Gerdau SA (GGB) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Gerdau's video conference call for the Second Quarter of '24. I am Mariana Dutra, Head of Investor Relations, and participating in our video conference today are Gustavo Werneck, the CEO of Gerdau; and Rafael Japur, the CFO. We would like to remind you that the broadcast of this video conference is being done with simultaneous translation, and to choose your preferred language, simply click in the interpretation button via the globe icon at the bottom of the screen.

大家早上好，歡迎參加 Gerdau 的 24 年第二季視訊電話會議。我是投資者關係主管 Mariana Dutra，參加今天視訊會議的有 Gerdau 執行長 Gustavo Werneck；和財務長拉斐爾·賈普爾（Rafael Japur）。我們想提醒您，本次視訊會議的轉播採用同聲傳譯，要選擇您喜歡的語言，只需透過螢幕底部的地球圖示點擊翻譯按鈕即可。

For those of you listening to the video conference in English, there is the option to mute your regional audio in Portuguese by clicking on mute original audio. During the company's presentation, all participants will have their microphones disabled. Later on, we will begin the Q&A session.

對於那些收聽英語視訊會議的人，可以選擇透過點擊「靜音原始音訊」來將葡萄牙語的區域音訊靜音。在公司演示期間，所有參與者的麥克風都將被停用。稍後，我們將開始問答環節。

Analysts and investors may be able to join the queue via the Q&A button and can open their microphone and camera if they so prefer. The business prospects, projections, and targets contained in this presentation are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the company's management, as well as on information currently available.

分析師和投資者可以透過「問答」按鈕加入隊列，如果他們願意，還可以打開麥克風和攝影機。本簡報中包含的業務前景、預測和目標是基於公司管理層的信念和假設以及目前可用的資訊。

Forward-looking statements are no guarantees of performance and dependent circumstances that may or may not occur.Investors could understand that general economic and market conditions and other operating factors may impact the company's future results, and the actual performance may differ from the outlook presented.

前瞻性陳述並未保證業績以及可能發生或可能不發生的相關情況。不同。

I will now turn the floor to Gustavo Werneck to initiate the presentation. Gustavo, you may proceed.

現在請古斯塔沃·韋內克開始演講。古斯塔沃，你可以繼續了。

Hello, everyone. I hope you are well. And thank you for the opportunity to meet with you during this video conference to announce Gerdau’s results for the second quarter of 2024. I am joined by our CFO, Rafael Japur, and it is always a pleasure for both of us to talk to you about our performance and also to answer questions that may arise during our presentation.

大家好。我希望你一切都好。感謝您有機會在這次視訊會議上與您會面，宣布 Gerdau 2024 年第二季的業績。我們的財務長 Rafael Japur 也加入了我的行列，我們都很高興與您談論我們的業績並回答我們演示期間可能出現的問題。

I will start by talking about the macro business environment, the highlights of the overall results, and next I will detail the performance of our business operations in the quarter. Next, Japur will share some information about our financial performance. And then finally, we will move on to our Q&A session.

我先講一下宏觀的經營環境、整體業績的亮點，然後再詳細介紹我們這個季度的經營狀況。接下來，Japur 將分享一些有關我們財務業績的資訊。最後，我們將進入問答環節。

Well, I start my presentation by saying that we ended the second quarter of 2024 with an accident frequency rate of 0.67, a historically low figure, reinforcing our commitment to the health and safety of our people. At Gerdau, safety always comes first, since no result is more important than people's lives.

好吧，我首先要說的是，2024 年第二季結束時，我們的事故頻率為 0.67，處於歷史最低水平，這強化了我們對人民健康和安全的承諾。在蓋爾道，安全始終是第一位的，因為沒有任何結果比人們的生命更重要。

Before we move on to the presentation of the results, I would like to express once again, on behalf of all Gerdau employees, our solidarity with the people of Rio Grande do Sul, who are still going through a very difficult period due to the heavy rains that hit the state in May.

在我們開始公佈結果之前，我想代表蓋爾道全體員工再次向南裡奧格蘭德州人民表示聲援，他們仍然在經歷一段非常困難的時期。

Since then, Gerdau, a centennial company founded in Porto Alegre 123 years ago, has been active on various fronts in support of Rio Grande do Sul. We have already contributed more than BRL26 million to a series of initiatives to support, recover and rebuild the state. These actions seek to support emergency and structuring projects so that Rio Grande do Sul can reclaim its leading role and the strength that is inherited to the people of Rio Grande do Sul.

自此，Gerdau 這家 123 年前在阿雷格里港成立的百年企業一直在各方面積極支持南里奧格蘭德州。我們已經為一系列支持、恢復和重建國家的舉措捐款超過 2,600 萬雷亞爾。這些行動旨在支持緊急和結構化項目，以便南里奧格蘭德州能夠重新發揮其主導作用以及南里奧格蘭德州人民繼承的力量。

Among these initiatives, I would highlight the partnership with the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to provide 100 emergency housing units to benefit up to 600 people affected by the rains in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. The project is part of a fund set up by the company and the NGO Gerando Falcões to raise funds to rebuild homes in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

在這些舉措中，我要強調的是與聯合國難民署 (UNHCR) 的合作夥伴關係，即提供 100 個緊急住房單元，使阿雷格里港大都市區的多達 600 名受降雨影響的人受益。該項目是該公司和非政府組織 Gerando Falcêes 設立的基金的一部分，旨在籌集資金在南里奧格蘭德州重建房屋。

Over the next three slides, I will emphasize that Gerdau continues to deliver solid financial results to its shareholders and investors, and also a transparent business strategy based on strong discipline in cost management and its assets in Brazil continue to show increasing competitiveness.

在接下來的三張幻燈片中，我將強調Gerdau 繼續為其股東和投資者提供穩健的財務業績，以及基於嚴格成本管理紀律的透明業務戰略，並且其在巴西的資產繼續顯示出日益增強的競爭力。

We constantly seek opportunities to adapt the company's structure to the current global business scenario. Also, I would like to point out that in the last 12 months, the monthly average of steel imports into Brazil was 396,000 tons, 66% above the historical average, totaling 4.8 million tons according to data from the Brazil Steel Institute. The penetration rate in the same period was 19.2%.

我們不斷尋找機會使公司結構適應當前的全球業務狀況。另外，我想指出的是，根據巴西鋼鐵協會的數據，過去12個月，巴西每月平均進口鋼材39.6萬噸，比歷史平均高出66%，總計480萬噸。同期滲透率為19.2%。

We expect that in the second half of the year, the domestic steel market should begin to feel the effects of the trade remedies recently implemented by the Brazilian government with the mixed tariff rate quota system. Finally, regarding our sustainability highlights, I would like to point out that Gerdau has become the first company in the steel industry to be certified as a B Corporation in North America, representing another step in our journey of sustainability and value creation with our stakeholders.

我們預計，下半年國內鋼鐵市場應會開始感受到巴西政府近期實施的混合關稅配額制度貿易救濟措施的影響。最後，關於我們的永續發展亮點，我想指出的是，Gerdau 已成為北美鋼鐵業第一家獲得共益企業認證的公司，這代表著我們在永續發展和與利益相關者一起創造價值的旅程中又邁出了一步。

The certification of our long steel and special steel operations in the US and Canada re-affirms Gerdau's century-old commitment to contribute to solving society's challenges and grandeurs while promoting a positive impact in the regions where we are present. Moving now to the next slide, I will comment on the highlights of each of our business divisions and the outlook for the coming months.

我們在美國和加拿大的長材和特殊鋼業務的認證再次證實了 Gerdau 的百年承諾，即為解決社會挑戰和偉大事業做出貢獻，同時在我們所在的地區產生積極影響。現在轉到下一張投影片，我將評論我們每個業務部門的亮點以及未來幾個月的前景。

In the second quarter of 2024, the performers of the North America business division remained unchanged from previous periods. The results reflect the resilience of the North American market, which contributed to keeping local demand for steel at healthy levels, with our backlog stable at a high level of around 50 days, even despite lower prices in the period.

2024年第二季度，北美業務部門業績與前期持平。結果反映了北美市場的韌性，這有助於將當地鋼鐵需求保持在健康水平，儘管期間價格較低，但我們的積壓仍穩定在 50 天左右的高水平。

The US market will continue to be positively impacted by government measures such as the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA, the Public Infrastructure Investment Package, in addition to reshoring movement and the maintenance of Section 232. As a point of attention, we are closely monitoring the uncertainties linked to the presidential elections in November and also the dynamics of the economy in general, including inflation and interest rates.

除了回流運動和維持第 232 條之外，美國市場將繼續受到《通膨削減法案》、IRA、公共基礎設施投資計畫等政府措施的正面影響。作為關注點，我們正在密切關注與 11 月總統選舉相關的不確定性以及總體經濟動態，包括通膨和利率。

In parallel, we continue to invest in improving operating efficiency and modernizing our units in North America in order to improve the competitiveness of these operations and provide a portfolio of innovative products and solutions that meet the current and future needs of our customers, like, for example, the future demand for steel brought about by the major infrastructure investments planned in the country.

同時，我們繼續投資於提高營運效率並對北美部門進行現代化改造，以提高這些業務的競爭力，並提供一系列創新產品和解決方案，以滿足客戶當前和未來的需求，例如，國家計劃的重大基礎設施投資帶來的未來鋼鐵需求。

Moving on to the next slide, I will now talk about our special steel business division. The automotive market in the US continues to recover, with the production of light and heavy vehicles projected to exceed 16 million units in 2024. There is still room, however, for a more intense recovery in the coming periods, returning to pre-pandemic levels.

轉到下一張投影片，我現在將談談我們的特鋼業務部門。美國汽車市場持續復甦，預計2024年輕型和重型汽車產量將超過1600萬輛。然而，未來一段時期仍有更強勁復甦的空間，恢復到疫情大流行前的水平。

The heavy vehicle and oil and gas segments should face a scenario of slight deceleration in the year to date. In turn, the outlook for the special steel market in Brazil is cautiously more optimistic, as a result of some signs that point to a rebound in automotive activity, especially in the heavy-duty segment.

今年迄今為止，重型汽車和石油天然氣領域將面臨小幅減速的情況。反過來，由於一些跡象表明汽車活動（尤其是重型汽車領域）反彈，巴西特鋼市場的前景更加謹慎樂觀。

Heavy-duty production in 2024 is expected to grow by 32.1%, according to data from ANFAVEA, mainly driven by the performance of bus production. The market, however, remains attentive to the uncertainties linked to access to credit lines, high interest rates, and the excessive entry of imported vehicles.

ANFAVEA的數據顯示，2024年重型車產量預計將成長32.1%，主要受到客車生產表現的推動。然而，市場仍然關注與信貸額度、高利率和進口車輛過度進入相關的不確定性。

As a highlight, we recently completed the certification of all the steel produced from the new continuous casting process at the Pindamonhangaba plant, which allows us to offer products with higher added value to the market and optimize the performance of our operation in terms of productivity. We now move on to the next slide, to talk about the South America business division.

值得一提的是，我們最近完成了對 Pindamonhangaba 工廠採用新連鑄製程生產的所有鋼材的認證，這使我們能夠向市場提供具有更高附加價值的產品，並在生產力方面優化我們的營運績效。我們現在轉到下一張投影片，討論南美洲業務部門。

In Argentina, meanwhile, the local steel market reached its lowest point ever in the second quarter, following inflationary pressure and the economic measures taken by the new administration, such as depreciation of the Argentine peso. Steel demand in the country is expected to recover slowly in the short term, with a stronger upturn expected in the fourth quarter of the year.

同時，在阿根廷，由於通膨壓力和新政府採取的經濟措施（例如阿根廷比索貶值），當地鋼鐵市場在第二季跌至歷史最低點。預計短期內國內鋼鐵需求將緩慢恢復，第四季將出現更強勁的回升。

The outlook for Uruguay remains positive, reflecting good levels of steel consumption, particularly from the agribusiness sector and public and private investments. In Peru, GDP has exceeded market expectations in recent months and has risen by 5.5%, boosted by a good performance in the fishing, manufacturing, and construction sectors. The construction sector even reported a similar rise of 5.5% in the period, driven by investments in public works.

烏拉圭的前景仍然樂觀，反映了良好的鋼鐵消費水平，特別是來自農業綜合企業部門以及公共和私人投資的鋼鐵消費。在秘魯，受漁業、製造業和建築業良好表現的推動，近幾個月GDP成長5.5%，超出市場預期。在公共工程投資的推動下，建築業在同一時期也出現了 5.5% 的類似成長。

Moving to the next slide, I will now talk about the long and flat steel scenario in Brazil, whose performance in the second quarter continued to be impacted by the strong inflow of imported steel in the country, since the trade remedies I mentioned earlier have not yet taken effect in the local market.

轉到下一張幻燈片，我現在將討論巴西的長材和扁材情況，該國第二季度的表現繼續受到該國進口鋼材強勁流入的影響，因為我之前提到的貿易補救措施尚未得到落實。

In addition, during this period, our shipments were impacted by production capacity readjustment initiatives and were also partially affected by the temporary shutdown of our unit in Rio Grande do Sul and the logistical restrictions imposed by the heavy rains that hit the state in May.

此外，在此期間，我們的出貨量受到產能調整措施的影響，也部分受到南里奧格蘭德州工廠暫時停產以及5月份該州暴雨造成的物流限制的影響。

I would also point out that we expect to see some positive indicators come to fruition in the Brazilian market, especially with regard to the construction industry and a more significant drop in interest rates. One example is the forecast of an 8.5% increase in the number of new housing launches in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to [ABRAINC].

我還想指出，我們預計巴西市場將出現一些積極的指標，特別是在建築業和利率更大幅度下降方面。一個例子是，據預測，2024 年新房推出數量將比前一年增加 8.5%[ABRAINC]。

Furthermore, I would like to mention that the GDP of the construction industry is expected to increase by 1.7% this year, reversing the slight drop recorded last year, according to IBGE. Now, I will hand over to Japur, who will give some more details on the Brazil business division, and afterwards, I will be back to answer your questions. Over to you

此外，我想提一下，根據IBGE的數據，今年建築業GDP預計將成長1.7%，扭轉去年的小幅下降。下面我就請Japur介紹一下巴西業務部門的具體情況，然後再回來回答大家的問題。交給你了

Thank you, Gustavo. Hello, everyone. It's always a great pleasure to be here with you for our earnings release conference call. As you can see in the blue highlight on the slide, in the quarter, we had BRL131 million of one-off costs related to the hibernation of some industrial units in Brazil, as Gustavo has mentioned previously. Excluding this impact, EBITDA in the second quarter would have been BRL665 million, 12% higher than in Q1 2024.

謝謝你，古斯塔沃。大家好。很高興與您一起參加我們的財報電話會議。正如您在幻燈片上的藍色突出顯示部分所看到的，正如古斯塔沃之前提到的，本季度我們因巴西一些工業單位的休眠而產生了 1.31 億雷亞爾的一次性成本。排除這一影響，第二季的 EBITDA 將為 6.65 億雷亞爾，比 2024 年第一季高 12%。

Moving on to the next slide, I will give you more details about our cost reduction initiatives. Since the end of last year, we have been carrying out a series of initiatives in our business divisions with the aim of optimizing our cost base. The expectation is that at the start of 2025, we will have a cost and expense base approximately BRL1.5 billion lower than that posted in 2023.

轉到下一張投影片，我將向您提供有關我們的成本削減計劃的更多詳細資訊。自去年年底以來，我們在業務部門實施了一系列舉措，旨在優化成本基礎。預計到 2025 年初，我們的成本和費用基礎將比 2023 年降低約 15 億雷亞爾。

Looking at the left-hand side of the slide, we detail the initiatives coming from the Brazil BD, where we expect to see savings of approximately BRL1 billion in annualized terms. In the first half of 2024, we have already saved around BRL150 million through initiatives to readjust production capacity in Brazil and efficiency improvement projects.

查看投影片的左側，我們詳細介紹了巴西 BD 的舉措，預計每年可節省約 10 億雷亞爾。2024年上半年，我們透過巴西產能調整和效率提升項目，已節省約1.5億雷亞爾。

For the second half of the year, we expect to save another BRL400 million, focusing on increasing the operating leverage of our plants due to hibernations, optimizing maintenance costs, and a lower consumption of specific materials. At the start of 2025, we anticipate the annualization of these earnings that I have just mentioned.

今年下半年，我們預計將再節省 4 億雷亞爾，重點是提高工廠因冬眠而產生的營運槓桿、優化維護成本以及降低特定材料的消耗。在 2025 年初，我們預計我剛才提到的這些收益將實現年化。

On the right-hand side of the slide, we present the initiatives of the other business divisions, where we intend to save around BRL0.5 billion on an annualized basis. These initiatives primarily contemplate improvements in productivity of our operations and stabilization of gains from some CapEx that we have recently executed.

在投影片的右側，我們介紹了其他業務部門的舉措，我們打算在這些部門每年節省約 5 億雷亞爾。這些措施主要考慮提高我們的營運生產力以及穩定我們最近執行的一些資本支出的收益。

Therefore, without taking into account the possible impacts from shipments, inflation, exchange rate variations and fluctuations in raw material prices, and focusing only on what we can actually control, we expect to see the reduction in our costs and expenses reflected in the full year 2025.

因此，在不考慮出貨量、通貨膨脹、匯率變動和原物料價格波動可能產生的影響的情況下，僅關注我們實際可以控制的因素，我們預計全年成本和費用的減少將反映在2025 年。

Now, let's move to the financial results in our EBITDA. We ended the quarter with an EBITDA of BRL2,624 million with a margin of 15.8%, down 1.6 percentage points from the first quarter. The reduction in EBITDA in the period was mainly driven by lower sales prices in the North America BD due to the rollover of higher raw material costs compared to the first quarter. And as already explained, the impact or the non-recurring impact associated with the hibernations in Brazil.

現在，讓我們來看看 EBITDA 中的財務表現。本季末，我們的 EBITDA 為 26.24 億雷亞爾，利潤率為 15.8%，比第一季下降 1.6 個百分點。期內 EBITDA 減少的主要原因是，由於原物料成本較第一季上漲，北美 BD 的銷售價格下降。正如已經解釋的那樣，影響或非經常性影響與巴西的冬眠有關。

We now move to the next slide where we'll talk about our cash flow. In the second quarter, we allocated BRL259 million to working capital, mainly as a result of the preparation for the reallocation of production capacity of our units in Brazil.

我們現在轉到下一張投影片，我們將討論我們的現金流。第二季度，我們分配了2.59億巴西雷亞爾作為營運資金，主要是為巴西工廠產能重新分配做準備。

The working capital line, when we look at our balance sheet, rose by another BRL800 million due to the 11% exchange rate variation between March and June. But it is important to highlight that this exchange rate variation has no cash effect. We spent approximately BRL1.2 billion on CapEx in line with our guidance.

當我們查看資產負債表時，由於 3 月至 6 月之間 11% 的匯率變化，營運資金額度又增加了 8 億雷亞爾。但要強調的是，這種匯率變動沒有現金效應。根據我們的指導，我們在資本支出上花費了約 12 億雷亞爾。

In addition, it is important to remember that, historically, the second quarter of every year sees a more substantial concentration of income tax payments. But even with significant cash outflows, we had a positive free cash flow of BRL89 million in the second quarter.

此外，重要的是要記住，從歷史上看，每年的第二季都會出現所得稅繳納更集中的情況。但即使有大量現金流出，我們第二季的自由現金流仍為 8,900 萬雷亞爾。

We ended the second quarter with gross debt of BRL12,500 million and a healthy leverage level of [0.53] times. The increase in the company's debt was a result of the conclusion of the issuance of BRL1,500 million in debentures with a five-year maturity, plus the effect of the exchange rate variation on our foreign currency debt in the period corresponding to BRL839 million.

第二季結束時，我們的總債務為 125 億雷亞爾，槓桿水準處於 [0.53] 倍的健康水準。公司債務增加的原因是完成了15億雷亞爾五年期債券的發行，加上匯率變動對我們外幣債務的影響，相當於8.39億雷亞爾。

The chart on the right shows the new maturity schedule of our debt and our robust liquidity position of BRL11,500 million, considering the sum of our cash position of BRL6,600 million and the $875,000,000 of our revolver line, which is fully available and undrawn by the company.

右圖顯示了我們新的債務到期時間表和我們 115 億雷亞爾的強勁流動性頭寸，考慮到我們 66 億雷亞爾的現金頭寸和 8.75 億美元的循環額度（完全可用且未提取）由公司。

Now let's talk about our CapEx. In the second quarter, our investment in CapEx totaled BRL1,420 million, 50% of which was remarked for growth and competitiveness projects. To date, we have already invested 47% of the BRL11,900 million foreseen in Gerdau's strategic CapEx for the 2021-2026 cycle. In Brazil, investments in mining and flat steel in Minas Gerais have reached around 55% of the physical and financial plan and their schedules remain unchanged as planned.

現在我們來談談我們的資本支出。第二季度，我們的資本支出投資總額為 14.2 億雷亞爾，其中 50% 用於成長和競爭力項目。迄今為止，我們已將預期 119 億雷亞爾的 47% 投資於 Gerdau 2021-2026 年周期的戰略資本支出。在巴西，米納斯吉拉斯州的採礦和扁鋼投資已達到實物和財務計畫的 55% 左右，且其進度仍按計畫保持不變。

Moving on to the next slide, let's talk about the return to our shareholders. In addition to the dividend of BRL0.12 cents of per share at Gerdau SA and BRL0.08 cents per share at Metalurgica Gerdau, the Board of Directors of both companies approved a new share buyback program. At Gerdau, up to [68 million] preferred shares and approximately 1,800,000 common shares may be acquired.

轉到下一張投影片，讓我們談談股東的回報。除了 Gerdau SA 每股 0.12 美分雷亞爾和 Metalurgica Gerdau 每股 0.08 雷亞爾的股息外，兩家公司的董事會還批准了一項新的股票回購計劃。在 Gerdau，最多可收購 [6,800 萬] 優先股和約 1,800,000 股普通股。

Considering the prices of the last few weeks, the buyback program represents an investment of approximately BRL1,300 million. At Metalurgica Gerdau, up to [33 million] preferred shares may be acquired, which represents an investment of approximately BRL350 million. Both programs will be valid for 12 months, starting now on August 1, 2024.

考慮到過去幾週的價格，回購計畫的投資金額約為 13 億雷亞爾。Metalurgica Gerdau 最多可收購 [3,300 萬] 優先股，相當於約 3.5 億雷亞爾的投資。這兩個計劃的有效期均為 12 個月，即從 2024 年 8 月 1 日開始。

Thank you, Japur. Well, I'd like to thank you all for listening to our initial comments and remarks, and we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have now and perhaps go over any points of interest that you might have. Thank you.

謝謝你，賈普爾。好吧，我要感謝大家聆聽我們最初的意見和評論，我們很樂意回答您現在可能提出的任何問題，並可能討論您可能感興趣的任何問題。謝謝。

Thank you, Gustavo and Japur. We will now initiate the Q&A session. (Operator Instructions) Daniel Sasson, Itau BBA

謝謝古斯塔沃和賈普爾。我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員說明）Daniel Sasson，Itau BBA

Good morning and Thank you for taking my question. First of all, I would like to thank you for being so transparent with us. You gave us, you know, a roadmap about how are you going to reach your target this year? And I think the market in general is not fully aware of the potential that is gained through these models.

早安，感謝您提出我的問題。首先，我要感謝您對我們如此透明。你給了我們一份關於今年如何實現目標的路線圖？我認為整個市場並沒有完全意識到透過這些模型獲得的潛力。

If you might, if you can please remind us what is the potential of the the Brazil costs in dollar terms so that we can have an idea of the the dollar amount or the depreciation of our currency, this would be very helpful. If I And if I'm not mistaken, the guidance or this expectation of BRL1 billion also in actual base in real base business. Is it reasonable to consider IPCA in this map because your costs seem to have a different inflationary calculation when compared to IPCA could you help us think about the main drivers there impact of this account?

如果可以的話，請提醒我們以美元計算的巴西成本的潛力是多少，以便我們了解美元金額或我們的貨幣貶值，這將非常有幫助。如果我沒記錯的話，10 億雷亞爾的指導或預期也在實際基礎業務中。在這張圖中考慮 IPCA 是否合理，因為與 IPCA 相比，您的成本似乎有不同的通貨膨脹計算，您能幫助我們考慮該帳戶影響的主要驅動因素嗎？

And my second question is on CapEx. I think in the first half, your CapEx was BRL2.3 billion. So do you think we should expect an acceleration in the second half? So you reach that BRL6 billion of guidance for the year or maybe the number for this year should be still slightly below probably, you know, rolling over to 2025 and onwards. I think this is what I have. Thank you.

我的第二個問題是關於資本支出。我認為上半年，你們的資本支出為 23 億雷亞爾。那麼您認為我們應該期待下半年的加速嗎？因此，今年的指導金額達到了 60 億雷亞爾，或者今年的數字可能仍略低於，你知道，滾動到 2025 年及以後。我想這就是我所擁有的。謝謝。

Well, Daniel, thank you for your excellent questions. I think Japur and give you more details.

好吧，丹尼爾，謝謝你提出的精彩問題。我想 Japur 會給你更多細節。

First of all, welcome. Let's welcome Mariana Dutra. She is now a new addition to our IR team. I mean, she's been with us for a long time. She had experiences in other companies also. So, we're very pleased to have you with us today.

首先，歡迎光臨。讓我們歡迎瑪麗安娜杜特拉。她現在是我們 IR 團隊的新成員。我的意思是，她已經和我們在一起很久了。她也曾在其他公司工作過。所以，我們很高興今天您能和我們在一起。

Daniel, in terms of your first question regarding cost composition, as part of our Brazil cost structure, may be unlike other companies that are probably more focused on integrated measures or more dollar-denominated costs. Let's take a typical year of the company and let's think about the dollar-denominated accounts like coal that we import or from third parties that sometimes we have to buy.

丹尼爾，就你關於成本構成的第一個問題而言，作為我們巴西成本結構的一部分，可能與其他公司不同，其他公司可能更注重綜合措施或更以美元計價的成本。讓我們以公司典型的一年為例，考慮一下以美元計價的帳戶，例如我們進口的煤炭或有時我們必須從第三方購買的煤炭。

And even though it is in Brazil, it is denominated in US dollars. And also alloys that are acquired in the international markets. So, approximately between 20% to 25% of the Brazil operation, not the entire operation, but more specifically the Brazil BD, I would say that there is a very strong relationship with the US dollar.

即使是在巴西，也是以美元計價的。還有在國際市場購買的合金。因此，大約有 20% 到 25% 的巴西業務，而不是整個業務，更具體地說是巴西 BD，我想說與美元有非常密切的關係。

On the other hand, when we think about our revenues, between 10% to 15%, depending on the mix and international prices, between 10% to 15% of our revenues are also directly linked to that foreign currency without even considering possible moves that may occur due to the parity of the imported good.

另一方面，當我們考慮我們的收入時，10% 到15% 之間（取決於組合和國際價格），我們的10% 到15% 之間的收入也與該外幣直接掛鉤，甚至不考慮可能的舉措可能由於進口商品的平價而發生。

So, specifically regarding to foreign exchange exposure, these would be the percentages that should be taken into account. Now, when we think in terms of inflation based in the IPCA index or other indexes, our expense costs, SG&A and personnel salaries, these are very much correlated to IPCA index.

因此，特別是關於外匯敞口，這些是應該考慮的百分比。現在，當我們考慮基於 IPCA 指數或其他指數的通貨膨脹時，我們的費用成本、SG&A 和人員薪資，這些與 IPCA 指數密切相關。

So, I think that it will be closer for us to have a relationship with IPCA. Other costs, like variable costs, like utilities, raw materials, scrap, the dynamic of costs are very peculiar and depend on market dynamics. That's why when we talk about BRL1 billion in the Brazil operation, what we expect to gain in terms of competitiveness is based on the costs that we can control, that it's in our hands without mentioning things that are out of our managerial control.

所以，我認為我們與IPCA的關係會更加密切。其他成本，如變動成本，如公用事業、原材料、廢料，成本的動態非常特殊，取決於市場動態。這就是為什麼當我們談論巴西業務的10 億雷亞爾時，我們期望在競爭力方面獲得的收益是基於我們可以控制的成本，這些成本掌握在我們手中，而無需提及我們管理控制之外的事情。

So, I think this quarter we are able to deliver part of these gains, but the part that is linked to the hibernations would be more clearly seen in the second half of the year, but we are very confident that we will be able to deliver things in line with what we plan. And so, in 2025, we will be more in line with what we were in 2023.

因此，我認為本季我們能夠實現部分收益，但與冬眠相關的部分將在下半年更加明顯地看到，但我們非常有信心實現事情符合我們的計劃。因此，到 2025 年，我們將更符合 2023 年的情況。

Now, to answer your second question on CapEx, in the last few years, our disbursements have been stronger in the second half of the year when compared to the first half. That's where we typically have our maintenance downtime. There is a typical seasonality that comes in the third and fourth quarter, mostly in the fourth quarter. And as the bulk of our CapEx investments, they are not greenfield, they are brownfield.

現在，回答關於資本支出的第二個問題，在過去幾年中，我們下半年的支出比上半年更強。這就是我們通常需要進行維護停機的地方。典型的季節性出現在第三季和第四季，主要是第四季。作為我們大部分的資本支出投資，它們不是綠地，而是棕地。

So, we have to stop some critical equipment so that we can have some more serious interventions in these CapEx. That's why typically in the second half of the year, we spend more CapEx when compared to the first half.

因此，我們必須停止一些關鍵設備，以便我們可以對這些資本支出進行更嚴重的干預。這就是為什麼通常在下半年，我們會花費比上半年更多的資本支出。

Daniel, I just have an additional comment. Cost has been very relevant for us here in Brazil. It was relevant in the last quarters and continues to be very relevant. We made an important change in our Brasil BD. We promoted one of our leaders, his name is Mauricio. He is the number one person in charge of long stills and mining.

丹尼爾，我還有一點補充意見。成本對我們巴西來說非常重要。它在過去幾個季度中很重要，並且仍然非常重要。我們對巴西 BD 做出了重要改變。我們提拔了一位領導人，他的名字叫毛里西奧。他是長劇和採礦的第一負責人。

He has been with us for several years. He worked with me on several occasions with me. He was a rolling mill manager, melt shop manager, and more recently, he was a corporate officer for the engineering operations. He had the opportunity to travel around the world and be very familiar with the cost operations from several competitors, competitors that are very bold in that regard.

他已經和我們在一起好幾年了。他曾多次與我一起工作。他曾擔任軋機經理、熔煉車間經理，最近，他擔任工程營運公司官員。他有機會到世界各地出差，非常熟悉幾個競爭對手的成本運作，這些競爭對手在這方面非常大膽。

So, in terms of cost and performance, these are subjects that are quite relevant to us, especially throughout the journey that Japur just referred to before. So, he's a new leader in our Brasil BD. And in the right moment, I will formally introduce him to you so you can talk to him in more depth. But certainly, he is an individual that could escalate our operations in Brazil, and we will attain a level never seen before.

因此，就成本和性能而言，這些都是與我們非常相關的主題，尤其是在 Japur 之前提到的整個旅程中。所以，他是我們巴西 BD 的新領導者。在適當的時候，我會正式把他介紹給您，以便您可以與他進行更深入的交談。但可以肯定的是，他是一個可以升級我們在巴西業務的人，我們將達到前所未有的水平。

So, I would like just to highlight that everything that Japur said should be translated in practical examples. But like one example of our commitment is that we brought to our Brazil operation an individual that is very knowledgeable about performance and competitiveness.

因此，我想強調的是，賈普爾所說的一切都應該轉化為實際例子。但我們的承諾的一個例子是，我們為巴西業務引進了一位非常了解績效和競爭力的個人。

Thank you. Thank you very much, Gustavo, and welcome back, everybody.

謝謝。非常感謝你，古斯塔沃，歡迎大家回來。

Marcio Farid, Goldman Sachs.

馬西奧·法里德，高盛。

Thank you, Mari. Good morning, Japur, Gustavo, and thank you for taking my question. My question relates to the North America BD. I think our recent interactions with investors, people were a bit scared with the performance of HRC and rebar this year. So, what we see on our end is that merchant bars, it's almost 80% of your volume, is much more resilient, not only this year but in the past two years as well.

謝謝你，馬裡。早安，Japur、Gustavo，感謝您提出我的問題。我的問題與北美 BD 有關。我認為我們最近與投資者的互動，人們對今年熱軋捲和螺紋鋼的表現有點害怕。因此，我們最終看到的是，幾乎佔交易量 80% 的商業金條更具彈性，不僅是今年，過去兩年也是如此。

And historically, the correlation with rebar has been quite strong. But since the end of 2022, we've seen a detachment, especially of metal spreads, which remains to this date. So, if we could probably elaborate a bit more on that gap and how much do you think would be sustainable looking forward and what would be the main data points for us to look at?

從歷史上看，與螺紋鋼的相關性相當強。但自 2022 年底以來，我們看到了一種分離，尤其是金屬價差，至今仍然存在。那麼，如果我們可以更詳細地闡述這一差距，您認為未來可持續的程度是多少，以及我們需要關注的主要數據點是什麼？

In terms of the Brazil BD, there was some recent news and the first one being import tariffs. I think, Gustavo, you were very vocal about the importance of these tariffs. And partially, we saw that things are already being implemented. But it's still a bit confusing in terms of the actual impact once the tariffs are put in place. So, it would be nice if you could educate us further in terms of the impact of the tariffs and consequently the recent price increases that came on the trail blade of the depreciation of the foreign exchange?

巴西BD方面，最近有一些消息，第一個就是進口關稅。我認為，古斯塔沃，你非常直言不諱地表達了這些關稅的重要性。部分地，我們看到事情已經在實施。但關稅實施後的實際影響仍有點令人困惑。那麼，如果您能進一步向我們介紹關稅的影響以及最近因外匯貶值而導致的價格上漲，那就太好了？

Cost is a relevant aspect as well, just trying to understand how much of that is incremental EBITDA? Because if you assume that you lose revenue with shipments and zero margin, I mean, the margins improve, but not necessarily your incremental EBITDA follows suit. So, if you could also elaborate on that, I would appreciate it.

成本也是一個相關方面，只是想了解其中有多少是增量 EBITDA？因為如果你假設你因出貨量和零利潤而損失收入，我的意思是，利潤率會提高，但不一定你的增量 EBITDA 也會隨之提高。因此，如果您也能詳細說明這一點，我將不勝感激。

These are excellent points for our debate. So, connecting North America and Brazil, we were very confident maybe, also at the end of the third quarter, because we were overcoming the most difficult quarter of the year. And a few weeks ago, we had a very strong outlook that starting the third quarter results in general for Gerdau would improve.

這些都是我們辯論的要點。因此，連接北美和巴西，我們可能非常有信心，在第三季末也是如此，因為我們正在克服今年最困難的季度。幾週前，我們非常樂觀地認為，從第三季開始，蓋爾道的業績整體會有所改善。

And when we look at these two important geographies for the company, we were maybe slightly more concerned with the points that you raised. I mean, how much these drops that we saw in terms of flat steel and rebars could really hit our main products, I mean, large structural alloys and structural profiles. And we had already anticipated that it would be a drop, but it will be more than compensated by the recovery of the Brazil BD in such a way that the second quarter would be the most difficult one for us this year.

當我們審視公司的這兩個重要地區時，我們可能更關心您提出的觀點。我的意思是，我們在扁鋼和螺紋鋼方面看到的跌幅對我們的主要產品（大型結構合金和結構型材）有多大影響。我們已經預計到會出現下降，但巴西 BD 的復甦足以彌補這一下降，因此第二季將是我們今年最困難的季度。

So, what happened now, and we already start seeing the results, the results that occurred in July are just proving that our thesis was in the right direction. First of all, because in North America, there was a lower reduction than we imagined in our business in these specific categories or products, which are the focus of the company. In July, therefore, we didn't notice such a drastic drop as we envisioned, because things remained very solid, our business, our backlog, our spreads.

所以，現在發生的事情，我們已經開始看到結果，七月發生的結果只是證明我們的論文方向是正確的。首先，因為在北美，我們的業務在這些特定的品類或產品上的減少幅度比我們想像的要低，而這些正是公司的重點。因此，在 7 月份，我們並沒有註意到我們預想的那樣急劇下降，因為一切仍然非常穩定，我們的業務、我們的積壓、我們的利差。

We assume that there will probably be a slight drop in the next coming months, especially because of the coming election and volatility, but we think that it will be lower than planned. Therefore, everything there remains very solid in terms of backlog and spreads. I was very optimistic with the results from North America, and even so more now.

我們假設未來幾個月可能會略有下降，特別是由於即將到來的選舉和波動，但我們認為會低於計劃。因此，就積壓和價差而言，那裡的一切仍然非常穩定。我對北美的結果非常樂觀，現在更是如此。

And another good thing that leads us to say that we will see a continuous improvement of our results are things related with Brazil. In July, we saw things performing better than we imagined, and a good part of it comes from the cost part that Japur mentioned. We are now reaping the benefits of all of the internal moves we made, like hibernating some operations and this continuous search for being more competitive.

另一個讓我們說我們將看到我們的業績不斷提高的好事情是與巴西有關的事情。7月份，我們看到事情的表現比我們想像的要好，其中很大一部分來自Japur提到的成本部分。我們現在正在從我們所做的所有內部舉措中獲益，例如休眠一些業務以及不斷尋求更具競爭力。

But again, we start seeing some changes in the perspective related to imports. Of course, Marcio, it's still too soon to tell, because the tariffs have been in place in July, but I was very pleased to see the results that came in terms of imports. I think it will need a few more months to be more certain about the results, but I'm very optimistic, and I know that we are moving in the right direction.

但我們再次開始看到與進口相關的觀點發生了一些變化。當然，Marcio，現在下結論還為時過早，因為關稅已於 7 月實施，但我很高興看到進口方面的結果。我認為還需要幾個月的時間才能更確定結果，但我非常樂觀，我知道我們正在朝著正確的方向前進。

I'm not saying that this will solve everything, because probably not, but the dialogue with the Brazilian government authorities has been quite open. So, if this doesn't solve the issue, we will continue to debate, or maybe we will include other items in that mechanism of tariff rate quota system and the anti-dumping process. But we have to carefully look at this move, and probably there will be a reduction in productive capacity in general.

我並不是說這會解決所有問題，因為可能不會，但與巴西政府當局的對話一直相當開放。因此，如果這不能解決問題，我們將繼續辯論，或者我們可能會將其他項目納入關稅配額制度和反傾銷程序的機制中。但我們必須仔細看待這項舉措，可能整體上會出現產能減少的情況。

I think all the factors are becoming more aligned in terms of North America, Brazil, and special states. In fact, I think that the most difficult moment is already in the past, and now it's time for a rebound that recovery will be slow. There will not be any out of the ordinary effect that will lead us to a very sudden change, but certainly everything that is happening is proof that our results will improve starting in the third quarter.

我認為就北美、巴西和特殊州而言，所有因素都變得更加一致。其實我覺得最困難的時刻已經過去了，現在是反彈的時候了，復甦會很慢。不會有任何不尋常的影響導致我們突然發生變化，但肯定發生的一切都證明我們的業績將從第三季開始有所改善。

Now, Japur, maybe you can talk about that cost part of the question.

現在，Japur，也許你可以談談問題的成本部分。

Hi, Marcio. So, let me do a quick follow-up. The idea is that with this, the reduction of our base of costs and expenses, particularly in the Brazil BD, where this is more significant, we will see a good increment in our EBITDA, very close to the numbers. Of course, there are other situations like price policy, raw materials, and other things are also very representative in terms of the composition of that number. But these are things that we can control.

嗨，馬西奧。那麼，讓我快速跟進一下。我們的想法是，透過這種方式，我們的成本和支出基礎減少，特別是在巴西 BD，這一點更為重要，我們將看到 EBITDA 大幅成長，非常接近數字。當然，還有其他一些情況，例如價格政策、原材料等，從這個數字的組成來看也很有代表性。但這些都是我們可以控制的。

But if we think about maintenance expenses, expenses with specific materials, expenses with travel and other SG&A topics, real estate expenses and service providers, our idea is to have a leaner operation, more efficient, and also capable of navigating through a better scenario. Then we would have better results when compared to this last quarter. Thank you

但如果我們考慮維護費用、特定材料的費用、差旅費用和其他 SG&A 主題、房地產費用和服務提供商，我們的想法是擁有更精簡的營運、更有效率，並且能夠應對更好的場景。與上個季度相比，我們會得到更好的結果。謝謝

Thank you, Gustavo, Japur and Mari.

謝謝古斯塔沃、賈普爾和馬利。

Thank you, Marcio.

謝謝你，馬西奧。

Leonardo Correa, BTG.

萊昂納多·科雷亞，BTG。

Good afternoon, everyone. Mari, Werneck, Japur.

大家下午好。馬裡、韋內克、賈普爾。

So, Werneck, I'm going to get away of the usual protocol of differentiated questions and I'll go back to the same tone of the recent conversation of the last question. So, just to check if I understood everything well or if there's anything we should think about.

所以，Werneck，我將擺脫通常的差異化問題協議，我將回到最近一個問題的對話中相同的語氣。所以，只是為了檢查我是否理解了所有內容，或者是否有什麼我們應該考慮的。

You see, when we look at the last guidances of US steel companies, your peers, we understand that there is a huge difference in the product mix of Gerdau. We observe that flat price in the US collapsed 40% and in your best scenario, this is not applicable to you. I do understand the mix, but the general message has been kind of this.

你看，當我們查看美國鋼鐵公司、同行的最新指導意見時，我們了解到Gerdau的產品結構存在巨大差異。我們觀察到美國的統一價格暴跌了 40%，在您最好的情況下，這並不適用於您。我確實理解這種混合，但整體訊息是這樣的。

The Q3 will get worse, that there will be a margin compression of metal spreads. In the front line, we see a lot of macro indicators showing a more marked worsening. There's also the political issues that you mentioned in the introduction.

第三季將變得更糟，金屬價差將出現利潤壓縮。在第一線，我們看到許多宏觀指標都出現了較明顯的惡化。還有您在引言中提到的政治問題。

So, I just would like to confirm with you, are you observing a different scenario than your peers? One that is more resilient and stable in the United States, coupled with a Brazilian scenario that would improve sequentially, given all the successful work that you have been doing of cutting costs, so the result tends to improve quarter after quarter?

所以，我想向您確認一下，您是否觀察到與同齡人不同的情況？鑑於您在削減成本方面所做的所有成功工作，美國的情況更具彈性和穩定，再加上巴西的情況會連續改善，因此結果往往會逐季改善？

So, I just would like to confirm with you, with a focus on the next quarter. We always try to look a little farther ahead, but kind of your message is different than the message of your peers. I just want to check if I understood this well, what kind of progression you see in Q3? So, that's number one.

因此，我想與您確認一下，重點是下個季度。我們總是試著看得更遠一些，但您傳達的訊息與同行傳達的訊息有所不同。我只是想檢查一下我是否理解得很好，您在第三季度看到了什麼樣的進展？所以，這是第一。

Now, moving to another point regarding prices. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of help from the government regarding long stills. There was nothing in the MCNs regarding the tariff rate quota. You're trying to approve this increase. I know that flats is imperfect, but it kind of captured some of this increase, 1-2% have passed through.

現在，轉到關於價格的另一點。不幸的是，我們在長劇照方面沒有得到政府太多的幫助。MCN 中沒有任何關於關稅配額的內容。您正在嘗試批准此增加。我知道公寓並不完美，但它捕獲了部分增長，1-2% 已經通過了。

So, I would like to understand, how do you see the scenario of recomposing your margins and passing through prices? You spoke about civil construction, Werneck. I just want to confirm that the prices are being passed through well.

所以，我想了解一下，您如何看待重組利潤和傳遞價格的情況？你談到了土木建築，韋內克。我只是想確認價格傳遞得很好。

What you understood is correct. When we look at public information and when we hear the earnings calls of our US peers, just like our call here today, these are all public interactions that we follow, so we can understand how they're seeing the US scenario. And to compare with the way we see things, and your interpretation was very precise.

你所理解的是正確的。當我們查看公開資訊時，當我們聽到美國同行的財報電話會議時，就像我們今天在這裡舉行的電話會議一樣，這些都是我們關注的公共互動，因此我們可以了解他們如何看待美國的情況。與我們看待事物的方式相比，你的解釋非常精確。

In the last earnings calls in the United States, we see that they're being very vocal regarding their plans, increasing imported products. They start talking about this triangulation via Mexico. We start seeing some progress in the USMCA of putting some pressure.

在美國最近的財報電話會議上，我們看到他們對增加進口產品的計劃非常直言不諱。他們開始談論透過墨西哥進行的三角測量。我們開始看到美墨加協定在施加壓力方面取得了一些進展。

So, indeed, the flats segment is very much impacted. And the flats segment, not just because of the imported products and a moment of recussion, they use prime scrap. We don't use prime scrap. We use obsolete scrap. So, yes, there is a gap, but not just now, Leo. It has been happening for a while because the market demands are different, the supply and demand dynamic in our segment.

因此，公寓市場確實受到了很大的影響。而扁平材部分，不僅是因為進口產品和一時的迴避，他們使用優質廢鋼。我們不使用優質廢料。我們使用廢棄的廢料。所以，是的，確實存在差距，但不僅僅是現在，獅子座。這種情況已經發生了一段時間，因為市場需求不同，我們細分市場的供需動態也不同。

We don't have new capacities, greenfield capacities being built. It's all very stable. So, the theme of using obsolescence scrap, not using prime scrap, the fact that we don't have new capacities. But a theme that has been helping a lot is a strong demand in recent months of two incentive programs of the federal government, what they call CHIPS Act and IRA. They haven't had an impact on our backlog. CHIPS Act, which is a relocation of productive capacity of semiconductors, $450 billion right now in the United States.

我們沒有新的產能，沒有正在建造的綠地產能。一切都非常穩定。因此，主題是使用過時的廢料，而不是使用優質廢料，事實上我們沒有新的產能。但一個很有幫助的主題是近幾個月對聯邦政府兩項激勵計劃的強烈需求，即他們所說的 CHIPS 法案和 IRA。它們沒有對我們的積壓工作產生影響。CHIPS 法案是美國半導體生產能力的重新安置，目前價值 4500 億美元。

If I'm not mistaken, 25 new semiconductor plants that are being built. This has a direct impact on our product mix. So, there is this gap, this detachment, but we are looking at this carefully, Leo, because the presidential elections are coming up. There might be some volatilities along the way. But in the month of July, these volatilities did not really have an impact as we had expected. So, there's this detachment.

如果我沒記錯的話，有 25 家新的半導體工廠正在興建中。這對我們的產品組合有直接影響。所以，存在這種差距，這種疏離，但我們正在仔細觀察這一點，利奧，因為總統選舉即將到來。在此過程中可能會出現一些波動。但在 7 月份，這些波動並沒有真正產生我們預期的影響。於是就有了這個分隊。

And looking at one-third of the Q3, I guess that in the next two months we can actually sell better than we imagined. So, that's what's happening. A number of small factors that are leading to this detachment in the market of structural profiles from rebar and others. So, you were very accurate in your understanding.And you asked about costs, and I'll give the floor to Japur. But before that, you spoke about prices.

看看第三季的三分之一，我想在接下來的兩個月裡我們實際上可以賣得比我們想像的更好。所以，這就是正在發生的事情。許多小因素導致結構型材市場與螺紋鋼和其他產品的分離。所以，你的理解非常準確。但在此之前，您談到了價格。

We're recomposing the margins. In our plans, we never included these commercial defense remedies that were implemented as of June 1. We never considered this to significantly change the pricing scenario. We have to be very careful about this topic. We don't want to speculate. We just want to recompose prices considering inflation and costs.

我們正在重新組合邊距。在我們的計劃中，我們從未包括自 6 月 1 日起實施的這些商業防禦補救措施。我們從未認為這會顯著改變定價方案。我們必須非常小心這個話題。我們不想猜測。我們只是想考慮通貨膨脹和成本來重新調整價格。

The impact of imported raw materials is lower for us at Gerdau as Japur mentioned. But it does have an impact. So, there's a narrative in the market right now that is being well absorbed and digested i.e. that we can, through prices, recompose our margins. So, this is unfolding. It is a slow process, but it is moving in the right direction, Leo.

正如 Japur 所提到的，進口原料對 Gerdau 的影響較小。但它確實有影響。因此，目前市場上有一種說法正在被很好地吸收和消化，即我們可以透過價格來重新調整我們的利潤。所以，這一切正在展開。這是一個緩慢的過程，但它正在朝著正確的方向前進，獅子座。

And in this quarter, most likely in the next one as well, we can expect an evolution of the margins coming from adjustments for inflation and for increased prices of raw materials that we had in recent months. So, overall, our visibility of the market is very similar to yours. I just reinforced that in terms of demand, everything is very stable.

在本季度，很可能在下一個季度，我們可以預期利潤率的變化來自通貨膨脹和近幾個月原物料價格上漲的調整。因此，總的來說，我們對市場的了解與你們非常相似。我只是強調，就需求而言，一切都很穩定。

Of course, I would like the still demand in Brazil would increase from 100 to 150 or 200. This is not happening. But compared to previous years, it's very solid. In civil construction, it's easy to observe. We have our cut and bend operations. When a new real estate launch happens, we are demanded to help with the detailed engineering, calculating the demand of steel that will be necessary.

當然，我希望巴西的蒸餾需求能從 100 輛增加到 150 輛或 200 輛。這並沒有發生。但與往年相比，已經非常紮實了。在土木建築中，很容易觀察到。我們有切割和彎曲操作。當新的房地產推出時，我們需要協助進行詳細的工程設計，計算所需的鋼材需求。

So, the backlog is rather healthy. And in other segments as well. And now for our special steels operation, we start seeing an increase in the number of orders placed for special steels, particularly for the heavy-duty industry in Brazil and coming a lot from the manufacturing of buses, to be more specific.

因此，積壓情況相當健康。在其他領域也是如此。現在，對於我們的特殊鋼業務，我們開始看到特殊鋼訂單數量的增加，特別是巴西的重型工業，更具體地說，大量來自巴士的製造。

This recovery in special steels in Q2 came from this, and we are optimistic because this segment was suffering with the huge arrival of imported vehicles from China. This is being reversed. And it is very likely that we will have progress in our deliveries of special steels in Q3. But overall, the interpretation is very similar to ours at this point. And this is sustained by what happened in July.

第二季特殊鋼的復甦就是源於此，我們對此持樂觀態度，因為該細分市場因中國進口汽車的大量抵達而受到影響。這種情況正在被扭轉。第三季我們的特殊鋼交貨量很有可能會取得進展。但總的來說，目前的解釋與我們的非常相似。七月發生的事情也維持了這一點。

Excellent. Thank you. And Japur has spoken a lot about cost, Werneck. And I think that you perfectly answered my questions. But, Japur, of course, feel free to add.

出色的。謝謝。沃內克，賈普爾已經談了很多關於成本的問題。我認為你完美地回答了我的問題。但是，賈普爾，當然，請隨意補充。

Just to add very quickly, the main topic to observe as a trend in Q3 should be variation of prices in North America. In floods, we see some recovery, some announcements of increasing in HRC, this normally matches scrap. And as we have more visibility in maintenance of this price differential between our prices and other long products, perhaps the expectation will be that we'll maintain our margins.

快速補充一下，第三季趨勢觀察的主要話題應該是北美價格的變化。在洪水中，我們看到一些恢復，一些熱軋捲增加的公告，這通常與廢鋼相符。由於我們在維持我們的價格與其他長材之間的價差方面擁有更多的可見性，也許我們將維持我們的利潤率。

And, Japur, perhaps you could tell Leo about the fact that we have been implementing these measures of hibernation to increase utilization of our mills. And also, this wind change. Now that we have a slightly more positive scenario, I think that this will help us in Q3 also regarding the increase in imports, because this will help us dilute costs, increase of our exports, actually.

而且，Japur，也許您可以告訴 Leo 我們一直在實施這些冬眠措施，以提高工廠的利用率。還有，這風向的變化。現在我們有一個稍微更積極的情況，我認為這將有助於我們在第三季增加進口，因為這實際上將有助於我們稀釋成本，增加出口。

Well, this is a thing that we are looking up close. We see an exchange rate totally different, 11% increase quarter on quarter. This was out of our radar, but we understand it as a positive upside to reassess our contribution margins and explore some opportunistic volumes of exports during Q3 and Q4.

嗯，這是我們正在仔細研究的事情。我們看到匯率完全不同，季度環比上漲 11%。這是我們沒有註意到的，但我們認為這是一個積極的好處，可以重新評估我們的邊際貢獻並探索第三季和第四季的一些機會主義出口量。

Thank you very much, everyone.

非常感謝大家。

Thank you, Leo. We're always here for you guys.

謝謝你，利奧。我們永遠為你們服務。

Rafael Barcellos, Bradesco BBI.

拉斐爾·巴塞洛斯，布拉德斯科 BBI。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Werneck, Japur, for the presentation. Mari, welcome back to Gerdau. I wish you a lot of success and luck. Regarding my questions, I think the first point that was not mentioned here regards capital allocation in 2019. You had a gross debt target of BRL2 billion from 2019 to now. The real depreciated about 40%.

大家早安。謝謝 Japur 的 Werneck 的介紹。Mari，歡迎回到蓋爾道。祝您成功和好運。關於我的問題，我認為這裡沒有提到的第一點是關於2019年的資本配置。從 2019 年至今，您的總債務目標為 20 億雷亞爾。雷亞爾貶值約40%。

And we know that more than 50% of Gerdau's results come from the US, North America. So, do you think this level of BRL12 billion of gross debt is still adequate for the company to pursue, or do you think it could be a little higher? In addition, perhaps you could remind us of the appropriate level of minimum cash for the company. And in this context, the main dividend in recent years has been announced as a result of Q3.

而且我們知道Gerdau 50%以上的成果來自美國、北美。那麼，您認為 120 億雷亞爾的總債務水準是否足以讓公司追求，還是您認為可以更高一點？此外，也許您可以提醒我們公司最低現金的適當水平。而在此背景下，近年來的主要股利已在第三季公佈。

Having said all that, and about this context of minimum cash, gross debt, and after the announcement of the buyback program, how much room do you see for more cash returns to investors this year, particularly after the results of Q3, considering that you have a more positive outlook for the second half of the year?

話雖如此，關於最低現金、總債務以及宣布回購計劃後的背景，您認為今年向投資者提供更多現金回報的空間有多大，特別是在第三季度的結果公佈之後，考慮到您對下半年有更積極的展望嗎？

And my second question would be about the Brazil BD. Just to follow up on the release, you mentioned the one-off effect of re-adaptation of the operations with BRL131 million as a fact. And it would be interesting if you could elaborate on until what quarter we should have these non-recurring events impacting the result? What is the magnitude of order so that you can achieve a reduction of BRL1 billion in costs and expenses.

我的第二個問題是關於巴西 BD 的。就發布的後續情況而言，您提到了 1.31 億雷亞爾營運重新調整的一次性效果。如果您能詳細說明我們應該在哪個季度讓這些非重複事件影響結果，那將會很有趣？訂單量是多少才能使您減少 10 億雷亞爾的成本和費用。

So, Rafael Japur will answer Rafael Bracellos.

因此，Rafael Japur 將回答 Rafael Bracellos。

Well, for capital allocation, capital structure, it didn't change a lot when we spoke a lot. BRL12 billion gross debt is the debt target in our cash. At the same time, internally, we've always spoken about dollars, the corresponding amounts in dollars. So, our net debt, we're trying to get it close to $1 billion and our cash of around $1 billion, between BRL5 billion, BRL6 billion. So, materially, there's no change regarding what we see today as an ideal capital structure for the company.

那麼對於資本配置、資本結構來說，我們講很多的時候，它並沒有太大的改變。120 億雷亞爾的總債務是我們現金的債務目標。同時，在內部，我們總是談論美元，相應的美元金額。因此，我們的淨債務，我們正努力使其接近 10 億美元，我們的現金約為 10 億美元，在 50 億至 60 億雷亞爾之間。因此，從本質上講，我們今天所看到的公司理想的資本結構沒有任何變化。

Looking at not just today's results, but in the long run, regarding capital allocation, it is true for a number of reasons, particularly due to our greater capacity to generate cash in the second half of the year compared to the first half of the year.

不僅看今天的業績，而且從長遠來看，就資本配置而言，確實如此，原因有很多，特別是我們下半年產生現金的能力比上半年更強。

Normally, our main capital allocation for buyback or extraordinary dividend payout always tend to happen in Q3 of this year as our balance sheet continues with capital structure very close to what we consider to be optimal. And as long as we can have a more robust cash generation in the coming quarters, the idea is that we'll probably repeat this trend that we saw in recent years.

通常情況下，我們用於回購或特別股息支付的主要資本配置往往發生在今年第三季度，因為我們的資產負債表繼續保持資本結構非常接近我們認為的最佳水平。只要我們能夠在未來幾季擁有更強勁的現金產生能力，我們就可能會重複近年來看到的趨勢。

Regarding the second question about capturing cost reductions, on the slide, we tried to give a little more color about that. And, of course, considering that the hibernations we had in Brazil happened in the month of June, and they continue to happen, because we'll finish rolling intermediate materials that we produced before in the chain and the mills over time.

關於第二個問題，即如何降低成本，在投影片上，我們試圖對此進行更多說明。當然，考慮到我們在巴西的冬眠發生在六月，而且這種情況還會繼續發生，因為隨著時間的推移，我們將完成先前在鏈條和工廠生產的中間材料的軋製。

So, over the second half, we'll see these expenses that were deferred, and we'll start seeing the benefits of a greater operating leverage of the mills that are receiving these volumes from the mills that were hibernated. So, generating more concrete effects on the results. That's why we understand that in the second half we'll be capturing more cost reductions in our plan to optimize our cost and expenses based in Brazil of around BRL1 billion in the comparison. In 2025, we expect to achieve a normalized base compared to 2023.

因此，在下半年，我們將看到這些被推遲的費用，並且我們將開始看到從休眠工廠接收這些產量的工廠更大的營運槓桿所帶來的好處。因此，對結果產生更具體的影響。這就是為什麼我們知道，下半年我們將在計劃中實現更多成本削減，以優化我們在巴西的成本和費用，相比之下約為 10 億雷亞爾。與 2023 年相比，我們預計 2025 年將實現標準化基數。

Thank you very much. Excellent.

非常感謝。出色的。

Rodolfo De Angele, JP Morgan.

魯道夫·德·安吉勒，摩根大通。

Thank you. I have just one question. Hi, Gustavo. The question is to you. You were answering one of the questions. Also during the beginning of your presentation, you referred to the fact that the government measures have not yet had the material effect, and I believe that the industry is very close to the government authorities, but do you think there is a possibility of some further adjustments and then include more long stills?

謝謝。我只有一個問題。嗨，古斯塔沃。問題是給你的。你正在回答其中一個問題。另外在您的演講開始時，您提到政府的措施還沒有產生實質效果，我相信業界與政府當局的關係非常密切，但是您認為還有可能進一步採取一些措施嗎？ ？

I would also like to hear from you, because I was quite skeptical about any kind of measure, but they came. So, I know that you are very close to the government, and you've been talking to the government, so what should we expect going forward?

我也想聽聽你的意見，因為我對任何措施都持懷疑態度，但他們來了。所以，我知道你與政府關係非常密切，而且你一直在與政府交談，那麼我們未來應該期待什麼？

Rodolfo, I do believe that there will be some adjustments. Everyone in Brasilia is very open about it. We talk about this topic twice a week. We talk to people from the Ministry of Industry and Development, and they were responsible for the initial debate and the implementation of the measures. So, this control mechanism, how you measure the quotas through import licenses, what kind of visibility the numbers have the advance in the quotas.

魯道夫，我確實相信會有一些調整。巴西利亞的每個人對此都非常開放。我們每週討論兩次這個主題。我們與工業和發展部的人員進行了交談，他們負責這些措施的初步辯論和實施。那麼，這個控制機制，如何透過進口許可證來衡量配額，配額提前的數字有什麼樣的可見性。

There is a better understanding now about how we control that and because of that, the conversation is very good. We are on the same page. So the entire technical team from the ministry, they understand the relevance of the steel industry in Brazil, and they understand what is happening in terms of a fair competition. And since Brazil exports a lot of iron ore, there is a lot of price competition, and they understand that once the ore goes, it comes back at a lower price.

現在我們對如何控制它有了更好的了解，因此，對話非常順利。我們意見一致。因此，該部的整個技術團隊都了解巴西鋼鐵業的相關性，並且了解公平競爭方面正在發生的情況。由於巴西出口大量鐵礦石，價格競爭也很激烈，他們明白，一旦礦石出口，就會以較低的價格回來。

They have a very clear understanding of the market. Everybody is very open. But we hope to overcome a cycle of four months. Two months have already passed, June and July. And so, once we look at the numbers at the end of this four-month period, and we realize that there is still some mismatch and some lack of control and if we see an increase in imports, there is a possibility of adding more things.

他們對市場有非常清晰的了解。大家都很開放。但我們希望能夠克服四個月的周期。已經過了兩個月，六月和七月。因此，一旦我們查看這四個月期末的數字，我們就會意識到仍然存在一些不匹配和缺乏控制的情況，如果我們看到進口增加，就有可能增加更多東西。

I mean, the most difficult part has been done to define the mechanism and find out how things would operate. But since we already have the base, other measures can be easily deployed. So, the process is under control. So, my objective answer is yes, I remain very optimistic, and other measures may follow soon.

我的意思是，最困難的部分是定義機制並找出事情如何運作。但既然我們已經有了基礎，其他措施就可以輕易採取。所以，這個過程是受控的。所以，我的客觀答案是肯定的，我仍然非常樂觀，其他措施可能很快就會出台。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Carlos de Alba, Morgan Stanley.

卡洛斯·德阿爾巴，摩根士丹利。

Thank you very much, Mariana. Welcome back. Good to see you in Gerdau. Good morning, Gustavo and Japur. First question is on the share buybacks. Congratulations on the announcement. I just want to make sure, Gustavo, Japur that the intention is to execute the buyback. Just to be clear, the board approved the program and you guys will execute it over the next 12 months, right?

非常感謝你，瑪麗安娜。歡迎回來。很高興在蓋爾道見到你。早上好，古斯塔沃和賈普爾。第一個問題是關於股票回購。恭喜您宣布這項消息。我只是想確保 Gustavo Japur 的目的是執行回購。需要澄清的是，董事會批准了該計劃，你們將在接下來的 12 個月內執行它，對嗎？

Can you answer that, Japur?

你能回答這個問題嗎，賈普爾？

The idea is, yes, to execute the program. In the previous occasion, when we executed the program, we fully executed the buyback program. So, yes, we are approving the program with the intention of executing it in the maximum period of 12 months, both Gerdau SA and Metalurgica Gerdau.

是的，這個想法是執行該程序。上次我們執行該計劃時，我們完全執行了回購計劃。所以，是的，我們正在批准該計劃，並打算在最長 12 個月的時間內執行，Gerdau SA 和 Metalurgica Gerdau 都是如此。

How do you see, I mean clearly, the second half of the year, you anticipate some improvement, right? What I could depict from the message was clearly an improvement of EBIDA performance towards the third and fourth quarters. And this contrasts very strongly with what other peers mentioned. Basically, I just want to confirm that information, because this is very different from what we've heard from other steel companies in the industry.

我的意思很明確，您如何看待下半年，您預計會有一些改善，對嗎？我從該消息中可以看出，第三季和第四季的 EBIDA 業績顯然有所改善。這與其他同行提到的形成鮮明對比。基本上，我只是想確認這個訊息，因為這與我們從業內其他鋼鐵公司聽到的情況非常不同。

I think that our cost structure is different. And as I said, in our case, between 20% to 25% of our costs are exposed to US dollars. Other companies are probably more exposed to the US dollars, because maybe they depend on more imported inputs, which is not our case. And we also understand that the market has been positive, as Gustavo mentioned. Demand is there. It's not the ideal demand, but we are seeing demand growth and growth in domestic sales.

我認為我們的成本結構是不同的。正如我所說，就我們而言，我們 20% 到 25% 的成本與美元有關。其他公司可能更容易受到美元的影響，因為他們可能依賴更多的進口投入，但我們的情況並非如此。正如古斯塔沃所提到的，我們也了解到市場一直是正面的。需求是存在的。這不是理想的需求，但我們看到需求成長和國內銷售成長。

Therefore, we understand that there is a room for improvements in the Brazil results in the second half of the year, be it through better economic market conditions, but mostly due to incremental results that we will have due to our initiatives to optimize costs and the hibernations that we did in the month of June.

因此，我們知道，巴西下半年的業績還有改善的空間，無論是透過更好的經濟市場條件，但主要是由於我們優化成本的舉措和我們在六月進行的冬眠。

Very clear. Thank you and congrats.

非常清楚。謝謝你並恭喜你。

Thank you, Carlos.

謝謝你，卡洛斯。

Thank you. Caio Ribeiro, Bank of America.

謝謝。卡約·裡貝羅，美國銀行。

Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity. The first place, going back to the order book in the United States, particularly that link to the infrastructure package. Werneck, you spoke a lot about the favorable dynamic of IRA, CHIPS Act. And the question is, would there be any component that you believe is missing to generate this effect of positive demand for longs in the US? Perhaps you could speak more about other components that would help.

午安.謝謝你給我這個機會。首先，回到美國的訂單簿，特別是與基礎設施包的連結。Werneck，您談到了 IRA、CHIPS 法案的有利動態。問題是，您認為是否缺乏任何要素來產生美國多頭正向需求的影響？也許您可以更多地談論其他有幫助的組件。

Secondly, we see a relevant reduction in the sales mix abroad and in Brazil as a percentage of the whole, with a clear trend in the last three quarters. And I understand that historically this tends to happen in the dynamic of realized prices, margin, even the mix of products exported, which historically, traditionally, have been semi-finished steel products.

其次，我們看到國外和巴西的銷售組合佔整體的比例下降，過去三個季度的趨勢很明顯。就我所知，從歷史上看，這種情況往往發生在實現價格、利潤甚至出口產品組合的動態中，而從歷史上看，傳統上這些出口產品都是半成品鋼鐵產品。

And you mentioned that you see an opportunity to take advantage of the exchange rate depreciation to have a more opportunistic export. So my question is, regarding the difference in profitability between these shipments abroad and domestically, if there is still a big difference, or whether the mix of exported products has been changing, and what percentage do you think that exports should stabilize at?

您提到您看到了利用匯率貶值進行更具機會主義出口的機會。那麼我的問題是，關於這些出貨量在國外和國內的獲利能力差異，是否還存在較大差異，或者出口產品的結構是否發生了變化，您認為出口應該穩定在多少比例？

Thank you, Caio. I'll start, speaking about North America, and then you'll help me detail the Brazil BD. I'll just take some steps back. Now taking the current profitability and that was the result of the market. We went through an intense transformation in our footprint of assets in the last seven years in North America.

謝謝你，凱奧。我將首先談論北美，然後你將幫助我詳細介紹巴西 BD。我只是後退幾步。現在來看目前的獲利能力，這就是市場的結果。在過去七年裡，我們在北美的資產足跡經歷了激烈的轉變。

So this process now of hibernating some plants, we went through that. Just as an example, we shut down our St. Paul plant that was not productive. We transferred products to other mills. We made relevant investments in at least five mills in North America. The latest one of these would be plant in Canada to have a more complete mix of products, a more profitable mix of products. So everything we did is -- fruits of all that now.

所以現在一些植物冬眠的過程，我們經歷了。舉個例子，我們關閉了生產力不高的聖保羅工廠。我們將產品轉移到其他工廠。我們在北美至少有五家工廠進行了相關投資。其中最新的一個是在加拿大建廠，以擁有更完整的產品組合、更有利可圖的產品組合。所以我們所做的一切都是現在所有這些的成果。

Also the fact that we don't use prime scrap. This is a five-year strategy to work very structurally with obsolescence scrap, which is cheaper. There's not a lot of competition. Our ability to compete in North America, we've been working a lot in recent years, and now we've been working more recent quarters to add more downstream capacity, the IRA.

此外，我們不使用優質廢料。這是一項為期五年的策略，旨在非常結構化地處理更便宜的過時廢料。競爭並不多。我們在北美的競爭能力，近年來我們做了很多工作，現在我們最近幾季一直在努力增加更多的下游產能，即 IRA。

A practical result is the racks of metal structures that support solar panels. So, we have added some downstream aiming to prepare this steel racks already cut and drilled. Our capability of supplying a better mix of products and services to our customers in the segments where we operate.

一個實際的結果是支撐太陽能電池板的金屬結構架。因此，我們增加了一些下游，旨在準備已經切割和鑽孔的鋼架。我們有能力為經營所在領域的客戶提供更好的產品和服務組合。

All of that has evolved a lot in the last seven years. So what's happening now is that these packages that were mentioned, they're directly linked from product mix, a practical example. It's impressive the growth right now of steel for data centers that we’ve built in the US. We can consider artificial intelligence and the need to store more and more data. We have a lot of orders for steel for data centers.

所有這些在過去七年裡都發生了很大的變化。所以現在發生的事情是，提到的這些軟體包，它們直接與產品組合相關聯，這是一個實際的例子。我們在美國建造的資料中心用鋼目前的成長令人印象深刻。我們可以考慮人工智慧以及儲存越來越多數據的需要。我們有很多資料中心鋼材訂單。

Another qualitative change we saw is that there's a lot of investment in health care in the United States, and this is directly linked to our product mix. So these are examples that are peaking in the United States, and they've been helping us quite a lot. In terms of infrastructure, the infrastructure package is moving slowly. We see an impact. We believe that the impact will materialize even more along the next quarters.

我們看到的另一個質的變化是，美國在醫療保健方面有大量的投資，這與我們的產品結構有直接關係。這些都是在美國達到頂峰的例子，它們對我們幫助很大。在基礎設施方面，基礎設施一攬子計劃進展緩慢。我們看到了影響。我們相信，這種影響在接下來的幾季將會更加明顯。

I'd like to draw your attention to one last thing. We always comment on this. You know about the sales of our rebar assets. We maintain our rebar production capacity in the United States. There is a momentous reduction in demand, so we have our most reducing rebar. We can have a very good level of utilization. We continue to have a dilution of fixed costs, which is very effective.

我想提請您注意最後一件事。我們總是對此發表評論。您了解我們螺紋鋼資產的銷售情況。我們維持在美國的螺紋鋼產能。需求大幅減少，因此我們的螺紋鋼減少量最大。我們可以有一個非常好的利用率。我們繼續稀釋固定成本，這是非常有效的。

This has been contributing for us to maintain our performance level. So it's not just the packages. It's couple of factors that we have been working on in the last seven years and the market situation that we're going through right now, Caio. Altogether, this is what is allowing us to positively detach ourselves from our competitors.

這有助於我們維持績效水準。所以這不僅僅是包裹。Caio，這是我們在過去七年裡一直在努力研究的幾個因素以及我們現在正在經歷的市場狀況。總而言之，這使我們能夠積極地從競爭對手中脫穎而出。

Japur, anything to add about the specific topic? You can speak about the Brazilian operation.

Japur，關於具體主題還有什麼要補充的嗎？你可以談談巴西的行動。

All right, so regarding the mix. We cannot compare the margins between domestic market and exports because these are very different products. We're very much focused on exporting semi-finished products, sometimes subsidiaries abroad or old subsidiaries in the case of Colombia and Dominican Republic. But yes, overall, we have a better margin because we have a better added value product here in Brazil.

好吧，關於混合。我們無法比較國內市場和出口之間的利潤，因為它們是非常不同的產品。我們非常專注於出口半成品，有時是國外子公司，或是哥倫比亞和多明尼加共和國的老子公司。但總體而言，我們的利潤率更高，因為我們在巴西擁有更好的附加價值產品。

We believe with the current exchange rate level and our cost structure, we have room to export some extra tons than we had before. Considering these volumes that we have now, the exchange rate in our available capacity, considering possible prices and the exchange rate fluctuation looking forward. It's something that we have to monitor month after month.

我們相信，按照目前的匯率水準和我們的成本結構，我們有空間比以前多出口一些噸。考慮到我們現在擁有的這些數量、我們可用容量的匯率、考慮可能的價格和未來的匯率波動。這是我們必須逐月監控的事情。

And as regards to (inaudible) Gustavo.

至於（聽不清楚）古斯塔沃。

Well, we're very optimistic in the coming months of the entry of the second phase of our HRC in Ouro Preto. In the coming weeks, we'll start testing the equipment and that will add 250,000 tons of HRC. Our rolling mill has been working at a limit. We have differentiated capacity of delivering these products via Gerdau Comercial and some customers that require a more complex mix of products.

嗯，我們對未來幾個月在歐魯普雷圖的 HRC 第二階段的進入感到非常樂觀。在接下來的幾週內，我們將開始測試設備，這將增加 25 萬噸熱軋捲。我們的軋機一直在極限狀態下工作。我們擁有透過 Gerdau Comercial 和一些需要更複雜產品組合的客戶提供這些產品的差異化能力。

So this is just one example of how we change our product mix to a higher added value product mix. And yes, I'd like to add to that because I think a super relevant point, Caio, and I think that this is kind of common in commodities companies, that normally the market does not consider face value and does not consider expansion and growth project.

因此，這只是我們如何將產品組合轉變為更高附加價值產品組合的一個例子。And yes, I'd like to add to that because I think a super relevant point, Caio, and I think that this is kind of common in commodities companies, that normally the market does not consider face value and does not consider expansion and growth專案.

But we are in the eve, think about cyclical sectors like ours, 6 to 18 months, that's a short term. If we consider the investments, the arrival of the coil, the hot road strips, the conclusion of our investment in Monroe, in special steels in North America, and the entry of our mining capacity in the end of next year. So if we think about it, about strategic projects, but the company, we're thinking about a 6 to 18 months’ time frame.

但我們正處於前夜，想想像我們這樣的週期性產業，6 到 18 個月，這是一個短期。如果我們考慮到投資、卷材的抵達、熱路帶、我們對門羅、北美特殊鋼的投資的結束，以及明年年底我們採礦能力的進入。因此，如果我們考慮策略性項目，但就公司而言，我們會考慮 6 到 18 個月的時間框架。

We'll have a set of projects, we'll start the ramp up of a set of projects. They have the potential to generate up to BRL2 billion in result in the midtime. So, we're talking about expanding, if you think about the numbers that the analysts have that oscillate between BRL10 billion and BRL11 billion actually growth itself of EBITDA.

我們將有一系列項目，我們將開始啟動一系列項目。他們有可能在中期產生高達 20 億雷亞爾的成果。因此，如果你考慮分析師得出的在 100 億雷亞爾到 110 億雷亞爾之間波動的數字，我們談論的是擴張，實際上 EBITDA 本身也在增長。

They talk about an expansion of 15% to 20% in the potential of creating value and results for Gerdau in the midterm. These are important things of concept to pay attention to short term opportunities such as how to capture more volume with higher contribution margins, but we're about to have an important transformation in the intrinsic quality of our assets in Gerdau’s results.

他們談到中期為 Gerdau 創造價值和成果的潛力將擴大 15% 至 20%。這些是專注於短期機會的重要概念，例如如何以更高的邊際貢獻獲得更多的銷量，但在 Gerdau 的業績中，我們的資產內在品質即將發生重要轉變。

Thank you very much. I would just like to ask for a clarification, Japur, because when you were talking about increasing exports, there was a sound cut. We could not hear the number. If you could repeat that, we would appreciate it.

非常感謝。我只是想要求澄清，Japur，因為當你談論增加出口時，有一個聲音削減。我們聽不到電話號碼。如果您能重複一遍，我們將不勝感激。

Of course. We see the potential of exporting 100,000 to 200,000 more tons than we would imagined this year considering this level of high exchange rate. Of course, we will not go back to turning on other capacities to do this. We're thinking about opportunistic exports considering our cost structure, capacity availability, and this more positive moment we are seeing regarding the exchange rate favoring exports.

當然。考慮到如此高的匯率水平，我們預計今年的出口量可能比我們想像的多 10 萬至 20 萬噸。當然，我們不會再回去啟用其他能力來做到這一點。考慮到我們的成本結構、產能可用性以及我們看到的有利於出口的匯率這一更積極的時刻，我們正在考慮機會主義出口。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Ricardo Monegaglia, Safra Bank

里卡多·莫內加利亞，Safra 銀行

Good afternoon to both of you. Welcome back, Maria. It seems that the balance of the longs market improved more recently. It's a little more tight than in flats. I'd like to know do you share this perception that perhaps we have an opportunity increase prices in longs than in flats? That's my first question.

你們倆下午好。歡迎回來，瑪麗亞。最近多頭市場的平衡似乎有所改善。它比平底鞋更緊一些。我想知道您是否同意這樣的看法：也許我們有機會提高多頭價格而不是扁平價格？這是我的第一個問題。

The second question about Gerdau Next. If you could comment on your investees, if there is any news expected for the second half of the year or new news coming? These are my questions. Thank you for the opportunity.

第二個問題是關於 Gerdau Next 的。請您評價您所投資的企業，下半年預計有什麼消息或是有新的消息傳來嗎？這些都是我的問題。謝謝你給我這個機會。

Thank you, Ricardo. Of course, regarding the market, particularly in Q2 there was an important topic regarding the floods in Rio Grande do Sul state which impacted our volume of shipments in Rio Grande do Sul, state where because of our history we have a substantial market share. We believe there is more room for recovery of volumes in longs in the second half of the year. As regards to Gerdau Next, we don't have a lot of news compared to what we have disclosed.

謝謝你，里卡多。當然，關於市場，特別是在第二季度，有一個重要話題是關於南里奧格蘭德州的洪水，這影響了我們在南里奧格蘭德州的發貨量，由於我們的歷史，我們在該州擁有相當大的市場佔有率。我們認為下半年多頭成交量還有更大的復原空間。關於Gerdau Next，與我們披露的相比，我們沒有太多消息。

Basically, the big investments we have now will start energizing some of our number. Park Arinos in the north of Minas Gerais that should start operating in the second half of the year, part of that park. Our investment in (inaudible) is progressing well in recent months. These are the main capital allocations. At the moment, we haven't got any new front opening at Gerdau Next.

基本上，我們現在擁有的巨額投資將開始為我們的一些人注入活力。米納斯吉拉斯州北部的阿里諾斯公園應該會在今年下半年開始運營，是該公園的一部分。近幾個月來，我們對（聽不清楚）的投資進展順利。這些是主要的資本配置。目前，Gerdau Next 還沒有任何新的門面空缺。

I had a problem with my (inaudible). I don't know if you could see me. But thank you very much Maria. My questions were answered.

我的方法有問題（聽不清楚）。我不知道你是否能看到我。但非常感謝瑪麗亞。我的問題得到了解答。

Lucas Laghi, XP.

盧卡斯·拉吉，XP。

Good afternoon. My question relates to something that Japur already mentioned, but my question has to do with incremental return in terms of strategic CapEx. You talked about the BRL2 billion in results. I just want to confirm whether this BRL2 billion is total or whether we can think about this ramp up from 16 to 18 months that you mentioned. Maybe thinking about BRL1 billion or half of that amount given that you have already allocated half of that strategic CapEx?

午安.我的問題與 Japur 已經提到的事情有關，但我的問題與策略資本支出的增量回報有關。您談到了 20 億雷亞爾的業績。我只是想確認這 20 億雷亞爾是否是總額，或者我們是否可以考慮將您提到的從 16 個月增加到 18 個月。鑑於您已經分配了戰略資本支出的一半，也許考慮 10 億雷亞爾或該金額的一半？

Just running some quick math, BRL2 billion result considering taxes will be 10% to 20% of ROIC considering that is strategic CapEx. Whether this would be the ongoing rate for new projects. I think this is important for me in terms of capital allocation.

快速計算一下，考慮到稅收，20 億雷亞爾的結果將佔 ROIC 的 10% 到 20%，考慮到這是戰略資本支出。這是否是新項目的持續利率。我認為這對我的資本配置來說很重要。

Lucas, I don't think we should refer to it that way because the largest project which is the mining expansion will be concluded only at the end of 2025. Its ramp up will occur throughout the year of 2026. That's why unfortunately I would say we cannot do that same math.

盧卡斯，我認為我們不應該這樣稱呼它，因為最大的採礦擴建項目要到 2025 年底才能完成。其成長將在 2026 年全年進行。這就是為什麼不幸的是我會說我們不能做同樣的數學。

I think the return that is coming is the expansion of the HRC which occur at the end of this year. In 2025 we will have the ramp up of the project. And we already mentioned to you that before. That should be around BRL400 million of incremental EBITDA related to the additional production volume. When we think about hurdle rate of our product, we think about IRR and that will be about 20% typically for projects that we approve at Gerdau.

我認為即將到來的回報是今年年底 HRC 的擴張。2025 年，我們將加速該專案。我們之前已經向您提到過這一點。與額外產量相關的 EBITDA 增量應約為 4 億雷亞爾。當我們考慮產品的最低預期回報率時，我們會考慮 IRR，對於我們在 Gerdau 批准的專案來說，通常約為 20%。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you, Lucas.

謝謝你，盧卡斯。

Yuri Pereira, Santander

尤里‧佩雷拉，桑坦德銀行

Thank you. In fact, you just talked about IRR and specifically in the HRC projects and given the fact that rolling mill operation is at its limit. Are you expanding the rolling mill? What are the plans of the company? I know that your main target is IRR but once you translate that into the EBITDA margin, do you have any golden rule in terms of what you think would be healthy for Brazil? Thank you.

謝謝。事實上，您剛才談到了 IRR，特別是熱軋捲項目，並考慮到軋機運作已達到極限。您正在擴建軋機嗎？公司有什麼計劃？我知道您的主要目標是 IRR，但一旦您將其轉化為 EBITDA 利潤率，您認為對巴西有利的黃金法則是否存在？謝謝。

Hi, Yuri. It's a pleasure to talk to you. We don't have any pocket rule for the margin. Sometimes this is translated in different ways in the results. There are some other projects that do not grow revenue but they promote a substantial reduction in our costs such as the case of the Miguel Burnier mining expansion project. So we do not have an EBITDA margin as a target. This is not the main driver.

嗨，尤里。很高興與您交談。我們對保證金沒有任何口袋規則。有時，這會在結果中以不同的方式翻譯。還有一些其他項目不會增加收入，但會大幅降低我們的成本，例如 Miguel Burnier 採礦擴建項目。因此，我們沒有將 EBITDA 利潤率作為目標。這不是主要驅動力。

Yuri, I would just like to add to what Japur said. Our Ouro Branco mill is the main transformation platform for Gerdau in the next coming years. And when we think about an integrated mill such as Ouro Branco, and if you look at all of the other companies that have still productive assets that work in an integrated way, mining is important. So access to high quality ore is complex. Logistics is becoming increasingly complex.

尤里，我想補充一下賈普爾所說的內容。我們的 Ouro Branco 工廠是 Gerdau 未來幾年的主要轉型平台。當我們考慮像 Ouro Branco 這樣的綜合工廠時，如果你看看所有其他仍然擁有以綜合方式運作的生產性資產的公司，採礦就很重要。因此，獲取優質礦石非常複雜。物流變得越來越複雜。

Therefore, I believe that if you don't have access to your own ore, very competitive ore, the companies will have a difficult time to compete. So this investment in the mining project should be seen as a guarantee of competitiveness for Ouro Branco in the long run. So, this is an asset certified for over 40 years. The mining operation is 13 kilometers from Ouro Branco mill.

因此，我相信，如果你無法獲得自己的礦石，競爭非常激烈的礦石，公司將很難競爭。因此，從長遠來看，對採礦項目的投資應該被視為 Ouro Branco 競爭力的保證。因此，這是一項經過 40 多年認證的資產。採礦作業距離 Ouro Branco 工廠 13 公里。

The investment in the operation that will start up in November of next year, it will be crucial for us to transform mining in Ouro Branco. The transformation has already begun. Ouro Branco was a mill, it was built many years ago by (inaudible) and the mill has been -- to produce semi-finish for export. But once Gerdau acquired that that mill, the transformation has been taken place since then. But will be more so now we will accelerate the transformation for HRC.

這項投資將於明年 11 月啟動，這對我們改造 Ouro Branco 的採礦業至關重要。轉變已經開始。Ouro Branco 是一家工廠，它是由（聽不清楚）多年前建造的，該工廠一直是生產用於出口的半成品。但一旦蓋爾道收購了那家工廠，轉型就從那時起發生了。但現在更是如此，我們將加速HRC的轉型。

We will not only no longer have exports of semi-finished, but we will focus on the domestic market in terms of that product. When you asked about the market of flat and long steel, at the moment, as Japur said it is very likely that our growth in terms of increasing deliveries will come from longs because our capacity to produce and deliver HRC is at its limit.

我們不僅不再出口半成品，而且我們將把產品的重點放在國內市場。當您詢問扁鋼和長鋼市場時，正如 Japur 所說，我們的交貨量增長很可能來自長鋼，因為我們生產和交付熱軋捲的能力已達到極限。

Therefore, this expansion project comes in a very timely fashion because once it starts producing, we will be able to deliver that additional capacity and then generate that additional EBITDA or revenue that you mentioned.

因此，這個擴建項目非常及時，因為一旦開始生產，我們將能夠提供額外的產能，然後產生您提到的額外 EBITDA 或收入。

Ouro Branco has many other options. We could also increase HRC. We already have an additional equipment for the third phase, and in the future we could also produce more rolling products, and there is also the option to increase the production of structural profiles. This is the only rolling mill of structural profiles in Latin America. Therefore, we have lots of different options to promote the growth of Ouro Branco in the future.

Ouro Branco 還有許多其他選擇。我們還可以增加HRC。第三期我們已經有了額外的設備，未來還可以生產更多的軋製產品，也可以選擇增加結構型材的產量。這是拉丁美洲唯一結構型材軋鋼機。因此，我們有許多不同的選擇來促進 Ouro Branco 未來的發展。

We are now discussing which investment should come first. Once we finalize the studies, we will certainly announce them to you. But rest assured that once the mining project is concluded and once we switch the key from finished products to rolling products, things will be changed.

我們現在正在討論應該先進行哪一項投資。一旦我們完成研究，我們一定會向您宣布。但請放心，一旦採礦項目結束，一旦我們將重點從成品轉向軋製產品，情況就會改變。

Thank you. Yuri

謝謝。尤里

Igor Guedes, Genial

伊戈爾·格德斯，和藹可親

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for taking my questions. We saw an export volume dropping about 40% quarter on quarter and I would like to understand how much of that has to do with the impact related to the hibernation of Barao de Cocais?

大家下午好。感謝您回答我的問題。我們看到出口量較上月下降了約 40%，我想了解這與 Barao de Cocais 冬眠的影響有多大關係？

From what I understood, this is a mill that you used for exports partly. And by hibernating mills that possibly had this possibility of having products exploited. Given the exchange rate that you mentioned, how much do you think you can shift the volume that you mentioned in the call? That's my first question.

據我了解，這是一家你們用於部分出口的工廠。透過休眠工廠，可能有產品被利用的可能性。考慮到您提到的匯率，您認為您可以將電話中提到的交易量調整多少？這是我的第一個問題。

And my second question has to do with the debate I had previously with Japur about CapEx. 70% of the CapEx is being executed in Brazil. This is no news that your strategic plan is to invest more in Brazil. But still North America has a margin which is about three times higher than Brazil. Of course, as the cost reduction package starts coming to fruition, we tend to see the margin of the Brazil operation expanding a lot.

我的第二個問題與我之前與 Japur 就資本支出進行的辯論有關。 70% 的資本支出在巴西執行。你們的策略計畫是加大對巴西的投資，這已經不是什麼新聞了。但北美的利潤率仍是巴西的三倍左右。當然，隨著成本削減計畫開始取得成效，我們傾向於看到巴西業務的利潤率大幅擴大。

But I still want to check, do you believe that you have arrived at a level that you think is competitive in the United States to the point of investing CapEx massively in Brazil, considering that Brazil has to deal with the government, this mixed tariff rate quota system, it still entails a lot of doubts, actually, on whether it's going to work?

但我仍然想檢查一下，考慮到巴西必須與政府打交道，這種混合關稅稅率，您是否認為您已經達到了您認為在美國具有競爭力的水平，以至於可以在巴西大規模投資資本支出配額制度，其實還是有很多疑問，到底能不能行得通？

The United States are being more vocal in trying to help the demands of the industry, particularly with Section 232. Is it possible that in the future you will relocate more CapEx to the United States in the profitability level or do you believe that Brazil is the priority. Thank you.

美國正在更加積極地努力滿足該行業的要求，特別是在第 232 條方面。未來您是否有可能在獲利水準上將更多資本支出轉移到美國，或者您認為巴西是優先考慮的。謝謝。

Thank you, Igor. I will start answering the question more conceptually. And Japur will dive in. It has been a long time now has now been exporting. It is a mill dedicated to manufacturing light profiles for the domestic market. We transferred Metalurgica’s production capacity to our Cosigua unit in Rio de Janeiro.

謝謝你，伊戈爾。我將開始更概念地回答這個問題。賈普爾將潛入其中。已經有很長一段時間了，現在已經開始出口了。這是一家致力於為國內市場生產輕型材的工廠。我們將 Metalurgica 的生產能力轉移到裡約熱內盧的科西瓜工廠。

What we are doing now as Japur mentioned to improve the volume of exports. We’re stepping on the gas of our Ouro Branco mill. Ouro Branco had additional capacity. We were working at reduced capacity at Ouro Branco, so these additional exports volume will practically all come from our Ouro Branco mill. That's the general concept.

正如賈普爾所說，我們現在正在做的事情是提高出口量。我們正在使用 Ouro Branco 工廠的天然氣。Ouro Branco 擁有額外的產能。我們正在減少 Ouro Branco 工廠的產能，因此這些額外的出口量實際上全部來自我們的 Ouro Branco 工廠。這是一般概念。

The Barão de Cocais hibernation, the goal was to redistribute capacity to other assets in Brazil, particularly Cosigua, so as to increase production, dilute fixed costs of Cosigua, so we can be more competitive. It is a very differentiated mill in general aspects, and in terms of competitiveness.

Barão de Cocais冬眠的目標是將產能重新分配給巴西的其他資產，特別是科西瓜，從而增加產量，稀釋科西瓜的固定成本，這樣我們就可以更具競爭力。無論是在整體方面還是在競爭力方面，這是一家非常差異化的工廠。

Regarding the CapEx in Brazil, when we look at it in detail, basically, it does not involve growing the volume of crude steel. It is a transformation in Brazil regarding the product mix. That is why we need CapEx. This includes a demand from the mining project.

關於巴西的資本支出，我們仔細看，基本上不涉及增加粗鋼量。這是巴西產品結構的轉變。這就是我們需要資本支出的原因。這包括採礦項目的需求。

This is a project that is developing now, but it has a life cycle of more than 40 years, as I mentioned. Investments that needed to be made in Ouro Branco the coming years to retrofit, this was a long cycle mill with the blast furnace, and in some years we will have to retrofit the coke unit. The mill has been operating with differentiated quality.

這是一個現在正在開發的項目，但正如我所提到的，它的生命週期長達 40 多年。未來幾年需要在 Ouro Branco 進行投資進行改造，這是一個帶有高爐的長週期工廠，在某些年份我們將不得不改造焦炭裝置。該工廠一直以差異化的品質運作。

It is not by chance that we announced for a while that this maintenance downtime of blast furnace one that was going to happen in 2025 was postponed most likely to 2027. We will need CapEx in Brazil to requalify our assets to make them more competitive and to maintain an integrated mill like Ouro Branco. But we do have a wish to continue to invest continuously in North America, and we include Mexico here.

我們曾經一度宣布原定於 2025 年進行的高爐檢修停工期很可能延後到 2027 年，這並非偶然。我們將需要巴西的資本支出來重新鑑定我們的資產，使其更具競爭力，並維持像 Ouro Branco 這樣的綜合工廠。但我們確實希望繼續在北美持續投資，其中包括墨西哥。

As announced, we continue with our feasibility study for greenfield special steel mill in Mexico to supply the automotive market, which is strongly growing. Several customers of special steel in Brazil and in the United States are building their units, and this cycle of relevant investments in the last seven years, as I mentioned in Caio's question, it's not over yet. There are many opportunities there.

如所宣布的，我們繼續對墨西哥新建特殊鋼廠進行可行性研究，以供應強勁成長的汽車市場。巴西和美國的一些特殊鋼客戶正在建造他們的裝置，正如我在凱奧的問題中提到的，過去七年的相關投資週期尚未結束。那裡有很多機會。

Our biggest mill in Texas, our middle European mill, still requires some investment. Understand that there is an important cycle there to increase capacity and make it more productive. So as soon as we finish this cycle in Brazil of maintenance for Ouro Branco and investment for higher added value products manufactured at Ouro Branco, this Brazil, US mix of CapEx tends to be more balanced. That's the general concept.

我們位於德州最大的工廠，我們的中歐工廠，仍然需要一些投資。要明白，有一個重要的週期可以提高產能並提高生產力。因此，一旦我們完成巴西 Ouro Branco 的維護週期以及 Ouro Branco 製造的高附加價值產品的投資，巴西、美國的資本支出組合就會更加平衡。這是一般概念。

Japur, anything you’d like to add?

Japur，您還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Hi, Igor. Just to add very briefly, on the same slide where we showed the Brazil operation, if you look to the left, we see what we invested in North American operations. That's where we started. A part of the homework was done in past years. This is being executed now with the conclusion of the investments whitby and in Jackson, in Tennessee, investments that we completed in recent quarters.

嗨，伊戈爾。簡而言之，在我們展示巴西業務的同一張投影片上，如果你向左看，我們會看到我們在北美業務的投資。這就是我們開始的地方。部分作業是往年做的。隨著我們最近幾個季度完成的惠特比和田納西州傑克遜的投資的結束，目前正在執行這項計劃。

And we have a big challenge, beautiful project that we are executing, which is the expansion of our main unit, the United States, the Midlothian Mill, where we have the expectation in which to expand it to about 2 million tons in the coming years as Gustavo mentioned.

我們正在執行一個巨大的挑戰，一個美麗的項目，這是我們的主要單位美國中洛錫安工廠的擴建，我們預計在未來幾年將其產能擴大到約 200 萬噸正如古斯塔沃所提到的。

As soon as we are over this stronger cycle in Brazil, we'll reach more balanced CapEx. The margins in the US are higher than in Brazil. The idea is to bring the margins of Brazil up closer to those of the United States. CapEx will be dedicated not necessarily to the more profitable geographies, but to those where we believe we have a better potential of return.

一旦我們結束了巴西的強勁週期，我們將實現更平衡的資本支出。美國的利潤率高於巴西。這個想法是為了讓巴西的利潤率更接近美國。資本支出不一定會致力於利潤更高的地區，而是會致力於那些我們認為擁有更好回報潛力的地區。

Well, then, the Q&A session has come to an end. I will turn the floor to Gustavo for his final statements. The investor relations team will be available for any further clarification you might need.

好了，那麼，問答環節就結束了。我將請古斯塔沃作最後發言。投資者關係團隊將隨時為您提供任何可能需要的進一步說明。

All right, Mari. And Japur, Mari and myself. Mari, we wish you a lot of success. Now that you have returned to Gerdau, we are very happy to have you on board again. Together with the whole team, we would like to wish each other will be very happy in Gerdau's long-term history. On our behalf, Mari, Japur, and myself, I would like to thank all of you for joining us in this earnings conference call. It's always a pleasure and a delight to debate these themes with you.

好吧，馬裡。還有賈普爾、馬利和我自己。Mari，我們祝你成功。現在您已返回蓋爾道，我們很高興您再次登機。我們與整個團隊一起祝福彼此在蓋爾道的長期歷史中幸福快樂。我謹代表 Mari、Japur 和我本人，感謝大家參加本次財報電話會議。與您討論這些主題總是令人愉快和愉快的。

So now I would like to invite you for our Investor Day that will happen on October 3, in the city of Sao Paulo. Very soon you will receive more information. I have to remind you that on November 6, I hope to see you all again for our earnings conference call referring to Q3 2024.

現在我想邀請您參加 10 月 3 日在聖保羅市舉行的投資者日。很快您就會收到更多資訊。我必須提醒大家，我希望在 11 月 6 日再次見到大家，參加我們關於 2024 年第三季的財報電話會議。

Thank you very much to all of you. Take care and I hope to see you soon.

非常感謝大家。保重，我希望很快就能見到你。

Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call. The interpreter was provided by the company sponsoring this event.

本筆錄中的英語陳述是由現場通話中的口譯員說出的。口譯員由贊助本次活動的公司提供。