酒即將到來，我們已經看到了零碳水化合物和低碳水化合物功能的巨大吸引力。我認為這是一種策略，重新打開了啤酒與其他場合的聯繫，而同一消費者進入這兩個類別，好嗎？

So somehow, I'm really excited about the category about the things we have been doing. And on top of that, we have beyond beer on fire. We are super excited about this unit is something that we are seeding for 2 years right now. And we accomplished the mark of BRL 1 billion in gross revenue last year and with a really good momentum and performance. So the ability to innovate and it's really connected with the young generation. So somehow excited about the category, I mean, excited about the brands and the products that we developed in the last years.

所以不知何故，我對我們一直在做的事情的類別感到非常興奮。最重要的是，我們不僅有啤酒著火。我們對這個單元感到非常興奮，這是我們現在已經播種了兩年的東西。去年我們的總收入達到了 10 億雷亞爾，勢頭和業績都非常好。因此，創新能力與年輕一代確實息息相關。所以某種程度上對這個類別感到興奮，我的意思是，對我們過去幾年開發的品牌和產品感到興奮。

The next question comes from Lucas Ferreira with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的盧卡斯費雷拉。

So my question is about the international operations. So in 2023, those took a bit of the shine of the Brazil, very good results. So I was wondering if you could do a quick recap on each of those, maybe skipping Argentina since we spoke about Argentina already, but what to expect for 2024 in terms of especially volume recovery. But since you gave some guidance on Brazil COGS, if you can also kind of -- at least qualitatively touch on potentially margin recovery for those operations as well. talking about Canada, what to expect for volumes top line and Central America, that would be great.

我的問題是關於國際運營的。所以在2023年，巴西隊取得了一些輝煌的成績，非常好的成績。因此，我想知道您是否可以快速回顧其中的每一個，也許可以跳過阿根廷，因為我們已經談到了阿根廷，但在特別是銷量恢復方面，2024 年會發生什麼。但既然您對巴西銷貨成本給了一些指導，如果您也能至少定性地探討這些業務的潛在利潤恢復情況。談論加拿大，對銷量的預期以及中美洲，那就太好了。

I mean you're right. I think our international operations in 2023 dealt with, right, many different circumstances, geography by geography. I think last, we've already covered today with the commentary on Argentina and Jean in his prepared remarks talked about how the other last countries, right, continue to perform well, delivering mid-single -- mid-teens EBITDA growth in the quarter, and they had a good year as well. So between Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay, we had a good 2023, obviously, right? More to do in 2024, but we're happy with the performance outside of Argentina in LAS.

我的意思是你是對的。我認為我們 2023 年的國際業務會處理不同地區的許多不同情況。我想最後，我們今天已經報道了對阿根廷的評論，讓在他準備好的講話中談到了最後其他國家如何繼續表現良好，在本季度實現了中等至十幾歲的 EBITDA 增長，他們也度過了美好的一年。因此，玻利維亞、智利和巴拉圭，我們顯然在 2023 年度過了美好的一年，對吧？ 2024 年還有更多工作要做，但我們對阿根廷以外的 LAS 比賽的表現感到滿意。

And as we've been mentioning in the past, when you look at cash flow performance, right. I think Argentina did very well given the circumstances, and that's kind of supported further in terms of cash flow generation in LAS as a whole, given the performance of Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay.

正如我們過去提到的，當你查看現金流表現時，對吧。我認為考慮到目前的情況，阿根廷的表現非常好，考慮到玻利維亞、智利和巴拉圭的表現，這在整個 LAS 的現金流生成方面得到了進一步的支持。

As you move north, if you look at CAC, I think CAC had obviously an important recovery throughout 2023. And this is true not only on a year-over-year basis, but also sequentially how the Dominican Republic, which led this recovery, right, manage to improve quarter after quarter on a sequential basis was also -- gives us confidence that we're on the right track. And one data point that for us has been relevant in 2023 is that if you compare our 2023 performance in the Dominican Republic in particular, with our 2021 performance because 2022 was down right?

當你向北移動時，如果你看看 CAC，我認為 CAC 顯然在 2023 年經歷了重要的復甦。不僅逐年如此，而且引領這次復甦的多明尼加共和國也是如此，是的，設法逐季連續改進也讓我們相信我們走在正確的軌道上。對我們來說，2023 年相關的一個數據點是，如果您將我們 2023 年在多明尼加共和國的表現與我們 2021 年的表現進行比較，因為 2022 年有所下降，對嗎？

The facts are that the Dominican Republic delivered kind of a record performance in 2023, even when compared with the higher performance in 2021. So that gives us confidence as a data point that we're on the right track. And then when you double-click into the dynamics, you see our Presidente, right, family of brands really coming back and that gives us optimism going forward that as we continue to take, right, the Presidente family forward. And if we do a good job with respect to the other kind of segments within our portfolio, be it core plus, be it premium because these are still underrepresented in that part of Latin America. We see more room for growth in the Dominican Republic, and that should also help CAC because the Dominican Republic represents roughly 80% of CAC. So it's going to be a combination of Presidente, Corona, Modelo Especial in the [DR] that we're going to focus on going forward.

事實是，多明尼加共和國在 2023 年的表現創下了創紀錄的水平，即使與 2021 年的更高表現相比也是如此。因此，作為一個數據點，這讓我們相信我們走在正確的軌道上。然後，當您雙擊動態時，您會看到我們的 Presidente（右）品牌系列真正回歸，這讓我們對未來充滿樂觀，因為我們繼續帶領 Presidente（右）系列前進。如果我們在我們的投資組合中的其他類型細分市場方面做得很好，無論是核心優勢還是高端細分市場，因為這些細分市場在拉丁美洲的該地區的代表性仍然不足。我們看到多明尼加共和國有更大的成長空間，這也應該有助於 CAC，因為多明尼加共和國約佔 CAC 的 80%。因此，我們將重點放在 [DR] 中的 Presidente、Corona、Modelo Especial 的組合。

And then if you go to Canada, I think Canada had a very difficult year. And so as far as volumes are concerned, the big drag was the industry, unfortunately, not only beer, but also beyond beer. We did lose market share basically due to kind of mainstream volume performance because if you look at Corona and Michelob Ultra, they delivered solid performance in 2023, not only in terms of volume growth but also market share and brand health indicators. And so going forward, the focus in Canada will continue to be behind the trade up, the premiumization of the portfolio because that's where we do see momentum, and we also have to improve our performance beyond the beer side of the portfolio as well.

如果你去加拿大，我認為加拿大度過了非常困難的一年。不幸的是，就銷量而言，最大的拖累是整個行業，不僅是啤酒，還包括啤酒以外的行業。我們確實失去了市場份額，主要是由於主流銷量表現，因為如果你看看 Corona 和 Michelob Ultra，你會發現它們在 2023 年表現強勁，不僅在銷量增長方面，而且在市場份額和品牌健康指標方面。因此，展望未來，加拿大的重點將繼續是貿易成長和投資組合的高端化，因為這是我們確實看到的動力，而且我們還必須提高投資組合啤酒以外的績效。

And then my last comment is, even though we did see industry drag in Canada, even though we still saw in CAC, right, challenges in Panama, for instance, when you look at the cash flow performance in both geographies, right? We had actually a better performance year-over-year. So right, we see the different dynamics on the EBITDA side. And obviously, we have some work to do in many of these markets. But when you look at what the team managed to do in terms of cash flow performance, LAS delivered better cash flow, CAC deliver better cash flow and Canada delivered better cash flow year-over-year. So when you add to that, the performance in Brazil, that's how we got to the record operational cash flow performance for the company as a whole. Thanks for the question.

我最後的評論是，儘管我們確實看到了加拿大的行業拖累，儘管我們仍然看到了 CAC，對吧，巴拿馬的挑戰，例如，當你看看這兩個地區的現金流表現時，對嗎？事實上，我們的表現同比更好。沒錯，我們看到了 EBITDA 方面的不同動態。顯然，我們在許多這樣的市場上還有一些工作要做。但是，當您查看團隊在現金流績效方面所做的工作時，LAS 提供了更好的現金流，CAC 提供了更好的現金流，而加拿大則同比提供了更好的現金流。因此，當你加上巴西的業績時，這就是我們整個公司創紀錄的營運現金流業績的原因。謝謝你的提問。

Super brief, if I may, a quick follow-up. Last year, I remember the guidance was that Brazil's EBITDA growth -- organic growth would be pushing the average higher. So do you still think that this should be the case for 2024? Or you think international ops will probably outpace Brazil in '24?

如果可以的話，超級簡短，快速跟進。去年，我記得指導方針是巴西的 EBITDA 成長——有機成長將推高平均值。那麼您仍然認為 2024 年應該是這樣嗎？或者您認為國際營運商可能會在 24 年超過巴西？

I think the challenge here is like Argentina, obviously, right, where we made the comment around organic revenue being capped. So I think that's different from what we had in 2023. If you look at other geographies as compared to Brazil, I think Canada in 2023, we managed to deliver despite the tough Q4, we managed to deliver EBITDA growth, right, 2.7% for the full year, which for Canadian standards was much better than past performance.

我認為這裡的挑戰就像阿根廷一樣，顯然是的，我們就有機收入受到限制發表了評論。所以我認為這與我們2023 年的情況不同。如果你看看其他地區，與巴西相比，我認為加拿大在2023 年，儘管第四季度艱難，但我們還是成功實現了EBITDA 增長，對吧，2.7 %全年表現，以加拿大標準，比過去的表現好得多。

So there, if the team succeeds in improving volume performance, maintaining net revenue per hectoliter growth and deliver operational leverage, perhaps we'll be able to deliver better performance in Canada for the full year. Let's see. I think Canada -- I think CAC, Dominican Republic, the challenges, too, right, not only keep momentum but build on the momentum that we delivered in 2023. And so to the extent we managed to improve the performance of Panama. I think that could also help us for the full year to kind of improve as compared to what we delivered in 2023. And so I think those are the opportunities that we have. But again, still a lot to do, year is just beginning, so far, I think so good with what we've seen, but a lot to do still.

因此，如果團隊成功提高銷售績效，保持每百升淨收入成長並提供營運槓桿，也許我們將能夠在加拿大全年實現更好的業績。讓我們來看看。我認為加拿大、CAC、多明尼加共和國也面臨著挑戰​​，對吧，這些挑戰不僅保持了勢頭，而且建立在我們 2023 年實現的勢頭之上。因此，我們設法改善了巴拿馬的表現。我認為這也可以幫助我們全年比 2023 年交付的成果有所改進。所以我認為這些就是我們擁有的機會。但同樣，仍有許多工作要做，今年才剛開始，到目前為止，我認為我們所看到的一切都很好，但仍有許多工作要做。

So that's it. Thank you all who joined the call. Thank you for your time and attention. The summary overall, it is that operational performance is going to be the drive of our sustainable value creation path. And to translate commercial momentum into more free cash flow generation is really what we are into Brazil solid with momentum and started well with a good Carnival. CAC went back to its journey. Argentina is really about the playbook to operate over there and really focus on cash generation in dollars. [LAS] ex-Argentina being resilient in Canada, aiming for a year of EBITDA growth. So that's pretty much the summary. Thank you very much. See you in May, and have a great day.

就是這樣了。感謝所有加入通話的人。感謝您的時間和關注。總的來說，營運績效將成為我們永續價值創造道路的驅動力。將商業動力轉化為更多自由現金流的產生，這正是我們在巴西的強勁勢頭，並以良好的狂歡節開局良好。 CAC又回到了它的旅程。阿根廷實際上是在當地運營的劇本，並真正專注於以美元產生現金。 [LAS] 前阿根廷人在加拿大表現強勁，目標是實現 EBITDA 成長。這就是總結。非常感謝。五月見，祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you all very much. This concludes today's conference. You may now turn off your phones. Thank you.

非常感謝大家。今天的會議到此結束。您現在可以關閉手機。謝謝。