Jbs NV (JBS) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to JBS SA and JBS USA fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded and the link to download the presentation is available on the IR website and in the chat.

早上好，歡迎參加 JBS SA 和 JBS USA 2023 年第四季和全年業績電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製，簡報的下載連結可在 IR 網站和聊天中找到。

Any statements eventually made during this conference call in connection with the company business outlook, projections, operating and financial targets, and potential growth should be understood as merely forecasts based on the company's management expectations in relation to the future of JBS.

本次電話會議中最終就公司業務前景、預測、營運和財務目標以及潛在成長所做的任何聲明都應理解為僅是基於公司管理層對 JBS 未來的預期而做出的預測。

Such expectations are highly dependent on market conditions, on Brazil's overall economic performance and on industry and international market behavior, and therefore, are subject to change. Are present with us today, Gilberto Tomazoni, Global CEO of JBS; Guilherme Cavalcanti, Global CFO of JBS; Wesley Batista Filho, CEO of JBS USA; and Christiane Assis, Investor Relations Director.

這種預期在很大程度上取決於市場條件、巴西的整體經濟表現以及行業和國際市場行為，因此可能會發生變化。今天與我們一起出席的是 JBS 全球首席執行官 Gilberto Tomazoni； Guilherme Cavalcanti，JBS 全球首席財務官； Wesley Batista Filho，JBS USA 首席執行官；以及投資者關係總監 Christiane Assis。

Now I will turn the conference over to Gilberto Tomazoni, Global CEO of JBS. Mr. Tomazoni, you may begin your presentation.

現在，我將會議交給 JBS 全球執行長 Gilberto Tomazoni。托馬佐尼先生，您可以開始您的演講了。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for participating in our earnings call. After -- year after year, we have emphasized the importance of our global platform. In periods of challenged condition, like those we faced in 2023, this platform has proven its strength. It has allowed us to continue generating cash and distributing dividends.

大家早安。感謝您參加我們的收益電話會議。年復一年，我們不斷強調全球平台的重要性。在2023年我們面臨的挑戰時期，這個平台已經證明了它的實力。它使我們能夠繼續產生現金並分配股息。

Despite the persistent negative effects of the cattle cycle in the US, the operational management measures adopted last year and the improvements in the medium-term outlook enable us to enter 2024 on the path of margin recovery. It's important to emphasize that our focus on operational excellence was the key to correcting the course of two of our businesses that underperformed in 2023; US Beef and Seara. We identified issues and took action to adopt management measures based on our culture with a focus on people and discipline in execution. The results of these measures are already being felt.

儘管美國牛市週期的負面影響持續存在，但去年採取的營運管理措施和中期前景的改善使我們能夠在 2024 年走上利潤率復甦的道路。值得強調的是，我們對卓越營運的關注是糾正 2023 年表現不佳的兩大業務（US Beef 和 Seara）的關鍵。我們發現問題並採取行動，採取基於我們文化的管理措施，重點關注人員並嚴格執行紀律。這些措施的成效已初現。

At Seara, the outlook of 2024 is positive, with the possibility of margin exceeding double-digit already present in the first quarter of the year, a traditionally challenged period of the sector. As supply and demand rebalance bringing resilience and as grain price normalize, Seara is well-positioned to reap the reward of operational improvement implemented in the recent months and investment in expansion made in recent years. I take this opportunity to reiterate that our multi-protein and our multi-geography strategy puts us in an unmatched position in the global industry.

Seara 對 2024 年的前景持樂觀態度，利潤率有可能在第一季超過兩位數，而第一季度是該行業傳統上面臨挑戰的時期。隨著供需重新平衡帶來彈性以及糧食價格恢復正常，Seara 已做好準備，收穫近幾個月實施的營運改善和近年來擴張投資帶來的回報。我藉此機會重申，我們的多蛋白質和多地域策略使我們在全球產業中處於無與倫比的地位。

This strategy allowed us to capitalize on the cattle cycle upswing in Brazil and Australia, while our American operation faced margin decline due to current market conditions. In Australia, the improvement outlook is reflected in significant increase in margin in the fourth quarter in 2023 compared to the same period last year.

這項策略使我們能夠利用巴西和澳洲的多頭週期上升趨勢，而我們的美國業務則因當前市場狀況而面臨利潤率下降的情況。在澳大利亞，前景的改善體現在 2023 年第四季的利潤率與去年同期相比大幅增加。

In Brazil, where the situation is similar, significant growth in the cattle processing volume, increased value-added product sales, the authorization of new plants to supply the Chinese market, as well as improved profitability of export offering a promising prospect for the beef business in the short and long term. The chicken and pork business faced persistent pressure on production costs throughout 2022 but are already benefit for the normalization of grain prices. This is evident in the Pilgrim's and USA Pork results.

巴西的情況類似，牛肉加工量大幅增長，增值產品銷量增加，新工廠獲準供應中國市場，以及出口盈利能力提高，為短期和長期牛肉業務提供了良好的前景。2022年全年，雞肉和豬肉產業持續面臨生產成本壓力，但已受惠於糧食價格的正常化。這在 Pilgrim's 和 USA Pork 的結果中很明顯。

The recovery in margin of these businesses also reflects a better rebalance of supply and demand. Pilgrim's margins saw a strong growth, rising by 1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Similarly, USA Pork results jumped from 4.8% to 9% in the same period. Through our global platform, we operate successfully in all relevant proteins. With results exceeding expectation, our growth in aquaculture reaffirms our belief that we will replicate what we have done previously with chicken, pork, and value-added products.

這些業務利潤率的回升也反映了供需關係的更好平衡。Pilgrim 的利潤率強勁成長，從 2022 年第四季的 1.5% 成長至 2023 年第四季的 6.8%。同樣，美國豬肉協會的表現在同一時期也從 4.8% 躍升至 9%。透過我們的全球平台，我們在所有相關蛋白質領域成功運作。業績超乎預期，我們在水產養殖方面的成長再次堅定了我們的信念：我們將複製我們之前在雞肉、豬肉和增值產品方面所做的事情。

Likewise, we continue to invest in research and development of alternative proteins such as plant-based and cultivated protein. In 2024, we will complete a cultivated protein facility in San Sebastian in Spain. We are also building JBS Biotech Innovation Center in Brazil, which is a research, development, innovation biotechnology center.

同樣，我們繼續投資於植物蛋白和培養蛋白等替代蛋白質的研究和開發。2024年，我們將在西班牙聖塞瓦斯蒂安建成一座蛋白質培養設施。我們也在巴西建造JBS生物技術創新中心，這是一個研究、開發、創新的生物技術中心。

We are a food company and our focus is to meet consumer demand for all protein options. We also want to highlight that 2023, we once again demonstrate our financial strength. Maintenance of our healthy cash generation allowed us to distribute $448 million in dividend for the year, creating value for our shareholders. We reduced our gross debt by USD1.6 billion from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, which we plan to continue in 2024. As a result of our financial discipline, we began the company deleverage process at the end of 2023.

我們是一家食品公司，我們的重點是滿足消費者對所有蛋白質選擇的需求。我們也要強調的是，2023年，我們再次展現了我們的財務實力。保持健康的現金產生能力使我們能夠派發 4.48 億美元的年度股息，為股東創造價值。從第三季到第四季度，我們將總債務減少了 16 億美元，我們計劃在 2024 年繼續這樣做。由於我們的財務紀律，我們在 2023 年底開始了公司去槓桿進程。

The leverage ratio decreased from 4.87 times in the third quarter to 4.42 times in the fourth quarter. We remain confident in our long-term strategy. We will continue to reinforce our diversified platform by geography and by protein type, investing in strong brands, the value-added products and strategic partnership with our customers.

槓桿率由第三季的4.87倍下降至第四季的4.42倍。我們對我們的長期策略仍然充滿信心。我們將繼續透過地理和蛋白質類型來加強我們的多元化平台，投資強勢品牌、增值產品和與客戶的策略合作夥伴關係。

This set of actions is crucial for creating better margin and reducing volatility. The investments we made in 2023 are significant milestones that support this direction. In Brazil, we opened two new factories in the state of Parana that will allow Seara to advance in expansion strategy in value-added projects. Similarly, we commenced operations at the new Principe Italian meat facility in Columbia, Missouri, and invested in our King's Lynn pork unit in UK to make it a center of excellence in cold cuts.

這一系列行動對於創造更好的利潤和降低波動性至關重要。我們在 2023 年進行的投資是支持這一方向的重要里程碑。在巴西，我們在巴拉那州開設了兩家新工廠，這將使 Seara 能夠在增值項目的擴張策略中取得進展。同樣，我們開始在密蘇裡州哥倫比亞市的新 Principe Italian 肉類加工廠運營，並投資了英國的 King's Lynn 豬肉工廠，使其成為冷盤肉類的卓越中心。

JBS has demonstrated resilience and strength over its 70 years. The company's diversified platform, commitment to excellence, innovation, and sustainability, focus on people and culture, and the dual listing in Brazil and the United States put the company in a unique position to embark in a new cycle of accelerated growth and shareholder returns. We remain focused on the dual listing process. Today, we took another step to our goal by filing an update to registration requests through SEC. These include our figures up to December 31.

JBS 在過去 70 年中展現了其韌性和實力。該公司多元化的平台、對卓越、創新和永續發展的承諾、對人和文化的關注以及在巴西和美國的雙重上市使公司處於獨特的地位，可以開啟加速成長和股東回報的新周期。我們仍然關注雙重上市進程。今天，我們透過美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 提交了註冊請求更新，向我們的目標又邁進了一步。這些包括我們截至 12 月 31 日的數據。

Thank you, all, for the participation in this earnings call. And now I hand over to Guilherme, who will detail our financials. Guilherme, please.

感謝大家參加本次收益電話會議。現在我把時間交給 Guilherme，他將詳細介紹我們的財務狀況。請吉列爾梅發言。

Thank you, Tomazoni. Now let's move on to the operational and financial highlights of the year and the fourth quarter of 2023.

謝謝你，托馬佐尼。現在讓我們來看看今年和 2023 年第四季的營運和財務亮點。

Starting on slide 16, please. I would like to start by highlighting some important events that took place over the past year, and I would like to take the opportunity to update you on some of those processes. The first point to be highlighted is registration of 11 senior notes with the SEC in August.

請從第 16 張投影片開始。我想先強調過去一年發生的一些重要事件，並想藉此機會向大家介紹其中的一些進程。首先要強調的是8月向美國證券交易委員會註冊了11張優先票據。

This step was fundamental for both the company and investors as it brought a series of significant benefits. Among them, we can mention the expansion of investor base, the increase in the liquidity of the notes and the obligation to adapt to rules and regulations such as SOX, FCPA and PCAOB in addition to the publication of new reports such as 20-F, which we have just published for the first time. We also just announced that we will register new senior notes issued in September 2023 in the amount of $2.5 billion.

此舉對於公司和投資者來說都至關重要，因為它帶來了一系列重大利益。其中，我們可以提到投資者基礎的擴大、票據流動性的增加以及適應 SOX、FCPA 和 PCAOB 等規則和法規的義務，以及發布我們剛剛首次發布的 20-F 等新報告。我們也剛宣布，我們將註冊 2023 年 9 月發行的 25 億美元新優先票據。

We will also take the opportunity to reopen the exchange period for the 11 senior notes, which have already been registered. However, some investors did not exchange their notes at that time, and therefore, we are offering a new opportunity at the request of these investors. Given the announcement of the registration of the senior notes, we have made public our intention to have our shares listed in US and Brazil, as mentioned by Tomazoni. Taking advantage of the end of the fiscal year, we just filed a new F4 form, which is now available for public consultation, allowing all interested parties to follow the progress of the process.

我們也將藉此機會重新開放已註冊的 11 張優先票據的交換期。然而，一些投資者當時沒有兌換他們的票據，因此，我們應這些投資者的要求提供了一個新的機會。鑑於優先票據登記公告，我們已經公開表示有意讓我們的股票在美國和巴西上市，正如托馬佐尼所提到的。趁著財政年度結束之際，我們剛剛提交了一份新的 F4 表格，目前已向公眾開放供諮詢，以便所有相關方追蹤流程的進展。

In relation to the new issuance on September 2023, we issued $2.5 billion of senior notes at JBS USA. In October, JBS SA issued Agribusiness Receivables Certificates in the amount of BRL1.7 billion. Additionally, through our subsidiary, Pilgrim's Pride, we carried out two issuances totaling $1.5 billion. With the resources retained, we significantly reduced our short-term and medium-term debt, practically eliminating the need for debt payments until 2027, as I will detail you later.

針對 2023 年 9 月的新發行，我們在 JBS USA 發行了 25 億美元的優先票據。10月份，JBS SA發行了價值17億巴西雷亞爾的農業企業應收帳款證書。此外，透過我們的子公司 Pilgrim's Pride，我們進行了兩次總額為 15 億美元的發行。利用保留的資源，我們大幅減少了短期和中期債務，實際上消除了 2027 年之前的債務償還需要，我稍後會詳細介紹。

Now let's move on slide 17, where we have the operational and financial highlights of the quarter. Net revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $19.4 billion. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $1 billion and represents a margin of 5.3% for the quarter. Net profit was $16.7 million in the quarter. On slide 18, we have the highlights of the year. Net revenues in 2023 of $73 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $3.5 billion and representing a margin of 4.7% for the year. Net loss was $200 million in the year.

現在我們來看第 17 張投影片，其中介紹了本季的營運和財務亮點。2023年第四季淨營收為194億美元。調整後的 EBITDA 總計 10 億美元，本季利潤率為 5.3%。本季淨利為1670萬美元。第 18 張幻燈片展示了今年的精彩內容。2023 年淨收入為 730 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 35 億美元，全年利潤率為 4.7%。當年淨虧損2億美元。

Please now moving to the slide 19. Before commenting on free cash flow generation, it's important to highlight that as of the fourth quarter 2023, we began to increase leasing expenses in the calculation of free cash flow, aiming to more accurately represent the company's cash generation and be in great -- in line with the variation in the net debt. Therefore, this adjustment was considered for both current period and for the period that serves as a base for comparison. Operating cash flow in the quarter was $1.7 billion.

現在請翻到投影片 19。在評論自由現金流的產生之前，需要強調的是，自 2023 年第四季起，我們開始在自由現金流的計算中增加租賃費用，旨在更準確地反映公司的現金產生情況，並與淨債務的變化保持一致。因此，此項調整既考慮了當前期間，也考慮了作為比較基準的期間。本季經營現金流為17億美元。

Free cash flow for the quarter was $875 million. The free cash flow generation was positively impacted by improving operating results at Pilgrim's, JBS, Brazil and Australia. Release of working capital, mainly in inventories and suppliers, which combined totaled a positive variation of $570 million and the reduction in capital expenditures by $253 million against the fourth quarter last year of 2022. Moving on the next slide. At the beginning of last year, during the first quarter results release call, we have commented on what we would do to compensate for the cash burn of $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

本季自由現金流為 8.75 億美元。Pilgrim's、JBS、巴西和澳洲的經營業績改善對自由現金流的產生產生了正面影響。營運資本的釋放，主要體現在庫存和供應商方面，與 2022 年第四季相比，總計產生了 5.7 億美元的正向變化，資本支出減少了 2.53 億美元。轉到下一張投影片。去年年初，在第一季業績發布電話會議上，我們曾評論過我們將如何彌補 2023 年第一季 13 億美元的現金消耗。

Remembering that seasonally, the first quarter consumes cash. Throughout the year, we provided updates to the market to the previously discussed value totaling $1.4 billion, considering the necessary revisions. And now as the year-end, even in the face of a difficult and volatile year, we not only reversed the first quarter results but also generated $448 million in free cash flow in 2023.

記住，從季節性來看，第一季會消耗現金。全年，我們向市場提供了先前討論的總計 14 億美元的更新價值，並考慮了必要的修訂。而現在到了年末，即使面對艱難而動盪的一年，我們不僅扭轉了第一季的業績，還在2023年產生了4.48億美元的自由現金流。

The main developments were positive working capital in the amount of $380 million, considering inventory, accounts receivables and suppliers, reduction in capital expenditures are $670 million and tax refunds in the US, and monetization of tax credits in Brazil, which totaled $360 million.

主要進展是考慮到庫存、應收帳款和供應商，營運資本為 3.8 億美元，資本支出減少 6.7 億美元，美國退稅，巴西稅收抵免貨幣化，總額為 3.6 億美元。

For 2024, without providing guidance, we expect our cash generation to follow a similar seasonality for the -- as the previous year. This means that it is likely that we will have cash burn in the first quarter, but we expect that it will be around half of the value reported in the same period last year, taking into account the evolution of Seara's results and the maintenance of attractive margins in Australia, USA Pork and Pilgrim's.

對於 2024 年，在沒有提供指導的情況下，我們預計我們的現金產生將遵循與前一年類似的季節性。這意味著我們很可能在第一季出現現金消耗，但考慮到 Seara 業績的變化以及澳洲、美國豬肉和 Pilgrim's 保持的可觀利潤率，我們預計消耗的現金將只有去年同期的一半左右。

For the update exercise of the EBITDA necessary for free cash flow breakeven, we consider net financial expenses for 2024, similar to 2023 at $1.1 billion. Leasing expenses, which we are estimating $500 million versus $430 million in 2023, reflecting the increase in installed capacity. In the same way as rental expenses, the increase in our production capacity also increases the consumption of biological assets.

對於實現自由現金流量損益平衡所需的 EBITDA 更新計算，我們考慮 2024 年的淨財務支出，與 2023 年相似，為 11 億美元。租賃費用，我們估計為 5 億美元，而 2023 年為 4.3 億美元，反映了安裝容量的增加。與租賃費用一樣，我們生產能力的增加也增加了生物資產的消耗。

Therefore, disregarding possible variations linked to the grain prices, we are estimating a biological asset consumption of approximately $650 million. Capital expenditures in 2023 totaled $1.5 billion, which approximately $500 million was expansion CapEx. For 2024, total cash CapEx of $1.3 billion was approved, of which $50 million was carryover from 2000 -- from the previous year and $250 million for expansion and continuity of the plants inaugurated last year.

因此，不考慮與糧食價格相關的可能變化，我們估計生物資產消耗約為 6.5 億美元。2023 年的資本支出總計 15 億美元，其中約 5 億美元為擴張資本支出。2024 年，核准的現金資本支出總額為 13 億美元，其中 5,000 萬美元是從前一年 2000 年結轉的，2.5 億美元用於去年投產的工廠的擴建和延續。

Thus, disregarding capital variations outside the company's control and without giving -- and without considering this as a guidance, the EBITDA that corresponds to the free cash flow breakeven point is estimated at $3.5 billion. It is worth noting that differences above this amount will be subject to the application of the effective tax rate that is in average globally in 25%.

因此，忽略公司無法控制的資本變化，也不給出（也不將此視為指引），對應於自由現金流損益平衡點的 EBITDA 估計為 35 億美元。值得注意的是，超過該金額的差額將適用全球平均為 25% 的有效稅率。

Moving to the slide 21, we have the evolution of our debt profile. In the fourth quarter, we used cash to reduce gross debt in $1.6 billion. Until February 2024, we already used $566 million of our cash position to reduce gross debt, and we intend to continue this movement in the second quarter. Net debt for 2023 ended at $15.3 billion, stable in relation to the previous years as the company's free cash flow was sufficient to cover the payment of dividends that totaled $448 million.

轉到第 21 張投影片，我們了解了債務狀況的演變。第四季度，我們使用現金減少了 16 億美元的總債務。截至 2024 年 2 月，我們已經使用了 5.66 億美元的現金來減少總債務，我們打算在第二季繼續這項措施。2023 年淨債務為 153 億美元，與前幾年相比保持穩定，因為公司的自由現金流足以支付總計 4.48 億美元的股息。

Leverage in dollars reduced to 4.42 times and in reals to 4.3 times in the quarterly comparison, confirming that the deleveraging path that we had indicated in previous calls. Using market consensus, the leverage will follow the downward trajectory that began in the fourth quarter 2023.

按季度計算，美元槓桿率降至 4.42 倍，雷亞爾槓桿率降至 4.3 倍，證實了我們在先前的電話會議中指出的去槓桿路徑。根據市場共識，槓桿率將遵循2023年第四季開始的下降軌跡。

Therefore, according to market consensus for 2024, margins that is reflected on the Bloomberg consensus is 6.5%, 7% for 2025, and 7.8% for 2026. Therefore, using these numbers as a reference, we would reach the end of 2024 with a leverage range of below 3.25, reach the end of 2025 below 3 times and the end of 2026 below 2.5 times.

因此，根據市場對 2024 年的預期，彭博共識所反映的利潤率為 6.5%，2025 年為 7%，2026 年為 7.8%。因此，以這些數字為參考，到 2024 年底，槓桿率將低於 3.25 倍，到 2025 年底，槓桿率將低於 3 倍，到 2026 年底，槓桿率將低於 2.5 倍。

Now I will briefly go through the business units. Starting with Seara on slide 22. Net revenue for the quarter fell 5% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 4% for the year. 2023 was very challenging with margins below the ideal levels due to several external and internal challenges, such as the global excess of poultry and high production costs and challenges in the upstream part of the business, as well as lower dilution of fixed costs due to our plants inaugurated in 2023, which are still in the ramp-up process.

現在我簡單介紹一下各業務部門。從第 22 張投影片上的 Seara 開始。2023 年第四季淨收入下降 5%，全年下降 4%。 2023 年非常具有挑戰性，利潤率低於理想水平，原因是存在一些外部和內部挑戰，例如全球家禽過剩、生產成本高、業務上游面臨的挑戰，以及由於我們 2023 年啟用的工廠（目前仍處於產能提升過程中）導致的固定成本攤薄較低。

However, by maintaining focus on the fundamentals of the business, we managed to end the year on a positive trend, leaving us very optimistic for 2024.

然而，透過保持對業務基本面的關注，我們成功地以積極的趨勢結束了這一年，我們對 2024 年充滿信心。

Moving now to slide 23. JBS Brazil recorded net revenue 4% higher than the fourth quarter of 2022, reflecting higher volumes sold, but 6% lower than 2022 due to the decline in prices in the domestic and international markets. 2023 was marked by high volatility in the markets, mainly due to self-embargo of beef exports to China, the main destination for Brazilian industry, and the favorable livestock cycle, which increased the availability of animals for slaughter and reduced the price of live cattle in Brazil.

現在翻到第 23 張投影片。JBS 巴西的淨收入較 2022 年第四季成長 4%，反映出銷售量的增加，但由於國內外市場價格下跌，較 2022 年下降 6%。 2023 年市場波動劇烈，主要原因是巴西對中國（巴西工業的主要目的地）實施牛肉出口禁運，以及有利的畜牧業週期，這增加了可供屠宰的動物數量並降低了巴西活牛的價格。

In this scenario, we strengthened international relationships, gained new plant certifications, further improving the level of service for key partners and brought out brands closer to the consumers. For the fourth time, the Friboi brand was Top of Mind as a result of everything above both for the quarter and for the year, we improved the profitability.

在此背景下，我們加強了國際關係，獲得了新的工廠認證，進一步提高了對主要合作夥伴的服務水平，並使品牌更貼近消費者。由於本季和全年的各項表現，Friboi 品牌第四次成為 Top of Mind 品牌，我們的獲利能力也提高了。

Moving now to slide 24 and speaking now -- from now on in dollars and in US GAAP. JBS Beef North America net revenue grew 15% year over year in the quarter and 6% year over year in 2023. Despite the increase in revenue resulting from higher prices in the period, profitability was impacted by growth in the price of live capital at a faster pace than the increase in sales price, reflecting the increase in costs resulting from cattle cycle in the US.

現在轉到第 24 張幻燈片並開始發言——從現在開始以美元和美國 GAAP 為單位。JBS Beef 北美淨收入本季年增 15%，2023 年年增 6%。儘管本期間價格上漲導致收入增加，但獲利能力受到活體資本價格上漲的影響，其漲幅快於銷售價格的上漲，反映了美國牛週期導致的成本增加。

Additionally, the company uses future contract as a short-term protection measure. However, in the fourth quarter, the business unit ended up being adversely affected as the price of live cattle fluctuated in an atypical way. On September 2022, it was approximately $1.87 per pound. On December 7, it fell to $1.62 and quickly returned to $1.88 in the beginning of the year. Therefore, the negative impact of the fourth quarter has already been partially offset by gains in the first quarter.

此外，該公司還使用期貨合約作為短期保護措施。然而，第四季度，由於活牛價格出現非典型波動，該業務部門最終受到不利影響。2022 年 9 月，價格約為每磅 1.87 美元。12月7日跌至1.62美元，年初迅速回升至1.88美元。因此，第四季的負面影響已經被第一季的收益部分抵銷。

In the quarter, revenue growth was the result of higher volumes sold reflecting the greater availability of cattle in the market. However, during the year, the increase in volumes sold did not fully compensate for the reduction in prices in both domestic and international markets.

本季營收成長是由於銷售量增加，反映了市場上牛隻的供應量增加。然而，年內銷售量的增加並未完全彌補國內和國際市場價格的下降。

Despite these both periods, there was an improvement in profitability, mainly due to the reduction in the price of cattle acquisition result from greater availability of animals due to the more favorable cycle in the country and efficient gains in the several areas in the subsegments of these business units. Turning now to the USA Pork. Net revenue for the quarter was 4% higher compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, but a reduction of 5% in 2023 against 2022.

儘管存在這兩個時期，盈利能力還是有所提高，主要是由於國內經濟週期更加有利，牲畜供應增加，導致牛收購價格下降，以及這些業務部門子部門的多個領域取得了有效的收益。現在來談談美國豬肉。本季淨收入較 2022 年第四季成長 4%，但 2023 年較 2022 年下降 5%。

At the beginning of 2023, we faced challenges in price and profitability due to the excess supply of hogs in the domestic market. However, throughout the year, we observed the normalization in production accompanied by a reduction in grain costs as well as average price of live hogs. Furthermore, through continuous efforts to improve results such as expanding the value-added portfolio and improving commercial and operational execution, the EBITDA margin returned to normalized levels in the second half of the year.

2023年伊始，國內生豬市場供應過剩，價格和獲利能力面臨挑戰。然而，全年我們觀察到產量趨於正常，同時糧食成本和生豬平均價格也下降。此外，透過不斷努力改善業績，例如擴大增值產品組合、改善商業和營運執行力，EBITDA 利潤率在下半年恢復到正常水準。

Pilgrim's Pride as highlighted on slide 27 recorded an increase in net revenue of 10% in the fourth quarter 2023 compared to fourth quarter 2022 and remained stable in 2023 in the annual comparison. Like other business units mentioned previously, 2023 was marked by high volatility in the commodities market.

如投影片 27 所示，Pilgrim's Pride 在 2023 年第四季的淨收入與 2022 年第四季相比成長了 10%，並且在 2023 年的年度比較中保持穩定。與前面提到的其他業務部門一樣，2023 年大宗商品市場波動劇烈。

At the beginning of the year, poultry prices beginning at historical low levels due to the oversupply in the industry, especially in the heavy bird segments. Now as known as big bird in the US. However, through a better balance between supply and demand, prices gradually stabilized, although cost inflation remained high.

今年年初，由於禽肉產業供應過剩，尤其是大型禽肉供應過剩，家禽價格處於歷史低點。現在在美國被稱為大鳥。然而，透過供需平衡，價格逐漸穩定下來，儘管成本通膨仍然很高。

Despite the challenges faced, the company remained focused on executing in strategy and managed to improve its results throughout the year in all regions. As you could see, and as we had indicated, the improvement in profitability occurred in all business units throughout 2023, with the exception of Beef North America. Similarly, the path remains positive for 2024, with emphasis on JBS Australia, Seara, PPC and USA Pork.

儘管面臨挑戰，該公司仍然專注於執行策略，並成功改善了全年所有地區的業績。如您所見，正如我們所指出的，除北美牛肉業務外，所有業務部門的盈利能力在 2023 年全年都有所提高。同樣，2024 年的前景依然樂觀，重點在於 JBS Australia、Seara、PPC 和 USA Pork。

I would like to open up our question-and-answer session.

我想開始我們的問答環節。

Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員指示）

Ben Theurer, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的 Ben Theurer。

All right. Yeah, good morning, everyone, and thanks for taking questions. Just following up on what you've already discussed during the call a while ago on the translated one. So my first question, Seara, can you elaborate a little bit more as to what's different in 1Q versus 4Q, as you've talked about the double-digit margin potential, just given that the fourth quarter was obviously flat on a year-over-year basis so that we better understand what are the drivers that basically help you boost that margin as you've talked about into the double digits? That would be my first question. I have one quick one more.

好的。是的，大家早安，感謝大家回答問題。只是想跟進一下你們剛才在通話中討論過的翻譯內容。所以我的第一季度是 Seara，您能否詳細說明第一季度與第四季度有何不同，因為您談到了兩位數的利潤潛力，而第四季度的利潤率與去年同期相比明顯持平，以便我們更好地了解，是什麼驅動因素幫助您將利潤率提高到兩位數？這是我的第一個問題。我還有一個快的。

Oh, good morning, Ben. Thank you for the question. So I think is -- before to go to the detail, I want to clarify that Seara did not have any market problem. It does not have any. I want to reinforce that because consumer preference rates have increased, the brand has increased its penetration to 90% homes of products and repurchase of product is 89%.

哦，早上好，本。謝謝你的提問。所以我認為——在詳細說明之前，我想澄清一下 Seara 沒有任何市場問題。它沒有任何。我想強調的是，由於消費者的偏好率提高了，該品牌的產品滲透率已經提高到90%的家庭，產品的回購率為89%。

Strong numbers means that we don't have any problem with marketing, with perception, with consumer preference, with relation with the customers. We had problems with the operational efficiencies' indexes related to productivity indicators, processes, performance and equipment availability.

強勁的數字意味著我們在行銷、認知、消費者偏好以及與客戶的關係方面沒有任何問題。我們在與生產力指標、流程、效能和設備可用性相關的營運效率指數方面存在問題。

These costs have been identified and countermeasures are in place. The result of this action still had a small impact in the fourth quarter, but will begin to appear much more in the stretch from the first quarter of the year.

這些成本已被確定，並且已製定應對措施。這項措施的效果在第四季仍然有不小的影響，但從今年第一季開始將更加明顯。

Furthermore, we have not reached yet the optimal point of the efficiency in the ramp-up of the Rolandia factory. It is highly automated factory that requires time to parameterize and synchronize all the stages of the process. It is normal for a factory with a lot of embedded technology. However, the adjusted -- the competitiveness will be with greater increase. For all of these, we are optimistic for the Seara next quarters.

此外，我們尚未達到羅蘭迪亞工廠產能提升效率的最佳點。它是一個高度自動化的工廠，需要時間來參數化和同步流程的所有階段。對於擁有大量嵌入式技術的工廠來說，這是正常的。但調整後——競爭力將會有更大的提升。鑑於以上所有因素，我們對 Seara 的下個季度持樂觀態度。

Okay, perfect. Thank you very much. And then just coming back to some of the technical things, and that's most like a question for Gui. So with the new filing and the new registration and everything you've been doing, obviously, on the fixed income side, as it relates to the equity listing, do you have any estimate as to the timeline for that? Is that a 3Q thing? Is that a 4Q thing? What are the next steps you need to kind of get over to actually get this listing finally done?

好的，完美。非常感謝。然後回到一些技術問題，更像是針對 Gui 的問題。那麼，有了新的備案和新的註冊以及您在固定收益方面所做的一切，因為它與股票上市有關，您對時間表有什麼估計嗎？這是 3Q 的事嗎？這是 4Q 的事嗎？為了最終完成此列表，您需要採取哪些後續步驟？

Okay. So as you saw, we just filed a new F4 updating the 2023 numbers and including the previous comments from SEC. Now we have to wait if the SEC has more comments on the document, and if it has, we have to do another filing with the new comments.

好的。正如您所看到的，我們剛剛提交了一份新的 F4，更新了 2023 年的數據並包含了 SEC 先前的評論。現在我們必須等待美國證券交易委員會對該文件是否有更多意見，如果有，我們必須再次提交包含新意見的文件。

At the point that SEC doesn't have any comments anymore, then we can ask a registration of the equity. And then when SEC gives the go-ahead, the green light for the registration, then we can call a general assembly, which will be at least 45 days, as we mentioned previously. So this time frame is uncertain given that what I mentioned, but it's possible that we could finalize this year still.

當 SEC 不再有任何意見時，我們可以要求登記股權。然後，當美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 批准註冊後，我們可以召開股東大會，正如我們之前提到的，這將持續至少 45 天。因此，根據我提到的內容，這個時間框架是不確定的，但我們仍然有可能在今年完成。

Okay, perfect. I'll go back into the queue. Thank you.

好的，完美。我將回到隊列中。謝謝。

Andrew Strelzik, Bank of Montreal.

蒙特利爾銀行的安德魯·斯特雷爾齊克。

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking the question. I wanted to start maybe at a high level and in the release, in the CEO comments, there was a line that referenced an improvement in the medium-term outlook. And so I was hoping you could maybe elaborate on where you're seeing those improvements or where you're now more optimistic than you would have been three or four months ago, the last time you reported?

大家早安。感謝您回答這個問題。我想從高層次開始，在發布的執行長評論中，有一句話提到了中期前景的改善。因此，我希望您能詳細說明您在哪些方面看到了這些改進，或者您現在在哪些方面比三四個月前（即您上次報告時）更加樂觀？

Okay. Thank you for the question. We are very optimistic in Beef in Brazil and in Australia. I think it's -- they start a new cycle. We see that the margin will grow because with the beginning of the cycle of the beef, when I say positive outlook is for the year, maybe you need to remind that the first quarter and the fourth quarter is the tough quarter and the medium quarter is the better quarter for the company.

好的。謝謝你的提問。我們對巴西和澳洲的牛肉市場非常樂觀。我認為──他們開始了一個新的循環。我們看到利潤率將會成長，因為隨著牛肉週期的開始，當我說今年的前景是積極的時，也許你需要提醒一下，第一季和第四季是艱難的季度，而中期季度是公司表現較好的季度。

But this is both -- we are on a positive outlook. Then we have Seara. Maybe Seara is the most positive outlook if you compare the results of the fourth quarter. We see that Seara in this quarter, the results was below our -- the potential of the company.

但兩者都是——我們對此持積極態度。然後我們有 Seara。如果比較第四季的結果，也許 Seara 的前景最為樂觀。我們看到 Seara 本季的業績低於公司的潛力。

And in the beginning of the first quarter of the year, we can see that much more results, what the action we have done and to change the process -- I mentioned before, the parameters and the alignment with the process, we have a long chain and we will take time to get the results of the improvements in the balance sheet, but we will see in the first quarter.

在今年第一季初，我們可以看到更多的成果，我們已經採取了哪些行動來改變流程——我之前提到過，參數和與流程的一致性，我們有一個很長的鏈條，我們需要時間來獲得資產負債表改進的結果，但我們將在第一季看到。

We see the chicken, chicken as Pilgrim's. Pilgrim's has positive outlook. We have chicken positive in the US, even Mexico and Europe. We are positive in terms of results. We are positive on pork in US and remain a challenge of our US Beef business that is we are in the cycle, and we have commented before that it's a tough moment. But we are -- even this -- in this business, when you look for the year, the results should be positive. It's not as it was before, but is more positive that when you compare the last quarter -- this quarter that we now show the results.

我們看見雞，就像朝聖者的雞。Pilgrim 的前景十分樂觀。美國、墨西哥和歐洲的雞肉均呈現陽性反應。我們對結果持正面態度。我們對美國豬肉市場持樂觀態度，但美國牛肉業務仍面臨挑戰，因為我們正處於週期中，我們之前曾評論說，這是一個艱難的時刻。但是，即使我們從事這一行業，當你展望今年時，結果也應該是正面的。它與以前不同，但與上一季相比更加積極——我們現在展示的是本季的結果。

Okay, thank you. And then on the North American Beef performance in the quarter, you talked about a hedging loss. I think it was in the quarter, and then that's reversing in the first quarter. Just trying to get a sense for kind of the steady state profitability right now in that business. Can you quantify that loss that was in the 4Q? And did you say -- I know you said profit positive for the year. Are you expecting positive in 1Q as well? Did you say that?

好的，謝謝。然後，關於本季北美牛肉的表現，您談到了對沖損失。我認為這是在本季度，然後在第一季就發生了逆轉。只是想了解一下該行業目前的穩定獲利能力。您能量化第四季的損失嗎？您是否說過—我知道您說今年的利潤為正。您是否也預期第一季會出現正面的業績？你是這麼說的嗎？

Andrew, good morning. Andrew, about half of the negative EBITDA came from this impact. Like I said, very unusual to have such a big variance in futures like what we had about [$0.20] some in three months, so pretty atypical. Our outlook for 2024 would be low single digits. We expect that it is possible to have a breakeven scenario in a worse-case scenario but -- in a worse scenario.

安德魯，早安。安德魯，大約一半的負 EBITDA 都來自於這一影響。就像我說的，期貨價格在三個月內出現如此大的差異是非常不尋常的，大約是 [0.20 美元]，所以非常不典型。我們對 2024 年的預測是低個位數。我們預計，在最壞的情況下也有可能實現收支平衡，但是——在最壞的情況下。

But there is the seasonality of the business. So we should expect to see a first quarter of '24 and the last quarter of '24 being the worst quarters. And the second and third quarter, like always, being better quarters. And on average, being able to do that mid-single digits to breakeven result being that the first and the fourth quarter bringing the average lower and the second and third bringing the average higher.

但業務具有季節性。因此，我們預計 2024 年第一季和最後一個季度將是最糟糕的季度。第二季和第三季的表現一如既往地好。平均而言，能夠實現中等個位數的盈虧平衡的結果是，第一季和第四季的平均水平較低，而第二季和第三季的平均水平較高。

Great. Thank you very much. I'll pass it on.

偉大的。非常感謝。我會傳達的。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Carla Casella, JP Morgan.

卡拉‧卡塞拉，摩根大通。

Hi, thank you. My question is somewhat a follow-up on that prior question. Can you just talk about the US cattle availability? And can you also remind us where you source most of your cattle from and kind of where you have a preferred sourcing or relationship so we can kind of track it as we see weather develop over the next few months?

你好，謝謝。我的問題在某種程度上是對先前那個問題的後續。能談談美國牛的供應情況嗎？您能否提醒我們，您的大部分牛是從哪裡採購的，以及您有優先採購權或合作關係的地點，以便我們能夠根據未來幾個月的天氣變化進行跟踪？

Carla, we buy cattle -- our footprint, if you look, it's very, very geographically diverse. We obviously -- our large plants are in Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, so those are the big plants in Texas Midwest. But we also have our regional business, right? So in our regional business, we have plants in Arizona, in Pennsylvania.

卡拉，我們購買牛——如果你仔細觀察，你會發現我們的足跡在地理上非常多樣化。顯然，我們的大型工廠位於德克薩斯州、內布拉斯加州、科羅拉多州，所以這些是德克薩斯州中西部的大型工廠。但我們也有區域業務，對嗎？在我們的區域業務中，我們在亞利桑那州和賓夕法尼亞州設有工廠。

So we're pretty well spread out. We are seeing -- and with that, we also have our Canadian operation, which is a relevant part of our business. We -- part of our business, the regional business where we source, has always been a business that has sourced a lot of cow product and also a lot of Holstein cattle. Obviously, that always swings as we go into a scenario where we have less cows, we're going to see an increase in our Holstein kill as part of a share of that business raw materials sourcing.

所以我們的分佈相當均勻。我們看到——除此之外，我們還有加拿大業務，這是我們業務的相關部分。我們的部分業務，即我們採購的區域業務，一直是採購大量牛隻產品和大量荷斯坦牛的業務。顯然，當我們進入乳牛數量減少的情況時，情況總是會發生變化，我們將看到荷斯坦乳牛屠宰量增加，這是該業務原料採購份額的一部分。

But we're pretty good proxy to the -- to what the cattle market is across the country. We don't have one region which is much more impactful than what the national average was.

但我們能夠很好地反映出全國各地的牲畜市場狀況。我們沒有一個地區的影響力比全國平均大得多。

Carla, sorry, but there was a first part of your question, I think I'm missing it. What was that?

卡拉，抱歉，但你的問題的第一部分，我想我沒看清楚。那是什麼？

No, I think that was it. But I think the last we spoke, you talked about some green shoots you were seeing in terms of heifer retention and that being the first potential step towards an improving cycle in the US? Or any update there?

不，我想就是這樣。但我認為，上次我們談話時，您談到了在小母牛保留方面看到的一些復甦跡象，而這是否是美國邁向改善週期的潛在第一步？或有任何更新嗎？

Look, pasture conditions are better than in previous year. We are seeing promising weather forecast for -- especially the center of the United States. So far, that's good news, but it's promising. But we have seen still minor signs of heifer retention. We still believe that the economic signals are all there and whether being better than last year, we should start seeing heifer retention.

看，草場條件比去年好多了。我們看到天氣預報非常樂觀——尤其是美國中部地區。到目前為止，這是好消息，而且充滿希望。但我們仍然看到小母牛保留的跡象。我們仍然相信，經濟訊號已經全部出現，而且無論情況是否比去年更好，我們都應該開始看到小母牛的保留。

But obviously, we still have to see significant heifer retention and heifer retention numbers. But we do expect, and like I said before, Carla, in that scenario, we will start seeing first in our regional business, the lower availability of cows. And we believe that if weather is and we have a wet spring here, we could expect heifer retention to get started.

但顯然，我們仍然需要看到小母牛的保留率和小母牛保留數量的顯著提高。但我們確實預計，就像我之前說的，卡拉，在這種情況下，我們首先會在區域業務中看到乳牛供應量的下降。我們相信，如果天氣良好，並且我們這裡春季雨水充足，我們可以預期小母牛的保留將開始。

Okay, great. Thank you.

好的，太好了。謝謝。

Orges Asllani, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的 Orges Asllani。

Very two quick questions on the debt side for us. Are you still expecting incremental debt base using free cash flow generation between 2Q and 4Q?

關於債務方面，我們有兩個簡短的問題。您是否仍預計第二季至第四季期間將利用自由現金流增加債務基礎？

Okay. So first, you saw that we finished the year with a cash position which we already used to repay debt on an amount of $566 million up to February. We still have excess cash, so we intend to continue reducing gross debt in the second quarter. Then basically, repayment. Most of our debt is -- today is capital markets, so with the repayment of probably a capital market bond.

好的。首先，您會看到，我們在年底時擁有現金頭寸，截至 2 月我們已經用這筆現金償還了 5.66 億美元的債務。我們仍有剩餘現金，因此我們打算在第二季繼續減少總債務。那基本上就是還款。我們的大部分債務——今天是資本市場，因此可能是透過資本市場債券償還的。

Okay, thank you for that. And just very quick on the registration that was announced today. Should we expect any future issuance that you do to be fully registered? Or is there any administrative reason for you to use for reg rights? Thank you.

好的，謝謝你。今天我們來快速回顧一下剛剛公佈的註冊情況。我們是否應該期望您未來發行的任何債券都經過完全註冊？或您有任何行政原因需要使用註冊權？謝謝。

The reg rights is to speed up the process. So last September, in order to make the issuance quicker, we did 144-A with reg rights. We already asked the SEC to be a WICSI, which is a frequent issuer. So then when we are a WICSI or a frequent issuer, then we can have a registered issuance with -- very quickly as well. So as long -- while we don't have that, we'll continue to do 144-A and turning -- giving reg rights.

註冊權利是為了加快這一進程。因此，去年 9 月，為了加快發行速度，我們發行了具有註冊權的 144-A 債券。我們已經要求美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 成為 WICSI，即頻繁發行者。因此，當我們是 WICSI 或頻繁發行者時，我們也可以非常快速地進行註冊發行。因此，只要我們沒有這個，我們就會繼續執行 144-A 並轉變——賦予註冊權。

Thank you so much.

太感謝了。

Ladies and gentlemen, there will be no further questions. Now I would like to pass the floor to Mr. Gilberto Tomazoni. Please go ahead.

女士們、先生們，沒有其他問題了。現在我請吉爾伯托·托馬佐尼先生發言。請繼續。

I would like to thank you all for participating in our earnings call and to thank you for -- our global team for your dedication, the determination to make our business better every day. Thank you.

我要感謝大家參加我們的收益電話會議，並感謝我們的全球團隊的奉獻精神以及讓我們的業務每天都變得更好的決心。謝謝。

This is the end of the conference call held by JBS. Thank you very much for your participation and have a nice day.

JBS電話會議到此結束。非常感謝您的參與並祝您有愉快的一天。