Gerdau SA (GGB) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Gerdau's First Quarter 2023 earnings release call. My name is Renata, Head of Investor Relations, and participating in this video conference today are Gerdau's CEO, Gustavo Werneck; and CFO, Rafael Japur. We would like to inform you that this video conference is being recorded and will be available on the company's IR website where the complete material of the earnings release is available. You can also download the presentation on [Tecnical difficulty) platform to access the (Operator Instructions) We would like to emphasize that the information contained in this presentation and any other statements that may be done during this video conference concerning Gerdau's business prospects, projections and operating and financial goals are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the company's management as well as information currently available.

大家下午好，歡迎來到 Gerdau 的 2023 年第一季度財報電話會議。我叫 Renata，投資者關係主管，今天參加這個視頻會議的有 Gerdau 的首席執行官 Gustavo Werneck；首席財務官 Rafael Japur。我們想通知您，此視頻會議正在錄製中，並將在公司的 IR 網站上提供，該網站提供收益發布的完整材料。您也可以在 [技術難度] 平台上下載演示文稿以訪問 (操作員說明)運營和財務目標基於公司管理層的信念和假設以及當前可用的信息。

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions because they relate to future events and therefore, depend on circumstances that may or may not occur. Investors should understand the general economic conditions, market conditions and other operating factors may affect Gerdau's future performance and lead to results that differ substantially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. I will now turn the floor to Gustavo Werneck to initiate the presentation. Gustavo, you may proceed.

前瞻性陳述並非業績保證，它們涉及風險、不確定性和假設，因為它們與未來事件相關，因此取決於可能發生或不發生的情況。投資者應了解一般經濟狀況、市場狀況和其他經營因素可能會影響 Gerdau 的未來業績，並導致結果與此類前瞻性陳述中表達的結果大相徑庭。我現在請 Gustavo Werneck 開始介紹。古斯塔沃，你可以繼續了。

Good afternoon to all of you. I hope you're all well, and thank you very much for the opportunity to meet in this video conference call to discuss Gerdau's results for the first quarter of 2023. Here beside me is our CFO, Rafael Japur. So it's always a pleasure for both of us to talk to you about our performance and answer questions that may arise during our presentation. I will start by talking about the business macro environment. The highlights of the overall results. And then I will give you more details on the performance of our business operations in the quarter.

大家下午好。我希望你們一切都好，非常感謝你們有機會參加這次視頻電話會議，討論 Gerdau 2023 年第一季度的業績。在我旁邊的是我們的首席財務官 Rafael Japur。因此，我們都很高興與您談論我們的表現並回答我們在演示過程中可能出現的問題。我先從商業宏觀環境說起。整體結果的亮點。然後我會給你更多關於我們本季度業務運營表現的細節。

Next, I will call Japur who will share with you some information about our financial performance. Finally, I will come back to highlight some important points from our ESG agenda. At the end, we will both be available to talk to you about some points that you would like us to elaborate further. Now let's jump to Slide #2. Here, I will talk about the macro environment in which Gerdau operates. I would like to start by saying that during the first quarter of 2023, we once again demonstrated our capacity to transform, innovate mitigate risks and also generate value for our customers against a very challenging macroeconomic background.

接下來，我將致電 Japur，他將與您分享一些有關我們財務業績的信息。最後，我將回過頭來強調我們 ESG 議程中的一些要點。最後，我們都可以與您討論您希望我們進一步闡述的一些要點。現在讓我們跳到幻燈片 #2。在這裡，我將談談Gerdau運營的宏觀環境。首先，我想說的是，在 2023 年第一季度，我們再次展示了我們在極具挑戰性的宏觀經濟背景下進行轉型、創新和降低風險並為客戶創造價值的能力。

We closely monitor the uncertainty surrounding the economic and inflationary scenario worldwide, particularly in Brazil and in the U.S., where some of our main facilities are located. We also closely monitor the continuity of the Russian and Ukraine conflict, which continue to impact the dynamics of raw material costs, particularly coal. We also saw the recovery of China's economy in the period, whose GDP grew 4.5% in the first quarter.

我們密切關注全球經濟和通貨膨脹情景的不確定性，尤其是在我們一些主要設施所在的巴西和美國。我們還密切關注俄羅斯和烏克蘭衝突的持續性，這些衝突繼續影響原材料成本的動態，尤其是煤炭。我們也看到了這一時期中國經濟的複蘇，一季度GDP增長4.5%。

Also, in the midst of this challenging scenario in the first quarter Gerdau performed quite well as the company benefited from its business model, geographic diversification in the Americas and also our flexibility in production routes, especially those we have in Brazil. Now in the next slide, before I talk about the highlights of Gerdau's results for the first 3 months of the year, I would like to point out that we came to the end of the first quarter of 2023 with an accident frequency rate of 0.52. This result is even better than that of 0.73 reported in the consolidated 2022 period, being the lowest rate ever recorded in our historical series of 122 years.

此外，在第一季度的這種具有挑戰性的情況下，Gerdau 的表現相當出色，因為該公司受益於其商業模式、美洲的地域多元化以及我們生產路線的靈活性，尤其是我們在巴西的生產路線。現在在下一張幻燈片中，在我談論 Gerdau 今年前 3 個月業績的亮點之前，我想指出我們來到 2023 年第一季度末的事故頻率為 0.52。這一結果甚至好於 2022 年合併期間報告的 0.73，這是我們 122 年曆史系列中記錄的最低比率。

This performance renews our commitment to the health and safety of all of our people. At Gerdau, safety always comes first. Since no result will ever matter more -- will ever be more important than people's lives. In the sense, in the last week of April in celebration of World Safety Day, we promoted various chat rounds, seminars and events in all our plants in corporate offices in the countries where we operate. With the intent of sharing learnings and reinforcing our culture of active care and safety focus on the monitoring of critical activities and job accident prevention.

這一表現重申了我們對全體員工健康和安全的承諾。在 Gerdau，安全永遠是第一位的。因為沒有任何結果比人們的生命更重要。從某種意義上說，在 4 月的最後一周慶祝世界安全日時，我們在我們運營所在國家/地區的公司辦公室的所有工廠中開展了各種聊天、研討會和活動。為了分享經驗教訓並加強我們的主動關懷和安全文化，我們將重點放在監控關鍵活動和工作事故預防上。

So I must congratulate our team for these excellent results. Now in the next 2 slides, I briefly bring you some highlights that reflect the company's solid performance in the first quarter of 2023. Later on, Japur will come in to elaborate on our financial performance. But I will give you just some general highlights about our results, starting with our EBITDA. We ended the first quarter of '23 with an adjusted EBITDA of BRL 4.3 billion, the second best EBITDA for this period in our historical series. Even in the midst of the challenging landscape that I mentioned before, we continue to post strong financial results, reflecting not only the recovery in our steel shipments in the first months of the year when compared to the last quarter of 2022, but mainly the company's agile and innovative mindset focused on the challenges and needs of our customers and other stakeholders.

所以我必須祝賀我們的團隊取得這些優異的成績。現在，在接下來的兩張幻燈片中，我將簡要介紹一些反映公司 2023 年第一季度穩健表現的亮點。稍後，Japur 將詳細介紹我們的財務業績。但我只會給你一些關於我們結果的一般亮點，從我們的 EBITDA 開始。我們以 43 億雷亞爾的調整後 EBITDA 結束了 23 年第一季度，這是我們歷史系列中這一時期第二好的 EBITDA。即使在我之前提到的充滿挑戰的環境中，我們繼續公佈強勁的財務業績，這不僅反映了今年前幾個月與 2022 年最後一個季度相比鋼鐵出貨量的複蘇，而且主要反映了公司的敏捷和創新的心態專注於我們的客戶和其他利益相關者的挑戰和需求。

I also emphasize that this good financial result achieved in the first quarter reflects the consistent efforts of our team in pursuing operating excellence. During this period, not only we saw the recovery in steel shipments, but we also saw a significant reduction in costs, resulting in improved margins in all of our business operations when compared to the fourth quarter of '22. Once again, I would like to highlight the level of our SG&A expenses which appears in our SG&A results that have been maintained below the steel industry average. In addition to the financial highlights, I would like to point out that Gerdau recently launched together with Cubo Itaú and partner companies, something that we call Cubo Construliving, the first hub focused on creating innovative experiences and the journey of the housing and construction ecosystem.

我還強調，第一季度取得的良好財務業績反映了我們團隊在追求卓越運營方面的不懈努力。在此期間，我們不僅看到了鋼鐵出貨量的複蘇，而且成本也顯著降低，與 2022 年第四季度相比，我們所有業務的利潤率都有所提高。我想再次強調我們的 SG&A 結果中顯示的 SG&A 費用水平一直低於鋼鐵行業平均水平。除了財務亮點外，我想指出 Gerdau 最近與 Cubo Itaú 和合作夥伴公司一起推出了我們稱之為 Cubo Construliving 的東西，這是第一個專注於創造創新體驗以及住房和建築生態系統之旅的中心。

The purpose of this initiative is to boost growth in the construction and housing sectors through connections among the main players and also to generate business opportunities in Latin America and in other parts of the world. Our expectation is to increase the number of start-ups by 300% in the first year of activity, offering solutions in the segments related to design, like feasibility, construction, acquisition and housing in general. Through Gerdau Next, and as you know, this is our new business arm. Gerdau supports open innovation initiatives by supporting entrepreneurs and also partnering with large companies.

該倡議的目的是通過主要參與者之間的聯繫促進建築和住房部門的增長，並在拉丁美洲和世界其他地區創造商機。我們的期望是在活動的第一年將初創企業的數量增加 300%，在與設計相關的領域提供解決方案，例如可行性、建設、收購和住房。通過 Gerdau Next，如您所知，這是我們的新業務部門。 Gerdau 通過支持企業家並與大公司合作來支持開放式創新計劃。

I emphasize that construtech is 1 of the 4 strategic clusters of Gerdau Next, and that our purpose is to contribute to industrialization, modernization, digitalization and also the reduction of the housing deficit in the construction sector, especially in Brazil. So with Construliving hub, we aim to generate even more value to the entire chain of this segment, jointly seeking improvements in productivity, efficiency and more sustainable practices. So now looking at Slide #6, I will talk about the highlights of our business operations, and I will also take this opportunity to talk about the outlook for the markets where we operate.

我強調，construtech 是 Gerdau Next 的 4 個戰略集群之一，我們的目的是為工業化、現代化、數字化以及減少建築行業的住房短缺做出貢獻，尤其是在巴西。因此，通過 Construliving hub，我們旨在為該細分市場的整個鏈條創造更多價值，共同尋求提高生產力、效率和更可持續的實踐。所以現在看幻燈片#6，我會談談我們業務運營的亮點，我也會藉此機會談談我們運營市場的前景。

I will start Slide 7, talking about North America. Our North America BO that includes Mexico, the U.S. and Canada continues to deliver strong results in early 2023. In this first quarter, adjusted EBITDA for the business totaled BRL 2.4 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 30.2%. Shipments in the local market remain high, in line with good levels of activity in the steel consuming sectors and also with the rebuilding of stocks in the distribution sector that we've been looking at throughout this first quarter.

我將開始幻燈片 7，談論北美。我們包括墨西哥、美國和加拿大在內的北美業務在 2023 年初繼續取得強勁業績。在第一季度，該業務的調整後 EBITDA 總計 24 億雷亞爾，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 30.2%。當地市場的出貨量仍然很高，這與鋼鐵消費行業的良好活動水平以及我們在整個第一季度一直關注的分銷行業的庫存重建一致。

In February and March of this year, we had record monthly shipments in this business, BD. Our backlog of orders in the U.S. remains stable at a very high level of approximately 60 days, above the pre-pandemic level. I would also like to point out that since the U.S. government approve an incentive package last year, investments in the industrial sector in the U.S. have already exceeded $200 billion indicating a favorable environment for investments and for the continued generation of jobs in the country with positive impacts on the economy, especially in the Energy segment.

今年 2 月和 3 月，我們 BD 業務的月度出貨量創下歷史新高。我們在美國的積壓訂單保持穩定在大約 60 天的非常高的水平，高於大流行前的水平。我還想指出的是，自美國政府去年批准一攬子刺激計劃以來，美國工業領域的投資已經超過2000億美元，這表明該國有良好的投資環境和持續創造就業機會，具有積極意義。對經濟的影響，尤其是在能源領域。

In this respect, in addition to the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA includes USD 370 billion in tax credits for Clean Technologies, while The CHIPS Act provides USD 39 billion of investments to encourage local production of semiconductors. These measures, together with a reshoring process will certainly increase future demand for steel in the region. In this sense, our North America BD is very well positioned to meet the needs of our customers operating at full capacity as it continues to focus on improving the profitability and productivity of its mills sharing, as I said before, even more value with its stakeholders, in particular, in the case of North America with our customers.

在這方面，除了《降低通貨膨脹法案》之外，IRA 還包括 3700 億美元的清潔技術稅收抵免，而《CHIPS 法案》則提供 390 億美元的投資以鼓勵本地生產半導體。這些措施以及回流過程肯定會增加該地區未來對鋼鐵的需求。從這個意義上說，我們的北美 BD 非常有能力滿足我們客戶滿負荷運營的需求，因為它繼續專注於提高其工廠的盈利能力和生產率，正如我之前所說，與利益相關者分享更多價值，特別是在北美與我們的客戶的情況下。

Noteworthy here are the investments in long steel units in the U.S. in the mills of Jackson, Tennessee in the U.S., and would be in Canada, which will have new equipment ramping up in the coming months, increasing the capacity to serve our customers even better. Moving to the next slide, I would like to talk about our special steels operation, this operation is split between the U.S. and Brazil, but I will start with the U.S., with the United States where I would like to point out that The CHIPS Act, which I mentioned before, will help bring semiconductor factories to the country over the next few years, thereby addressing the issue of chip shortages in the U.S. that has impacted the demand for special steels in recent years, especially in the U.S.

這裡值得注意的是在美國田納西州傑克遜的鋼廠以及將在加拿大的長鋼裝置投資，這些工廠將在未來幾個月內增加新設備，從而提高為客戶提供更好服務的能力.轉到下一張幻燈片，我想談談我們的特殊鋼業務，該業務由美國和巴西分擔，但我將從美國開始，我想指出美國的 CHIPS 法案我之前提到的，將有助於在未來幾年將半導體工廠帶到國內，從而解決美國芯片短缺問題，這些問題近年來影響了特殊鋼材的需求，特別是在美國。

In terms of the market, we continue to see a rebound in the production and sale of vehicles in the United States, but it's still at a level below the historical average. The production of trucks, for instance, increased almost 30% in February year-on-year, reaching almost 50,000 units according to data provided from the local automotive association. The production of heavy vehicles should total approximately 300,000 units this year 2023, while the production of light vehicles should stay above 50 million units. Moreover, the oil and gas segment, which is important for us in the U.S. or in North America keeps on picking up, approaching to the monthly mark of 1,000 rig counts in the coming months.

市場方面，我們繼續看到美國汽車產銷出現回升，但仍處於歷史平均水平以下。例如，根據當地汽車協會提供的數據，2 月份卡車產量同比增長近 30%，達到近 50,000 輛。到2023年，今年重型車產量要達到30萬輛左右，輕型車產量要保持在5000萬輛以上。此外，在美國或北美對我們很重要的石油和天然氣領域持續回暖，在未來幾個月接近 1,000 座鑽井平台的月度大關。

Now moving to Brazil, the outlook for the special steel market in Brazil continues to be influenced by uncertainties related to access to credit lines and high interest rates leading to as -- I mean, we've seen through the press, leading to restrained demand for vehicles. Among light and heavy vehicles, right now, there are 8 automakers that have announced shutdowns in the first quarter of 2023, impacting 35,000 units according to ANFAVEA, the national association of vehicle manufacturers. For 2023 ANFAVEA itself, even in the midst of an uncertain scenario continues to project an increase of about 4% in the production of light vehicles in relation to the previous year. The agricultural machinery sector, on the other hand should maintain a positive outlook with the prospect of a 4% increase as the fleet is being modernized in the midst of a good harvest in Brazil.

現在轉向巴西，巴西特鋼市場的前景繼續受到與獲得信貸額度和高利率相關的不確定性的影響，導致——我的意思是，我們已經通過媒體看到，導致需求受限用於車輛。根據全國汽車製造商協會 ANFAVEA 的數據，在輕型和重型汽車中，目前有 8 家汽車製造商宣佈在 2023 年第一季度停產，影響 35,000 輛。對於 2023 年 ANFAVEA 本身，即使在不確定的情況下，也繼續預計輕型車輛的產量將比上一年增長約 4%。另一方面，農業機械行業應保持積極的前景，預計增長 4%，因為在巴西豐收期間對機隊進行了現代化改造。

I would also point out that the competitiveness of the special steel consuming sectors, mainly in the auto parts sector decreased in the first quarter due to the appreciation of the BRL against the U.S. dollar. I would like to emphasize again that we continue to advance in the operation of the new continuous casting of blooms and billets at Pindamonhangaba plant in Sao Paulo. This is going to be (inaudible) whose products are currently being certified by our customers. This equipment allows the Pinda unit to have a more automated process with lower CO2 emissions, with better yield, resulting in the delivery of differentiated and higher quality products to the demanding markets in Brazil.

我還要指出，由於巴西雷亞爾兌美元升值，一季度特鋼消費行業，主要是汽車零部件行業的競爭力有所下降。我想再次強調，我們繼續推進聖保羅 Pindamonhangaba 工廠新的大方坯和方坯連鑄的運營。這將是（聽不清）其產品目前正在由我們的客戶認證。該設備使 Pinda 裝置的流程自動化程度更高，二氧化碳排放量更低，產量更高，從而能夠向要求苛刻的巴西市場提供差異化和更高質量的產品。

Now moving on quickly to the next slide. I will talk about the long and flat steel landscape in Brazil, whose performance in the first quarter reflects a recovery in our sales shipments to the different sectors in which we operate when compared to the previous quarter. Steel consumption in the residential and commercial construction sectors is still at a high level despite current market concerns about the number of new launchings and the level of inventories in some geographies.

現在快速轉到下一張幻燈片。我將談談巴西的長材和扁鋼前景，其第一季度的表現反映出與上一季度相比，我們對我們經營的不同部門的銷售出貨量有所回升。儘管當前市場對某些地區的新產品數量和庫存水平感到擔憂，但住宅和商業建築領域的鋼材消費量仍處於高位。

The number of active construction sites in Brazil, for example, reached a new historical high NIM in April, standing above 10,000 units, up 3% year-on-year. The sector may also benefit from the reforms in the housing programs, aimed at the low income segment over the next few quarters. The Industrial Construction segment continues to generate strong demand, especially from the paper and pulp, mining and oil and gas sectors. We've seen reports of new investments, especially in these sectors. Even the Brazilian chamber of the construction industry, the so-called CBIC, foresees a 2.5% growth in 2023 for the construction industry.

以巴西為例，4月份在建工地淨息差創下歷史新高，超過1萬個，同比增長3%。該行業還可能受益於未來幾個季度針對低收入人群的住房計劃改革。工業建築領域繼續產生強勁需求，尤其是來自造紙和紙漿、採礦以及石油和天然氣行業。我們已經看到有關新投資的報告，尤其是在這些領域。甚至巴西建築業商會，即所謂的 CBIC，也預計 2023 年建築業將增長 2.5%。

This production includes consistent market growth, which we've seen over the last two years. And in addition, this also validates what is happening in the real estate market and also with a very sound housing demand going forward. Also, there was a slight recovery in retail sales in the first quarter when compared to the last quarter of last year, positively impacted by one-off government aid measures. But the sector's performance continues to be hampered by high interest rates and credit restrictions as I was saying earlier on.

這種生產包括持續的市場增長，這是我們在過去兩年中看到的。此外，這也證實了房地產市場正在發生的事情，以及未來非常強勁的住房需求。此外，在政府一次性援助措施的積極影響下，第一季度零售額較去年第四季度略有回升。但正如我之前所說，該行業的表現繼續受到高利率和信貸限制的阻礙。

In addition, I anticipate the resumption of public and private investments in infrastructure works. These are an engine to drive the country's growth such as, for example, the subway works in Fortaleza in Sao Paulo. According to ABDIB, investments in infrastructure should be around BRL 173 million to BRL 175 million in 2023, the highest since 2014. In addition, I would like to highlight the accommodating of the demand for steel coming from the industrial sector, especially road equipment, which grew 4% in the first 3 months of the year as well as the demand from the energy sector, especially solar and wind power, in addition to other demands coming and growing when it comes to oil and gas.

此外，我預計基礎設施工程的公共和私人投資將恢復。這些都是推動國家發展的引擎，例如聖保羅福塔萊薩的地鐵工程。根據 ABDIB 的數據，到 2023 年，基礎設施投資應在 1.73 億至 1.75 億雷亞爾左右，為 2014 年以來的最高水平。此外，我想強調滿足工業部門對鋼鐵的需求，尤其是道路設備，今年前 3 個月增長了 4%，能源部門的需求，尤其是太陽能和風能，以及石油和天然氣方面的其他需求正在增長。

My last slide and briefly talking about South America. In Argentina, demand for steel from the construction, energy and mining industries remain strong, encouraging sales in the domestic market. The Argentine construction sector should repeat in 2023, the good performance reported in 2022 when the level of activity increased by around 3.5% and the same scenario is repeated in the Uruguay in steel market. And in Peru, in turn, economic activity was impacted in the first quarter by weather issues related to social conflicts and an atypical phenomenon that we had to address, weather issues related to a cyclone that hit the country in March.

我的最後一張幻燈片簡要介紹了南美洲。在阿根廷，建築、能源和採礦業對鋼材的需求依然強勁，促進了國內市場的銷售。阿根廷建築業應該會在 2023 年重複，2022 年報告的良好表現，當時活動水平增加了約 3.5%，烏拉圭的鋼鐵市場也會重複同樣的情況。反過來，在秘魯，第一季度的經濟活動受到與社會衝突相關的天氣問題和我們必須解決的非典型現象的影響，即與 3 月份襲擊該國的颶風相關的天氣問題。

And for a while, it brought a slightly lower demand for steel. So this concludes my first part. And now I'll turn it over to Japur to tell us more about the financial highlights, and then I'll come back so we can talk about our ESG agenda. Over to you, Japur.

有一段時間，它帶來了對鋼鐵的需求略有下降。我的第一部分到此結束。現在我將把它交給 Japur 來告訴我們更多關於財務亮點的信息，然後我會回來討論我們的 ESG 議程。交給你了，賈普爾。

Thank you, Gustavo. Good morning, all. It's always a huge pleasure to be here with you again in our earnings conference call. Let's start with Slide 12. Let us talk about our cash flow and working capital. In the chart on the left, we see the evolution of our working capital and cash conversion cycle. This is the upper part of the chart. We ended the quarter at a level of BRL 16.3 billion with a slight increase of BRL 100 million vis-a-vis the end of the last year. Despite a scenario of higher shipment and net sales, like Gustavo said earlier in his presentation, pretty much driven by Brazil and North America. And looking more closely at the working capital for the quarter, it's important to highlight that there was positive exchange between the inventory of our accounts.

謝謝你，古斯塔沃。大家早上好。很高興再次參加我們的收益電話會議。讓我們從幻燈片 12 開始。讓我們談談我們的現金流和營運資金。在左側的圖表中，我們看到了營運資金和現金轉換週期的演變。這是圖表的上半部分。我們在本季度結束時達到 163 億巴西雷亞爾的水平，與去年年底相比略微增加了 1 億巴西雷亞爾。儘管出貨量和淨銷售額有所增加，但正如 Gustavo 在他的演講中所說，這在很大程度上是由巴西和北美推動的。更仔細地觀察本季度的營運資金，重要的是要強調我們賬戶庫存之間存在積極的交換。

(inaudible) is the closest to easily convert into cash by the company. We reported a cash conversion cycle of 78 days, a reduction of 3 days compared to the previous quarter, pretty much favored by the increase in net sales, like we said before. It's also important to say that we are happy with the current level of financial numbers yet. We believe there is room for improvement. And we do have some action plans in progress in all our BDs, aiming to improve our metric performance.

（聽不清）是最容易被公司轉換成現金的。我們報告的現金轉換週期為 78 天，與上一季度相比減少了 3 天，正如我們之前所說，淨銷售額的增長非常有利於。同樣重要的是，我們對目前的財務數字水平感到滿意。我們相信還有改進的餘地。我們確實在所有 BD 中製定了一些行動計劃，旨在提高我們的指標績效。

Now let us move to the right-hand side of the slide and talk about the cash flow this quarter. Based on our adjusted EBITDA of BRL 4.322 billion, a margin of 23%. We invested BRL 550 million in working capital owing to a higher operating leverage this quarter. The physical sales volume was 11% above the previous quarter. Our CapEx disbursement totaled BRL 954 million this quarter, as we can see on the slide, of which almost BRL 300 million are earmarked for expansion and updating of our IT operations, trying to pursue long-term competitiveness.

現在讓我們轉到幻燈片的右側，談談本季度的現金流量。基於我們調整後的 EBITDA 為 43.22 億雷亞爾，利潤率為 23%。由於本季度運營槓桿率較高，我們投入了 5.5 億雷亞爾的營運資金。實物銷量較上一季度增長 11%。正如我們在幻燈片中所見，本季度我們的資本支出總額為 9.54 億雷亞爾，其中近 3 億雷亞爾專門用於擴展和更新我們的 IT 運營，以追求長期競爭力。

It's important to say that in line with our commitment to sustainable economic and social development of the state of Minas Gerais nearly half of the total disbursement for the quarter was allocated to this region. After disbursement with income tax and net interest, we ended the period with a cash flow of BRL 2.700 billion or 140% higher than the previous quarter, which is equivalent to approximately 14% of our net sales, up 62% of EBITDA, showing a significant capacity to convert revenues into cash. In the lower chart, we can see the historical performance long term since 2014, our quarterly cash flow. Typically, as we can see, the first quarter of each year, which in the chart is shown in green, when positive or in red when cash flow is (inaudible).

重要的是要說，根據我們對米納斯吉拉斯州可持續經濟和社會發展的承諾，本季度近一半的總支出分配給了該地區。在支付所得稅和淨利息後，我們在該期間結束時的現金流為 27.00 億雷亞爾，比上一季度增加 140%，相當於我們淨銷售額的約 14%，增加 EBITDA 的 62%，顯示將收入轉化為現金的強大能力。在下方的圖表中，我們可以看到自 2014 年以來的長期歷史業績，即我們的季度現金流量。通常，正如我們所看到的，每年的第一季度，在圖表中以綠色顯示，當現金流為正時或以紅色顯示（聽不清）。

Typically the first quarter, is a time in which use of cash is mostly related to an increase (inaudible) resulting from seasonality, usually with lower volumes of operations in the fourth quarter and a resumption in the first quarter. Important to underscore that this time, we have the third consecutive time that we report a positive cash flow in the first quarter. Let's move now to Slide 13 to address our liquidity and indebtedness.

通常在第一季度，現金使用主要與季節性導致的增長（聽不見）有關，通常第四季度的運營量較低，第一季度恢復運營。需要強調的是，這一次，我們連續第三次報告第一季度的現金流為正。現在讓我們轉到幻燈片 13 來解決我們的流動性和債務問題。

We continue with a very healthy level of net debt over EBITDA of 0.31x. In March, our net debt was BRL 6.4 billion, a reduction of approximately BRL 800 million compared of both due to a reduction in gross debt and an increase in cash. So we are very much in line with the parameters of our financial policy and pursue and are very close to what we consider to be an optimal capital structure for our business. Moving to the right-hand side of the page, I would like to point out that we ended the first quarter with a solid cash position of BRL 5.8 billion. We continue having our $875 million revolver line, which is fully available and undrawn. As a result, our liquidity position immediately for use exceeds BRL 10 billion.

我們繼續保持非常健康的淨債務水平，超過 EBITDA 的 0.31 倍。 3 月份，我們的淨債務為 64 億雷亞爾，由於總債務減少和現金增加，兩者相比減少了約 8 億雷亞爾。因此，我們非常符合我們的財務政策和追求的參數，並且非常接近我們認為是我們業務的最佳資本結構。轉到頁面右側，我想指出，我們在第一季度結束時擁有 58 億雷亞爾的穩定現金頭寸。我們繼續擁有價值 8.75 億美元的左輪手槍生產線，該生產線已完全可用且未提取。因此，我們可立即使用的流動資金頭寸超過 100 億雷亞爾。

Now briefly addressing our debt amortization schedule and sharing a little spoiler about the second quarter. Now in April, our 2023 bond was due and settled in the amount of approximately $190 million. And now next week, on May 8, we have the tranche of our 16th issue of debenture to be matured in the amount of BRL 600 million. The second tranche will follow you only in 2026. As you can see on the chart, the 800 down the road will be amortized. To conclude my part, right now, I would like to move on to the next slide, Slide 14, to talk about our proceeds.

現在簡要介紹一下我們的債務攤銷時間表，並分享一些關於第二季度的劇透。現在是 4 月，我們的 2023 年債券到期並結算了大約 1.9 億美元。現在下週，也就是 5 月 8 日，我們的第 16 期債券將到期，金額為 6 億雷亞爾。第二部分只會在 2026 年跟進。正如您在圖表上看到的那樣，未來的 800 美元將被攤銷。為了結束我的部分，現在我想轉到下一張幻燈片，即幻燈片 14，來談談我們的收益。

Due to the earnings of the first quarter of this year, the Board of Directors of Gerdau S.A. approved the payment of proceeds, interest and equity in the amount of BRL 892 million or BRL 0.51 per share. This payment will take place on May 29 based on the shareholding position on May 15. Metalurgica Gerdau in turn, will pay BRL 310 million or $0.30 per share. And for Metalurgica there will be a mix of approximately BRL 0.25 as interest on capital and BRL 0.05 per share as dividends. Now moving away from dividends and addressing our holistic performance. And now on the right-hand side of the chart, we can see 4 bars. In here, we show Gerdau's relative performance in yellow within a group of peers in the industry, which we believe are closer to our segments and our regional footprint.

由於今年第一季度的收益，Gerdau S.A. 董事會批准支付 8.92 億巴西雷亞爾或每股 0.51 巴西雷亞爾的收益、利息和股權。根據 5 月 15 日的股權狀況，這筆款項將於 5 月 29 日支付。Metalurgica Gerdau 將支付 3.1 億雷亞爾或每股 0.30 美元。對於 Metalurgica，將有大約 0.25 巴西雷亞爾的資本利息和每股 0.05 巴西雷亞爾的股息。現在遠離股息並解決我們的整體績效。現在在圖表的右側，我們可以看到 4 個柱。在這裡，我們以黃色顯示了 Gerdau 在業內一組同行中的相對錶現，我們認為這更接近我們的細分市場和我們的區域足跡。

The top of each bar shows the best performing peers for that indicator. In the middle, we have the average peers. And at the bottom of the chart, we show the lowest performers. We can see by looking at the different bars that Gerdau has an outstanding and above average performance on different metrics. Whether in our margins, our return on capital employed, our austerity with SG&A or our same financial position.

每個條形的頂部顯示該指標表現最好的同行。在中間，我們有平均水平的同行。在圖表的底部，我們顯示了表現最差的人。通過查看不同的條形圖，我們可以看出 Gerdau 在不同指標上的表現出色且高於平均水平。無論是我們的利潤率、我們的資本回報率、我們對 SG&A 的緊縮政策還是我們相同的財務狀況。

(inaudible) consistency in different pillars allows us to remain committed to return value to our shareholders over time, increasingly leveraging our position as one of the companies in the industry with the lowest level of CO2 emissions.

（聽不清）不同支柱的一致性使我們能夠隨著時間的推移繼續致力於為股東回報價值，越來越多地利用我們作為行業中二氧化碳排放量最低的公司之一的地位。

Well, Once again, thank you very much for your attention, and I give the floor back to Gustavo. He will talk about ESG topics and highlight the important progress achieved this quarter on our operations in (inaudible)

好吧，再次非常感謝您的關注，我把發言權交還給 Gustavo。他將談論 ESG 主題並強調本季度我們在（聽不清）的運營方面取得的重要進展

Thank you, Japur. Actually, on the next 2 slides, we have 2 topics to share about our ESG agenda. First, Japur talked about Minas Gerais. I would like to say that considering the best sustainable mining and responsible and economic practices that we can give to the new practices, we adopted the most modern technologies in the market. And since February 2023, we are using only the dry stacking method to dispose of 100% of tailings from its iron ore production process.

謝謝你，賈普爾。實際上，在接下來的 2 張幻燈片中，我們有 2 個主題要分享我們的 ESG 議程。首先，賈普爾談到了米納斯吉拉斯州。我想說的是，考慮到我們可以為新實踐提供的最佳可持續採礦和負責任的經濟實踐，我們採用了市場上最現代的技術。自2023年2月起，我們僅使用乾堆法處理其鐵礦石生產過程中產生的尾礦100%。

So this has turned out to be a reality. And all the iron ore produced in our mines is via this method of dry stacking and no longer having tailings to the dam. And Gerdau was once again recognized by the Women in Leadership 2023 survey in the metallurgy steel and mining category promoted by NGO Women in Leadership in Latin America, known by the WIL acronym. Gerdau was highlighted for (technical difficulty) encouraging female leadership.

所以這已經成為現實。而且我們礦山生產的所有鐵礦石都是通過這種干堆的方法，不再有尾礦到壩上。 Gerdau 再次獲得了由拉丁美洲非政府組織 Women in Leadership 發起的冶金鋼鐵和採礦類別的 Women in Leadership 2023 調查的認可，WIL 的首字母縮寫為 WIL。 Gerdau 因（技術難度）鼓勵女性領導而被強調。

Currently, women hold 27% of leadership positions at Gerdau, target (inaudible) variable (inaudible) of the company leaders is to increase this number to 30% by 2025. Gerdau's purpose is to empower people who build the future. And the promotion of a diverse and inclusive environment is one of our pillars. We are committed to being an agent of social transformation, engaging our whole ecosystem and all ecosystems where we are globally present and building a future with opportunities for all people. So on behalf of myself and Japur, I thank you all for your attention. And I give the floor back to Renata for the Q&A session.

目前，女性在 Gerdau 擔任 27% 的領導職位，公司領導的目標（聽不清）變量（聽不清）是到 2025 年將這一數字增加到 30%。Gerdau 的目的是賦予建設未來的人們權力。促進多元化和包容性的環境是我們的支柱之一。我們致力於成為社會變革的推動者，讓我們的整個生態系統和我們在全球存在的所有生態系統參與進來，為所有人創造一個充滿機會的未來。因此，我代表我自己和賈普爾，感謝大家的關注。我把問答環節的發言權交還給 Renata。

Thank you, Werneck. Thank you, Japur. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝你，韋內克。謝謝你，賈普爾。 （操作員說明）

The first question is in relation to the U.S. metal spread, we've seen a correction that gets to almost $120 per tonne since the beginning of this year. I understand that this is not a perfect analysis, but I would like to hear you elaborate a bit more about Gerdau's metal spread. Is it more resilient? And I have a second question related to prices in Brazil.

第一個問題與美國金屬價差有關，自今年年初以來，我們已經看到修正達到每噸近 120 美元。我知道這不是一個完美的分析，但我想听聽你詳細說明一下 Gerdau 的金屬價差。它更有彈性嗎？我有第二個問題與巴西的價格有關。

We noticed pricing being 10% lower every quarter. How do you see the environment in terms of deploying price adjustments in the second half of 2023 or in the second quarter of '23.

我們注意到定價每個季度都會降低 10%。您如何看待 2023 年下半年或 23 年第二季度部署價格調整的環境。

So Japur I think I can start answering the question, but please interrupt me anytime. I was also looking at my notes, and I was really struggled by that (inaudible) spread. This is very far from reality. I mean there was indeed a decline in metal spread in the first month of the first quarter, but it's much lower than that BRL 120 million that you mentioned, even less than half of that number. That might be some misleading information that (inaudible) talk to you later about that information.

所以 Japur 我想我可以開始回答問題了，但請隨時打斷我。我也在看我的筆記，我真的被那種（聽不清的）傳播所困擾。這與現實相去甚遠。我的意思是第一季度第一個月金屬價差確實有所下降，但比你說的1.2億雷亞爾要低很多，甚至不到這個數字的一半。這可能是一些誤導性信息，稍後（聽不清）會與您討論該信息。

But this is not in line with all of the information we have in terms of metal spread. Now in pricing in Brazil in general, well, first of all, I think it's important to say and to repeatedly say that I mean, we don't want to be seen as producer of (inaudible) all the time because we serve more than 10 different segments, 40 different sectors of the economy that benefit from Gerdau's products, traditional materials for civil construction, like band, rebars and products ready for consumption.

但這與我們在金屬價差方面的所有信息不一致。現在在巴西的總體定價中，嗯，首先，我認為重要的是要說並反复說我的意思是，我們不想一直被視為（聽不清）的生產者，因為我們提供的服務超過10 個不同的細分市場，40 個不同的經濟部門受益於 Gerdau 的產品，土木建築的傳統材料，如帶材、鋼筋和即食產品。

They account for about 1/3 of the products that we earmarked for the domestic market. And I would say that somehow export premium are balanced. The largest difficult, I think, we've seen since last year is with rebars. Other product categories, I think, have adequate profitability premiums, probably rebars is what have taken that average down a bit. And specifically speaking about rebars, it's been a little bit more difficult to cover profitability, but this is a process that (inaudible) that's why it's difficult for us to say how long it will take and we recover that profitability that you now get more adequate.

它們約占我們指定用於國內市場的產品的 1/3。我會說出口溢價在某種程度上是平衡的。我認為，自去年以來我們看到的最大困難是螺紋鋼。我認為其他產品類別具有足夠的盈利溢價，可能是螺紋鋼使平均水平有所下降。特別是關於螺紋鋼，覆蓋盈利能力有點困難，但這是一個（聽不清）的過程，這就是為什麼我們很難說需要多長時間，我們恢復盈利能力，你現在變得更充足.

But this is a process that we gradually evolve. Also, when we look at the general margins of our operations in Brazil, you must also take into account the difficulties we are encountering to have positive margins in regards to our exports. Traditionally, we export (inaudible) our production capacity in Brazil, and the levels have been down during the (inaudible) and it came down to 5% because we made a decision to prioritize the domestic market. But we already resumed to old levels of (inaudible)

但這是一個我們逐漸進化的過程。此外，當我們查看我們在巴西業務的一般利潤率時，您還必須考慮到我們在出口方面獲得正利潤率所遇到的困難。傳統上，我們出口（聽不清）我們在巴西的生產能力，並且在（聽不清）期間水平已經下降並且下降到 5％，因為我們決定優先考慮國內市場。但我們已經恢復到（聽不清）的舊水平

It's been a bit more difficult to find businesses (inaudible) our export margins are low, the average become we believe that this quarter, there should be an improvement. But we obviously (inaudible) bit of concern the drop in international prices. All of the deals to deliver in the next quarter, margins will be somehow affected. But in general, in Brazil, I would like to say that demand is not an issue for us at the moment. And everything (technical difficulty) slightly higher than what we saw last year. Therefore, our main concern at the moment is recovering rebar profitability (inaudible) profitability level that in our view, is adequate. So Japur if you want to add anything.

尋找企業（聽不清）有點困難，我們的出口利潤率很低，我們認為本季度的平均水平應該有所改善。但我們顯然（聽不清）有點擔心國際價格的下跌。所有在下個季度交付的交易，利潤率都會受到某種程度的影響。但總的來說，在巴西，我想說目前需求對我們來說不是問題。一切（技術難度）都比我們去年看到的略高。因此，我們目前主要關注的是恢復我們認為足夠的螺紋鋼盈利能力（聽不清）盈利水平。所以賈普爾，如果你想添加任何東西。

Hello, I think Gustavo already explained the issue of metal spread. We understand that the number you mentioned is very different than the current players. But I'm sure you can talk to Renata about that later on. And in terms of Brazil, I think the main point is that we are pursuing our volumes in the first quarter, and we could see that our shipment in the market. We did some efforts in that regard and we understand that the dynamic for the next coming quarters will certainly depend on that balance between foreign exchange that fluctuated a lot in this first quarter and in the quarter (inaudible) and it's an important thing when it comes to price dynamics going forward.

您好，我認為古斯塔沃已經解釋了金屬價差的問題。我們了解到您提到的人數與目前的球員有很大不同。但我相信你稍後可以和 Renata 談談這件事。就巴西而言，我認為重點是我們在第一季度追求我們的銷量，我們可以看到我們在市場上的出貨量。我們在這方面做了一些努力，我們知道接下來幾個季度的動態肯定取決於第一季度和本季度（聽不清）波動很大的外匯之間的平衡，這很重要到未來的價格動態。

Our next question comes from Caio Ribeiro, sell side analyst from Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的賣方分析師 Caio Ribeiro。

My first question would be about the outlook for the second half of the year in your North America BD. We noticed that there are some concerns on the part of the market concerning a possible recession in the U.S., a downturn in the real estate market and a contraction in metal spreads. Could you please give us an idea about what you see going forward in the next half. And if you believe that the reassuring program could mitigate for that effect.

我的第一個問題是關於你們北美 BD 下半年的前景。我們注意到，市場對美國經濟可能出現衰退、房地產市場低迷、金屬價差收窄等存在一些擔憂。您能告訴我們您對下半年的展望嗎？如果您認為令人放心的計劃可以減輕這種影響。

And also, if you could tell us a little bit about price increases in the domestic market for long steels. If you could say something about that, that would be nice.

另外，請您介紹一下國內市場長材價格上漲的情況。如果你能說些什麼，那就太好了。

Thank you, Renata. I think that in terms of pricing, I somewhat answer that. And Japur if you want you can also add thing. And it is great because we always had a good discussion with you. I will start talking about North America and Japur can add to my comments. In terms of concerns with the U.S. economy, this is something that it's among us every quarter.

謝謝你，雷娜塔。我認為就定價而言，我有點回答這個問題。如果你願意，賈普爾也可以添加東西。這很棒，因為我們總是與您進行很好的討論。我將開始談論北美，賈普爾可以添加到我的評論中。就對美國經濟的擔憂而言，這是我們每個季度都會遇到的事情。

Every quarter, this is a point that comes up and we kind of postponed that debate because when we look at all of the indicators from the U.S., we still see great resilience on the part of the economy so much so that we are not talking about that in terms of quarters about the U.S. because we believe that all of the factors that are in place will accommodate a strong demand for long steels in the U.S.

每個季度，這都是一個要點，我們推遲了辯論，因為當我們查看美國的所有指標時，我們仍然看到經濟的強大彈性，以至於我們不談論就美國的季度而言，因為我們相信所有現有的因素都將滿足美國對長材的強勁需求。

We are not very much exposed to the real estate market because once we sold our rebar operation, we are now more exposed to infrastructure and nonresidential sector. And there's low penetration of imported goods. There are no (inaudible) coming into the segment, I would also like to reinstate the benefit that all these U.S. packages will bring to the steel industry in the U.S. So when we put together the infrastructure package together with The Inflation Reduction Act and The CHIPS Act altogether, once you combine all of these acts this will bring about more than USD 1 trillion in terms of incentives and taxes, and this will boost steel consumption in the U.S.

我們對房地產市場的敞口不大，因為一旦我們出售了螺紋鋼業務，我們現在就更容易接觸到基礎設施和非住宅部門。而且進口商品的滲透率很低。沒有（聽不清）進入該部分，我還想恢復所有這些美國一攬子計劃將給美國鋼鐵行業帶來的好處。因此，當我們將基礎設施一攬子計劃與《通貨膨脹減少法案》和《芯片》放在一起時一起行動起來，一旦你將所有這些行動結合起來，這將帶來超過 1 萬億美元的激勵和稅收，這將促進美國的鋼鐵消費。

Therefore, we are very certain that well, certainly, in 1 quarter, there might be some recession or some setbacks in the U.S. economy. But in the very specific segment of steel and demanding parties, they will still be moving forward. And the same thing applies to metal spread. It's been resilient in 2021 and 2022. Certainly, there has been some variations in some given months. But it still remains at very high levels. there is a short-term concern. Some people are concerned whether this drop in scrap, especially driven by Turkey because they reduced substantially their imports of scrap from the U.S. There was a momentarily drop in scrap. And I believe these are volatilities that we will also see in the coming quarters.

因此，我們非常肯定，當然，在第一個季度，美國經濟可能會出現一些衰退或一些挫折。但在鋼鐵和要求方的非常具體的部分，他們仍將向前邁進。同樣的事情也適用於金屬價差。它在 2021 年和 2022 年具有彈性。當然，在某些給定的月份中存在一些變化。但它仍然保持在非常高的水平。有一個短期的擔憂。一些人擔心這種廢料下降，尤其是在土耳其的推動下，因為他們大幅減少了從美國進口的廢料。廢料出現了短暫的下降。我相信這些是我們還將在未來幾個季度看到的波動。

But in terms of this equation of supply and demand in the U.S. for both metal spread and other indicators that are translated into resilience to our margins and results. We remain very sound, very solid. But I would like to take this opportunity to talk about Mexico. We had some record numbers in Mexico. We've never had such strong results coming from Mexico. And this will continue. Just to give you an idea, every year since we started operating in Mexico, we've never heard people talking about lack of rebars in Mexico.

但就美國金屬價差和其他指標的供需方程而言，這些指標轉化為對我們的利潤率和結果的彈性。我們仍然非常健全，非常穩固。但我想藉此機會談談墨西哥。我們在墨西哥有一些創紀錄的數字。我們從未有過來自墨西哥的如此強勁的結果。這將繼續下去。只是給你一個想法，自從我們開始在墨西哥開展業務以來，我們每年都從未聽過人們談論墨西哥缺乏螺紋鋼。

But there was a scarcity of rebars in Mexico. And I'm sure that Mexico will become a good reshoring market for the U.S. Only OEMs for automakers that have announced productive capacity. I mean, Tesla will have a new plant in Mexico, BMW (inaudible), a lot of investments coming from the private sector. Therefore, I mean, the numbers in Mexico remain very strong, and they will contribute to the numbers in the U.S. as well. So what we see are very, very positive things coming from that geography.

但墨西哥螺紋鋼短缺。而且我確信墨西哥將成為美國的一個很好的回流市場。只有 OEM 為已宣布生產能力的汽車製造商服務。我的意思是，特斯拉將在墨西哥擁有一家新工廠，寶馬（聽不清），大量投資來自私營部門。因此，我的意思是，墨西哥的數字仍然非常強勁，它們也將為美國的數字做出貢獻。所以我們看到的是來自該地區的非常非常積極的事情。

Japur, would you like to add anything? I think in terms of North America in general, one relevant aspect is that all of these major package in terms of a short-term impact.

Japur，你想補充什麼嗎？我認為就北美總體而言，一個相關方面是所有這些主要一攬子計劃都具有短期影響。

I mean we see them more being like a long-term impact throughout our journey of investments and expansion of our mills. We see further resilience in the mid- and long range in the segments where we operate. Despite the volatility we see in the market with some indicators going up and others going down, our portfolio, as you mentioned, remains positive. We still have a 60-day order book. Therefore, we do have some good elements to start this new quarter in terms of our volumes and sales.

我的意思是，我們認為它們更像是在我們投資和工廠擴張的整個過程中產生的長期影響。我們在我們經營的細分市場中看到了中長期的進一步彈性。儘管我們看到市場出現波動，一些指標上升，另一些指標下降，但正如您提到的，我們的投資組合仍然是積極的。我們還有 60 天的訂單簿。因此，就我們的銷量和銷售額而言，我們確實有一些好的元素來開始這個新季度。

Next question, Daniel Sasson sell-side analysts with Itau BBA.

下一個問題，Daniel Sasson 是 Itau BBA 的賣方分析師。

Hello, everyone. My first question, I apologize for going back to the metal spread topic in the U.S., Gustavo. You already said that over 2021 and '22 position was solid despite acceleration. But could you comment more specifically about scrap and diving deeper, perhaps if the level of scrap costs in our earnings in the first quarter, how does it compare with a scrap inventory you currently have. I'm asking you this because we recently saw an increase in U.S. scrap. So how can it hit the margin in the U.S., which was at 30%, so healthy this quarter?

大家好。我的第一個問題，對於回到美國 Gustavo 的金屬價差話題，我深表歉意。你已經說過，儘管加速，但 2021 年和 22 年的位置仍然穩固。但是你能否更具體地評論廢料和更深入的研究，也許如果我們第一季度收益中的廢料成本水平，它與你目前擁有的廢料庫存相比如何。我問你這個是因為我們最近看到美國廢料增加。那麼它如何才能在本季度達到 30% 的美國利潤率，如此健康呢？

My second question is very to the point. Maybe could you give us an update about [253] tax credits that you had this quarter? And as for Mexico, just a follow-up question about your last comment. You said shortage of rebar in Mexico. Is it possible to supply this market from another region, maybe from Brazil and [send rebar] to Mexico, considering this challenge that you mentioned about having a profitable rebar in the domestic market.

我的第二個問題非常切題。也許您可以向我們提供有關本季度您擁有的 [253] 稅收抵免的最新信息嗎？至於墨西哥，只是關於你最後評論的後續問題。你說墨西哥螺紋鋼短缺。考慮到您提到的關於在國內市場上獲得盈利的螺紋鋼的挑戰，是否有可能從另一個地區供應這個市場，也許是從巴西 [發送螺紋鋼] 到墨西哥。

Daniel, thank you for always opening your camera and interacting with us. You always have a very rich debate. So Daniel, about metal spread, I understand your question. However, we don't see this in-house as a source of concern. BD is not so fragmented as we have in Brazil. And over the years, we've been a very unique capacity to buy scrap in the U.S. I think I even use this expression, some site and acquired moves.

丹尼爾，感謝你總是打開你的相機並與我們互動。你總是有一個非常豐富的辯論。所以丹尼爾，關於金屬價差，我理解你的問題。然而，我們並不認為這在內部是一個令人擔憂的問題。 BD 不像我們在巴西那樣分散。多年來，我們一直是在美國購買廢料的一種非常獨特的能力。我想我什至使用這個表達方式，一些網站和收購的舉措。

We have some scrap agents here, additional capacity from there -- so I don't see there is -- we don't have anything in inventory, nothing that can be a point of concern that might bring big changes to metal spread. We don't have a philosophy to build up a lot of scrap. We have a very lean operation. Like you said, there was an increase in scrap. Now it's going back again. So considering things we do well in the U.S., we can also in Brazil, have this capacity to benefit from these moves. This is very solid. So let us see what happens. Right now scrap is going down, Daniel.

我們這裡有一些廢料代理商，那裡有額外的產能——所以我看不到——我們沒有任何庫存，沒有任何東西可能會引起金屬價差的重大變化。我們沒有建立大量廢料的理念。我們有一個非常精簡的操作。就像你說的，廢料增加了。現在它又回來了。因此，考慮到我們在美國做得很好的事情，我們也可以在巴西，有能力從這些舉措中受益。這是非常紮實的。那麼讓我們看看會發生什麼。現在廢料正在減少，丹尼爾。

So we used to see the Turkey scenario about rebuilding the scenario, bring additional demand for steel and scrap went up. What we saw last week is that we are far from this scenario. There are several drivers in Turkey showing that this rebuilding process and demand will not happen short term. If I'm not mistaken, that will be election in March or mid-May and also devaluation of currencies.

所以我們過去常常看到土耳其關於重建的情景，帶來對鋼鐵和廢鋼的額外需求。我們上週看到的是，我們離這種情況還很遠。土耳其的幾個驅動因素表明，這種重建過程和需求不會在短期內發生。如果我沒記錯的話，那將是三月或五月中旬的選舉以及貨幣貶值。

So Turkey is slowing down and almost $50 going down. And also the prime scrap, we can also play with that. These are volatility phenomena that we will continue to see. So for us, overall speaking, when it comes to demand, metal spread in North America, this is very sound and healthy. We have everything to be in line with our demand plans.

所以土耳其正在放緩，幾乎下跌了 50 美元。還有主要的廢料，我們也可以玩。這些是我們將繼續看到的波動現象。所以對我們來說，總的來說，當談到需求時，北美的金屬價差是非常健康的。我們的一切都符合我們的需求計劃。

If we look at this quarter and our deliveries and when you look ahead, for the future, I don't see major upside or downside. We just keep on leaving on 2023 similarly to the first quarter. And 253 Japur is going to tell you more about this number more didactically.

如果我們看一下本季度和我們的交付量，並且當您展望未來時，我認為沒有重大的上行或下行空間。與第一季度類似，我們只是繼續在 2023 年離開。而 253 Japur 將以更具教學意義的方式告訴你更多關於這個數字的信息。

So it was very specific in the first quarter, and I just used rebar as an example to show how the economy is up and running. I don't think we will come to a point in which Mexico will need to import, and we have to send Brazilian rebar to Mexico. I think this decision -- well, there is no rationale behind it when it comes to a financial standpoint, this is just an example to show how the Mexican economy is speeding up and responding to North America.

所以它在第一季度非常具體，我只是以螺紋鋼為例來說明經濟是如何啟動和運行的。我不認為我們會達到墨西哥需要進口的地步，我們必須將巴西螺紋鋼運往墨西哥。我認為這個決定 - 好吧，從財務角度來看，它背後沒有任何理由，這只是一個例子，表明墨西哥經濟正在加速發展並對北美做出反應。

Our positioning for rebar, capacity, merchant bars and structural bars, we were very successful in the implementation of our mills for the structural profiles to replace. So we created a very sustainable platform, I would say. It's very proper to accommodate the demand that will come from Mexico in the coming months. So our Mexico division is greatly contributing for us. So repeating rebar was just an example to show how economy is sound as we speak. Japur, can you tell Daniel, about 253?

我們對螺紋鋼、產能、商品鋼筋和結構鋼筋的定位，我們非常成功地實施了我們的軋機用於更換結構型材。所以我們創建了一個非常可持續的平台，我會說。滿足未來幾個月來自墨西哥的需求是非常合適的。因此，我們的墨西哥分部為我們做出了巨大貢獻。因此，重複螺紋鋼只是一個例子，說明我們說話時經濟狀況如何。 Japur，你能告訴 Daniel，大約 253 嗎？

Sure. I'll try to be brief. Sometimes these are hard topics. But in February, we had a gain where we won a case. We had a tax client for PIS and COFINS on scrap. It was an old case. And the judgment or the trial was favorable for us in February. The main thing was the BRL 845 million launched as a nonrecurring item, and BRL 253 million is the monetary restatement from the core capital as a financial result.

當然。我會盡量簡短。有時這些是很難的話題。但是在二月份，我們贏得了一個案子。我們有一個報廢 PIS 和 COFINS 的稅務客戶。這是一個舊案子。 2 月份的判決或審判對我們有利。最主要的是作為非經常性項目推出的 8.45 億巴西雷亞爾，而 2.53 億巴西雷亞爾是作為財務結果對核心資本進行的貨幣重述。

But because we have this extraordinary item nonrecurring, we also had income tax, which was higher of BRL 270 million owing to this gain of BRL 845 million, plus BRL 253 million that you found in the financial line. So the net of nonrecurring factors this quarter is huge or PIS, COFINS over scrap, which was BRL 828 million, which increased our capital net income.

但是因為我們有這個非經常性項目，所以我們也有所得稅，由於 8.45 億巴西雷亞爾的收益，加上你在財務線中發現的 2.53 億巴西雷亞爾，所得稅更高了 2.7 億巴西雷亞爾。因此，本季度的非經常性因素淨額巨大或 PIS，COFINS 超過報廢，為 8.28 億雷亞爾，這增加了我們的資本淨收入。

People joke you cannot give adjusted numbers going up. In our case, we did the opposite, we are correcting down both our EBITDA and our net income, excluding from the BRL 828 million. And the dividends that we are paying out actually considers the capital net income. So the payout this quarter "if we are net" of the noncash effect of PIS and COFINS on the scrap considering only the cash effect from the moment we benefit from PIS and COFINS credit to offset what will be payable in fewer quarters.

人們開玩笑說你不能讓調整後的數字上升。在我們的案例中，我們做了相反的事情，我們正在下調我們的 EBITDA 和淨收入，不包括 8.28 億雷亞爾。我們支付的股息實際上考慮了資本淨收入。因此，本季度“如果我們是淨額”的 PIS 和 COFINS 對報廢的非現金影響的支出，僅考慮從我們從 PIS 和 COFINS 信貸中受益的那一刻起的現金影響，以抵消更少季度的應付款項。

If we didn't have this effect, the dividend would be lower. So with an adjusted net income, we paid more than 40% of payout this quarter. It is a long answer. Maybe we can talk later or Renata can also give you further information. So this is the origin of the BRL 253 million of the total decision that we have.

如果我們沒有這種效果，股息會更低。因此，根據調整後的淨收入，我們在本季度支付了超過 40% 的支出。這是一個很長的答案。也許我們可以稍後再談，或者 Renata 也可以為您提供更多信息。這就是我們做出的總決策中 2.53 億雷亞爾的來源。

Next question, Thiago Lofiego, sell-side analysts with Bradesco BBI. He also wants to ask the question live.

下一個問題，Thiago Lofiego，Bradesco BBI 的賣方分析師。他還想現場提問。

Can you hear me? Great. Werneck, the first question is, in the last call, we talked about margin recovery. And you described the dynamics in the first quarter, and you actually deliver. So now I repeat the same question about the second quarter, what about the process more specifically in Brazil with margins? We have some drivers that are in conflict. So I would like to understand your mindset about a potential margin recovery continuation in Brazil.

你能聽到我嗎？偉大的。 Werneck，第一個問題是，在上次電話會議中，我們談到了保證金回收。你描述了第一季度的動態，你確實交付了。所以現在我重複關於第二季度的相同問題，更具體地說，巴西的利潤率流程如何？我們有一些衝突的驅動程序。因此，我想了解您對巴西潛在利潤率恢復持續的看法。

And could you give us some color about shipments? And what about the results in April and May? What is the visibility?

你能給我們一些關於發貨的顏色嗎？那麼四月和五月的結果呢？什麼是能見度？

The second question is simple. What about the price drop in MI in the first quarter in Brazil of 10%? How much was owing to the mix effect? Could you tell us the reasons?

第二個問題很簡單。巴西第一季度 MI 價格下降 10% 怎麼樣？有多少是由於混合效應？你能告訴我們原因嗎？

Thiago, look, this has been one of the main challenges of our Brazilian BD since last year. If you look at demand, we don't have a single rationale to explain a drop in margin and working with export premium at a level that we had. So when it comes to demand, we are very bullish or realistic that there will be a steel demand in Brazil in line with what we had last year.

蒂亞戈，你看，自去年以來，這一直是我們巴西 BD 面臨的主要挑戰之一。如果你看一下需求，我們沒有一個單一的理由來解釋利潤率下降和在我們的水平上處理出口溢價。因此，在需求方面，我們非常樂觀或現實地認為巴西的鋼鐵需求將與去年持平。

For us, considering the shipment that we recovered in the first quarter, maybe this is slightly above our last year's deliveries. So our concern right now is not demand. Some sectors are more -- are being more challenged like the automotive industry like we have 8 EOMs that are idle, and we made the decision to stop our Mogi das -- our Mogi mill and having an equal demand on special steel.

對我們來說，考慮到我們在第一季度恢復的出貨量，這可能略高於我們去年的出貨量。所以我們現在關心的不是需求。有些行業面臨更多挑戰，比如汽車行業，比如我們有 8 個閒置的 EOM，我們決定停止我們的 Mogi das——我們的 Mogi 工廠，對特殊鋼的需求相同。

On the other hand, civil construction, considering the discussion is very strong for us. Our cut and band portfolio is great by year-end. It's very consistent. And the figures that we showed yesterday, we had a report at Secovi, Sao Paulo and other indicators that we measure, and they show sound demand for launches.

另一方面，土木建築，考慮到討論對我們來說非常強烈。到年底，我們的剪裁和樂隊組合會很棒。這是非常一致的。我們昨天展示的數據，我們在塞科維、聖保羅和我們衡量的其他指標上都有一份報告，它們顯示出對發射的良好需求。

So the construction industry is very good for us and also interesting demand in other construction sectors like the manufacturing industry, our pulp and paper, our plants and new plants in Brazil demanding steel. So demand is not an issue. Maybe there is a mood right now or this feeling that things in Brazil are not moving forward and concerns that are challenging the process of recovery margins.

因此，建築業對我們非常有利，其他建築行業也有有趣的需求，如製造業、我們的紙漿和造紙、我們的工廠和巴西的新工廠需要鋼鐵。所以需求不是問題。也許現在有一種情緒或這種感覺，即巴西的事情沒有向前發展，以及對複蘇利潤率進程構成挑戰的擔憂。

So as we speak in April and May, well, we are in the market. And we are considering how we can take these numbers to a right level. And it's too early to say anything, we haven't consolidated April results yet to say how much can be our uptake. But I can easily say that when it comes to rebar -- okay, but when we think about flat steel, the premium level is adequate. So when it comes for rebar, like I said, this is not the main line today, accounts for less than 1/3. And Japur will tell you more about the mix, your second question. But this is the process that we're working on right now. We do have challenges if you consider recent years, but this is within our expectations considering competitiveness and all those concerns about the Brazilian economy.

因此，正如我們在四月和五月所說的那樣，我們在市場上。我們正在考慮如何將這些數字提升到合適的水平。現在說什麼還為時過早，我們還沒有整合 4 月份的結果來說明我們的吸收量有多少。但我可以很容易地說，就螺紋鋼而言——好吧，但當我們考慮扁鋼時，溢價水平就足夠了。所以說到螺紋鋼，就像我說的，這不是今天的主線，佔比不到1/3。 Japur 會告訴你更多關於混合的信息，你的第二個問題。但這是我們現在正在努力的過程。如果你考慮最近幾年，我們確實面臨挑戰，但考慮到競爭力和對巴西經濟的所有這些擔憂，這在我們的預期之內。

Conversations over the coming weeks once we close this call may be considering what we see in April, maybe we can give you more color about this. Japur?

一旦我們結束這個電話會議，未來幾週的對話可能會考慮我們在 4 月份看到的情況，也許我們可以給你更多關於這個的顏色。賈普爾？

Thiago, about the mix, there was some effect. If you look and check our quarterly statements and check variation, we have a higher increase in long steel compared to flat steel. So there was an effect considering Q4. So a heavier weight in long steel considering -- compared to flat steel. And when we check our revenue broken down into volume or shipment and price, 8% rise and 1% mix in the variation but nothing so significant.

蒂亞戈，關於混合，有一些效果。如果您查看並檢查我們的季度報表並檢查變化，與扁鋼相比，我們的長鋼材增幅更高。所以考慮到第四季度會有影響。因此，與扁鋼相比，長鋼的重量更重。當我們檢查我們的收入分解為數量或出貨量和價格時，8% 的增長和 1% 的變化混合在一起，但沒有那麼重要。

Slightly driven, you're right, by the rise in long steel. And the net sales per tonne is slightly lower. And like we said before, just to close, we managed to recover. We gained room that we lost last quarter, and it has an impact as well. So Thiago, just overall speaking, let's close April numbers first. And then we can talk later with Renata as well, and you can share more information about this specific topic.

受長材價格上漲的推動，你是對的。每噸淨銷售額略低。就像我們之前說的，只是為了關閉，我們設法恢復了。我們獲得了上個季度失去的空間，這也產生了影響。所以蒂亞戈，就總體而言，讓我們先關閉 4 月份的數字。然後我們稍後也可以與 Renata 交談，您可以分享有關此特定主題的更多信息。

Our next question comes from Rafael Barcellos, a sell-side analyst from Santander. He would also like to open his camera and ask the question live.

我們的下一個問題來自桑坦德銀行的賣方分析師 Rafael Barcellos。他還想打開相機，現場提問。

Can you hear me? I think so, right? My first question is about your Special Steels BD. In fact, even though your results still remain in a very robust level, I think that the main negative highlight in the quarter, and that's what you also talked about during this earnings release call, and we've been monitoring the recent shutdown of OEMs in Brazil.

你能聽到我嗎？我想是吧？我的第一個問題是關於您的特種鋼 BD。事實上，儘管你們的業績仍然保持在非常強勁的水平，但我認為這是本季度的主要負面亮點，這也是你們在本次財報電話會議上談到的，我們一直在關注最近 OEM 的關閉在巴西。

Werneck, you said that you don't anticipate a demand problem, but maybe the main aspect would be that. Could you please comment on your expectations for the year or whether you are noticing some recovery possibility? So what will -- what can we anticipate going forward?

Werneck，你說過你預計不會出現需求問題，但也許主要方面就是這樣。您能否評論一下您對今年的預期，或者您是否注意到一些復甦的可能性？那麼什麼會 - 我們可以預見未來會發生什麼？

And my second question relates to capital allocation and leverage. The company's policy is to have BRL 2 billion of gross debt and whether you already reached that level and the net debt level is comfortable. So what would be, in your view, the minimum cash position for the company?

我的第二個問題與資本配置和槓桿有關。公司的政策是擁有 20 億雷亞爾的總債務，您是否已經達到該水平並且淨債務水平是否合適。那麼，在您看來，公司的最低現金頭寸是多少？

In addition to that, I mean the results of the company remain very robust in this first quarter. So I think the natural question would be on extraordinary dividend payout. When we look at the buyback program, you already did almost 60% of the buyback program. Are you thinking about renewing that?

除此之外，我的意思是公司在第一季度的業績仍然非常強勁。所以我認為自然的問題是關於超額股息支付。當我們查看回購計劃時，您已經完成了將近 60% 的回購計劃。你在考慮續約嗎？

Well, Rafael -- Japur, I will answer the first part on special steels and you get the second part of the question. Right now, what I see for Gerdau throughout 2023, are quarters that are very similar to this current quarter in terms of results, especially EBITDA and generation of gross cash. So the next quarter should be pretty much in line with the first quarter.

好吧，拉斐爾 - 賈普爾，我將回答關於特殊鋼的第一部分，你會得到問題的第二部分。目前，我對整個 2023 年 Gerdau 的看法與本季度的業績非常相似，尤其是 EBITDA 和總現金的產生。所以下一季度應該與第一季度基本一致。

Special Steels is probably an area where we could see some improvement going forward, especially driven by North America, less driven by Brazil. Therefore, demand is sounder in North America, we may see the production of light vehicles picking up again in the U.S., we will see greater stability of our larger mill in the U.S. We invested a lot in that mill in the U.S.

特殊鋼可能是一個我們可以看到一些進步的領域，尤其是在北美的推動下，巴西的推動較少。因此，北美的需求更加穩健，我們可能會看到美國輕型汽車的產量再次回升，我們將看到我們在美國的大型工廠更加穩定。我們在美國的那個工廠投入了大量資金。

And when we see this level of investment, of course, that we have a new melt shop, a new furnace. And then we will get some benefits from cost reductions in Monroe. And in addition to heavy and light vehicles, we don't see any signs that, that will not continue. There might be a slight upset. But in Brazil, in terms of short-term improvements, we've seen some expectation or maybe some optimism when we look at ANFAVEA numbers for the second half.

當我們看到這種投資水平時，當然，我們有一個新的熔煉車間，一個新的熔爐。然後我們將從門羅的成本降低中獲得一些好處。除了重型和輕型車輛，我們沒有看到任何跡象表明這種情況不會繼續。可能會有輕微的不安。但在巴西，就短期改善而言，當我們查看下半年的 ANFAVEA 數據時，我們看到了一些期望或樂觀情緒。

But in practical terms, I don't -- we didn't see any signs from our customers that would indicate that this would happen in the next few months. All of the announcements are more to align supply and demand. It's interesting to see the percentage of light vehicles in Brazil that is bought cash. So the curve is now inverted.

但實際上，我沒有——我們沒有從客戶那裡看到任何跡象表明這將在未來幾個月內發生。所有的公告更多的是為了讓供需保持一致。有趣的是，巴西輕型汽車中現金購買的百分比。所以曲線現在倒轉了。

And in terms of heavy plates, we saw the reduction of engine Euro 5 to Euro 6. So this led to a reduction in heavy vehicles and the expectation of some vintages. We may see some increase in supply and demand, but nothing that will lead us to start up our melt shop in Mogi. I think in the U.S. we hear things louder than here. Maybe here, we would see a slight recovery in the results in terms of what we -- in comparison with what we delivered in the first quarter, but nothing that would cause us to have extraordinary results when compared to this first quarter.

在厚板方面，我們看到發動機歐 5 減少到歐 6。所以這導致重型車輛的減少和一些年份的期望。我們可能會看到供需有所增加，但不會促使我們在 Mogi 開設我們的熔煉車間。我認為在美國我們聽到的聲音比這里大。也許在這裡，我們會看到我們的結果略有恢復 - 與我們在第一季度交付的內容相比，但與第一季度相比，沒有什麼會導致我們取得非凡的結果。

I think by the end of 2023, we will post good results vis-a-vis historical results, but it may be below the results we posted in 2021 and 2022. So now Japur, you can answer the second question.

我認為到 2023 年底，我們將發布比歷史結果更好的結果，但可能會低於我們在 2021 年和 2022 年發布的結果。所以現在 Japur，你可以回答第二個問題。

About the minimum cash, I think I briefly talked about it. Our objective is to have about BRL 6 million in terms of high cash. Our gross debt is BRL 12 million, cash is BRL 6 million. Therefore, the snapshot we have today of approximately BRL 6 billion of net debt. This is pretty much what will be an optimal structure for Gerdau, giving the potential I mean, opportunities and the obligations we have in our balance sheet.

關於最低現金，我想我已經簡單地談過了。我們的目標是擁有大約 600 萬雷亞爾的高額現金。我們的總債務為 1200 萬雷亞爾，現金為 600 萬雷亞爾。因此，我們今天的快照約為 60 億雷亞爾的淨債務。這幾乎是 Gerdau 的最佳結構，我的意思是賦予我們資產負債表中的潛力、機會和義務。

About extraordinary dividend payout, I think I already answered that when I answered Thiago's question. The dividend payout -- the current dividend payout means that we are paying a significant amount of the results based on a corporate net income that was not considered cash in the case of the BRL 828 million net from income tax of PIS AND COFINS over scrap.

關於超額股息支付，我想我在回答蒂亞戈的問題時已經回答過了。股息支付——當前的股息支付意味著我們正在根據企業淨收入支付大量的結果，在 PIS 和 COFINS 的廢料所得稅淨額 8.28 億雷亞爾的情況下，這不被視為現金。

So in fact, we are already paying higher or more than the 30% anticipated payout. And in the second quarter -- I mean, the quarter has just begun. We are in the first few days. And we also have important payouts, I mean, both of dividends and also the bond that we paid 2 weeks ago of BRL 1 billion. And the debenture, which is about to mature of BRL 600 million maturing next week.

所以事實上，我們已經支付了高於或超過 30% 的預期支出。在第二季度——我的意思是，這個季度才剛剛開始。我們在頭幾天。我們也有重要的支出，我的意思是，包括股息和我們兩週前支付的 10 億巴西雷亞爾的債券。以及即將於下周到期的 6 億雷亞爾債券。

Therefore, between return to shareholders and debt amortization, we have [BRL 2 million] in this very short period of time. So if you consider -- okay, we have BRL 5.8 million, but almost half of it is almost already earmarked for payments in -- I mean, payments next week. So we will continue to look at it every quarter, look at our capacity to generate additional cash when compared to our optimal structure.

因此，在這非常短的時間內，在股東回報和債務攤銷之間，我們有 [BRL 200 萬]。因此，如果你考慮——好吧，我們有 580 萬雷亞爾，但其中幾乎一半已經指定用於支付——我的意思是，下週支付。因此，我們將繼續每個季度查看它，與我們的最佳結構相比，查看我們產生額外現金的能力。

And as we see opportunities, especially in those quarters when we generate more cash when compared to other quarters, well, certainly, we may pay higher dividends. And this has been the case in the past few years, especially that happens in the third quarter of the year, especially because these are considered stronger quarters, both in Brazil and in the U.S.

當我們看到機會時，尤其是在與其他季度相比我們產生更多現金的那些季度，當然，我們可能會支付更高的股息。過去幾年就是這種情況，尤其是今年第三季度，尤其是因為巴西和美國都認為這些季度表現強勁。

In terms of the buyback program, it's pretty much in line with that same thing that I said, when we have more availability of cash in terms of what we are generating and what we are investing and refinancing, we will certainly return more to shareholders. As a reminder, if you look at the past few years, if you look at everything we paid in the past 2 years, we pay a lot more dividends in terms of buyback and returns to our shareholders, way above the 30% payout determined by our bylaws.

就回購計劃而言，這與我所說的非常一致，當我們在生產、投資和再融資方面有更多可用現金時，我們肯定會為股東帶來更多回報。提醒一下，如果你看看過去幾年，如果你看看我們在過去 2 年支付的一切，我們在回購和回報股東方面支付了更多的股息，遠高於 30% 的股息我們的章程。

Our next question comes from Marcio Farid, sell-side analyst from Goldman Sachs. He would also like to open his camera.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的賣方分析師 Marcio Farid。他也想打開他的相機。

I have 2 follow-up questions. I think the first point, Werneck, and I believe you mentioned that you are very confident with your North America operations, the market is more confident, but there was a positive surprise in the first quarter. And based on the comments from your peers about North America, we see a generalized confidence increase in the market.

我有 2 個後續問題。我認為第一點，Werneck，我相信你提到你對北美業務非常有信心，市場更有信心，但第一季度出現了積極的驚喜。根據同行對北美的評論，我們看到市場普遍信心增強。

What do you think could be an impediment in terms of generating increased capacity or even exports into the U.S. Because it doesn't seem to be so reliable to see such high margins for a long period of time. So what would be the risks on the supply side, considering that we may see a good outlook for the next 5 years according to what you said?

您認為在增加產能甚至向美國出口方面可能會遇到什麼障礙，因為在很長一段時間內看到如此高的利潤率似乎並不那麼可靠。那麼，根據您所說的，考慮到我們可能會看到未來 5 年的良好前景，供應方面的風險是什麼？

The second point, there was a comment today during your press conference when you talked about CapEx for Minas. You gave a few details, but it seemed to me that you said something about the next 10 years. Could you comment a little bit more about that BRL 5 billion? Whether that is already part of the plan or that is outside the plan? Or this would be a diluted CapEx, diluted throughout a longer period of time?

第二點，今天在你的新聞發布會上談到米納斯的資本支出時有評論。你提供了一些細節，但在我看來，你似乎說了一些關於未來 10 年的事情。您能否對這 50 億巴西雷亞爾多說幾句？這是否已經是計劃的一部分，還是計劃之外？或者這將是稀釋的資本支出，在更長的時間內被稀釋？

And now going back to my previous question, could you elaborate a little bit more about Mexico. It seems like the metal spread in Mexico is detached from that of the U.S., even though it's higher, it's still different than that of the U.S.

現在回到我之前的問題，你能否詳細說明一下墨西哥。墨西哥的金屬價差似乎與美國的價差是脫節的，雖然高一些，但與美國的價差還是有區別的。

Excellent points, Marcio. Japur, you can start.

好點，馬西奧。賈普爾，你可以開始了。

Marcio, in terms of risks, I think we have to look at the financial sector and regional banks and how that could affect the capacity of industries in some regions in terms of them continuing to consume steel and keep the economy running, but we've seen the U.S. government and also government agencies being very assertive in terms of maintaining the liquidity of the system, trying to avoid any systemic risk of contamination.

Marcio，就風險而言，我認為我們必須關注金融部門和地區銀行，以及這將如何影響某些地區的工業產能，因為它們會繼續消耗鋼鐵並保持經濟運行，但我們已經看到美國政府和政府機構在維持系統流動性方面非常自信，試圖避免任何系統性污染風險。

And in that regard, in the mid-range, we do not anticipate any major risks. Of course, there are some important aspects of the economy that should be monitored like inflation, vacancy of commercial properties. But today, much of the demand, as mentioned by Gustavo, we've seen demand for the construction of manufacturing plants in the U.S. that are not generating the activity -- the economic activity of the quarter, but after decade, we should look all the plans for it reshoring of the current administration.

在這方面，在中等範圍內，我們預計不會有任何重大風險。當然，經濟的一些重要方面應該受到監控，比如通貨膨脹、商業地產的空置率。但是今天，正如古斯塔沃提到的，我們已經看到了對在美國建造製造工廠的需求的大部分需求，這些需求沒有產生活動——本季度的經濟活動，但十年後，我們應該看看所有現任政府的回流計劃。

And we think that this is not something -- that it's something for just this moment, but it's something that is here to stay in relation to we're seeing demand in the U.S. market. Let me just add another point. I think Marcio also talked a lot about supply. I think we reaped the benefits because except for rebars in terms of long steels, we are very well positioned for several reasons.

我們認為這不是什麼——它只是暫時的，但它是與我們在美國市場看到的需求相關的東西。讓我再補充一點。我認為 Marcio 也談到了很多關於供應的問題。我認為我們從中獲益，因為除了長鋼材的螺紋鋼，我們有幾個原因處於非常有利的位置。

First of all, there is a low penetration of imported goods in the segments where we operate. This is quite complex because it also involves manufacturing activities and importing large structures for large infrastructure works. And this is not something trivial. There is a low penetration of imported products in the segments where we operate. This was the case of rebars.

首先，進口商品在我們經營的細分市場中的滲透率較低。這非常複雜，因為它還涉及製造活動和為大型基礎設施工程進口大型結構。這不是一件小事。在我們經營的細分市場中，進口產品的滲透率較低。鋼筋就是這種情況。

And that's why we saw that operation because that would eat up our margins. And this is great -- there is incentives to local production. Most part of the packages are aimed at boosting domestic production, and investments in these segments are marginal in terms of due to add productive capacity in existing plants. And this is our case. We have been adding capacity, our mills in Virginia, our mill in Tennessee. And now we are making some investments in our Midlothian mill in Texas because we are adding additional capacities to marginally serve that demand.

這就是我們看到該操作的原因，因為這會耗盡我們的利潤。這很好——對本地生產有激勵作用。大部分一攬子計劃旨在促進國內生產，由於增加現有工廠的生產能力，對這些領域的投資微不足道。這就是我們的情況。我們一直在增加產能，我們在弗吉尼亞州的工廠，我們在田納西州的工廠。現在我們正在德克薩斯州的 Midlothian 工廠進行一些投資，因為我們正在增加額外的產能來滿足這一需求。

So I think that supply side is very balanced. When a new plant comes in, they don't start right away. And I think that the U.S. steel market remains very focused in the competitive dynamics in the flat market. So on our side, this is one last distraction, putting on the side the subject of flat steels. So in relation to supply it's quite balanced, and this will help us reap the benefits -- the additional benefits going forward.

所以我認為供給側是非常平衡的。當一個新工廠進來時，他們不會馬上開始。而且我認為美國鋼鐵市場仍然非常關注扁平市場的競爭動態。所以在我們這邊，這是最後一個分散注意力的話題，將扁鋼的主題放在一邊。因此，就供應而言，它是相當平衡的，這將幫助我們獲得收益——未來的額外收益。

Minas Gerais CapEx, there is nothing new. This is mostly related to our geographic position to show where we will focus our investments in Brazil in the next coming years. Now any signs that there will be a higher CapEx than that has been announced last quarter, won't happen. I think this is an adequate level of CapEx for the coming years.

米納斯吉拉斯州的資本支出，沒有什麼新鮮事。這主要與我們的地理位置有關，以顯示未來幾年我們將在巴西集中投資的地方。現在，任何跡象表明資本支出將高於上個季度宣布的，都不會發生。我認為這是未來幾年足夠的資本支出水平。

So what the press is saying is more related to getting a better understanding of the geographic area of investment. And I was just pointing out to where we are investing. So we will continue to invest in mining, not as a player in iron ore, but just to serve the demand from our own mills, but we are also making investments to improve the processing quality. And during my original introduction, I said that we are no longer putting tailings in dams.

因此，媒體所說的更多的是與更好地了解投資的地理區域有關。我只是指出我們正在投資的地方。因此，我們將繼續投資採礦，而不是作為鐵礦石的參與者，只是為了滿足我們自己工廠的需求，但我們也在進行投資以提高加工質量。在我最初的介紹中，我說過我們不再將尾礦放入水壩。

So 100% of our ore processing is dry stacking. So we are also making investments in Ouro Branco. For those of you who have been monitoring us for a long time that Ouro Branco was there to produce semifinish. So we are trying to add more value to our products produced at Ouro Branco. We are investing in a new plant for coiled hot rolled strips.

所以我們 100% 的礦石加工都是乾堆。因此，我們也在投資 Ouro Branco。對於那些長期關注我們的人來說，Ouro Branco 在那裡生產半成品。因此，我們正努力為 Ouro Branco 生產的產品增加更多價值。我們正在投資新建熱軋鋼捲廠。

And if there is yet a third phase, we still have potential. So we are investing at Ouro Branco. To add more value to our products, we are also investing in the buyer reducer because it's very competitive cost-wise and low emissions of CO2. So that BRL 5 billion of CapEx, it's more to qualify our investments in a certain location and our desire to look for opportunities in our own country.

如果還有第三階段，我們仍然有潛力。所以我們正在投資 Ouro Branco。為了給我們的產品增加更多價值，我們還投資於買方減速器，因為它在成本方面極具競爭力且二氧化碳排放量低。因此，50 億巴西雷亞爾的資本支出，更符合我們在特定地點的投資以及我們在自己國家尋找機會的願望。

Oh, sorry, if you could also comment on Mexico, Werneck?

哦，抱歉，如果你也可以評論墨西哥，Werneck？

Sorry, I forgot to say -- to talk about that. Mexico, regardless of Mexico's decision to support the U.S. in its economic growth, we were very fortunate in the past to invest in our Sahagún plant that was there to produce large structural profiles because Mexico used to import from Spain and Korea. So now this mill is reaching its maximum capacity.

抱歉，我忘了說——談論那個。墨西哥，不管墨西哥決定支持美國的經濟增長，我們過去非常幸運地投資了我們的 Sahagún 工廠，該工廠在那裡生產大型結構型材，因為墨西哥過去常常從西班牙和韓國進口。所以現在這家工廠正在達到其最大產能。

So aside from these Mexico things, all this reshoring and all of -- if this discussion was not in place, we would nonetheless delivering strong results in Mexico, reaping benefits from our growing capacity and also serving the local market. But right now, we always get additional results from 2 plants we have. We have 1 that produces rebars and also another 1 that produce commercial profiles. We are benefiting from this interesting moment of the U.S. economy. And our results are outstanding in these 2 lines of products.

因此，除了這些墨西哥的事情，所有這些回流以及所有 - 如果沒有進行這種討論，我們仍然會在墨西哥取得強勁的成果，從我們不斷增長的產能中獲益，並為當地市場服務。但現在，我們總是從我們擁有的 2 家工廠獲得額外的結果。我們有 1 家生產鋼筋，還有 1 家生產商業型材。我們正受益於美國經濟的這一有趣時刻。我們的結果在這 2 條產品線中非常出色。

A question from Vanessa Quiroga, sell-side analyst with Credit Suisse.

瑞士信貸賣方分析師 Vanessa Quiroga 提出的問題。

What is the margin dynamics in North America and Brazil? What about the future? And the second question is how many inventory days for scrap and other raw materials does Gerdau own in North America and in Brazil.

北美和巴西的利潤動態如何？未來呢？第二個問題是 Gerdau 在北美和巴西擁有多少廢料和其他原材料的庫存天數。

I'll also answer it with Japur. Margins, like I said before, naturally, they will be a little bit up or down. But let us wait what happens in the second and third quarter. I think the dynamics for results will be similar to what we currently have. In Brazil, we want to have a capacity to recover margins in rebars. Let's see how it goes.

我也會用賈普爾來回答。利潤率，就像我之前說的，自然會有所上升或下降。但讓我們拭目以待第二季度和第三季度會發生什麼。我認為結果的動態將與我們目前所擁有的相似。在巴西，我們希望有能力恢復螺紋鋼的利潤。讓我們看看進展如何。

And in the U.S., things are very sound, maybe some volatility, expansion of spread depending on the scrap dynamics. But overall speaking, when you think about the second and third quarters, we expect to see similar dynamics that brought us these results in the first quarter. Japur, anything to add?

在美國，情況非常好，可能會有一些波動，價差擴大取決於廢料動態。但總的來說，當你考慮第二季度和第三季度時，我們預計會看到與第一季度帶來這些結果的類似動態。 Japur，有什麼要補充的嗎？

We won't get into details for scrap because this is very strategic and sensitive information for us. But about finished goods, we do everything we can to make sure that we deliver everything we manufacture. And we highlight that for many quarters, our use rate is very high. So we've been manufacturing a lot what we actually believe that we managed to sell. Our current inventory coverage is slightly lower than our order book, maybe 60 days like Gustavo said for order book.

我們不會深入了解報廢的細節，因為這對我們來說是非常具有戰略意義和敏感的信息。但對於製成品，我們盡一切努力確保交付我們製造的所有產品。我們強調，在許多季度，我們的使用率都非常高。所以我們一直在製造很多我們實際上相信我們成功銷售的東西。我們目前的庫存覆蓋率略低於我們的訂單，可能像 Gustavo 所說的 60 天。

But for finished goods, our shipment is slightly lower. As a reminder, and thinking about a previous analyst question, in the U.S., we don't use FIFO or IFO, we use average cost. So we cannot set that this is higher or lower. It will always be the average scrap and may be connected to the Turkish dynamics or the Ramadan influence in the Middle East. We have a low pressure for scrap and also lower inventory costs in North America. Gustavo, anything else to add?

但對於成品，我們的出貨量略低。提醒一下，並考慮之前分析師的問題，在美國，我們不使用 FIFO 或 IFO，我們使用平均成本。所以我們不能設定這個更高或更低。它將永遠是平均廢料，可能與中東的土耳其動態或齋月影響有關。我們在北美的廢料壓力較低，庫存成本也較低。 Gustavo，還有什麼要補充的嗎？

No, I think this within what we can share.

不，我認為這在我們可以分享的範圍內。

Alex Hacking with Citi, sell-side analyst. He has 2 questions.

亞歷克斯黑客與花旗，賣方分析師。他有兩個問題。

First question is what about the backlog in the U.S. -- in North America compared to the same period of last year.

第一個問題是美國的積壓情況——與去年同期相比在北美。

The second question, he wants to know if we consider any opportunities of reinvestment in the U.S. market, considering the positive scenario. Most of the CapEx is currently coming to Brazil. Now I give the floor back to you.

第二個問題，他想知道我們是否考慮在積極的情況下對美國市場進行再投資的任何機會。目前大部分資本支出都流向了巴西。現在我把發言權還給你。

Alex, thank you for the question. The backlog is pretty stable, pretty flat. Overall speaking, it was in a certain level pre-pandemic. And post-pandemic, in late 2020, early 2021, it reached a peak and went slightly down, but it's pretty stable for some months now. Levels are above what we saw even in good months and good pre-pandemic periods. So they have proved to be very solid and consistent in the latest months.

亞歷克斯，謝謝你的提問。積壓非常穩定，非常平坦。總體來說，處於一定的疫情前水平。大流行後，在 2020 年末、2021 年初，它達到了頂峰，然後略有下降，但現在已經穩定了幾個月。即使在良好的月份和大流行前的良好時期，水平也高於我們所看到的水平。所以他們在最近幾個月被證明是非常穩固和一致的。

No signs of reduction or problems in the backlog. So it is in pre-pandemic levels and some peaks, but lower than what we saw in 2020 and 2022. 5 or 6 years ago, I used to say to talk about this gap in performance and cost vis-a-vis our peers in North America. And ever since then, we started to have a very consistent CapEx investment plan in North America. We understood it wouldn't be worthy with a greenfield operation. But update our IT and the plants and additional capacity, and it has turned out to be our strategy.

積壓沒有減少或問題的跡象。所以它處於大流行前的水平和一些峰值，但低於我們在 2020 年和 2022 年看到的水平。5 或 6 年前，我曾經說過談論與我們的同行相比在性能和成本方面的這種差距北美。從那時起，我們開始在北美製定非常一致的資本支出投資計劃。我們知道不值得進行全新的操作。但是更新我們的 IT 和工廠以及額外的能力，結果證明這是我們的戰略。

So the investment level that we have in the U.S. has proved to be enough to deliver very adequate performance. And we imagine this will still happen in the coming years. When it comes to investment decision, the last movement was our Midlothian in Texas. And we are just considering if new investments might bring interesting return for existing operations when it comes to cost and productivity. We consider the current level is more than adequate to bring to our mills and plants, the best when it comes to pure performance in North America.

因此，事實證明，我們在美國的投資水平足以提供非常充足的業績。我們認為這種情況在未來幾年仍會發生。說到投資決策，最後一個動作是我們德克薩斯州的中洛錫安。我們只是在考慮新投資是否會在成本和生產力方面為現有運營帶來有趣的回報。我們認為目前的水平足以為我們的工廠和工廠帶來北美的純性能最好的水平。

Next question, Carlos De Alba, sell-side with Morgan Stanley. He thank you for the presentation and ask 2 questions. Our cost expectations and working capital for the second quarter of 2023? The second question is, what is going on with steel prices in the domestic market? And what about our efforts for price increase?

下一個問題，Carlos De Alba，摩根士丹利的賣方。他感謝您的介紹並提出了 2 個問題。我們對 2023 年第二季度的成本預期和營運資金？第二個問題，國內市場鋼價情況如何？那麼我們的漲價努力呢？

Well, we are not happy yet with our cash conversion cycle, we consider there is room for a further reduction in our financial aspects. And we've been having some moves this quarter, for instance, a migration in our inventory into our customer account. So this is a good sign that we have conditions and elements to pursue a reduction in our overall working capital level for future quarters.

好吧，我們對我們的現金轉換週期還不滿意，我們認為我們的財務方面還有進一步減少的空間。本季度我們一直在採取一些舉措，例如，將我們的庫存遷移到我們的客戶賬戶中。因此，這是一個好兆頭，表明我們有條件和要素來降低未來幾個季度的整體營運資金水平。

Ideally, something around 60 to 70 days closer to what we consider to be adequate to our level of industry today. And if everything turns out fine, well, this is not a guidance, but we are working in this direction for better results. When it comes to cost, it will largely depend on our operating leverage volume.

理想情況下，大約 60 到 70 天更接近我們認為適合我們今天的行業水平的時間。如果一切順利，好吧，這不是指南，但我們正在朝著這個方向努力以獲得更好的結果。說到成本，這在很大程度上取決於我們的經營槓桿量。

Our fixed cost in the North America BD fluctuates with no depreciation between 20% and 23% of our cost. So there is a significant cost share in BRL or U.S. dollars per tonne of products sold that largely depend on the operating leverage. We understand that if we maintain the current production levels, that we see particularly in this quarter or maybe except for Q4, we may have conditions to pursue more competitive costs. As for price dynamics price, like I said before, I think the most significant concern about profitability in Brazil and particularly in civil construction and rebar and byproducts, there was a significant concern by the end of last year.

我們在北美 BD 的固定成本在我們成本的 20% 到 23% 之間波動，沒有折舊。因此，每售出一噸產品，巴西雷亞爾或美元的成本份額很大，這在很大程度上取決於運營槓桿。我們知道，如果我們保持當前的生產水平，尤其是在本季度或除第四季度外，我們可能有條件追求更具競爭力的成本。至於價格動態價格，就像我之前說過的那樣，我認為最重要的是巴西的盈利能力，尤其是民用建築、螺紋鋼和副產品，到去年年底就出現了嚴重的擔憂。

We had the World Cup, seasonality and concern about elections in Brazil. So at that time, competitive dynamics was different compared to what we usually see. At that time, we tried to maintain profitability. But as for moves in the market, these moves made margins go down dramatically, and now we have a recovery process.

我們有世界杯、季節性和對巴西選舉的擔憂。所以在那個時候，競爭動態與我們通常看到的不同。當時，我們試圖保持盈利。但就市場走勢而言，這些走勢使利潤率大幅下降，現在我們有一個複蘇過程。

It's always faster to go down than recovering. So this was the major problem last year. A typical month, things that we hadn't seen in the competitive scenario. And now recovery has been going on for some months. Like I told Thiago before, let's see how agile we will be to recover these margins, particularly for rebar. For other products, in general, I don't think there was a dramatic change or concern when it comes to profitability compared to the competitive scenario in Brazil for a while.

下降總是比恢復更快。所以這是去年的主要問題。典型的一個月，我們在競爭場景中沒有看到的東西。現在恢復已經持續了幾個月。就像我之前告訴 Thiago 的那樣，讓我們看看我們將如何靈活地恢復這些利潤率，尤其是螺紋鋼。對於其他產品，總的來說，與巴西的競爭情況相比，我認為在盈利能力方面沒有顯著變化或擔憂。

Our next question comes from Rodolfo Angele, sell-side analyst from JPMorgan. He would like to open his camera to ask the question live.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的賣方分析師 Rodolfo Angele。他想打開相機現場提問。

Okay. We already talked a lot about short-term quarters. Now I have -- my question is more going towards the future. I mean today, the company is very different from the day when you took over, Gustavo. We are looking at earnings, but certainly, the company is much bigger today when compared to what it was pre-pandemic period. Your balance sheet is almost free of debt.

好的。我們已經談了很多關於短期的問題。現在我有——我的問題更多是關於未來的。我的意思是，古斯塔沃，今天的公司與您接手時截然不同。我們正在關注收益，但可以肯定的是，與大流行前時期相比，該公司今天的規模要大得多。您的資產負債表幾乎沒有債務。

Now looking ahead, when you sit and talk to the controlling agents looking towards the next 5 years, are you leaning more towards, let's say, the 5 coming years would be more inclined towards paying more dividends to shareholders or your growth agenda is going to be the main topic of debate?

現在展望未來，當你坐下來與控制代理人談論未來 5 年時，你是否更傾向於，比方說，未來 5 年將更傾向於向股東支付更多股息，或者你的增長議程將成為辯論的主要話題？

We know everything about CapEx. We know that you have some one-off opportunities to invest in certain areas. But thinking in terms -- or thinking more in strategic terms, do you think that you would be leaning towards more growth? Or you would rather focus on increasing your payout to your shareholders?

我們了解資本支出的一切。我們知道您在某些領域有一些一次性的投資機會。但是從術語或戰略角度思考更多，你認為你會傾向於更多的增長嗎？或者您寧願專注於增加對股東的支出？

Well, all of these are always subjects for a good debate. I remember that you had the opportunity to talk to Faraco that for a long time, led our operation in Brazil. He is probably also joining us today. He gave us an important contribution to our BD Brazil. He had a beautiful history in Gerdau. He knows the business very well. And certainly, the fact that now Faraco is our strategic head, he is almost leading the company in terms of these debates.

好吧，所有這些總是值得好好辯論的話題。我記得你有機會與 Faraco 交談了很長時間，他領導著我們在巴西的業務。他今天可能也會加入我們。他為我們的 BD Brazil 做出了重要貢獻。他在蓋爾道有著一段美好的歷史。他非常了解業務。當然，現在 Faraco 是我們的戰略負責人，他幾乎在這些辯論中領導著公司。

But we have our feet on the ground. We want to grow, but more in niches. We want to grow our profitability. Therefore, what we are doing is we are just learning from our past history, we are learning from our mistakes and from all of the things we did right. And our ears are more open because we want to hear the opinion of also contribute to us.

但我們腳踏實地。我們想要成長，但更多的是在利基市場。我們希望提高盈利能力。因此，我們正在做的就是從過去的歷史中吸取教訓，從錯誤中吸取教訓，從我們做對的所有事情中吸取教訓。我們的耳朵更加開放，因為我們希望聽到對我們也有貢獻的意見。

There are very few companies with a track record like ours. We really like when we can serve in a moment of stability. We like to return value to our shareholders because they've been with us for the long run. But a growing agenda is normal, but we want to benefit from the platforms we already have and ways of adding more value. I mean, we have to use our capacity to add more added value. All of that is translated into growth.

很少有公司擁有像我們這樣的業績記錄。我們真的很喜歡我們可以在穩定的時刻服務。我們喜歡向股東回報價值，因為他們長期支持我們。但不斷增長的議程是正常的，但我們希望從我們已有的平台和增加更多價值的方式中受益。我的意思是，我們必須利用我們的能力來增加更多的附加值。所有這些都轉化為增長。

But we want to grow in products that can serve the domestic market, adding more value to our customers. Next is just that, a very down to earth company. We are investing close to our core business, looking for synergies and logistics synergies. We are really pleased with this moment of peace.

但我們希望發展能夠服務於國內市場的產品，為我們的客戶增加更多價值。接下來是一家非常腳踏實地的公司。我們正在靠近我們的核心業務進行投資，尋找協同效應和物流協同效應。我們對這片和平時刻感到由衷的高興。

But also, whenever we talk to the Board, we are also pursuing a growth agenda. But different from what we had in the past. I think the learnings we had is here to stay. I mean it will not disappear. Maybe one day we can sit with you and just draw up a specific agenda. But all in all, we want to extend that tranquility period for longer. We want to invest with our feet on the ground with more assertiveness because this will certainly bring good returns to the company and to our stakeholders. So in general, this is what I have to say, just to answer your question.

而且，每當我們與董事會交談時，我們也在追求增長議程。但與我們過去的不同。我認為我們所學到的知識將繼續存在。我的意思是它不會消失。也許有一天我們可以和你坐在一起，制定一個具體的議程。但總而言之，我們希望將平靜期延長更長的時間。我們要腳踏實地，更加自信地投資，因為這一定會給公司和我們的利益相關者帶來良好的回報。所以總的來說，這就是我要說的，只是為了回答你的問題。

Well, in view of everybody's agenda and time concerns, we will end the Q&A session. Questions that have not been answered will be certainly answered by our IR team right after the call.

那麼，鑑於大家的議程和時間問題，我們將結束問答環節。電話會議後，我們的 IR 團隊肯定會回答尚未回答的問題。

Well, in terms of my final remarks, I will start with great thanks. As I said at the beginning, this was a very challenging quarter, but I really enjoy all of the interactions that we have with you. We always learn a lot. Our -- we are all ears, and we are very attentive to all of the opportunities that arise from all sides.

好吧，就我的最後發言而言，我將首先表示非常感謝。正如我在開始時所說，這是一個非常具有挑戰性的季度，但我真的很享受我們與您的所有互動。我們總是學到很多東西。我們 - 我們都在傾聽，我們非常關注來自各方的所有機會。

The environment is very challenging, but it's amazing to see so many opportunities in-house. We're putting our focus on our performance, details, SG&A. We also have great focus on the customer and how we can add more value to our customers. So this has been a challenging quarter. But again, I would like to thank you all very much because you've always been close to us, looking at our results.

環境非常具有挑戰性，但在內部看到這麼多機會真是太棒了。我們將重點放在我們的績效、細節、SG&A 上。我們還非常關注客戶以及我們如何為客戶增加更多價值。所以這是一個充滿挑戰的季度。但再次，我要非常感謝你們所有人，因為你們一直與我們很親近，看著我們的結果。

And I would like to invite you again to join us once again in our next earnings release call on August 9, when we will discuss the results for the second quarter of this year. So I hope to see you soon. I wish you all the best.

我想再次邀請您再次參加我們 8 月 9 日的下一次財報電話會議，屆時我們將討論今年第二季度的業績。所以我希望很快見到你。祝你一切順利。

[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]

[現場通話中的口譯員用英語對這份成績單進行了陳述。]