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Operator: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Elite Pharmaceuticals Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2026 Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Before management begins speaking, the conference has the following statement. Elite would like to remind the listeners that remarks made during this call may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that are subject to change at any time, including, but not limited to, statement about Elite's expectations regarding forward operating results. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws and represent management's current expectations. Actual results may differ materially. Elite disclaims any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, except as required by law. More complete information regarding forward-looking statements, risks and uncertainties can be found in the reports Elite files with the SEC, which is available on Elite's website at elitepharma.com under the Investor Relations section. Elite encourages you to review these documents carefully. With that covered, it is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, Mr. Nasrat Hakim, President and Chief Executive Officer of Elite Pharmaceuticals. Sir, the floor is yours. Nasrat Hakim: Thank you, Matthew, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us today. My name is Nasrat Hakim. I am Elite's Chairman and CEO, and this is our earnings call. Our CFO, Carter Ward, will give you a summary of the company's financials, after which I'll give you an update and answer some of the questions you've submitted to Dianne. Carter, you are on. Carter Ward: Thank you, Nasrat, and good morning, everybody. We filed our 10-Q last Friday. It was for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. That is the second quarter of our fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. And the 10-Q is available. If you haven't seen it yet, it's available at elitepharma.com under our Investor Relations section. So please take a look if you haven't already done so. As always, I'm going to go over the financials, provide some context, some color to the financial statements, and we received a bunch of questions since Friday over the weekend. Thank you very much for sending those questions. I always appreciate that as well. So I'll do my best to answer those questions as I go through my presentation. Let me start with the P&L. Our total revenues for the quarter September 2025 quarter was $36.3 million, and that's compared to $18.8 million for the September 2024 quarter. That's a $17.5 million or 92% increase. And then total revenues for the 6 months ended September 2025 were $76.5 million. You can compare that to $37.7 million for the 6 months ended September 2024. That's a $38.8 million increase or 103% increase. So the revenue rate has more than doubled over last year. Also note that our revenues for the entire fiscal year -- entire last fiscal year 2025 were $84 million. So in the first 6 months of this fiscal year, we are almost as much as the full 12 months of last year. And last year was a good year. Last year actually was our best ever. So I think pretty soon, I'll be saying that last year was our second best ever year. The increase is attributed to 2 main factors. These are the same factors that I mentioned in our last call back in August. First, the Elite label has become well established in our niche markets. The 2024 fiscal year, we're in 2026 fiscal year. The 2024 fiscal year is when we launched our Elite label, we were unknown then. That initial launch included our generic Adderall and a few other products. Now we've been in the market for those products for 2.5 years. We're a known entity. The product lines from that initial launch, they have a secure and growing market share and revenue streams. So Elite continues to distinguish ourselves as a reliable supplier of quality product. That's one of the -- that's contributed to our growth in revenues. The second main factor is the Lisdexamfetamine product line. That's Lisdexamfetamine is generic to Vyvanse. It's a very large market with high demand. That was not part of the initial launch from 2 years ago. And it was also not launched until the last quarter of last fiscal year. So that's earlier this year, March 2025 quarter, earlier this calendar year. So that's why Lisdex is not reflected in year-on-year numbers. September is the second quarter of our fiscal year. Lisdex wasn't launched until the middle of the fourth quarter of the last year. So this September quarter is only the third quarter of substantial commercial operations. So keep that in mind when comparing September '25 with September '24. 2025 has Lisdex, 2024 does not. So that's a big difference, a huge difference. Moving down the P&L, we had a gross profit of $14.1 million, compare that to $8.2 million for the September 2024 quarter. That's $5 million or 72% increase. Gross profit for the 6 months ended September of 2025 this year was $41.3 million. You can compare that to $16.7 million for the 6 months ended last September 2024. It's a $24.6 million increase or 148%, well more than double. So now I received a few questions on revenues, margins, quota and direct versus indirect sales. So I'll address all of those here because they're all very much related. So a few shareholders noticed that revenues were down from the June quarter, and they wanted to know if it was quota related. Well, the short answer is whenever you're selling controlled substances like generic Vyvanse and generic Adderall quota is always a factor, although what I'm going to say is probably not what the shareholder had in mind when he was saying the question. So -- but with regards to the September quarter, as compared to the June quarter, we've noticed an increase in quota for generic Vyvanse, which served to increase supply in the market. We also got quota. Result was that we increased our volumes, but we sold at lower prices as compared to prior periods. I mentioned this a few times in our last call in August, there's more than 10 suppliers that we compete with for generic Vyvanse and that creates downward pressure on prices. Whenever you increase supply, there's a downward pressure on your prices. This is typical generic business model with higher prices at first and they eventually stabilize. And that's what's happened with the generic Adderall, which we've been selling for years, and a similar track is being followed by the generic Vyvanse, which is still a relatively new product for us. We've seen stabilized price levels for quite a while now, but generic pharma is a very competitive business. So don't ever forget that. We don't. With regards to direct and indirect sales, let me first explain the difference between them. First of all, direct sales or when we sell directly to a pharmaceutical chain and that customer handles the complex supply chain logistics, ensuring that their retail locations are properly stocked. The logistics are complex. There is a high infrastructure investment that's required by the customer. Few customers do this, makes sense for them, but many do not. Indirect sales are when we sell to a customer, but this complex supply chain is handled by a third-party wholesaler such as the big 3, we call it Cardinal, McKesson or Cencora, everybody knows those names. The wholesaler has the infrastructure and the expertise to handle these complex and sophisticated supply chain requirements. quite a bit of investment is required to do that. And there's much greater volume and market share available through the indirect sales model, but at lower margins since the wholesaler, they charge for their services. So the takeaway here is that in order to achieve larger market share within a more stable and reliable business model, you will almost always end up with an indirect sales bias in your revenue streams. The customer wants not just a reliable supplier, which Elite is, we are definitely that, but they also have a complex supply chain that requires the resources and expertise of these large third-party wholesalers. So this is just how the generic market works in the U.S. And also, when you first stock up a new product with a wholesaler, like we did with Lisdex this quarter, there's onetime stocking fees that they charge you. And that results in higher COGS, cost of sales and lower margins. So that happened with Lisdex, and it is also a contributing factor to the lower margins as compared to the prior quarter, but those are onetime stocking fees. So we're past that now. Moving down the P&L. Our operating profits for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, were $8.2 million. You compare that to $4.7 million for the September 2024 quarter. It's a $4.7 million or 136% increase. The operating profits for the 6 months ended September of this year were $29.9 million, and you can compare that to $7.3 million for the 6 months ended September 30, 2024. Last year, that's a $22.5 million or 307% increase, both very substantial. Now to the cash flow statement. Operating cash flow for the 6 months ended September of 2025 this year was $19.9 million as compared to operating cash flow of $4.6 million for the 6 months ended last year, September 2024. That's a $15.3 million increase, 333% increase in operating cash flow. On to the balance sheet, which continues to strengthen. Working capital as of September 30 this year was $75 million. You can compare that to $46 million as of the beginning of this fiscal year, March 2025. That's a $29 million or 63% increase. I always like to drill a little further into the working capital, and you see the current assets increased from $58 million to $86 million, while current liabilities decreased from $11.8 million to $10.7 million. So current assets continue to increase with current liabilities decreasing. Assets gone up $28 million. liabilities have dropped by $1 million. This is not something we see that often, and it's happened several quarters in a row for us now. It's a very positive trend. But just know that liabilities can't decrease forever as you grow, just your accounts payable and things like that also grow. That's just how it works. So eventually, liability is going to hit some -- it's going to hit a floor at some point in time as we continue to grow. So they'll hit a floor as far as dollar value and go up in dollar value. But the thing to keep in mind, what's most important is the ratio between the assets and the liabilities. So as long as the growth in the current assets is greater than the growth in the current liabilities, that's what we want to see happen. That's the trend that's been always happening, and we expect that to continue, and our balance sheet will strengthen as that continues. The reduction in liabilities is not just limited to current liabilities. When I talk about working capital, I'm just talking about current liabilities, but we also have noncurrent liabilities. They are also reducing. So if you exclude the derivatives, the noncurrent liabilities were $5.2 million in September of this year. You can compare that to $5.6 million in June of 2025 and $5.8 million at March of 2025, beginning of the fiscal year. So we went from $5.8 million down to $5.2 million. The takeaway here is that Elite has low debt. And it's not just low debt, it's debt that continues to decrease while working capital increases. Both of these are hallmarks of a strong balance sheet, and we certainly have that. I got a few more questions over the weekend. going to add to my presentation here, and I'll like to address now. One of the questions was, please explain why the R&D expenses have declined. They were $1.4 million this year, September 25 for the quarter versus $2 million for the September 2024 quarter. Just know that R&D costs, they don't flow in a straight line, and they really depend on what we're doing at any point in time. Last year, 2024, we were in the final stages of getting the Lisdexamfetamine approval. There were more resources expended, more activities going on last year as compared to the most recent quarter, and we see how well that worked out when we launched the Lisdexamfetamine in January of 2025. So really, we're just talking about a timing difference here. R&D continues as always. It's just something that it's not a flat line type of expense. Some quarters will be more than others, especially when we are in the final stages of approval for a major product. Another question was discuss the increase in G&A, general and administrative costs. The G&A cost for September of this year -- this quarter, September 2025 was $4 million and against $2.3 million for September 2024. G&A cost for last quarter, the June 2025 quarter was also $3.4 million. So this quarter, we're even more than the June quarter. So the answer lies in 2 areas. First, sales administration and secondly, compliance. or let me talk about sales administration. With a business that has more than doubled in size, the back-end side of the business has become not just larger, but more complex. We're processing more purchase orders, more shipments, returns, collections, managing quotas, forecasts, et cetera, all of those types of back-end activities. That requires increased resources, both in-house and third party. We have third-party people that help us as well in this area, and that has costs. On the compliance side, rapid growth of Elite also creates complexities that require increased resources, and this is part of the G&A cost. We have registrations in all 50 states in Puerto Rico in order to do business there. And many, many of those states also require separate tax filings. So we have to comply with that as well. That takes consultants and in-house and third-party resources. We have to hire people in-house, plus there's a lot of consultants and subject matter experts in those areas, which are quite specific and specialized. And so the cost of compliance has risen with the size of the business. Another question is, what is the current headcount at Elite? Well, we have 65 employees currently. It's really amazing though, when you look at our results and our performance, having only 65 employees is quite remarkable. Last question. Inventory has fallen since last quarter. Does that signal a decrease in future demand? Very good question. The inventory was $19.4 million on June of this year, 2025. It's down $18.2 million in September 2025. That's a $1.2 million decrease. There is no signal here. This is more really just some timing differences. We have an arbitrary cutoff date, September 30. There are shipments that may have just been delivered to customers at that date, and we have a bunch of raw materials that are on the way, but not yet received. So the inventory goes down on the finished goods and the inventory not yet coming up on the raw material side of things, it's all just business as usual. It's really the ebbs and flows, nothing other than timing at the quarter date and no real signal there. So to sum up the financials, we had strong revenues, more than $36 million for the quarter. We have 6 months revenue of $76 million. Elite continues to perform well in the market. Margins are down due to generic market competition, but the balance sheet is strengthening. Cash flow is solid. Working capital is increasing and debt is decreasing. A really good trends and metrics. So halfway through our 2026 fiscal year, we are well on our pace for our best year ever. Our next quarterly report is due in February 2026, and I look forward to speaking with everybody then. Now I'd like to introduce our Chairman and CEO, Mr. Nasrat Hakim. Nasrat Hakim: Thank you, Carter. It was another good quarter for Elite. Generic Vyvanse, generic Adderall, both IR and ER and Elite's new product launches all contributed to Elite's substantial growth compared to the previous year. Lisdexamfetamine, which is generic Vyvanse, a central nervous system stimulus used for the treatment of ADHD was launched early this year. And we have maintained an 8% market share according to our internal data. IQVIA have not caught up yet with our internal sales and marketing. We are at about 8% market shares. Lisdex is a big reason for why positive quarter and the previous quarter comparing to the previous quarter of the same year are so far apart. Last year, we would not have Lisdex and this year, we do. And that is an testament to our continuous growth. Comparing this quarter's sales of Lisdex to the previous quarter, we picked up volume as the market volume grew and the brand to generic conversion continues. And I could see that trend still goes on for a little while longer. Lisdex volume grew 6% this quarter compared to last quarter according to IQVIA. Price competition, though, did increase. And as Carter indicated, that's what led to the situation we're in. excellent financials, but doesn't compare to last quarter due to the factors that Carter just explained, and we talked about in the last actually meeting as well in August. When comparing our second quarter fiscal year to the most recent quarter, we see reduced revenues and profits from Lisdex. This is to be expected as we discussed. This is nothing to worry about. We expected this phenomenon. We expect this coming quarter to be as solid and things stabilize by now. For now, though, as I stated, the pricing for the next quarter should be steady, and we expect the generic market to continue to grow as the brand to generic conversion and as doctors start to prescribe it more because now it costs less as insurance companies start to accept it more. IQVIA shows Elite a market share of amphetamine IR averaging 19%. Compared to last quarter, actually, Elite even grew our volume of sales, maintaining very attractive margins. So in IR, we're a very small company compared to the competition, but we command 19% of amphetamine IR. For amphetamine ER, our market share is about 12% according to IQVIA. Elite target continues to have attractive margins. We're not selling at any prices. Kirko is looking for attractive margins and selling exclusively under our Elite label. Isladepine and trimipramine are smaller market, but each with only one other competitor. Each has a strong market share percentage-wise, and these products have high margins. Loxapine and phendimetrazine are also small markets with 2 competitors and good margins. For phendimetrazine, we command 30% of the market share. Naltrexone and phentermine are now being sold exclusively under the Elite label. Precision dose license for those products ended in September. Phentermine and naltrexone markets both have competitors that command about 90% of this market. We will target building sales under the Elite label for both, and we're doing very well already for naltrexone very well. Elite recently launched Oxy/APAP, Percocet, Hydro-APAP, NORCO, generic APAP with Codeine and Methotrexate. Each market has 2 to 4 primary competitors. Elite currently has a minor but growing share for each of these products. We are not aggressively pursuing these because they are high volume and low-profit products, and we do not want to prioritize them over the 3 main products I just spoke about, Lisdex, Amphetamine IR, Amphetamine ER. So we're staying in the market. We're continuing to get shares that suits our manufacturing needs and sales and marketing needs. And when we have larger capacity, we can be more aggressive with these products. We have a couple of in-process launches. We received approval for Ropinirole ER that we plan to launch in Q2 most likely. We're going to prepare for the launch in Q1. We'll end up launching end of Q1, early Q2. In addition we have methadone, a generic product that's already approved that we are planning on launching once we can prioritize it accordingly. Our partner, Dexcel in Israel launched Amphetamine IR. There is only one other competitor in Israel, and we expect this to be an attractive market. Good potential for other business opportunities with them. In our development pipeline, we continue to progress. We have right now pending under review after FDA review, Oxy ER, which is the generic for OxyContin. This is a Paragraph IV filing, and the patent lawsuit is on a stay right now. We have submitted our answer. We are waiting for Purdue and the court what to do next. This is as far as Elite is concerned. We're not talking about the lawsuit that was just settled with the Sackler family for $7-plus billion and now the states most likely will own Purdue. We're talking about the lawsuit as a Paragraph IV for Elite filed product. We responded to the courts. We wait for to see what Purdue and the court want to do, and we'll update you accordingly. We previously announced a successful BE study for an undisclosed anticoagulant generic. We expect to submit an ANDA for this product most likely in Q1 of next year. The brand has an unexpired patent listed in the Orange Book. And so commercialization of this generic product requires that we address the and expired patent. We'll determine our approach for this patent closer to the time of filing. We will definitely have to notify them, of course. We have other generic products in the pipeline that we'll update you on and announce once a material event occurs. As Carter indicated and I said at every single conference call, R&D continues to be a priority. Regarding merger and acquisition and uplisting, Elite continues to actively pursue M&A and other alternatives such as uplisting. M&A is our primary focus. As I indicated before, I gave the team until the end of the year to show me that this is a viable option. Well, it is looking like it is. We have had a company unsolicited asked to visit the site. The President and the -- of the U.S. division and the Global Head of Manufacturing requested a site visit, we granted it. We accommodated them, and that is concluded. Our consultant presented us with a list of companies that they approach. Several showed interest in M&A with Elite. I expect at least one of them to visit this year. Our primary focus is M&A for the foreseeable future. I get a lot of questions about that. We are focused on M&A. If we determine that that's not working, we'll consider other alternatives. To sum it up, Elite is executing its strategy of developing and filing new ANDAs, growing sales, supporting working capital growth, maintaining a strong cash position and Elite's stock price reflects the company's growth. Elite maintains a strong reputation of a dependable supplier. And that's going to help us tremendously when we launch new products because they see and have seen what we can do with controlled substances. We never overpromised. We've always delivered, and we established credibility. So now everything else that we launch in the future, we have already established a good reputation for companies to be with us on it. Lisdex is expected to continue as a key product for Elite with attractive margins. Amphetamine IR is a mature market, and we expect to defend our strong market share. For Amphetamine ER, we are targeting additional volume while maintaining pricing as our previous partner, Presco phases out. They still have some product that they're still selling. Elite has a history of robust growth for several years in a row now. I'm not going to recite the numbers from $7.5 million till today, where we're going to way go over $100 million this coming year. We're 2/3 of the way through, 75% of the way through. That is a huge achievement from $7.5 million to almost $75 million now in 2 quarters only. Elite is positioned as an attractive midsized generic pharmaceutical company with consistent profits, steady growth and a low debt. Our stock price remains strong, and we continue to evaluate M&A and other options. All right. Let's go to Q&A. Before that, let me say a word regarding Q&A. If you ask intelligent relevant questions, we will do our best to accommodate you. Buffoonery questions and comments will be ignored. Nasrat Hakim: All right. Please provide an update on the pipeline and the status of the various drugs in the pipeline. Do you anticipate additional ANDAs to be filed by the end of this year or half of 2026? Are we still on target for the Q1 submission to the FDA of the $27 billion drug? That's the anticoagulant blood thinner. Is the anticoagulant product still planned to be filed in the first quarter of 2026? The answer is yes. And because there are a lot of questions of interest about this group of subjects, so let me combine them all together and start with R&D. Commercialization is the final stage of R&D, okay? So everything we have in the market at one time was an R&D product. Whether you buy it, acquire it, build it in-house, it's now the end stage of R&D. We have a very solid portfolio that you have seen how it took us from $7.5 million to where we are today. We have a couple of small products that are approved but have not launched yet, okay? So first, you have the products in the market, then you have the products that you're going to send to the market. Then we have OxyContin ER, which is under review by FDA. So now you have the pipeline populated by something the FDA is reviewing that's going to become in the market. Then we have the anticoagulant that test the and will be filed next year. It will be filed next year, Q1 or Q2, most likely Q1. And in addition to all of that, we also have generic formulations that are going to go into clinical trials, and that's what Carter was talking about. Sometimes the cost is very high because you have things that are happening at the same time and sometimes you're preparing for them. So sometimes the R&D cost is much higher than others because certain events have taken place. So the next step we had, we're going to go into clinical trials. Clinical trials cost a lot of money. And we have others that are in the early stage that have not reached the point of clinical trials. We are fully populated from early stage to clinical trials to already past clinical trials to already filed with FDA to already approved to already in the market. It doesn't get better than that. We are on solid grounds. Next set of questions is List ex capsules by Elite are doing very well. Is there any chance Elite will expand its product line to include Lisdex chewable tablets in the near future? Does Elite have the capability to manufacture chewable tablets? Okay, not today, but it's very easy to modify our equipment to do that. That is an excellent question, by the way, an excellent comment. I explored it before, and we decided to stick with Lisdex because it was where all the money and most of the money is. I will go back and take another look at this because we were actually looking at that at one time because not too many people are in it, but Lisdex is too huge for us to ignore the actual product and go after a little niche. It's something to take -- go back and revisit. Would there be any consideration to breaking off SequestOx into a separate subsidiary of Elite to potentially be sold off as a stand-alone. I don't think so. It would not add a lot of value. When are methadone and [indiscernible] launches planned? And honestly, I've already given the answer in my presentation, but I'll give you a more accurate answer. As soon as operations and sales and marketing make them priority. We have a lot of other priorities that are bringing more money. These products are in there. We're ready to launch them as soon as we get green light that operations think they can fit them in without impacting our main products and sales and marketing says people are screaming out for them. Is Elite considering purchasing any additional ANDAs like we did when we repurchased the stuff from Nordstrom? That's a very good question, actually, yes. This is one way for us to enhance the pipeline, and I'm always on the lookout. And it's not really an easy task to find the right fit for your company. And there are other ways to also do that, that I will not discuss today, but maybe we'll talk about in the future. It's a very good question. DEA quota. Could you please also speak about the increased quota for Lists as of September 25. Does Elite expect to capture some of the increased quota? If so, how much? We saw 2 articles involving the increase in quota for Adderall and Vyvanse in September and October by the DEA. Did Elite benefit from these quota increases? Yes. Does Elite expect to receive more quota given the recent limit increases on both Vyvanse and Adderall by the DEA? Or has Elite already received more? We have. So just to answer them all together, yes, that is true. The DEA relaxed their quota requirements. We received our allocated portion what we requested of our full quota this year without any issues. for all 3 products. That's the good news. The not so good news is that they are doing this with everybody else. So now everybody else has got them. I like it better when they were tight because we were experts at navigating through the DEA. I'll digress for a second and give you a real-life example of something that happened. We were looking for sales and marketing group to buy before we hired Kirko and about the time we were with Lannett. And we found a company in Florida that had the sales and marketing portion and they lost their products. So this is great, great fit. We have products one thing when I met with them, the product they could not sell was amphetamine. And when they said this was Adderall and they couldn't sell it, I immediately walked away and we hired Kirko. So one company went bankrupt because they could not get the quota to sell for Adderall and other company became a superstar because of the same issue. It's knowing how to navigate around regulatory agencies and your relationship in the industry. Question on legal, meaning SequestOx. Any update on the patent litigation for SequestOx? And then concerning generic OxyContin -- sorry, OxyER, SequestOx. Concerning generic OxyContin, on [ 9 2 25, ] Purdue filed a cross motion to extend the 30-day -- 30-month stay. When would that stay expire, if not extended, okay? So as to the first part, any update on patent litigation for Oxy ER, the answer is we really responded to the court, okay? We await Purdue and the court's decision, what are they going to do next? Is the court going to say, no, proceed with discovery? Are they going to narrow it? Whatever happens, we will hear about it. And once we do, we'll make it public. I don't know what will happen with the [indiscernible] stay. Now that the court ruled just a couple of days ago that the Sackler family is no longer in charge, they accepted the settlement for $7-point-some billion. Now the government is going to take charge of Purdue, and they're going to be in charge of OxyContin. Are they going to open the door for all the generic companies to get in? Or are they going to insist on 3Month stay? I don't know. This is an uncharted territory. I've never seen the government take over a company before in the pharmaceuticals. So we'll see what they're going to do. If they do away with it, then everybody gets in. If they don't, we'll all have to wait 3 months. Potential sale of the company. All right. Questions on potential sale of the company. On the merger and acquisition front, was the company valuation done? Listen, yes, any consulting firm task to selling a company will do evaluation to establish a range for many reasons, including knowing who to approach to buy the company. They need to know who has the balance sheet to buy the company without looking at the company and seeing what you're worth, they cannot do that. This is one of many reasons. But they never tell you you're worth X. It's always a range, you worth between X and Y. Has the M&A firm identified potential buyers? Yes, several. Has Elite received any offers to sell the company? We are not at that stage yet. What is the current impact of SequestOx technology and IP on ELTP's valuation as it pertains to the potential sale of ELTP? It doesn't really contribute that much because we are being evaluated on our profits and revenues, okay? This will be the sexy stuff. The fact that we have low debt is a huge thing. The fact that we have the our technology. these are extra factors. But the main driver is how much profit do you have and how much revenues, what's your pipeline and what's your R&D status. 20 years ago, 15 years ago, 10 years ago, our technology [indiscernible] was really sexy. Today, it's not as sexy. Can you share any information on valuation done on the lead by a third party? No. That is counterproductive. So again, if somebody and the company does, they'll say your company is worth between X and Y. If I make that public, I am doing you and the company this service because somebody who signed to buy us that uses different model will immediately revert to the model that produces the least amount of money and they start negotiating from the lowest number down. This information is confidential for a reason. We keep it confidential because we don't want anybody to know because there are multiple ways of calculating the value of a company. If you calculate it on a [ PE ] of 20, okay, you will get a different number than going EBITDA times 12. And both of them are valid ways to evaluate the company. there are other factors that come into that. So no, we cannot share that. Is uplifting the more likely scenario now? No. We are preparing for all contingencies. M&A is still in the lead. A question about the facilities. Can you please give us an update on retrofitting the old packaging space with the new manufacturing suit? Has any manufacturing space been designated for a pilot scale manufacturing suite? We already have a pilot scale facility in building 165, so we don't need to do that, okay? The space for the old packaging line will be utilized for encapsulators, among other things. But to that end, the new packaging line and the old packaging line in the new facility are working out very well. Packaging and sales and marketing are the 2 parts of the business that I am comfortable they'll serve us for years to come from the standpoint of expansion, okay? The packaging line is fully functional, sufficient for our needs and ready to support us for years to come. That was the last question. That concludes our conference call for today. We'll talk to you again in February. Thank you all, and thank you, Matthew. Operator: Thank you. Everyone, this concludes today's event. You may disconnect at this time, and have a wonderful day. Thank you for your participation.
Jeremy Frommer: Good afternoon, everybody. Thanks for joining. I'm going to get us started here in about a minute. So I figured if you don't come today's call without a question for me, I'm not 100% sure why you're here. You have to have thought of some question or some piece of knowledge you're trying to gain from joining an investor call like this. I try to think about these calls more as Q&A opportunities than there are opportunities for me to speak too much. I wrote down a few thoughts. Often, we talk about inflection points. If I look back over the last 10 years, I'm sure I've written many letter as a CEO and as a Chairman about an inflection point, and the truth is, is that in the micro cap in the small-cap world, the entire journey is defined by a series of inflection points because it's so much about survival in the beginning. It's not as much as people think, I have a great product. I have a great team. It's about how you deal with a lot of rough times getting something off the ground. And all entrepreneurs know this and all the best ones have gone through it. And shareholders in this space in the public markets, which let's not call them something that they're not. They are public markets, but they behave like private markets. First of all, any investor who invest is in the small-cap entrepreneurial world and is looking for short-term gain is in the wrong space. This is like the private equity market. It's 6- to 10-year holding period. And if it's a score, it's a big score. So this is really about in our world, it's really about surviving particularly when there is very little there's very little clear paths, it's a space filled with obstacles. Many of the shareholders on the call today are from an acquisition we did recently with FLYHT previously named [ Fluger ]. And really, when you look at that acquisition, that was a win-win for both sides, that's the kind of -- if you're a shareholder, and you're in a company, for instance, that's entrepreneurial-minded like [ Fluger ] was looking to IPO itself and along comes an opportunity for a company to purchase it that's on its way to that IPO. That's an inflection point. Now, when you're a shareholder in this space, you're looking for something real, something transformative, big score. And that 6- to 10-year waiting period has to be rewarded with the proverbial 10 bagger. But there really is a deeper truth that drives both companies and investors forward. And that is creating or in our case, recreating or being part of the future. And in an age of radical transparency, I thought we'd get right to the point of the call, which is the future. What do you want from it? And what do we want from it? You want to be able to have tradable liquid shares in a company that I hope you're invested in over time that will make the time invested with the value earned at the end of it. And so when I look at what I want, I want to be able to be rewarded for providing you with that opportunity. I would like to be able to run a company that competes in the public markets, makes money in the public markets and trades at a significant premium because of the quality of its team, its earnings, its product and its entire narrative. In our case, that narrative has changed recently. And that's because economic cycles change rapidly, not just that they change rapidly in terms of the scope of the change, but they change rapidly in terms of the time between business cycles today. Utilizing a publicly traded entity to buy or build private entities to create that arbitrage of value is something that people have chased for hundreds and hundreds of years of modern capitalism. I think that when we look at created and what it's gone through the past I would say, 6 months since the acquisition of FLYHT, it has been to set us up to deliver on that value. How we're going to deliver on that value is by racing for a listing on a national exchange. And I hope that when we get to the national exchange, rather than find the reward of management to be sellers. My goal is hopefully to have turned many of you into buyers. And with that, I would say, again, what you want, I understand. That's the role of the CEO. Many of you I have spoken to directly over the phone. Many people are uncomfortable with this kind of radical transparency that I practice. I don't know any other way of doing it. And so for me, I know what you want. I hope that you know what I want. And then you trust that you'll put your money into an investment that I will take seriously and work to create the return on that investment that you initially made in either my company or FLYHT. With that said, I don't want to discuss things that I've already put in the press release. I'd like to talk about any questions that you may have regarding the earnings regarding the revenues, regarding the uplifting regarding getting liquidity in the stock. Any questions that you have I'd love for you to just ask the question whether it's through the chat or raising your hand. And one of us will see it and answer your question. So who's going to ask the first question? Jeremy Frommer: Okay, I see 1 question. What's the question? Aya, do you have the ability to.... Unknown Executive: Yes. Here, I see Michael has raised his hand. Jeremy Frommer: Michael, how are you? Michael? Unknown Analyst: Can you hear me? Jeremy Frommer: Now I can hear you. Unknown Analyst: Yes. This is [ Steve Cohen ], Mike, are you there? Yes. I'll go first if its okay for Mike. Okay. So I'm Steve Cohen, and I missed the very first part. But is your goal to raise more money from the investors in order to get to the different offering. Is that your ultimate goal? Because I watch the stock and I watch the price and I've seen it come down. And I don't know if it's being delisted or not. But what's your goal for getting it on a different exchange? Jeremy Frommer: Thanks for the question. That's, again, as I said, it's what you guys want to hear is the plan for that. There's no plan for me to raise any capital in the near term. We have done all the raising we've needed to do. And we will now apply to a national exchange I don't like to say which exchange until we actually do it. But I mean, as a side note here, the very nature of the NASDAQ makes it more susceptible to the thing that I didn't understand when we first started trading on the NASDAQ. And remember, Steve, I've gone through this process before. The stock was up on the NASDAQ originally. Now I've been CEO throughout that period. And what I learned was if you think that you're going to get an underwriting done to get your stock up to a national exchange and avoid the toxicity that comes along with it, it's almost an impossible feat. So what we decided to do because to have raised enough cash over the last year, such that we've increased our net equity, we've increased our shareholder base. We've increased our market cap. And now we've increased our cash, we can apply to the exchange of our choice and not have to do a traditional underwriting. We're far from being delisted, man, we were delisted. We were kicked off the NASDAQ kicked down to the OTC kick down to the pink sheets. All because of a series of unfortunate events in a very difficult time in this environment, this small-cap entrepreneurial space. But far from being delisted, we're getting ready to apply to a national exchange and doing it in a way that others don't try to get it done. And I think that's one of the most important things that I'm trying to articulate that what we're going to attempt to do is list to a national exchange without a traditional underwriting without raising additional cash from here because we have already raised the cash. Any other questions around that or anything else, I'd love to answer, Steve. Did that answer that question for you? Unknown Analyst: Can you still hear me? Jeremy Frommer: I sure can. Unknown Analyst: So -- but doesn't -- like I don't -- how do you go from paying sheets to the NASDAQ? In other words, so we raised revenue. What are we going to do like -- I'm not familiar. Is it a new listing? Is it a public offering? Is it -- how do you get -- it's what? Jeremy Frommer: Well, I mean, it's an application. There's -- at both the New York and the NASDAQ, there's a listing group that is there to work with entrepreneurial, that's their job, getting entrepreneurial companies listed on the exchanges. You have to hit certain criteria. One of the toughest criteria that micro-cap and small-cap stocks face is hitting the net equity and maintaining the net equity threshold. And sure enough, that's why we lost our standing on the NASDAQ many years ago. And so we already today, because of a lot of hard work by a lot of good people. We've been able to rebuild our balance sheet such that we've got nearly $10 million in positive net equity. And so when we uplift to the exchange, we've already got the cash needed. And to do that, you need to have approximately, approximately -- whatever your burn is, you have to have approximately 15 months of that value in your coffers cash-wise. Then you have to have over 400 shareholders, of which we have. Then you have to have a minimum amount of shares in your float of 1 million shares. And then finally, you have to have a market cap of approximately $15 million of the float -- the float cannot include my shares or my partners' shares. That one is a little tougher to hit every $0.01 up is $0.01 closer to that number. But again, there are multiple -- it's like getting listed on a national exchange. It's like a Rubik's Cube. There's auditors, there's as I just articulated, there are qualifications, there are conversations that are subjective about your business model with the listing groups at the top of the exchange then you're signed an agent to look upon your company and turn you inside out and analyze you. They remember the -- like when we all look at reality of the space and the people who have invested in -- who have invested in our company when it's one of your first investments in sort of this small cap arena, I empathize. I particularly empathize with the horrible 2 or 3 years we've had. Believe me, it's done much more damage to me than you. But the truth is that in the end, the only way to a national exchange is through months and months of work and focus by an expert team. There's no kind of shortcuts. But if you make it and if you do it the way we're trying to do it then you're the 1 in a 1,000 shot and it really is a 1 in 1,000 shot, right? On the OTCQB alone, there's approximately 1,200 companies. Now that's where we are today on the OTCQB. On the New York Stock Exchange, I don't know, maybe 3,000, I just don't know these days, how many are on it. Of the CEOs on the OTCQB of the 1,200 I wouldn't be surprised if less than 10% are qualified to run a national exchange company. It's kind of like race car driving, right? Steve, it's like you can't get into a car that you can't drive. So like how we get up to the exchange man, I know like I, again, particularly for the investors who are in [ Fluger ] and had been looking for that IPO moment. The problem is, is that the world changed so significantly in this space when the capital markets dried up that if people didn't do the kind of deals we did in that moment to generate the type of net equity you need to qualify for an uplifting to a national exchange than your company is dead. And so after the OTCQB, there's about 10,000 stocks on the pink sheets of which there's probably only 10% of them -- well, less than that, I would say, probably like 1% of them, 2% of them who are qualified to get their company off the pink sheets up to the OTCQB. And then once you're on the New York, the ability to take your company, the first step everybody talks about is a $100 million company. And that's for another question. Let me answer some other questions, please. Unknown Executive: Andrew is raising his hand. Jeremy Frommer: Andrew, how long have you been invested in following my story? Andrew Qranah: Around 5 years. I actually -- I invested when it used to be about $3. And I never sold when it had like $10 or $9.80 and I've been stuck since then. By holding. Jeremy Frommer: I wish I -- you know what, I really wish all of you had been able to sell the prices like the amount, like I feel for you, particularly when I see names in our NOBO List, when you run a micro cap stock, people think it's just their impression of you is totally different than what it really is, although I'm sure there are a lot of guys out there who are just bad guys trying to manipulate the system. But when you're not, which I am not and you go through this journey and you see shareholders like you on for 5 years, it's like I was looking at the NOBO List earlier, and we have like 11,000 shareholders and a lot of them have only 200, 300, 500 shares. And so many of them are familiar to me, and I really -- that's why I get on the call. That's why I try to do it differently than everybody else. Like I -- why the hell else you guys that help us try to build a dream, right? So I appreciate that, Andrew. Andrew Qranah: We appreciate everything you've been doing. Now as you've seen a lot of my comments, I've always been and will always be worried about reverse split especially after the last one that hit us it kind of secreted us up really bad. How likely it is for us to have another one. And if we do have another one, what would it be? I know the last one was 500:1, I believe, if I'm not mistaken, what would it be? Jeremy Frommer: That was the survival reverse so to speak. It was either that or wind up in the gray markets, which would have been into everything. I often think about that. I have a few stocks that I invest in the space, like if I think it's interesting. And obviously, I'm always for some f****** reason, averaging down as opposed to averaging up. But particularly when it comes to a reverse split for survival, the only thing an investor really can do is either sell or double down. And I think that, that was a really tough moment for all of us and for all the shareholders. As far as the future, Andrew, look, right now, you have to trade to qualify for the New York, you have to trade for 20 trading days in a row, 30 calendar days above $3, all right? Now there are a lot of theories obviously about reverse splits. On the last reverse split when we got wiped. We had to do small financing. Today, we have to do no financing. So of reverse splits where you don't have to do a financing, you're going to be better off than the ones where you do a financing or a toxic structured product. The New York for some reason and the NASDAQ for its reasons and the other national exchanges have chosen to use static numbers as opposed to derivative variable numbers for their listing standards. What do I mean by that? The $3 number is a random number. It has no quantitative meaning no different than if it was $2.50, $4, $2. And so it's a randomly chosen number. No different than needing 400 shareholders. And remember, if you split 10:1 and you have 1,000 shareholders that prior to it had the qualified amount of round lot shares if you split too large, too heavy, you're going to reduce your round lot shareholders and then you're going to have to attract new shareholders to split. So you have to be able to balance the needs of all these things when deciding on a split. So what does all that mean in answer to your question. First, it means there isn't really a simple answer that you're looking for. If for some reason, the stock is still here, as we get closer to the moment of listing on the New York of the -- like the application where the gun goes off, and the 20-day count begins, I will reverse the stock if we are here, not because I want to reverse it, but I have no choice. Now look, we could sit and debate theories about whether or not between now and then the stock gets closer to $3. If it does, I'm less likely to split. Obviously, I'd love to see a self-fulfilling prophecy take place in the stock. It's not like -- it's not like it is an impossibility, it is just a lower probability. Now someone bought the stock trading at $0.50. Today, traded whatever, 20,000 shares. I didn't quite catch it before the call. But you're talking about, what, $10,000. So if one does the math, you could make an argument that it shouldn't be that difficult to create buying power that would take the stock to that $3 level. And again, I'm a believer that if it gets to 2, it gets to 3. That's just the nature of these type of trending stocks. But if it stays at $0.50, and we want to go to the New York, then sure we have no choice but to reverse -- but remember, that's not reversing so that we can stay on the NASDAQ or survive another day somewhere. It's reversing leaving a lot of cash on our balance sheet and a New York stock without any debt, like when we list in the New York, we won't have any debt, no more. No payables, a beautiful pure play with a fleet that we're building technology that's driving revenues at ridiculous growth rates these days, higher than I ever expected. So like the reversal come if it has to come, is the answer, Andrew. And I say everybody who fears it, what can I say? There's only one way up to the New York. You have to be over $3. And to stay on the OTCQB makes no sense. What say you, Andrew? Andrew Qranah: Okay. I mean that does answer my question. I appreciate it. Unknown Executive: Next, we have Leigh, who's had his hand raised. Jeremy Frommer: Sorry about taking so long, Leigh. Unknown Analyst: Yes. Just curious about what the proposed valuation looks like of that the Board is interested in... Jeremy Frommer: Good question. Unknown Analyst: For it going public. Obviously, there's been 7 million US raised from my last call with Mark. So taking into account capital, obviously, prerequisite for uplift. Proposed valuation. Just curious on structure. Jeremy Frommer: Yes. Look, on a comp basis, taking a look at our growth rate and our -- just looking at a discounted cash flow for our company, I can easily make an argument that its peers trade in the $150 million to $200 million market cap, like these kind of growing airlines that have what we have, which I think is a little bit of a secret sauce. I don't think you can triple revenues the way we have and lower operating costs without having a little bit of a sauce. But I think when we look at the company, we look to validate ourselves at about $150 million to $200 million. Now where it trades in the microcap space Leigh,. I don't -- I never have nor will I ever be convinced that a price of a stock on the OTCQB is indicative of anything but a bunch of moods people are in on a particular day and how algorithms behave in an era of rapid trading in this space by a few market makers. And so like getting the hell off of the OTCQB is when we'll know the truth of what the value is. But that's my perception of value from the deep analysis that I've done, and I could get pretty geeked out over it with you if you wanted to. Unknown Analyst: Well, sorry, so the $7 million that was obviously raised recently, at what valuation was that money raised at? Jeremy Frommer: Around 50 -- it was $0.50 could be higher. It depends sort of what price we up is that with a $0.50. Unknown Analyst: Okay. So you're proposing that you think you'll have a go-to-market structure of approximately 75 million shares outstanding. Is that correct? Jeremy Frommer: Depends obviously on the reverse, but you're not that far off. Unknown Analyst: Okay. And the comps that you're referring to that sit in that $150 million to $200 million mark, which ones are those by reference. Jeremy Frommer: I mean, you could look at a number of private ones, but I think taking a look at where FLYHT exclusive where some of the drone companies that are involved in the EV toll space that we work with. So like you have to look at sort of those type of businesses, you look where parts of the blade business have sold, there are a couple of interesting. I can't remember off the top of my head, the transportation ones that specialize in organ transplants that I think are very interesting I mean, there's multiple ways to look at it on a comp basis. That's the interesting thing about the company, like the tech alone how much is an Avinode and how much you're familiar with Avinode? Unknown Analyst: No, no. Jeremy Frommer: Avinode is like what I would consider the back-end system of the charter business. that most companies use. Avinode tech, my goodness, I don't really know how much they're worth off the top of my head, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's $0.5 billion to $1 billion. I mean, at least, I mean, the company develops. And then there's like other interesting tech platforms around the space. Remember, I'm not here to run an airline. That's one part of it. I'm here to build tech around the space. Any other questions? Unknown Executive: Yes. We have an anonymous attendee asked how much convertible debt is currently on the books. Jeremy Frommer: Well, there's -- the money that we've raised will convert on the uplift, which -- and that, as I've said, was priced at $0.50, which is all publicly disclosed. So my guess is that -- my guess, again, is that you'd have at the time of uplisting some, I guess, my structure or the plan is that you'd have 0 debt. That's when the previous individual was discussing is extrapolation of 75 million. That was -- there would be no convertible debt at that point. That assumes the 7 million and the $0.50 conversion. Does that help anonymous? Unknown Executive: I don't see any other questions. Jeremy Frommer: Wonderful. Well, I'm glad we had a chance to do this call. Anytime anybody does have a question, best way to do it is to join telling you just join the Slack channel that I often send out e-mails to join because that's where you really understand what's happening. I've chosen to take a very transparent path with everybody. And that is really the way to hear the journey firsthand. I'm not really into using the other social media platforms at this point. And I think that anybody who really has invested in the company can take the time to just join that slack and check in every so often. If you're not familiar with Slack, send our IR group a request, and we'll get you hooked up so that you can follow the story. Unknown Executive: I've also added the link to join our slack in the chat. Jeremy Frommer: Thank you so much, Aya. And thank you, everybody, for joining. Have a good night.
Operator: Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's Flexible Solutions International's Third Quarter 2025 Financials Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this call is being recorded, and I will be standing by if you should need assistance. It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Dan O'Brien. Please go ahead, sir. Daniel O’Brien: Thank you, Paul. Good morning. I'm Dan O'Brien, the CEO of Flexible Solutions. Safe harbor provision. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements. Certain of the statements contained herein, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements with respect to events, the occurrence of which involves risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may be impacted either positively or negatively by various factors and information concerning the potential factors that could affect the company is detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Welcome to the FSI conference call for Q3 2025. I'd like to discuss our company condition and our product lines first, along with what we think might occur in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. I will comment on our financials in the second part of the speech. NanoChem division. NCS represents the majority of FSI's revenue. This division makes thermal polyaspartic acid, called TPA for short, a biodegradable polymer with many valuable uses. NCS also manufactures SUN 27 and N Savr 30, which are used to reduce nitrogen fertilizer loss from soil. In 2022, NCS started food-grade operations. TPA is used in agriculture to significantly increase crop yield. It acts by allowing the fertilizer to remain longer for the plants to use. TPA is a biodegradable way of treating oilfield water to prevent scale and to keep oil recovery pipes from clogging. TPA is also sold as a biodegradable ingredient in cleaning products and as a water treatment chemical. A special version of TPA is sold as a wine stability aid in our food division. SUN 27 and N Savr 30 are our nitrogen conservation products. Nitrogen is a critical fertilizer that can be lost through bacterial breakdown, evaporation and soil runoff. Food products. Our Illinois plant is FDA and SQF certified. We've commercialized 2 food products. The first was our wine additive based on polyaspartates that was developed in-house. In August, we announced our second major food grade contract of 2025 and our third overall. As noted in the news release, it's a 5-year contract with protection from tariffs and inflation, has a minimum revenue of $6.5 million per year and a maximum if the customer requests it of greater than $25 million per year. The August contract has reached full production. It's running 24 hours per day and it is now our second food grade product after the wine product. We're reviewing methods of increasing production quickly if the customer requests it. Production began in very late Q3 after all setup and new employee training was completed. The first shipment and first invoicing was in very early Q4. Revenue has already reached more than $1 million. Production will utilize equipment that we have been buying and installing over the last 2 years, but had no customer for. Therefore, very little CapEx will be needed to reach $13 million to $15 million per year in sales and mild CapEx in the $2 million to $3 million range to reach $25 million. In January, we announced another larger food grade contract. In order to achieve the objectives of that contract, there are certain actions that must be completed. For example, we need to install new specialized equipment capable of manufacturing the product. In addition, we needed to install a new clean room because our current clean rooms are not suitable for the processes. There have been CapEx and expenses associated with our efforts to earn the January contract business because our food grade improvements over the last 2.5 years did not anticipate this new product category. We estimated additional CapEx of about $4 million for equipment and plant improvements combined. Most of the CapEx and expenses have been deployed already and the remainder will be spent in Q4. We have substantial cash on hand in our U.S. subsidiaries and access to an LLC. There will be no finance -- equity financing needed. CapEx involving equipment and improvements requires lead time for delivery and installation time prior to testing, leading hopefully to purchase orders for production. These lead times are being reduced as much as we can control and our estimate of the earliest that production could begin is late Q4 or early 2026. After we're satisfied that we can manufacture the product at scale and assuming that we can still meet our customers' pricing expectations, we then hope to begin receiving purchase orders. As such, we believe that revenue could begin in Q4 and could reach significant levels by the start of 2026. Earning these orders and hopefully growing them to the estimated maximum revenues of $30 million plus $25 million per year is the critical goal for the next 4 to 6 quarters. We hope to execute this to the customers' absolute satisfaction and obtain all their business before taking on additional major projects. So this does not mean that we're not looking for more customers. We're already doing R&D work in certain areas. However, it does mean that several quarters are likely to elapse before other major customers are found. We would also like to be clear regarding margins in the Food division. In order to obtain such large contracts from a very low base and in order to negotiate tariff and inflation protection clauses, we have lower margins than we prefer. We hope to be in the 22% to 25% range before tax. Future customers will be selected in order to increase our average margins now that we have a base in place. ENP division. ENP represents most of our other revenue. ENP is focused on sales into the greenhouse, turf and golf markets. We experienced strong revenue in Q3, which we estimate will continue in Q4. First half 2026 will likely have higher revenue than first half '25, but followed by strong sales in the second half of 2026, leading to year-over-year growth. The Florida LLC investment. The LLC had a small loss in Q3. The company is focused on international agriculture sales into multiple countries. Its management has advised us that they estimate a return to growth in 2026, which should translate into increased revenue for FSI. International markets like the U.S. market are stressed. So we expect the growth rate to be low. Agricultural products in the United States remain under pressure. Crop prices are still not increasing at the rate of inflation and extreme uncertainty is present due to tariff changes. Growers are facing a conflict between rising costs and low crop prices, aggravated by political actions. In some cases, sales have been lost for the whole season. As a result, we saw weakness in Q3, which we expect to continue in Q4 and on into the start of 2026. Tariffs. The current tariff on all our imports of raw materials from China into the United States is between 30%, 58.5% depending on the material. We will be careful not to import materials unless destined for U.S. customers who are certain to purchase and are aware that increased tariffs will be added to their invoices. We've now managed our transition to Panama to perfection, and we've had to import some raw materials into the U.S. in Q3. Some of this tariff costs will be passed on to customers. Some will qualify for the rebate program and some reduced our Q3 margins. The Panama factory for international sales. We've nearly completed a duplicate agriculture and polymer factory in the country of Panama that will be capable of producing nearly all the products we sell to international customers. We estimate that the first production from this factory could begin in Q4 2025. All of the equipment has arrived. Raw material inventory is on hand. Leasehold improvements are complete and equipment installation is close to finish. The remaining hurdle is obtaining an occupancy permit from the Panamanian government, which could slow startup. CapEx and expenses to develop the new plant have been funded by cash flow and retained earnings. There will be no need for debt or equity financing. Once operational, nearly all our product for international sales will be made in Panama using raw materials sourced without the U.S. tariffs. There will also be shipping advantages. The new plant is 30 minutes from the port, inbound raw materials and outbound finished goods will not have to be shipped across the United States to and from Illinois. For our international customers, delivery times will be shortened by many days. Reduced shipping time and no exposure to U.S. tariffs on international sales could allow us to increase sales to existing customers and obtain new customers over the next 2 years. We're already providing quotes for potential Q1 delivery. Moving most agriculture and polymer production to Panama, free space at the Illinois plant so that food grade production in the United States can be optimized and expanded substantially as more U.S. customers are found. Shipping and inventory. Shipping prices are stable. Shipping times are reasonable on the routes we use. Raw material prices are stable, but they're increasing in line with inflation. Highlights of the financial results. Sales for the quarter were up 13% compared to the 2024 period, $10.56 million versus $9.31 million. Profits. Q3 recorded a loss of $503,000 or $0.04 a share compared to a gain of $612,000 or $0.05 a share in Q3 '24. Many costs incurred to prepare for the potential new revenue from the food grade contracts announced in January and August negatively affected Q3 profits because they're being expensed as they occur. Some costs for the Panama factory also being expensed quarter-by-quarter. This will continue in Q4 for Panama and Q4 for food products, but at a lower level. We've done our best to maintain profitability as we built the new factory and repurposed the existing one for the new revenue streams in food products. Unfortunately, we did not manage it in Q3, and we are uncertain about Q4, because we don't know exactly when Panama will start or when revenue from the August contract will exceed costs. In Q1 2026, we do expect profits to revert to past levels and increase as our food product revenue grows. Operating cash flow. This is a non-GAAP number useful to show our progress, especially with noncash items removed for clarity. For 9 months 2025, it was $4.26 million or $0.34 a share, down from $5.91 million or $0.47 a share in '24. Cash flow has been reduced by the same costs as noted for profits, and it's expected to rebound in Q1 '26. Long-term debt. We continue to pay down our long-term debt according to the terms of the loans. The loan we used to buy our ENP division was paid in full in June this year. Our 3-year note for equipment will be fully paid in December 2025. This will free up over $2 million in cash flow per year for other purposes. Working capital is adequate for all our purposes. We have lines of credit with Stock Yards Bank for the ENP and NCS subsidiaries. We're confident that we can execute our plans with our existing capital and without resorting to any equity actions. The text of this speech will be available as an 8-K filing on www.sec.gov by Wednesday, November 19. E-mail copies can be requested from Jason Bloom at jason@flexiblesolutions.com. Thank you. The floor is open for questions. And Paul, will you make that happen, please? Operator: [Operator Instructions] And we'll take our first question from Tim Clarkson of Van Clemens Capital. Timothy Clarkson: Great quarter. In terms of getting ready for the new business. Obviously, losses are never good. So I was wondering when you talk about the margins being somewhat lower than your traditional business, 22% to 25%, are those gross margins or net margins? Daniel O’Brien: Those would be our expectation for gross margin before tax. So... Timothy Clarkson: Okay. So what kind of a net number after everything you think you'll make on this business? Would it be more like 5% or 10% or 15%? Daniel O’Brien: Well, let's just take the bottom end, our 20% anticipated gross before tax. In Illinois, we pay roughly 31% tax rates. So 28 x 0.69 is around 14%. Timothy Clarkson: Okay. Well, those are still good margins. Now you mentioned on the first food additive product, the wine product, it's kind of a preservative. What's the functionality on these food products, if you can say? Daniel O’Brien: I'm actually not allowed to say by contract on either of the food contracts. The companies involved really want to keep their -- themselves secret. So I'm sorry about that [indiscernible] customer. Timothy Clarkson: Yes. Well, I'm guessing it would be either a preservative or a taste kind of a thing would probably be what it would impact. Now are these chemicals, brand-new chemicals? Or are these chemicals that you guys have some legacy with? Daniel O’Brien: We have no legacy, but the chemicals are not new to the industry. The -- we've been targeted as a supplier because of our quality and our willingness to work with the customers. So this is an existing technology, and there aren't going to be any like health concerns or areas of that worry. Timothy Clarkson: Did you have some personal relationships with these guys? Or how did the relationships actually develop? Daniel O’Brien: We develop personal relationships based on meetings. One of them, the one I can talk about openly was a meeting at a trade show. So we go about to tell people that our second name is solutions and do they have any problems. And eventually, we find people with a problem, either quality, cost, performance, location. And we solve their problem, and we give them a solution and we get a contract. Operator: And our next question comes from David Marsh of Singular Research. David Marsh: Just wanted to touch on the new contracts. I wasn't following you entirely. It sounded like you've begun realizing revenue on one, but there's a second one that you have not yet begun realizing revenue. You are anticipating recognizing revenue on that in the fourth quarter. Is that correct? Daniel O’Brien: Yes. Maybe this is a great chance to explain how the time frames make this a confusing situation. We obtained a contract in January that we are not going to be able to begin providing product and getting revenue for until late in Q4 because we have to install all the equipment in the clean room. Then we got a second contract in August that we actually had all the equipment and clean room for. So we were able to get the second contract running before the first one was ready to go. And that's why it's as confusing as it can be. Have I explained that adequately? David Marsh: Yes. No, that's very helpful. Are you expecting to be able to recognize revenue on that January contract in the fourth quarter, though? Or is it possibly going to slide into Q1 just with getting the clean room ready and everything? Daniel O’Brien: We think that Q4 is possible. We know that Q1 is for sure. It might even just be weird things like Christmas breaks that caused us to slide into Q1, but it is that close. So no guarantees for Q4, definite guarantees for revenue in Q1 '26. David Marsh: Got it. And are you providing any guidance for Q4 at this time? Or are you just going to hold off for now just because of the uncertainty around that second contract? Daniel O’Brien: Yes, Dave, we almost never provide guidance unless it's about a specific item because we've been wrong in both directions so many times when we did it in the past that we feel it's -- we're too small, too nimble for our own good. And we just can't give guidance that we feel is valid, so we don't give it. David Marsh: No, I understand. Let me ask one other question around the top line, if I could. When all 3 of the contracts, the January, the August contract and then the ongoing wine contract are running and hitting on all cylinders. What do you think that the run rate annual revenue for those 3 contracts is going to look like? Daniel O’Brien: When and if -- now let's say if because it's up to the customers. But if we get all the business from the customers that they believe they have to -- for us to earn, it's -- the total is between $50 million and $60 million and the time at which we would hit that run rate would be in 2027, not 2026. Operator: Our next question comes from Greg Hillman, an investor. Gregg Hillman: Yes, 2 things. Going back to one of your older products, WaterSavr. On your PowerPoint recently, you're talking about WaterSavr saving up to like 40% of evaporation for like reservoirs and lakes. And I thought in some of your prior information you put out, it was only like 20% savings. Did that product improve over time? Daniel O’Brien: No. 40% is the largest that's possible. It is a biodegradable product. It's typically in a set of good conditions, you'll see 40% evaporation control on day 1. Day 2, it's likely to drop into the 20s and day 3 into the 10 to 15 to 20% range and then taper off rather rapidly unless it's reused. So the PowerPoint shows the best available situation. The average situation might be in the 20% range. The greater problem with that product is how to sell it to people who, a, can't see it because it is an invisible transparent layer; and b, our in bureaucratic situations where continuous proof of function is needed. And if it's already on the reservoir and you've already tested it, but you can't keep track of it on a day-to-day basis, it's an extraordinarily hard sell. I often tell people, bring me a partner who has satellite technology to show the actual evaporation rate off all surfaces all the time, and that's how we will convince the governments of the world. Until then, we're definitely going to have difficulties selling to governments. We are successfully selling to oilfield companies who know how much water they have for things like fracking and where the water is worth -- they know how much the water is worth and they'll spend to save the evaporation. So it's a difficult problem and a difficult product. It's certainly why we've taken emphasis off of it. Gregg Hillman: Okay. And then switching to your 2 grade aspartic acid with these new contracts. Can any other substance do a similar function like, I don't know, acrylic acid or I don't know if acrylic acid is used for food at all, but some other product? Daniel O’Brien: There are alternative systems. One uses a cellulose filtration program. There's another one that uses acrylic acid columns, not to add the acrylic acid directly to the wine, but acrylic acid ionic columns. The problem with that and also the best alternative is chilling the wine all the way down to, I believe, minus 3 Celsius and holding it for several days. All of these methodologies are more expensive than using a polyaspartate solution. And as you guessed, a polyacrylic solution is not allowed for food in several countries. And in the wine industry because things get shipped everywhere, it's not approved for food in any country, it's not going to be used by winemakers. Gregg Hillman: Okay. Okay. That's fine. And then in your recent press release about you had a deal that you called off and you gave the terms of. I was wondering how much of your time have you been spending on that deal over the past 12 months? Daniel O’Brien: Well, it was a 5-year -- sorry, a 5-month process. I would say I put a couple of hours a day in, so did our operations manager. It never reached the stage of documentation and full due diligence. So we came to a dead end before the major amount of the work had been done. We did set up financing subject to due diligence. But again, these are things that didn't consume a large amount of my time or the corporate time. Sad it didn't go through. It was extremely synergistic, and we were -- until close to the end, we thought it was working. So yes, sad about that. Gregg Hillman: But you never inspected their books, right? Daniel O’Brien: Yes, I saw their financials. Gregg Hillman: Okay. You did. Okay, fine. And also in regard to future deals, like -- do you have a pipeline of future deals you're looking at? Or are you working with an investment banker? Daniel O’Brien: We do not have an investment banker under contract looking for deals. We would only consider deals that we found ourselves or that were accidentally referred to us. It's too hard with an investment banker. They want to get paid, so they find you all sorts of stuff, and then you have to just keep saying no. As to your question about pipeline, we are always looking. We don't have a pipeline at the moment, but that can change momentarily as well. And I really would not want to call it a pipeline even if it did change. Let's just say we take it each target singularly and move through it because it's got to get through some pretty severe screens before we even look at it. Operator: And our next question comes from William Gregozeski of Greenbridge Capital. William Gregozeski: Dan, I've got a couple of questions for you. In regard to the more onetime expenses you mentioned in the third quarter from Panama and the food products, can you give an idea of how much of an impact that was on the expense line in the third quarter? Daniel O’Brien: Bill, I really -- giving numbers like that over the phone is not how I'd like to do it, but I'd be happy to give you after talking to our controller, give you a reasonable number by e-mail. I could tell you 2 things. You'll notice that our agriculture -- traditional row crop agriculture was pretty weak in Q3, including weakness in the LLC out of Florida. What that did was it weakened our financials. And you'll notice that our ENP division did a great job. It sells into the part of the agriculture market that is still vibrant. The turf for people to send their kids to play soccer on or football, ornamentals to keep their houses looking great and golf courses so that the golf courses are green and wonderful. So agriculture has become bifurcated. We're interested in growing in the area that is vibrant, and we're not going to put large amounts of effort and capital into growing the areas that are not vibrant until the cycle comes around and row crop agriculture becomes important again. So that was -- that split between our ENP division, which we only show 65% of the profits from and our row crop division where we get 100% of the profits, but had weakness, that was a big effect on Q3. And just for the actual numbers, I'd really like to take that to an e-mail stream and get you things that are not just off the top of my head. Does that seem fair? William Gregozeski: Yes. Yes. No, that's totally fine. And then with the E&P and how strong that was, that was a heck of a quarter. And you mentioned expecting similar numbers in the fourth quarter. Is that kind of a trend that you guys are focusing on is this a good number for like a Q3? Because obviously, it's somewhat -- it's not stable every quarter, but is this kind of a good base going forward, do you think? Daniel O’Brien: I think that would be a good, strong Q3. Q4, we're working through the early buy from the customer base. And I don't think it's going to be a barn burner like Q3 was, but it's going to be quite strong. And I think that, that's the way to look at that division going forward. It's going to have a much stronger second half than first half, and that's because our customer base is transitioning to a much more early buy-oriented system. And there -- so if the customers are tilting their sales towards Q3 and Q4, it automatically tilts our sales towards Q3 and Q4. So rather than saying, hey, we're going to just keep doing these same numbers. I think what I would like to say to you is that second half is always going to be stronger than first half and that's when we will show our growth for the year. William Gregozeski: Okay. On the kind of the core NanoChem product lines or previous ones, excluding food, is there -- because that was down quite a bit in the third quarter. Is there any hope for -- you talked about ag quite a bit already, but is there any hope that oil or any other industrial application will show growth in '26? Or is this going to be just kind of a weaker segment for you guys until things turn around? Daniel O’Brien: It's going to be very interesting to discover whether we are more competitive and as a result of being in Panama. And if we are and our historic customer base recognizes that, we believe that it's possible that we'll get back to historic numbers in oil. It's a little difficult to tell. And I'd really like to get Panama operational and see not only whether the customers appreciate us and appreciate the quicker shipping and the better service that we can do out of Panama. But I'd also like to find out whether that is actually the best use of our Panamanian production while we're spooling up. It may be that other product lines in the agriculture world are more profitable and growth is easier to come by. So you've seen us for -- I guess, we've -- you've known me for 22 or 23 years now. We are pretty opportunistic. We go where we're appreciated, and we try not to continue down paths that are not working properly. So it's going to be up in the air until we know what the customer base thinks of our Panama changes. William Gregozeski: Okay. And last question I have is, can you talk a little bit about the reason on the Mendota facility sale and leaseback? And then if you'd ever move your E&P production to Peru or if that will just stay outside of Peru, and Peru will just focus on the food products? Daniel O’Brien: Okay. Well, the first part -- or the second part of the question is easy. Peru is going to be food products. It will expand in food products. It won't do anything other than food products except accidentally. Mendota, we sold it because it was not central. We got a leaseback for 60,000 roughly of the 240,000 square feet. We removed the risk of expensive repairs to buildings that we were -- hadn't been able to lease yet. We have a new landlord who's going to have that responsibility. And we now have a single spot where ENP can do all the business and grow as needed without us having to take on the responsibilities and risks of being a landlord. So that was a very specific choice in order to limit risk and allow us to use our available bandwidth for things that we think are going to work a lot better than being a landlord in Mendota. Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our next question comes from Manny Stoupakis of Geoinvestments (sic) [ Geoinvesting ]. Manny Stoupakis: I have a couple of want to get through. Can you first touch on how much were the onetime costs associated with the contract ramp in the Panama move in Q3? Daniel O’Brien: See, that's not a number that I have in my brain for a phone call, but we happily will -- and we're going to be doing it for Bill Gregozeski. We'll happily respond to an e-mail from that. I can tell you that it was responsible for a very large percentage of the loss, if not all of the loss. So it was very significant. And you can imagine that starting a brand-new factory and rebuilding another factory in a food grade quality, in fact, right up almost to drug grade quality. It's not cheap. It's amazing we've done as well as we have this year. I got to compliment my team. They've just done a fantastic job of making sure that we're not spending money on anything we don't need to. Manny Stoupakis: Okay. Fair enough. We'll follow up with that. And then regarding the 2 new contracts, the gross margins on the 2 new contracts, were you preferring to them both being at that same level? Or was that just for the one as far as being lower? The lower gross [ new ] contract? Pardon me? Daniel O’Brien: Both margins will be similar. Manny Stoupakis: Okay. All right. And then I guess, lastly, and I'm just curious, is there a possible data center angle for parts of your business? Daniel O’Brien: None whatsoever. Manny Stoupakis: None, whatsoever. Okay. I just thought maybe with the energy conservation side that's possible, but I just thought I would ask -- I appreciate you taking the question. Daniel O’Brien: No. But hey, that's something that if you want to help the company, data centers use energy, energy often needs water, water evaporates if it's left out in the open. We don't have any connections, but if someone gave us one, we'd follow it and see if we could turn it into money. Manny Stoupakis: All right. Well, we'll do that. My Geoinvesting will reach out to you and we'll talk on the side then. Operator: Our next question comes from Raymond Howe of CFP, Inc. Raymond Howe: My question has mostly been answered. It was about the 317 Mendota sale. What -- the 60,000 square feet that you are leasing back, what gets produced there? Daniel O’Brien: That produces all the ENP products that result in the ENP revenue that we show in the financials. So of the roughly -- I think it's roughly -- we're expecting somewhere around $13 million to $15 million this year out of ENP, that 60,000 feet produces those $13 million to $15 million. Raymond Howe: Got you. And so that portion of the business there and then food products in Peru, correct? Daniel O’Brien: Correct. Operator: Our next question comes from Greg Hillman, an investor. Gregg Hillman: Yes, Dan, just another follow-up on ENP. The products for the turf and the golf courses, are any of those products biological in nature that increase the -- basically that affect the anaerobic [Audio Gap] Daniel O’Brien: [Audio Gap] The abuses that it gets. Was that helpful? William Gregozeski: Yes, that's helpful. And just -- is any of the products being used on football fields like college or pro football fields? Daniel O’Brien: Yes, absolutely. Operator: And our next question comes from Manny Stoupakis of Geoinvestments (sic) [ Geoinvesting ]. Manny Stoupakis: Just had one follow-up question regarding the gross margins on the contracts. Where would you expect margins to be on new contracts moving forward? Daniel O’Brien: We don't have anybody lined up. We -- as I mentioned in my speech, we're looking for new customers. We'd be much happier in the 30% to 35% margin range. I don't know if we can get it, but that's where we're going to be. Manny Stoupakis: That's the target, okay. Operator: And it appears that we have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the program back to our presenter for any closing remarks. Daniel O’Brien: Thanks, Paul. Everybody, thank you. That was an interesting Q&A session. I enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to talking to you next year when we reconvene for the full year financials. Thanks again for taking time to listen today and talk to you next year. Bye now. Operator: Thank you. This does conclude today's Flexible Solutions International's Third Quarter 2025 Financials Conference Call. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time.
Operator: Good morning, and thank you for waiting. Welcome to Rumo's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Presentation. [Operator Instructions] This presentation is being recorded and simultaneous translation is available by clicking on the interpretation button. [Operator Instructions] Before proceeding, we would like to reiterate that forward-looking statements are based on Rumo's Executive Board's beliefs and assumptions and information currently available to the company. These statements involve risks and uncertainties as they relate to future events and depend on circumstances that may or may not materialize. We recommend that you refer to the disclaimer on the second page of the presentation. Now I will turn the conference over to Mr. Felipe Saraiva, Rumo's Head of Investor Relations, to begin the presentation. Please go ahead, Mr. Saraiva. Felipe Saraiva: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Rumo's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Let's begin with the highlights on Page 3 of the presentation. We reached a new quarterly record for transported volume, 23.4 billion RTK, up 8% year-over-year. This performance was driven mainly by the Northern operation with the higher volumes in general cargo, especially hardwood pulp, bauxite and fuel. Our cash cost was another positive highlight this quarter. We continue to capture energy efficiency gains, reducing fuel consumption, the main component of our variable cost. In fixed costs and expenses, we recorded a nominal reduction of BRL 36 million, which combined with the volume growth translated into a 12% efficiency gain in our cost per unit. The combination of higher volumes and disciplined cost management allowed us to maintain a stable margin in a more competitive environment. Adjusted EBITDA reached BRL 2.3 billion, an increase of 5% year-over-year. We closed the quarter with BRL 1.5 billion in investments and net leverage of 1.9x. Moving to Page 4. Let's look at market share. Our market share this quarter reflects a more competitive grain logistics environment. We maintained a stable market share in Goiás and in the southern ports, while performance in Mato Grosso and the Port of Santos was lower than last year. On Page 5, I will share more details on the market dynamics in the Santos corridor, which is our core business. As a reminder, rail capacity is shared between Mato Grosso and Goiás working as communicating vessels. Grain exports from those markets increased compared to 2024, a year that was impacted by a crop shortfall in the Midwest of Brazil, but still remained slightly below 2023 levels. We transported 8.5 million tons with alternative corridors absorbing part of the difference versus the year of 2023. In the soybean complex, which includes soybean and meal, the market was stronger than usual this quarter, driven by the carryover volumes not exported in the first half of the year, and we captured that demand efficiently. For corn, despite a record crop in 2025, export volumes from Mato Grosso and Goiás were lower. Our performance reflected this more competitive landscape with some flow distribution across all of the logistic corridors, partially offset by growth in soybean complex, as I have mentioned. As you may see in the lower chart, our railway system remains the main logistics solution serving the Port of Santos. Moving to Page 6, we will review the operational indicators. Both the transit time and dwell time in Santos slightly increased during the quarter because of greater complexity of managing higher volumes in the system. In energy efficiency, we reduced unit fuel consumption by 2% with a solid performance across both the Northern and Southern operations. On Page 7, we will show operational results and volumes. We transported 23.4 billion RTK in the quarter, up 8% year-over-year. The Northern operation accounted for about 3/4 of this growth, mainly supported by higher general cargo volumes, particularly hardwood pulp, bauxite and fuel. In the agriculture portfolio, we transported more volumes of sugar and fertilizers. In the Southern operation, the main highlight was higher corn volumes, which had been impacted last year by crop shortfalls in the South. In general cargo, we continue to pursue new opportunities and optimize asset utilization of that system. Now on Page 8, we present revenues and tariff highlights. Net revenue amounted by BRL 3.8 billion, a 2% increase year-over-year. As we always say, the focus of our pricing strategy is on finding the right balance between volumes and tariffs to maximize the system profitability. This year export dynamics led to a stronger competition among logistic alternatives serving our key markets. In this context, we adjusted our commercial positioning in both operations to ensure competitiveness and attractiveness for the rail transportation. Moving to Page 9, we present the EBITDA. EBITDA grew 4%, reaching BRL 2.3 billion. Our efficiency in managing costs and expenses helped us maintain stable margins despite a more competitive environment. Additionally, we recorded a BRL 55 million in insurance recoveries related to the loss of profits in the Southern operation due to extreme weather events on May last year. On Page 10, we move to financial results and net income. The net financial result was a net expense of BRL 837 million, mainly reflecting higher net debt and interest rates. Despite the higher rates, we delivered adjusted net income of BRL 733 million, broadly in line with the last year figure. On Page 11, let's look at our net debt position. Net debt at the end of the quarter was BRL 14.9 billion, reflecting the quarter's cash generation. We closed the period with a healthy leverage of 1.9x. Our liquidity position remains very solid with BRL 7.2 billion in cash and a well-distributed debt maturity schedule with no major concentrations in the fiscal years of 2026 and 2027. On Page 12, we will present the investments in the quarter. We invested BRL 1.5 billion in the quarter, in line with our plan. Recurring CapEx was BRL 503 million, focused on asset maintenance and operational safety. In the Mato Grosso railway project, we invested BRL 575 million with the cash disbursements following the construction progress. Other expansion projects amounted by BRL 396 million with the focus of increasing capacity and modernizing the existing infrastructure. Now turning to the soybean market on Page 13. The next Brazilian soybean crop is expected to reach the all-time high level of 175 million tons in production. The state of Mato Grosso should account for roughly 51 million tons in production. And as we speak, the seeding is almost completed. Exports from the region are estimated at 32 million tons, pointing to a healthy logistics demand for the next season. On Page 14, I will present the corn market. The Brazilian corn crop is also expected to reach a record high level with an estimated production of 145 million tons in the next season. In Mato Grosso, production is forecasted at 59 million tons, driven by an expansion of roughly 400,000 hectares in planted area. Exports should remain stable around 25 million tons in the state of Mato Grosso. This concludes my presentation. Thank you, and we are glad to start the Q&A session. Operator: Joining us today are Mr. Pedro Palma; Mr. Guilherme Machado; and Mr. Felipe Saraiva. Before we begin the Q&A session, Mr. Pedro Palma would like to say a few words. Please go ahead, Mr. Palma. Pedro Palma: Good morning, everyone. This is Pedro Palma. Thank you for joining us in the earnings release for the third quarter. It's a pleasure to be here with you. Before we start the Q&A session, let me just summarize the quarter and how the company has been doing. Looking at how volumes have progressed, we're very happy to have gone over the 8 billion RTK volume at the company with major stake in the South and North operations making contributions to that increase. In the last few months, the South operation has been over 1.2 billion RTK, going back to very healthy and robust volume levels. And the North operation has been close to 7 billion RTK. That's a testament to our resilience, our ability to overcome challenges in the rail environment, which is becoming much more favorable, much more solid. And we have reached those volumes in the last quarter and the last few months despite a fiercer competition in the market, considering grains volumes, both in the North and South operations. As we said since the beginning of the year because of the carryover inventory of corn from '24 to '25, we also mentioned the delayed in volumes coming in, in terms of soybeans. And over the year, there's been a smoother, more linear export level. At the beginning of the year, we were still testing the market's pricing level to understand how we should position our own pricing levels. As of the second quarter, when it was clear to us what that new price level was going to be, we made the required adjustments to our pricing policy to make sure that we would have the required and suitable volumes to execute on our rail activities. And let me remind you, at very healthy margin levels. Our pricing journey has never been linear. Over the years, it's been through ups and downs. Let me remind you that in '22, '23 and '24, our prices went up by 60% in the grains market. And '25 has been a year of adjustments to pricing levels so that we can find the right level that will give us the right market share, the fair market share to ensure that we're growing and positioning ourselves competitively. So we've been doing that, and our rail operation has been responding accordingly with increasing volumes. Now let's take a look at the other portfolios, fertilizers, pulp, sugar, bauxite, they've all been growing at very consistent volumes, also increasing our system across volumes and margins and ensuring that our revenue is resilient and good diversification across all kinds of cargoes. Obviously, our main market is and will continue to be the grain market. Right now, as you can see in our market share charts shared by Saraiva, the corn market and corn exports from the Port of Santos has been less than historically, what has been putting additional pressure on our commercial structure. But these are circumstantial situations. We've dealt with them in the past, and we'll continue to deal with it by adjusting prices so as to ensure the best margin possible for our system. Obviously, price is a variable that is not under our control, but there are variables that are under control. One, capacity, and we have been proving that we have the capacity to operate as well as cost and fixed expenses discipline. As you can see, in an environment where volumes have been increasing, new operations have been coming and going up and running, we are healthy volume levels and increasing efficiency within the system. That's what a company such as ours has to do. Our improvements in -- our investments in improving assets and improving management has to, in the long run, be translated into structural -- lower structural unit costs so we can have healthy margins even in more volatile pricing situations. In the rail execution line, let me highlight our enhancement in safety, both rail safety and personal safety. In 2025, there's been a reduction in incident frequency, which is very closely related to the quality of management and discipline in execution. This is an ongoing journey. We will consistently continue to decrease frequency both in rail incidents and personal incidents. This is one of our values, and it's something we will continue to focus on increasingly more, but I am absolutely convinced that with our teams, both in the North and South operation, our organizational structure will make it even more robust and bring in even more quality in execution and a working environment that will continue to help us progress in reducing costs, increasing competitiveness and bringing in increasing more volumes to a safe system. And before we move on to the Q&A session, one last comment about our investments. As you've seen in Saraiva's presentation, our CapEx is in line with what we did last year. But more important than absolute figures, I just want to reassure you that we are keeping with our recurring CapEx, and we're doing the absolute necessary to have a robust and efficient operation. And our expansion CapEx is within the plan with the Mato Grosso rail works and requalifying also the Paulista Network and all the works at the Port of Santos to make sure that we are building the foundation for future growth and making sure that we are showing today the results that we will reach in the future. So in addition to CapEx, it all makes me confident that we are in line with our schedule and the figures that we had planned. Specifically for Mato Grosso rail next year, the BR-070 terminal will be going into operation. So this year, we have the first stage of this transformational and relevant project for the company and all the companies that we work with. So those are my opening remarks. And now we'll begin the Q&A session. Myself, Machado and Saraiva are here to take your questions. Thank you. Operator: [Operator Instructions] The first question is from Mr. Alberto Valerio from UBS. Alberto Valerio: The first question is what every investor wants to know. What is the company's pricing level? What can we expect for the next quarter, for next year? What is the competitive environment like? Do you think it's reached a sustainable level or not yet? Will there be further adjustments? And are you maintaining the guidance based on third quarter yields? If we see the same yields in the fourth quarter, things might be a bit challenging in terms of keeping the guidance. That's it for me. Pedro Palma: Thanks for the question. This is Pedro. Looking at the competitive scenario and based on my opening remarks, I think it's fair to say that the pricing scenario, especially considering the corn market will continue to be a bit more acid than we had planned. So looking at the current scenario in the fourth quarter to be objective, it is a bit more acid than it was in the third quarter. That said, I don't think that is material. Looking forward -- and let me touch on 2026. As Saraiva showed, the crop dynamics looks positive, different to 2025, where we went in without carryover inventory. And what we're seeing for 2026 will be a beginning of the year with higher volumes in the system, which should make the logistic pressure easier for next year. So I think the dynamics will be marginally better than we saw in 2025, thinking about the transition into 2026. Having said that, to be very transparent and objective, prices are not directly under our control. But what I do see is for 2026, we are beginning our commercial efforts for that journey at similar levels to what we have seen in the second quarter of 2025. And over time, as the market progresses, we will rebuild our pricing basis with more confidence in future prices and volumes. As for the guidance, obviously, we already have the numbers for the third quarter. There are challenges to execute on the fourth quarter volumes. The name of the game for us to conclude the year within the figures that we announced for the guidance will be totally related to executing on volumes, especially now in December and continuing to control costs and expenses. The challenge I see is that, honestly, there's still some uncertainty with regards to the volumes for exports, given that export volumes in December, sometimes clients prefer to execute them in January only based on international demand. So those volumes will have an impact on our numbers. But that said, we are confident that we will meet the guidance. We'll continue to work tirelessly to do so. I don't know if Gui would like to say anything, please feel free to jump in. Guilherme Lelis Machado: Yes. In terms of what we have been seeing in the fourth quarter, last Monday, we announced that October was an exceptional month for us. After May and August, it was our new record, and we'd have to repeat the same thing because our investments have been translated into absorbing capacity fluctuations in the market. November looks like will be a strong month in terms of volumes. As Pedro said, the uncertainty will be mainly concentrated in December. We imagine there will still be major volumes. If we have a healthy demand environment, especially considering the high product availability we have in land, rail will be ready to capture that demand, especially considering our performance in the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter. So our focus will be to continue executing sharply in terms of our operations, which is what has been happening and managing costs and expenses as we have been doing. So having said that, obviously, we should be delivering close to the midpoint of the guidance in terms of volumes. Our CapEx is solid and under control. And in terms of EBITDA, if we have a good risk balance in the fourth quarter, we should be able to meet the guidance close to the mid-low point and our efforts will all be towards executing on that at the end of the year. Operator: The next question is from Mr. [ Matteos Santana ] from Bradesco BBI. Unknown Analyst: Could you talk a bit more about corn? Looking at the figures, especially year-on-year in terms of exports, we see that volumes have been very low so far. So there wasn't a lot of corn transported in October. What do you expect for the fourth quarter? Do you think there will be more volumes? Or should we wait for the beginning of the year, January and February, where you'll be focusing more on corn exports? Pedro Palma: Matteos, this is Pedro. As I said in my previous answer, we do see a corn carryover -- a high carryover inventory for corn. Historically, the corn carryover inventory from 1 year to the next, let's just take a look at an example in Mato Grosso. It's about 5 million tonnes. If we look at a snapshot of today, in fact, if we look at October to November, there was a possibility of a 15 million tonne carryover inventory instead of 5 million. So there's an increase in the carryover inventory this crop year was 10 million tonnes. Now what will be exported additionally in December or what will only be exported at the beginning of next year. That's the question mark in the system. And it depends on international demand, and it also depends on the negotiations between producers and traders. So that's the uncertainty I mentioned and Gui mentioned with regards to December figures. How much of that corn will be available for export. What I can say is that we are fully able to transport whatever volume is available. As we have shown in previous months, we do have the capacity, and we are ready for higher volumes than we have transported in the last few months. So -- we're just waiting to see what those volumes will be. So even if we have higher volumes in December, the beginning of next year, in my opinion, we'll be seeing more corn to be transported than we saw in 2025 because the carryover inventory that we see right now by itself cannot be transported in December alone. Felipe Saraiva: Pedro, this is Felipe. In addition to the corn carryover inventory, soybean planting was early this crop year when compared to other crop year. So we'll have higher corn carryover inventories when we move into next year. So that volume might be transported depending on the international demand for that corn, but we'll also have an early soybean harvest because the soybean was planted earlier. So there should be a higher demand for logistics than we saw at the beginning of 2025 when soybean harvest was later. So biomass in general is looking more favorable in terms of logistics in Mato Grosso specifically. Operator: The next question is from Mr. Pedro Bruno from XP. Pedro Bruno: You mentioned your cost discipline. If I could touch on that, please, to understand, especially looking at SG&A plus fixed costs, the consolidated line. You gave us some numbers that don't really give us a lot of visibility. You talk about other operation costs, which I think is the more positive line in terms of how costs progress. It's maintenance, third-party services, security, facilities and others. There was a significant fluctuation, close to BRL 70 million year-on-year, depending on the window, but it looks like that line was highly efficient. But in general terms on fixed costs and SG&A, if you could give us a bit more color on what kind of initiatives we're talking about and what's been responsible for that efficiency? And if there is a trade-off among those initiatives or if there's something you had already planned on capturing. Guilherme Lelis Machado: Pedro, thanks for joining us, and thanks for the question. Yes. what we've been noticing in terms of reduction. And we started working on that since last year, and it's been translating into positive results this year. Throughout our journey and the company has had major projects and initiatives that have required an expansion of our structure. And we believe we have reached an adequate level. So from now on, we will be optimizing things and operating efficiently, always taking care of the company's operational leverage, which is what we do, maximize volume and decreasing unit costs. But what we have been doing is optimizing our structure our occupation, our capacity use because right now, we're at the right structure level. So we have been optimizing our personnel, simplifying processes and rationalizing company initiatives to prioritize those that create value and add to the company's core business. We have been managing inventory very efficiently and working on losses and compensation so that we can avoid losses. We don't want that to be a detractor to our overall structure. So there isn't one specific thing that's been leading to those gains, but -- there are several initiatives and many things the company has been doing that have helped us converge towards those efficient levels. So that's what we've been doing to optimize our cost and expenses this year. Operator: The next question is from Mr. Rogério Araúj from Bank of America. Rogério Araújo: My question is about your liability negotiation and the renewal of the South and West networks. Could you update us on those processes? What are the next steps? And we had the BRL 55 million loss of profit insurance proceeds. And I think the structure was also damaged due to force majeure because of the rains. Are you negotiating anything to that end in the South network? If you could give us more color on that, that would be very helpful. Guilherme Lelis Machado: This is -- Rogério. Thank you for the questions. I'll start by the end of your question. In terms of compensation for the South network claims, they should come to an end now. We recognize those in the second and third quarter. So that was all we had in terms of compensation. The team worked very closely to the insurance companies, and we were able to resolve those issues very swiftly within the regulation. In terms of other occurrences, we are complying with the regulation. There should be something else happened. We will announce that to the market, but there's nothing material to share at the moment. In terms of the South and West networks, there is no news for this half of the year. In the renewal and end of concession of the South network, let's remember that there was a working group with the company, the ministry and the regulatory agency. Those activities have been concluded. So we're not just waiting for the conclusions to be announced. In the South network, we do have the potential and the company is interested in continuing to operate it in a model that is financially feasible for us. Discussions will be ongoing with the stakeholders, and we'll be looking into different alternatives. And as things progress, we will be informing the market. There's nothing to announce for the time being, but this discussion should be taking place over the next few months. Let me remind you that the South network will be concluded in February 2027. So we still have a ways to go with these stakeholders. As for the West network, we do have an event in the short term, halfway through next year, June 2026. That's when the contract will come to an end. We've made it very clear so far in light of the fact that there has been no volumes transported in that operation. So there's no significant revenues or investments coming from there. So we should be giving that asset back to the government and then we'll assess the reconciliation in the assets and liability balance sheet for that operation. Discussions with the government are amicable. So now we just need to decide on the best design for that negotiation. We will let you know as things progress. Operator: The next question is from Mr. Daniel Gasparete from Itaú BBA. Daniel Gasparete: Touching on what Guilherme said about volume and unit cost. How are you coming to your tariffs for 2026, its competitiveness considering a scenario where things might be slower, given the pressure on the margin. What about the carryover of your tariffs from '25 to '26? I know you have the guidance, but if you could tell us a bit more on that dynamics. And also, how do fluctuations in tariffs affect your perception of CapEx investment projects and the projects for this year? Pedro Palma: Daniel, this is Pedro. Let me take your question. Well, let me start by the end to your point about our investment plans. Obviously, when we look at our CapEx execution and our expansion project, we need to calibrate those based on expectations of profit and the investments that are being made. I think the main point when we look at tariffs and when we look at the future interest rates, if we were to conduct a financial assessment of our investments, looking at our expansion plans, you have to have an expansion of volumes, competitiveness and pricing that you get from that structure. And often, investments can help you stabilize pricing. So pragmatically speaking, our journey in the rail system for both operations, especially in the North operation, pricing has never been linear because -- given any moment, when you go into any year and a specific year, there is an effect of the fluctuation of exports, crop failures. There are one-off circumstantial events that can change the pricing ratio within a semester, a year, a crop. But if we look at how our pricing has progressed over the years, you will see that pricing levels have been normalized and the tendency and our thesis that has been confirmed year over the year is that the world needs agricultural commodities and the best region to produce and export those is Brazil and the best region in Brazil for that starts in the Brazilian Midwest, and we want to be the best logistics company with the best structure with the lowest cost to be the best export solution. So to address a point that might not be exactly what you asked, but to give you more granularity, right now, we're fine-tuning our business plan for Stage 2 of our rail expansion project in Mato Grosso in light of the fact that we're moving towards concluding Stage 1. Next year, we will be delivering the BR-070 terminal as we had announced. So now coming into the new year, we'll be fine-tuning CapEx and what we expect from the next stages for the project in light of what's happening in terms of competition and what we expect looking forward. What I can share with you right now, this is not a decision that has been made because the Executive Board is still looking into things to then discuss it with the Board is that we're very constructive about how demand will grow in our markets and competitiveness and our structural profitability coming from investments that we can make. But obviously, we'll look into things stage by stage. We won't be making any dogmatic investments. Our investments are always based on an in-depth assessment of what the market has to offer in terms of demand, expected profitability and our ability to absorb those results and to seek fair share for our operations. Unknown Executive: Another important point is that throughout this journey and considering the tariff dynamics, we've had a very healthy journey after we went through that repositioning, like Pedro said during his presentation, that's taken place over the last few years. So obviously, in 2025, the level of our tariffs how we've traded our capacity. This is a very healthy level. There's been no value disruption. The company margins are still very solid and very healthy. In terms of investments, just to add to what Pedro said, we need to bear in mind that we are sensitive to the company's cash consumption. So all of our investment plans have to be assessed in light of cash generation. We're not going to put the company under any financial stress that is incompatible or that will take us to levels of debt that don't make sense. Also given that there's a persisting high level of interest rates. So we will be calibrating that as we look into market dynamics and making sure that we preserve the company's health. Daniel Gasparete: That was a very clear answer. If you could just touch on the first part of my question, which was about the carryover from '25 to '26 and maximizing volumes and minimizing unit costs. Do you think the trading cycle will be as slow as it was in '25? Unknown Executive: Yes, there will be a degree of carryover into '26 from '25, as I said in my answer to a different question. If we look at the baseline for '26, we're talking about similar pricing levels to the second half of '25. And carryover inventory volumes, good crops obviously put pressure on the system. But as we have shown in the past, we are totally able to increase prices if market opportunities arise. That's what we did from '22 to '24. We increased prices by more than 60% during that period, just as we repositioned it in the recent past in 2025 to make sure that we were capturing volumes as we have reiterated at very healthy margins, given that our pricing levels are very healthy going from '24 into '25. But to be objective, the baseline for '26 is what we had in the second half of '25. We'll have to wait for the market to operate and pressure levels. And in '26, we should be able to capture price recovery along the year. Operator: The next question is from Ms. Julia Rizzo from Morgan Stanley. Julia Rizzo: Can you hear me okay? I have a question about your tariffs, your competitive yield. I think you mentioned that in your institutional presentation in the third quarter, showing that the tariffs at the Rondonópolis terminal was very close to the market. You said it was the next best alternative and Rumo's nominal yield was 246 and the market was 244. What was that like in the third quarter? I just want to understand where the market is going and if what we're seeing now is a reflex if you have already reached market levels. What got my attention was the drop in tariffs and the loss of share. So my next question is what would be a fair or sustainable share for the company this year? We still have a quarter to go and good volumes to deliver, hopefully, and for next year. Unknown Executive: Julia, Thank you for the question. The company right now is operating considering alternative costs considering the regions we operate in Mato Grosso. Let me remind you that the rail volume captures volumes from across the state. And for each region of the state, alternative costs are different. Looking at the portfolio average, we're very close, slightly below the alternative costs to our clients. So looking at the price reduction we saw in the third quarter this year, there are two elements to it. First, price repositioning in the grains portfolio because we want to bring rail to a competitive level and to make sure that we are positioned as the best logistics solution to our clients and the effect of the mix in our portfolio with lower unit cost than the grains portfolio. So obviously, all of that leads to around 7% decrease in the tariffs this quarter. Now looking forward, we will continue to maintain rail as the best alternative to our clients. And that's the strategy we've been implementing for 2026. And market share is a consequence of that positioning and market dynamics. It's not a goal for the company. What the company is pursuing is to have a competitive tariff so as to make sure that we are using the rail system to full capacity. Now looking at the export market for Mato Grosso, we want to operate at about 40%, depending on the quarter, slightly below or slightly above, maybe close to 45%. That's the range we expect the market share to operate in. But again, to remind you, the market share is a result of exports and the rail operation. If the market is at a normal level, then we imagine that we'll be operating at about 40% in our grain portfolio in Mato Grosso. And as I said in my presentation, rail -- we'll be making sure that rail is the absolute best solution at the Port of Santos. We've been doing that at the Port of Santos and the Mato Grosso operation was just slightly below last year's, but very similar to 2023 when the market -- the export market was more similar to the current market. Julia Rizzo: Could you give me some reference in terms of reals per ton at the Rondonópolis terminal? Just so we have an idea of where the market is at and what the company is executing. Unknown Executive: We were very close, Julia. It's around BRL 230 per tonne in Rondonópolis. Some months, it's slightly above that. Some months, it's slightly below that. It's not linear. But right now, we're operating very close to competitive prices at that terminal. Operator: The next question is from Mr. Filipe Nielsen from Citi. Filipe Ferreira Nielsen: Most of my questions have been answered. If I could just touch on a point that hasn't been addressed yet. All those changes and discussions taking place at Cosan, Rumo's controlling company. There have been changes in the Board, management, new shareholders coming in. What have been the first conversations with the new shareholders and the controlling companies stance? Do you know what the strategy is going to be like and how strategies are thinking and how that fits with how you think, both in terms of pricing strategy and projects? Pedro Palma: Filipe, this is Pedro. Thank you for your question. Well, first point, we think it's very healthy that the controlling company be healthy, the Cosan Group be healthy. So with BTG coming in to Cosan's controlling share with Rubens. Rubens keeping the controlling stake in the structure is welcome news and very healthy for Rumo as well. Obviously, the 2 new shareholders have joined the company because they see value in Cosan Group and its portfolio, and they are bringing additional types of expertise, both BTG based on their historical experience and professionals. Their track record is amazing. And I'm absolutely certain that they will make huge contributions to the progress of the Cosan Group, and Rumo is no exception to that. Conversations have been very transparent. They're very incipient because the conclusion of that transaction, the election of the new members of the Board at Rumo only just happened at the end of last week. But what I can say is that preliminary discussions and conversations have been very positive. So we'll be discussing things together and working together on the next steps so that we have an increasingly better and more robust company. Talking specifically about Rumo, no one has any question about the rail asset in the logistic infrastructure and the role that Rumo can play in the markets it operates in. Everybody wants for this company to continue to grow and be better. So I'm sure Rumo's team, I can speak for myself and the whole team that everyone is very happy with the change in shareholders at the Cosan level. And with this new stage beginning now. Operator: This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn it over to Mr. Guilherme Machado for his closing remarks. Guilherme Lelis Machado: Well, thank you for joining us. And let me just conclude by saying a few things. I don't want to be repetitive and say the same things Pedro said in his opening presentation and everything we said during the Q&A session. The company has been delivering a very solid operational execution month after month. We have been attracting volumes to our operation after the beginning of the year when we realized and were able to swiftly adjust our commercial dynamics to recover the fair share and market share. This has been a very healthy and positive dynamics in our operation. And our projects will continue in line with what we've got planned for the year and delivering on the relevant projects for the company, such as the first stage of the Mato Grosso rail and all the other commitments to do with modernizing, creating capacity at the company, both at the Paulista Network and any other fronts we work on. Safety and operating efficiency are not only our priorities, but almost an obsession. And they have been translated into practical results. You've been able to see both in terms of incident frequency rate, as Pedro said, as well as capturing efficiencies, especially energy efficiencies as we have been sharing with you through our figures. The company's financial position is very solid, especially considering the high interest rates. We've been able to issue and restructure our debt very creatively, very efficiently. So our maturities are well balanced. The cost of capital is also very healthy. So having said all that, our focus for the end of the year will be on delivering results, and we have been making adjustments according to what the market presents us with. We're highly focused on delivering on our commitments. And we are aware that there will be higher risks in the fourth quarter. But in financial and operational terms, we know that the company is pretty ready to absorb those, but we are already looking into 2026, and we're paving the way towards positive execution, delivering value to the company and our shareholders. That is Rumo's objective, and that is how we have been facing challenges. We are fully dedicated to making sure that in 2025, we deliver a solid year. Thank you all for joining us, and we'll see you at the next earnings release call. Thank you. Operator: Rumo's Third Quarter 2025 conference call is now concluded. Thank you for joining us, and have a great day. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]
Jun Togawa: Good evening, investors, shareholders and rating agencies. I am Togawa, Group CFO. Thank you very much for joining MUFG's online conference call today despite the late hour. Please look at the material titled Financial Highlights under JGAAP for the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. Let me first explain our Q2 financial results, followed by revised FY '25 performance targets and shareholder return measures. Let me start from the income statement summary. Please turn to Page 8. First, the figures for the first half of FY '24 on the far left column of the table include the impact of the change in the equity method accounting date at Krungsri in Thailand. So the far right column shows the actual year-over-year change, adjusting this impact. All explanations on this page will be based on adjusted year-on-year comparisons. Line 1, gross profits increased by JPY 189.3 billion year-on-year. Line 2 and below shows the breakdown of gross profits. Net interest income increased, thanks to the impact of rising yen interest rates, improving lending spreads and benefits from last year's bond portfolio rebalancing. In addition, net fees and commissions expanded significantly, primarily due to growth in various fee revenues from domestic and overseas solution services and effects of acquisitions. Next, Line 6, G&A expenses increased by JPY 127.9 billion year-on-year due to the impact of inflation and acquisitions, as well as strategic expense allocation, mainly in Retail and Digital business group. Expense ratio was flat year-on-year at 56.1%. As a result, Line 8, net operating profits increased by JPY 61.3 billion year-on-year. Next, Line 9, credit costs decreased by JPY 65.7 billion year-on-year. I will explain the reasons for this later. Line 10, net gains and losses on equity securities decreased by JPY 235.3 billion, due to the gain on sale of large equity holdings last year, which is in line with our projection at the beginning of FY '25. Line 12, equity in earnings of equity method investees increased significantly year-on-year, mainly due to the extremely strong performance of Morgan Stanley. As a result, Line 16, profits attributable to owners of parent was JPY 1,292.9 billion. Although gain on sale of equity holdings decreased year-on-year, we were able to achieve steady growth in net operating profits and equity accounted earnings, which demonstrates the strength of our core business and also recorded onetime gains related to investments and organizational restructuring, resulting in a record high first half profit. Our progress toward initial full year target of JPY 2 trillion stands at a high level of 64.6%. Performance by business group is shown on Pages 9 through 12. I will not go into detail, but customer segment NOP is growing steadily with the exception of retail and digital, where strategic expenditures were made and Global Commercial Banking, which was affected by the economic slowdown in Asia. All business groups achieved an increase in net income. Please turn to Page 14 on balance sheet summary. The diagram on the left shows the overview. Loans shown in the top left increased by approximately JPY 1.8 trillion from the end of FY '24. Excluding government loans, it increased both in Japan and overseas by approximately JPY 4 trillion. Page 15 shows the status of domestic loans. The graph on the bottom right shows the trend in domestic corporate lending spreads. Spreads for large corporates in red line is rising, thanks to the accumulation of large, highly profitable loans. Along with SMEs in orange, profit improvement measures have been successful, and the upward trend is continuing. Next, Page 16 shows the status of overseas loans. The bottom right graph shows the trend in overseas lending spreads. The Americas has settled somewhat as the replacement of low-profit assets with high profit assets has run its course, but we continue to work on improving profitability in each region and maintain the gradual recovery trend. Meanwhile, GCIB has seen a significant increase in fee income as their O&D measures are progressing, and we are working to improve capital efficiency on both fronts. Please turn to Page 17 on asset quality. The NPL ratio shown by the line graph on the left continues to remain at a low level. The bottom right graph shows the breakdown of year-on-year changes in total credit costs, while there was an increase in large loan loss provisions overseas last year on the bank nonconsolidated basis, the sale was completed this fiscal year, resulting in a reversal. There were also multiple significant reversals in Japan, resulting in a significant decrease in credit costs. Credit costs also decreased at our overseas subsidiaries due to the effect of stricter screening criteria for new credit transactions in Asian partner banks. Taking the current situation into account, we kept our full year outlook for credit costs unchanged. Please turn to Page 18 on investment securities, including equities and government bonds. I will explain the unrealized gains and losses in the upper left table. Line 3, unrealized gains on domestic equity securities increased by JPY 0.36 trillion compared to the end of March 2025, due to rising stock prices despite progress in reducing equity holdings. In addition, unrealized gains and losses on domestic bonds reflecting hedging positions showing in the upper half of the lower left graph is controlled at a low level of just under JPY 0.3 trillion and unrealized gains and losses on foreign bonds in the bottom half are slightly positive. Given the scale of our balance sheet and income statement, we think we are in an extremely healthy state with reasonable degree of flexibility. Regarding the reduction of equity holdings on the right, the cumulative sales during the current MTBP were JPY 339 billion on an acquisition cost basis, which is about half of the JPY 700 billion target. The agreed amount has reached nearly 80% of the target, and we are making steady progress toward achieving this target. Page 20 shows capital adequacy. The CET1 ratio, excluding unrealized gains on the finalized and fully implemented Basel III basis fell 30 basis points from the end of March to 10.5% at the upper end of our target range due to growth investments and increase in loans, as well as yen appreciation versus end of March. Towards the end of the fiscal year, we expect risk-weighted assets to continue to accumulate and the yen to appreciate based on the financial indicators, I will come back later. Therefore, we expect the ratio to remain around the midpoint of the target range. Capital allocation results are shown on the lower right. We will continue to manage capital with an eye on balancing shareholder returns and growth investments. Please go back to Page 3. Let me turn to our FY '25 financial targets and shareholder returns. As shown on the left, given the continued strong performance of NOP, particularly in the customer segment and increased income from equity method investee, we revised up our net income target by JPY 100 billion from initial target to JPY 2.1 trillion. Turning to shareholder returns on the right. We continue to aim for a dividend payout ratio of approximately 40%. And in line with the upward revision of profit target, our annual dividend forecast for FY '25 was revised up to JPY 74, up JPY 10 from the previous year and JPY 4 from initial forecast. Regarding share repurchase, a resolution was approved today to acquire an additional JPY 250 billion in the second half of the year, bringing the total amount for the full year to JPY 500 billion. As discussed in May, this is due to take into account total shareholder return over the past few years. We also announced today the cancellation of 200 million treasury shares. We aim to achieve our mid- to long-term ROE target and we will work to provide shareholder returns while taking the optimal balance with growth investments into account. Turning to progress of 3 pillars of MTBP. Please turn to Page 4. First pillar is expand and refine growth strategies as shown on the left. Each of the seven strategies for seasoning growth is on track, resulting in an increase in NOP of approximately JPY 150 billion compared to FY '23. In particular, in the domestic retail business, a new service brand, EMUTO, was announced in June this year. The credit card reward programs and group-wide campaigns launched in conjunction with EMUTO generated strong response, leading to increased transactions for each group company. We will continue to demonstrate the collective strength of the group and aim to expand our services, including digital banking. Please turn to Page 5. Second pillar, social and environmental progress is shown on the left. Sustainable finance has steadily built up a track record even with different vectors at play globally. A white paper will be published again this year to communicate our view on contributing to accelerating transition. On the right is our third pillar, transformation and innovation. Under the current midterm plan to maximize MUFG's potential, we are working as a group to pursue new business initiatives, invest in human capital and strengthen our foundations in areas such as AI and data in addition to continuing cultural reform. Corporate transformation using AI is a particular urgent priority. And by combining this with agile management, we are working to transform into an AI-native company. The number of AI use cases has reached 116, and the aim is to increase to over 250 cases by FY '26. Current estimates suggest that the cumulative benefits over the 3 years of the current MTBP is approximately JPY 30 billion. The launch of a new strategic partnership with OpenAI is expected to accelerate use of AI across the company and to collaborate on various services, primarily in the retail sector such as digital banking. Moving on to Page 6. Let me take you through our path to achieving mid- to long-term ROE target of 12%, which has been a popular question since our announcement in May. We assume that the policy rate will rise to around 1%, while the sale of equity holdings will come to an end and capital gains will seize. After solidifying the goals of the growth strategy of the current MTBP, as explained on Page 4, we will pursue both organic growth by refining existing areas, both domestically and overseas and inorganic growth by focusing on the areas described in the slide, thereby making steady progress towards an ROE of 12%. Mr. Kamezawa will share his thoughts on this point at the investor meeting on the 18th. Page 7, my last slide. Last month, in October, we celebrated our 20th anniversary as MUFG. Looking back over the past 20 years, thanks to the understanding and support of our stakeholders, including our investors, we have taken on many challenges, gone through three major transitions and achieved growth sometimes despite headwinds. MUFG will continue to push ourselves forward and guided by our purpose of committed to empowering a brighter future, we will aim to further increase our corporate value even in a rapidly changing external environment. Your continued understanding and support is very much appreciated. That is all for me. Operator: Let me introduce the first questioner, Mr. Takamiya of Nomura Securities. Ken Takamiya: This is Takamiya from Nomura Securities. I have two questions. On the upward revision of your guidance and the 12% ROE target. I would like to hear your thoughts on the upward revision from two perspectives. First, I wonder if the assumptions are too conservative considering the current levels of the Nikkei stock average and the dollar-yen exchange rate. Second, the revision of JPY 100 billion from JPY 2 trillion to JPY 2.1 trillion is not small, but it is a somewhat small revision to your bottom line profit. What was the aim and your thoughts on this small revision? This is my question on your guidance. My second question is on your ROE target. On Page 6, you explained verbally the general direction you are heading, including assumptions like interest rate of around 1% and no gain on sale from reducing your equity holdings. But I think this is the first time you have clarified this in writing. Regarding the mid- to long-term ROE target of 12%, I want to know if there were any changes in your thinking and the management's perspective, reflecting the changes in the environment or tailwinds. Jun Togawa: Thank you, Takamiya-san. Regarding the upward revision, our initial guidance was JPY 2 trillion based on the assumption that the decrease in net gains and losses on equity securities and the absence of reversal of large loan loss provisions will be offset by continued growth in customer segment NOP, improvement in treasury interest income benefiting from last year's bond portfolio rebalance and a rebound from the loss due to bond portfolio rebalance in FY '24. Decrease in gains and losses on equity securities, absence of reversal of large loan loss provisions, treasury interest income improvement and rebound from last year's bond portfolio rebalance are in line with our initial forecast. Meanwhile, progress in the first half exceeded expectations, thanks to better-than-planned customer segment NOP, lower credit costs, upside in Morgan Stanley equity accounted earnings and onetime gains not factored in our initial forecast. I will explain our assumptions for the second half later, but we forecast strong yen toward the end of the fiscal year, slower treasury sales in the second half as trading gains were weighted to the first half, credit costs in line with our initial forecast, though the full year will depend on the impact of tariffs and an increase in strategic expense allocation, including retail and also included certain financial measures for FY '26, resulting in a guidance of JPY 2.1 trillion. There was internal discussion about whether a 5% revision was really necessary, but we decided to do so with the aim of disclosing our forecast appropriately at each point in time since the first half of last year. We may not have done this in the past, but that is our line of thinking. Regarding the assumptions, the yen assumption against the dollar is quite strong given the current level. But depending on interest rate trends, it is not unreasonable for the yen to be in the mid-JPY 140s by the end of the fiscal year. The share price of around JPY 43,000 may also seem conservative, but the impact of share prices on our earnings is not significant. So this was not the reason for the conservative profit target. As for future upside, we expect further growth in the customer segment and decline in credit costs, which is again subject to tariffs and also an upside in FX that you mentioned. Whether there has been a change in our view on the 12% target, we originally began the discussions to set the 12% target by trying to see how much we can increase our profit under the assumptions that Japan's policy interest rate will be around 1% and that we have no gain on sale of equity holdings, which I strongly insisted. Since investors asked questions based on different assumptions such as including gain on sale of equity holdings, we made that clear. We are fleshing out the details to achieve this as we speak. One change in our thinking, both in terms of inorganic investment and the use of capital, as I may have mentioned before, is that we are now discussing potential investments internally based on whether or not they contribute to achieving 12% ROE. Operator: Next, Mr. Nakamura of BofA Securities, please. Shinichiro Nakamura: This is Nakamura from BofA Securities. I also have two questions. First, let me confirm the full year CET1 ratio forecast on Page 20 again. It doesn't seem like it will approach the middle of the range. So if you could share with us your view on the level and the breakdown to the extent possible. There was an article in Bloomberg about your inorganic investments, and you denied that the information came from you. Could you elaborate on this, if possible? Sorry for asking too much. That is my first question. My second question is on credit cost. In the first half, there was a reversal on the bank nonconsolidated basis. So if you achieve your target in the second half, this is a reasonable level. So my question is on the current situation of private credit in the U.S. Although MUFG has not directly mentioned it, we are seeing large-scale loans to Oracle's data center investment, among others, which is widening credit spreads as a result. What are your thoughts on this increasing concentration of risk? Thank you. Jun Togawa: First, regarding the outlook for CET1 ratio toward the end of FY '25, the end of March '26, approximately 80 basis points up in the second half from the accumulation of net income based on the revised performance targets, 65 basis points down due to shareholder returns, including dividends and share buybacks, as I explained earlier, around 30 basis points down from the planned increase in risk assets. And with Morgan Stanley's accumulated profit from its extremely strong performance, et cetera, we expect the ratio to be somewhere between 10% and 10.5%. Regarding the private credit market, MUFG actually does not have a significant exposure. We have some exposure to companies that have been mentioned in the media. But as you saw earlier, our NPL ratio is declining. So I do not think we have a significant exposure. That said, the private credit market is extremely strong now. So we need to keep a close eye on the recent increase in volatility. I think the risk of lending to data centers depends on the project. We have extensive knowledge on project finance. So it is important to carefully select projects, taking into account factors like sources of cash flow and technical conditions, such as proper installation of high-voltage cables. Regarding the first question on inorganic investment, sorry, I skipped that. But actually, I have no comment. We continue to consider opportunities in three areas, namely AMIS, Digital and U.S. Asia. Operator: Next, Mr. Matsuno from Mizuho Securities. Maoki Matsuno: Matsuno from Mizuho Securities. I have two questions. First question is on Page 3. Upward revision of financial targets for FY '25. Can you give a more detailed breakdown? The graph on the bottom left shows a breakdown into customer segment, equity method investees and review on financial indicators. Can you give a breakdown of each of them? For example, weaker yen than the beginning of the year, would that be included in review on financial indicators or the equity market value? Can you give some color on the factors affecting changes in net income? My second question is on the operational policy of Global Markets in the second half. In the first half of the year, it looks like you did well by drastically reducing yen bonds and super long-term bonds and making profits on foreign bonds. Is there anything you can speak about the operations of Global Markets in the second half of the year? Those are my two questions. Jun Togawa: So starting with Page 3, your question on major factors affecting changes in full year targets. Earlier, I said the customer segment is expected to continue making steady progress in the second half of the year and is expected to exceed the initial plan by around JPY 30 billion for the full year. Regarding equity and earnings of equity method investees, I must admit it is difficult to say how much is coming from Morgan Stanley, but a certain amount is factored in. There are also some one-offs. Please look at the footnote on Page 8. Step-up gains from acquiring shares of JACCS, one-off gains from acquisition of Tidlor as a subsidiary and gains related to liquidation of local subsidiaries, a part of them were not factored in, accounting for approximately JPY 40 billion. The revision of financial indicators is expected to have an impact of approximately JPY 30 billion, mainly due to the weak yen. Stock price outlook was revised up, but gain on sales of equity holdings has been hedged for stocks scheduled for sale at the beginning of the fiscal year. So impact of sales of equity holdings is minimal. Although there will be partial impact on earnings due to an increase in AUM in the asset management and investor services, the impact of the revision of stock price assumptions is not that big. The impact is primarily from ForEx, and the total adds up to JPY 100 billion. For Global Markets, you are right. In Q1, reducing the balance of super long-term JGBs, partially offsetting with redemption gains on bear fund and gains on sale of foreign bonds, that's for the first half of the year. Regarding yen bond management from the second half onwards, our policy of gradually building up our yen bond positions, while monitoring the rise in Japan's policy rate remains unchanged. Short-term JGBs decreased as the BOJ's growth-oriented lending support operation is gradually coming to an end and need for short-term JGBs as collateral has decreased. The balance of short-term government bonds has fallen significantly. As for foreign bonds, the balance of long-term bonds appears to be increasing, while duration is decreasing and some might feel this doesn't sit well. This is due to categorizing mortgage bonds with long statutory maturities as long term. But overall duration shortened to 4 years. Operator: Next is Mr. Matsuda from Daiwa Securities. Ken Matsuda: Matsuda from Daiwa Securities. I also have two questions. Regarding net fees and commissions. Net fees and commissions in the first half of the year was very strong for both domestic and nondomestic. Is this trend in the first half a temporary phenomenon? Or including the current pipeline, can we expect further growth going forward? That is my first question. Second question is on CET1 ratio on Page 20. The impact of exchange rates was cited as a factor in the decline in the CET1 ratio in the first half of the year. It worsened by 40 basis points, but the yen did not appreciate significantly between the end of March and the end of September. Then why deteriorate by 40 basis points? Was it due to the Thai baht? What was the impact in the first half? If the weak yen environment continues, can we expect the CET1 ratio to improve further? These are my two questions. Jun Togawa: Thank you for your questions. Fee revenues, fee income partially include impact of acquisitions. Acquisition of WealthNavi, MPMS acquired by our Trust Bank and NICOS acquiring Zenhoren has resulted in a total acquisition effect of about JPY 48 billion. Apart from that, GCIB, in particular, is further promoting O&D initiatives, so fee income will grow. Domestically, fees related to loans such as MBOs and LBOs are growing. Solution-related fees are also growing. So we can expect continued growth in this area. In addition, AUM in asset management is growing steadily, and IS has also issued a press release stating that outsourcing operations have quickly achieved the MTBP target. These areas are growing steadily. So I believe we can continue to grow. Regarding CET1 ratio for the first half of the year, impact of U.S. MUA is large, as I might have said in May. The dollar-yen exchange rate from December to June saw the yen appreciate by about JPY 14. We took some hedging measures, but were implemented after April or May and hence, this impact. Regarding impact of the weak yen on CET1 ratio, it will depend on the trends in the dollar yen and Thai baht, but the weak yen will have a certain effect in lifting the CET1 ratio. That's all for me. Operator: Next is Mr. Yano, JPMorgan. Takahiro Yano: I also have two questions. One is a detailed question, a follow-up to Mr. Matsuno's question. Regarding the revised target for this fiscal year, you referred to the waterfall chart on the lower left, but I'd like to confirm referring to the table above. NOP is up JPY 50 billion. Credit costs haven't changed and ordinary profits increased by JPY 150 billion. I assume this is coming from increase in ownership interest, stock-related and other factors accounting for JPY 100 billion. I'd like to know the breakdown. This is my first question. The second question is a high-level question. Today, there was a headline in the news quoting CEO, Mr. Kamezawa about achieving top -- global top-tier ROE and corporate value. I assume this is along the same lines of what has he has been saying. But just to be sure, can we take this as a hint that the current ROE target of 12% will change? Is there no need to read too much into it? I would like to know what you mean by achieving global top-tier ROE, if there is anything we should know of. Jun Togawa: Thank you for the questions. Should I explain both NOP and ordinary profit? Well, if you could elaborate on the variance, if there is anything that is tricky in NOP. Okay. Within NOP, JPY 25 billion is from ForEx, assuming the yen to be about JPY 5 stronger. The rebound from treasury trading gains was concentrated in the first half, as I said, and the difference between first half and second half is about JPY 130 billion. Then there is increase in expenses, expense incurred in EMUTO, IT costs, AI, cyber-related impact from certain inflation-related costs, base wage increase, among others. All in all, about JPY 100 billion in expense increase. We are also considering a certain level of structural improvements for next fiscal year as profits are also strong. Averaging them all out, we expected an upside of about JPY 50 billion in NOP. Regarding ordinary profit, there is a one-off step-up gain from an increase in our ownership interest. This accounted for about JPY 100 billion in the first half. Some of it was not accounted for in the plan, as I said earlier. Combined with Morgan Stanley's profit increase, ordinary profit was revised up by JPY 150 billion. To your second question, I appreciate the expectations you have on us, but we will first focus on achieving 12%. Mr. Kamezawa spoke in that context. Thank you. Operator: It seems there are no further questions, so we will conclude the Q&A session. Finally, Mr. Togawa would like to say a few words. Togawa-san, please. Jun Togawa: Thank you very much for joining us today despite the late hour and on a day where many companies are announcing their results. Thank you for your diverse questions and comments. Today, I mainly explain the progress made in Q2 of FY 2025, and President Kamezawa will provide a more detailed explanation, including his own thoughts at the investor briefing on the 18th. We look forward to your participation. We would appreciate your continued understanding and further support. Thank you very much for joining us today. Operator: This concludes the online conference call on financial highlights for the first half of FY '25 of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Thank you very much for participating today. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]
Operator: Thank you for standing by, and welcome to Kodiak's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]. I would now like to hand the call over to Lauren Harper, Kodiak's Chief of Staff. Please go ahead. Lauren Harper: Thank you, and welcome, everyone, to Kodiak's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Call. On the call today are Don Burnette, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kodiak; and Surajit Datta, Chief Financial Officer of Kodiak. Our press release and an earnings presentation were issued earlier today and are posted on the Investor Relations section of our website. This call is being broadcast live via a webcast, and a replay will be available on our website after the call. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that during today's call, Kodiak will be making forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws about financial performance and future events, including our guidance for fiscal fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2025, as well as our long-term goals. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statement made during this call that is not a statement of historical facts should be deemed to be a forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our guidance for fiscal fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2025, our estimated total addressable market, our operational and product road map, our relationships with partners and suppliers, our ability to produce and deploy the Kodiak driver at scale, including the timing of launching driverless trucks for long-haul highway operations, our expansion plans and opportunities and our expectations regarding future business and financial performance, including future cash flows and our path to profitability, are based upon management's current estimates and various assumptions. These statements involve material risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to materially differ from those anticipated or implied by these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these statements. For a list and description of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business, please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise any financial or operational projections or other forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Any forward-looking statements made on this call speak only as of the date of this call. Further, in addition to discussing results that are calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, we may also refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. For more detailed information on our non-GAAP financial disclosures, including reconciliations to most comparable GAAP measures, please refer to our earnings release, which can be found on our Investor Relations website. Our discussion today also includes references to forward-looking free cash flow. Such forward-looking financial measure is provided on a non-GAAP basis without a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliation. I will now turn the call over to Don. Please go ahead. Don Burnette: Thanks, Lauren, and welcome to our first earnings call as a public company. Today, we're excited to share our third quarter results. But first, I'd like to introduce you to Kodiak and talk about our industry-leading technology, our strategy and why we believe we are positioned to capture the tremendous opportunity in the global trucking market. Kodiak delivers AI-powered driving technology that tackles some of the world's toughest driving jobs across vehicles and environments. We are a leading provider of autonomous trucking technology with 10 driverless trucks in customer operation with no human in the cab. These 10 trucks are the first to be delivered as we fulfill the world's largest known driverless trucking contract, a binding order to deploy our technology in 100 customer-owned trucks. Our differentiated technology allows us to seamlessly operate across a variety of environments, giving us the flexibility we need to focus on 3 large verticals: long-haul trucking, industrial trucking and defense. Across these verticals, we work with industry-leading customers such as J.B. Hunt, Werner, C.R. England, Martin Brower, Atlas Energy Solutions and the U.S. Army. Kodiak's core business is based on the Driver-as-a-Service or DaaS model, which is designed to replicate how customers pay their drivers today, either by the mile or by the vehicle. Our customers own and operate their own driverless trucks and pay us a recurring fee to utilize the Kodiak driver in their fleets. This DaaS model allows us to generate recurring revenue while keeping our balance sheet relatively asset-light. We initially launched this model with Atlas Energy Solutions, a leading logistics provider in the Permian Basin that is actively working to automate its supply chain. We intend to grow DaaS revenue, both as Atlas grows its fleet of Kodiak-powered trucks and as we expand driverless operations with new customers. I believe it is paramount to execute across 3 strategic pillars to launch a driverless business: technology, safety case and product. While technology is the most visible, each of these pillars is critical to successfully launching and scaling autonomous trucks. Let me address each of these, starting with technology. The Kodiak Driver, our autonomous system combines advanced AI-powered software with modular vehicle-agnostic hardware. We designed The Kodiak Driver to operate in challenging driving environments while integrating seamlessly into our customers' fleets. This single integrated software platform is designed for deployment across 3 verticals: long-haul trucking, industrial trucking and defense. It operates day and night in a wide range of weather conditions, including rain and severe dust storms and in some of the most complex scenarios in trucking. Our core technology allows the Kodiak driver to operate without high-definition maps commonly used in the AV industry. We believe this approach makes the Kodiak driver more adaptable to real-time changes on the road than traditional AVs that heavily rely on premaps to rain. It also makes the Kodiak driver better able to navigate unstructured off-road environments, uniquely enabling us to pursue opportunities in the industrial and defense verticals that would otherwise be challenging if we required high-definition maps. We integrate our software into our modular autonomy hardware kit that is adaptable to a wide range of vehicle types. We've already integrated the Kodiak hardware kit into Class 8 trucks, Ford F-150s and even treaded military vehicles. Our hardware kit includes Kodiak's proprietary sensor pods, which are self-contained modules that contain third-party cameras, radars and LiDARs and are designed to be quick and easy to swap in the field with minimal training. Our modular approach allows us to quickly install The Kodiak Driver's hardware kit into our customers' trucks, reducing the cost of deployment. Years ago, we decided that upfitting was the right go-to-market strategy to address a significant industry-wide challenge that today, none of the truck OEMs offer a driverless-ready platform. To implement this strategy, we partnered with Michigan-based Roush Industries, a leading automotive product development supplier. Roush is an industry leader in small to medium volume automotive manufacturing. Their deep experience building high-quality vehicles at scale brings efficiency and quality to our manufacturing that would be very difficult to match with in-house production. Now to our second pillar, safety. Safety is our core value at Kodiak. It is critical to building trust with customers, regulators and the general public. The most important part of the process is building a safety case, which is a comprehensive evidence-backed argument for why The Kodiak Driver is safe to deploy. Kodiak is one of only a handful of AV companies known to have completed a driverless safety case. Developing a safety case is a massive cross-functional effort, spanning software, systems engineering, hardware, functional safety, manufacturing, operations and even legal and policy. To help track our progress on launching The Kodiak Driver on long-haul routes, today, we are unveiling our Autonomous Readiness Measure, or ARM, which measures the percentage of claims and evidence in Kodiak safety case for driverless operations that are materially complete. Having completed our industrial safety case, our industrial arm is necessarily at 100%. Today, I am incredibly proud to report that our long-haul arm currently stands at 78%, and we expect to make steady progress in the quarters ahead as we prepare for long-haul driverless operations in the second half of 2026. Lastly, I'd like to turn to our third pillar, the product. We take a unique customer-centric approach that has allowed us to implement our technology and build a valuable product our customers can utilize efficiently. The operational experience we have gained over 7 years and 10,000 loads has enabled us to understand our customers' needs and build our products accordingly. For example, we developed our quick swap sensor pods after hearing from our customers about the importance of our hardware fitting into existing maintenance processes. Additionally, our driverless deployment with Atlas in the Permian has helped us pressure test core product features, including launching, driving, landing and maintaining driverless vehicles. We see this generating a flywheel effect, allowing us to leverage these features and our learnings across long-haul and defense deployments. As we have already discussed, the Kodiak driver operates on highways, local streets, dirt roads and off-road environments. This generalization enables seamless operations and shared learnings across industries. I'd like to address our unique experience and opportunity in each of these verticals. Kodiak started its journey with long-haul trucking, and this continues to be our primary focus. Given the trucking industry's $4 trillion global TAM, we see tremendous opportunity in this vertical. Today, we get paid to deliver freight from our Dallas operations hub to Houston, Oklahoma City and Atlanta using our own trucking fleet with a safety driver. Our highly respected customers include J.B. Hunt, Werner, C.R. England and Martin Brower. We also see a robust pipeline of customers interested in piloting and eventually deploying The Kodiak Driver in their fleets. We continue to make meaningful progress towards our goal of launching driverless operations in the long-haul vertical in the second half of next year and expect to subsequently transition our long-haul customers to our DaaS business model. The industrial trucking vertical, where we deployed our first driverless trucks includes oil and gas, mineral transportation and logging transportation. The $68 billion global industrial market is an ideal use case for our technology. Operators in remote industrial locations face even greater difficulties recruiting and retaining drivers than long-haul carriers, meaning that autonomy can offer significant cost savings and operational efficiencies. As I mentioned previously, The Kodiak Driver's technology is well designed to work in unstructured industrial environments where we see many challenging scenarios that are less common in long-haul trucking. These include oncoming traffic, narrow uneven roads, frequent pedestrians and the occasional count. We believe that this versatility sets The Kodiak Driver's AV capabilities ahead of the competition. In addition to being a significant revenue opportunity, our industrial trucking deployment in the Permian helps us mature The Kodiak Driver across all 3 of our strategic pillars. The Permian is a literal and figurative sandbox for honing our technology, our safety case and product, enabling a flywheel that is already accelerating our ability to implement our technology across verticals. The unstructured driving environment of the Permian produces more unusual edge cases compared to structured highway driving, progressing the technology through rapid learning and challenging the system. We've also gained significant product experience integrating into our customers' transportation management systems and developed processes for managing vehicle maintenance with operations personnel on the ground. We've been delivering loads with no human in the vehicle in some of the toughest weather conditions in trucking, including dust storms. This experience will enable us to provide greater value to our long-haul customers. Lastly, we're focused on adapting our virtual driver for defense purposes. The current administration has adopted a supportive posture for autonomous technology and defense use cases mirror long-haul and industrial trucking with both on-road and off-road operations. We have proven experience in defense exemplified by our $30 million contract with the U.S. Army, which we completed work on earlier in 2025. The need for autonomy and defense applications is obvious. And ultimately, we believe autonomy will be integrated into the entire Pentagon vehicle fleet. We believe Congress and the military support investments in autonomy, though the government shutdown has caused some short-term uncertainty around contracting timing. We will continue to pursue opportunities in this space going into 2026. Now turning to our Q3 results. We are pleased with our strong performance in Q3. During the third quarter, we deployed the Kodiak driver in an additional 5 trucks owned by our customer, Atlas Energy Solutions. We are now generating recurring gas revenue on a total of 10 driverless trucks equipped with the Kodiak driver, a 100% increase over Q2. As we move into 2026, we expect to accelerate our deployment as we seek to fulfill Atlas's initial order of 100 Kodiak-equipped trucks. We have also completed over 5,200 cumulative hours of paid driverless operations, which represents a 166% increase from the end of Q2. We view this as a key metric to measure the progress of an autonomous company regardless of the specific use case. Additionally, we have driven over 3 million autonomous miles and delivered over 10,000 loads for our customers, a 21% increase in cumulative deliveries over Q2. I'd like to address our recent progress by pillar. First, the technology pillar. At the beginning of Q4, we issued a new software release that, among other improvements, includes new features that allow us to reduce the need for remote assistance by 53%. This reduction in turn, improves our ability to scale our solution. Another feature included in this new software release is a new component of our perception system that leverages generative AI-based vision language models to identify and address novel complex edge case scenarios that are rare in the real world. We believe combining our proprietary multimodal AI perception model, Giga FusionNet, with these new high-level reasoning capabilities sets a new standard for physical AI. Using this new technology, The Kodiak Driver's AI can now identify scenarios like flooded roads and car fires, rare scenarios that can be a challenge for more traditional perception techniques. This new feature allows us to better handle the long tail of complex etch cases and gives us further confidence as we move down the path towards our long-haul driverless deployment. In Q3, we announced that we have integrated NXP's ISO 26262-compliant processors and interfaces into the architecture that powers The Kodiak Driver. The addition of NXP's automotive solutions have improved The Kodiak Driver's reliability and robustness while helping us to improve vehicle uptime. Last week, we announced an expanded partnership with global Tier 1 automotive supplier, ZF. Through this expanded partnership, we purchased steering systems with redundant components for 100 Kodiak-equipped trucks. These redundant steering components are critical to ensuring our ability to safely scale The Kodiak Driver. On the safety side, we were proud to announce the results of an evaluation by Nauto, a leader in AI-powered fleet safety technology. Kodiak received the highest VERA safety score among over 1,000 fleets in Nauto's network. In fact, The Kodiak Driver received a perfect score of 100 in 3 out of 4 Nauto VERA score categories and in 95 in the fourth. We believe independent safety evaluations like Nauto's help to validate what we already know. The Kodiak Driver is already among the safest drivers on American highways. Lastly, I'd like to address the product pillar. As we've discussed earlier, we continue to execute on the upfitting strategy we first articulated years ago. In Q3, Roush launched a dedicated manufacturing line to upfit trucks with Kodiak's hardware kit. With the Roush-built trucks already rolling off the line, we believe we have further solidified a leading position in building driverless trucks at scale. We also continue to strengthen our OEM relationships over the course of the quarter, and we'll continue to prioritize building those relationships. Additionally, we added the ability to haul 2 trailers at the same time. Pulling doubles, as it's called in trucking, is difficult for even highly skilled human drivers. In addition to extra length, the second trailer complicates every turn. This makes maneuvering extremely difficult. Pulling doubles is even more difficult in the Permian, which features rugged landscapes with narrow windy roads, and we achieved a significant technical milestone ahead of schedule. We also saw significant regulatory progress in Q3 and the early days of Q4. I'd like to highlight one item in particular. In early October, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a waiver that allows AV truck operators to use flashing warning beacons as a replacement for reflective warning triangles. We integrated these warning beacons into our very first driverless-ready truck back in 2024. We are thankful for the administration support, and we want to thank them for their leadership on this issue. Finally, over the past few months, we made tremendous progress as we prepared Kodiak to operate as a public company. We are incredibly excited for this next chapter and look forward to sharing more updates on our next earnings call. I am proud of what we have accomplished thus far and believe we are well positioned for growth. In summary, Q3 showed Kodiak executing across our 3 pillars: technology, safety and product, positioning us to deliver meaningful growth and durable value for customers, partners and shareholders. We are converting our progress into real commercial traction, including delivering additional Kodiak driver-powered trucks under the world's largest known driverless truck deployment. We head into 2026 with strong momentum across the long-haul, industrial and defense verticals and are continuing to move toward the launch of driverless long-haul operations while scaling our industrial business. We believe these wins will allow us to grow as we remain capital efficient, providing a path to profitability and positive free cash flow in the future. I'll conclude my remarks by extending a huge thanks to all of our Kodiakers. The progress we have made is a reflection of your hard work, and I look forward to accomplishing even more with you in the future. Surajit, over to you. Surajit Datta: Thank you, Don, and good afternoon, everyone. I am pleased to share Kodiak's financial results for the third quarter of 2025, our first as a public company. This quarter marks an important milestone for Kodiak as we continue to successfully execute on our mission to accelerate adoption and commercialization of autonomous technology in a safe and reliable way. From a financial perspective, we are committed to delivering consistent value and building on the strong foundation already in place. We see potential for significant long-term growth, scale and operating leverage. We delivered strong performance, demonstrating our ability to scale and grow the business. We also continue to focus on deploying capital efficiently, most notably by partnering with leaders in the AV and trucking ecosystems. This allows us to focus on our core competency of developing advanced AI-powered autonomy software. Revenue for the third quarter was $0.8 million. This represents a 53% growth over the prior quarter, primarily driven by increase in Driver-as-a-Service revenue generated by our 100% quarter-over-quarter growth in customer-owned and operated driverless trucks. Let me take a moment to further explain our DaaS revenue model. Under this model, we charge our customers a single composite license fee to use The Kodiak Driver AV hardware and AI-powered autonomy software. We charge this fee on either a per vehicle or a per mile basis. This flexible pricing model is designed to align with our customers' diverse operational models. The DaaS model allows us to build predictable recurring revenue under multiyear contracts. We have already implemented the DaaS model with Atlas. In our long-haul operations, our customers currently pay us to deliver freight on Kodiak-owned autonomous trucks. We plan to transition our long-haul customers to the DaaS model once we commence our long-haul driverless operations. By integrating the Kodiak driver into customer-owned fleets, we expect to continue to build an asset-light business that scales with our customers' growth while limiting our CapEx outlay. Now turning back to the financials. GAAP operating loss for the third quarter was $30 million. Non-GAAP operating loss for the quarter, which excludes stock-based compensation, totaled $24.7 million, primarily due to continued investment in R&D and operational support for our industrial deployment. For a reconciliation of non-GAAP metrics to GAAP, please see our earnings release, which we filed prior to the call. We also incurred capital expenditures of $6.6 million, primarily to purchase AV components that we deploy on our customers' trucks. Free cash flow for the quarter was negative $40 million. This included high single-digit millions of onetime payments and public company-related costs. We ended the quarter with $146.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, including the proceeds raised as part of the de-SPAC transaction, net of fees and expenses. Turning to guidance of Q4 of fiscal year 2025. We expect to end 2025 with customer-owned and operated driverless trucks in the mid- to high teens. Q4 FY '25 free cash flow is expected to be in the range of negative $36 million to negative $38 million as we continue to invest in R&D and incur capital expenditures to purchase and deploy AV hardware on customer-owned trucks. Over the next few quarters, we expect to continue to deploy The Kodiak Driver to meet our initial contractual commitment of 100 customer-owned driverless trucks with Atlas. This is expected to drive meaningful increase in quarter-over-quarter revenue. As we look ahead, we expect our capital needs to be primarily driven by 4 factors: R&D investments, including safety validation, costs associated with scaling industrial commercialization, strategic initiatives to lower AV unit hardware expenditures and public company costs. We expect that these capital needs will be partially offset by increases in DaaS revenue as well as improvements in operating leverage from scale and efficiencies. We plan to provide more detailed guidance for fiscal year 2026 as a part of our Q4 FY 2025 earnings call. We'll opportunistically seek additional financing options to strengthen our liquidity and support the next phase of growth, particularly as we build out our customer pipeline and launch driverless commercial long-haul operations in the second half of fiscal 2026. Our financial priorities remain consistent with our strategic goals that Don had laid out earlier. We want to, first, grow Driver-as-a-Service revenue with existing and new industrial and long-haul customers to build a durable recurring high-margin business model over time. Second, invest prudently in technology, safety cases and commercial readiness to launch long-haul driverless operations in the second half of fiscal 2026. Third, implement scale and cost efficiencies into our capital-light model to achieve profitability and positive free cash flow over time. Lastly, maintain a strong balance sheet and enhance liquidity through disciplined capital planning and opportunistic financing. In summary, Kodiak is entering its next chapter with a strong foundation. Our momentum, technology leadership and competitive position remains strong, and we are delivering high growth with focus on improving operating leverage. We are executing with fiscal discipline and transparency as we build long-term value for our customers, partners, employees and shareholders. I want to thank you all for attending our first earnings call and for starting this journey as a public company with us. Operator, can you please open the line for questions? Thank you. Operator: [Operator Instructions]. Our first question comes from the line of Michael Ward of Citigroup. Michael Ward: Don, I wonder if you could talk a bit more about the ZF partnership that seems intriguing. How exactly is that going to work? Is it a supply relationship, development relationship? How is that going to work? Don Burnette: Thanks, Mike. The ZF relationship is primarily a supplier relationship. ZF, as you know, is one of the leading suppliers of steering columns and automotive components in general to the commercial trucking market. We have a long-standing relationship with them and use their components in our driverless trucks today. And this announcement further solidifies the partnership between Kodiak and ZF as we intend to scale our solution going into 2026. Michael Ward: That's a great. It's a great company. Surajit, as you look at the fourth quarter, it seems like your annualized run rate at year-end is going to be somewhere in that $5 million range just from the Atlas relationship. Is that about right? Surajit Datta: We expect meaningful growth in revenue. So Q4, as we have guided, we will be into... Michael Ward: As you exit -- as you exit, is that what we're talking about in that $5 million range for the annualized run rate? Surajit Datta: Yes. I think that could be close to that number. Michael Ward: Okay. And then from what I can tell, your cash burn was about $35 million, you had some unusual there in 3Q. So about $35 million a quarter, that's about right? Surajit Datta: In Q3, we had some high single-digit millions of onetime costs and public company-related costs. So we have guided for Q4 for free cash flow to be negative $36 million to negative $38 million. Michael Ward: Perfect. Okay. And just one last one, if I could, is I think you're on track to get to that 100-unit agreement with Atlas by the end of '26. That's your current target? Surajit Datta: Yes, that's our target. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Andres Sheppard of Cantor Fitzgerald. Andres Sheppard-Slinger: Congrats on all the great progress and congrats on the first public quarter. Certainly, incredible achievement. Don, I wanted to maybe touch on the long-haul operations that you're targeting to launch in the second half of next year. Can you maybe help us understand what is needed between now and then between that, I guess, 78% and 100%. Anything that you can point that we should be focusing on? And how confident are you in that target? Don Burnette: Thanks, Andres. Yes, we're excited to finally come out with some tracking metrics around our progress toward long haul. We've been talking about this for the last several quarters, and we wanted to be able to provide the market with some visibility and transparency into our development process. The arm is effectively a measure of the material completeness of our safety case. And as you know, we don't launch a driverless product until our safety case is complete. Most of the work from here forward involves a lot of validation and testing of the system that includes simulation, that includes structured testing and other forms of testing validation as we build up to that launch. And so we'll be providing more detail along the way. For now, this is our first data point as we progress, but you should expect to see quarter-over-quarter improvement as we move toward our expected driverless launch in the second half of 2026, and we feel reasonably confident that, that is an accurate time line. Andres Sheppard-Slinger: Wonderful. That's super helpful. I appreciate all that color. And maybe just as one follow-up. A question on liquidity. So with roughly $150 million in cash and equivalents now, how are you thinking about kind of capital needs going forward? I realize you're not guiding cash burn going forward, but how should we think about that liquidity and any potential additional capital needs? Surajit Datta: Thanks for the question. This is Surajit here. I'll jump in here. As you see as a part of the de-SPAC transaction, which you just concluded, we had the largest capital raise in the history of the company, demonstrating our ability to raise across the capital structure and across several investors. And we feel excited about our momentum and the tremendous progress we are making in deploying our technology and scaling the business. So as we scale this business over both industrial and long haul, we should be able to also drive significant operating leverage and reduce our [ BOM ] cost. So we feel confident that as we execute on this strategy, we will be opportunistically seeking additional financings to strengthen our liquidity over the next 12 months, support the next phase of growth and execute against our road map. So we feel confident we're raising that additional capital for the next few quarters. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of James Mcilree of Chardan Capital Markets. James McIlree: When you think about the second half entry into the long-haul market relative to the ARM measure, do you need to be at 100% for some period of time before you can enter the market? Or can you enter the market with a sub 100% again, you have to have it at some period of time. I'm just curious how that -- how you're using ARM as a gating factor to the long-haul entry. Don Burnette: Thanks, Jim, for the question. We -- there's no specified period of time. It's more of a minimum requirement. So yes, we would need to get to 100% on the readiness measure in order to feel comfortable that we have closed out the safety case for launching our driverless product. That being said, there's no specified amount of time between getting to 100 and actually doing the first driverless run, so to speak. And so it's a little bit premature and early to kind of talk about specifics at that sign of a granularity. And so what I would say is we're shooting for the second half of next year. And as we get closer to that moment, we should be able to provide additional clarity and more certainty around the timing of when we actually do our first deliveries. James McIlree: That's very helpful. And then as far as customer additions are concerned, is it more likely that you enter the long-haul market before getting another industrial customer? Or is it the opposite that it's more likely to get another industrial customer first? Don Burnette: Well, we're dual tracking that. We're continuing to push to build our industrial business. As we talked about in our remarks earlier, we feel really good about growing that vertical. We have a great customer in Atlas, and this is really a crawl, walk, run approach to deploying autonomy. This is a safety-critical technology. We want to make sure that it's rightsized for our customers as our customers are learning with us. There's a lot in the product pillar that goes into actually efficiently deploying this product. And you can't just dump hundreds or thousands of vehicles on a customer overnight and expect them to be able to efficiently operate those vehicles to provide a useful benefit. And so there's a learning process as we go through this customer development, and that's really where we talked about the flywheel earlier on. And so we are looking to pick up additional industrial customers, and we'll have more on that as we continue to move through the quarters. At the same time, the team, especially the R&D team, the systems engineering team and our validation team are working really hard to get the truck to the appropriate level of safety for deploying driverless. And so I think it's really a dual track multipronged effort. Those are parallel efforts. I think the goal would be to announce additional customers in both of those verticals along the way. I can't really say exactly to what time frame one would come before the other. These are both top issues. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Itay Michaeli of TD Cowen. Alright. We move to our next question, next question comes from the line of Mike Latimore of Northland Capital Markets. Mike Latimore: Congrats on the first call here and doubling the units in the quarter. That's great. I think Nauto's score was very positive. Can you leverage that? Are you leveraging that for marketing purposes after new prospects? And can that be helpful even, I don't know, in keeping insurance costs down? Don Burnette: Well, when you talk about new technology, especially within the safety -- safety critical realm like automotive driving, credibility and trust needs to be built over time. And we feel that the Nauto results really speaks to the safety of our system, especially as it compares to human driving. And that's one of those big question marks that people have had for many years, even over decades is how do these vehicles drive relative to existing humans, not just from a crash or accident percentage perspective, but what is the behavior by which they drive. And the exciting thing for us is I think this really demonstrates that not only are these vehicles not getting into accidents, which is kind of like your high-level metric, but they're also driving in a responsible, defensive and safe way. And that leads to better safety overall on our roadways. It also improves traffic and congestion. And so that's something that we think is really important as we deploy this technology more broadly and start to scale it. We want to be good citizens, not only to our customers, but also to the general motoring public. And this result simply speaks to the trustworthiness of the system for folks that don't have direct visibility into the system. Now how does that help Kodiak, of course, from a marketing perspective, but it helps from a regulatory perspective when we talk to regulators, they can get a sense for, hey, I have never seen this in action, and it's far away from where I drive day-to-day, but I can see that the score comprise over 1,000 fleets actually, they are the safest on the road. Same with our customers, right? We can take this data to our customers and show them not just 1 or 2 or 3 trucks, but we can say over the course of our entire operations of our fleet, we're actually behaving as safely and safer than human drivers on the road. And I think that really speaks to the credibility and trustworthiness of the system as a whole. Mike Latimore: Great. Obviously, a lot of focus on industrial and long haul. In the government vertical, a ton of focus just across the board on autonomous systems, whether it's in air, on sea, on the ground. Can you give a little more context or color around opportunities you might see in the government vertical? Don Burnette: Yes. It's been tricky as of late with the government shutdown, as we mentioned in our remarks. We still remain convicted that the defense vertical is a large opportunity for autonomy. The Secretary of Defense actually just made some remarks emphasizing the importance of contested logistics and actually prioritizing commercial solutions within the Army and other branches adoption of autonomy. We think this is the right approach, and we think that Kodiak has, we believe, the most mature, commercially viable autonomy solution that can be applied to defense applications. And of course, as you've seen, we've demonstrated that several times over across multiple vehicles in multiple different environments with our Ford F-150s and the versatility they bring, but also the Textron Systems RIPSAW platform, which is a fully threaded vehicle. We really demonstrated the ability to bring that commercial maturity into the defense market. And we believe that, that's what the defense market is ultimately looking for as they want to scale and productize this technology. So we remain very bullish in defense applications. It's an interesting world in the government space right now, but we think 2026 is going to be an exciting year. So I would say stay tuned for more. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Ravi Shanker of Morgan Stanley. Nancy Hipp: This is Nancy Hipp on for Ravi Shanker. It would be helpful to hear a bit about how you're managing adverse weather, extreme environments or edge case scenarios in your autonomous system and how big a risk those are to scaling? I know you had a GenAI system to identify sort of these novel edge cases, but it would be helpful to hear more on that as you approach the on-highway launch in 2026. Don Burnette: Sure. Well, in our -- I'll use an example, our industrial launch back in 2024. So we delivered 2 -- the first 2 driverless trucks in December of 2024 and very quickly got those trucks to a level where they were capable of operating, firstly, around the clock, so 24/7, which is important to our customer, Atlas, which is a 24/7 operation, but also importantly, in adverse weather conditions. And so this has been something that The Kodiak Driver has already been able to handle for several quarters now in a driverless fashion. And so we expect to be able to bring those capabilities ultimately over to the highway environment when we first launch our driverless product in the second half of next year. So yes, the team is definitely working on validating those capabilities for highway. That is all encapsulated in our safety case, which, as we said, we're now at 78% on our readiness measure. And so we have already experienced and importantly, our AI system has experienced an adverse weather already. Nancy Hipp: Got it. That's very helpful. And then maybe for my second question, it would be helpful to hear about feedback you're receiving from your current partners after the launch with Atlas. And sort of how do you see that decision-making cycle for customers to go from initial discussions to adopting driverless trucks into a pilot to eventually scaling? Don Burnette: I think it's been an interesting journey, and the answer to that question has evolved quite a bit over the last decade, last several years and then to where we are today at the end of 2025. Our sense is that customers and the market broadly is excited about driverless deployment. It's more of a when can we get our hands on it as opposed to one of skepticism, which was not always true. If you go back several years, there was a lot of skeptical prospective carriers and truckload operators out there. These days, we don't -- we don't get as much skepticism. I think people realize that autonomy is the future of transportation broadly. That's true in the commercial market. That's true in the private vehicle market. And certainly, it's our belief at Kodiak that automation will make all the transportation modalities more efficient and safer over time. And of course, customers want to take advantage of that. They recognize that there's first-mover advantage and they want to move quickly. And of course, we want to be able to deliver a safe and efficient solution to them. More importantly, not just a safe solution, but one that they can actually utilize and hopefully utilize out of the gate. And again, this is where that flywheel effect comes in. Yes, we have an industrial application launched today, which is in a different domain than highway, but the customer interactions are largely the same for what we will bring to our over-the-road highway customers when we do eventually launch that product. And those are learnings that you can't really get other than doing -- and we think that this flywheel is going to accelerate our progress as we begin to scale our highway deployment. So I think customers are excited for it. I think they're waiting patiently to get their hands on the first driverless trucks that they can, and we hope to be the leading provider of those solutions for the customers broadly. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of [indiscernible]. Unknown Analyst: On those routes in Dallas, as you kind of prove out the safety case, Aurora, when they were proving out their safety case, I guess, got some pushback from their partner, PACCAR. Just curious if that's a risk scenario where you prove out your safety case, but the partner doesn't want it. And is there -- I'm going to extend that. I think you had mentioned kind of J.B. Hunt there as well. Do they have any saying this? Do they care? I mean I assume they're just -- if you're just delivering goods from one point to another, they shouldn't care, but who knows maybe they don't want the brand subjected to that risk. So if you can just talk about kind of who needs to sign off, if anyone, for you to go driver out on those trips from Dallas? Don Burnette: Thanks, Walter. It's a great question. I think there's like the legal sense of the question, who needs to legally sign off and then from a trustworthiness and good partnership perspective, there's who do you want to bring along. Our philosophy is we've always built our technology to be platform agnostic. We've shown that we can develop The Kodiak Driver and implement The Kodiak Driver across many different makes, models and form factors of vehicles. This gives us flexibility. So we haven't announced the platform that we will be using for our initial highway deployment. I think you asked, is this a risk? Everything is a risk. I would definitely say it's a risk. At the same time, we think building the right relationships and the safety of the technology in the right way and bringing people along, including them in the process is the right way to approach business. And so we think we have a path forward to deploy driverless vehicles without a driver and without an observer in the cab, and that's something that we definitely intend to do. But for sure, building trust with our partners is paramount in that process. Unknown Analyst: And then just kind of sticking with that partnership question, I guess. You've elected to upfit, right? And obviously, you've generated $800,000 of revenue. I think Aurora's revenue is like $1 million, so not even that much difference in the current quarter. I'm just curious like at what point, if at all, do you -- is it important to be integrated off the line, that type of stuff? I mean I know it's still early days, not a '26, not a '27, like do we just not worry about this or not consider this for some extended period of time? Or are there things in the works that you have planned for, I don't know, '27 or '28? Don Burnette: I don't think it's important to draw a line in the sand and pick a date like a switchover date. I don't think that's the right way to think about it. I think the right way to think about it is in terms of rollout and scale. In a lot of my conversations, there's this sense that thousands or even tens of thousands of autonomous trucks are going to fall from the sky and end up on our [ roadways ]. We're going to wake up on Monday morning and tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles are going to be out on the road. And we don't really think that's true. There's a progression to rolling this out, both from a safety, efficiency and operational perspective. And our current approach, we believe, scales into many, many thousands of trucks, which should be sufficient for the foreseeable future, short to medium term. And then -- that also depends on the development cycles for partners, OEMs and other providers within the autonomy space. And we don't control those time lines and something that I've said for a very long time is that I don't want to be beholden to time lines of other companies. I want to be able to take charge and control our own destiny. I think that's something that Kodiak has really done well, and we've executed on. We will continue to follow that philosophy over the next several years. We want to make sure that we have a product that we can deliver to customers when we are ready to deliver that product. And ultimately, when the ecosystem matures and when suppliers are ready, I think you're going to see access to broader scale, not just for Kodiak, but for the industry at large. And so I don't really think of it as a black or white or a line in the sand or a date on the calendar. It will come. It is a gradual progression. We are working hand-in-hand with suppliers, both on the Tier 1 side and the OEM side. We're tracking progress. They're tracking our progress. And so it's not something that we're losing sleep over, and we feel like the position we're in with the experience we've gained now developing an upfit solution and with our partner, Roush, that we've set ourselves up for success in the next coming years. Operator: Our last question comes from the line of Itay Michaeli of TD Cowen. Itay Michaeli: Can you hear me? Don Burnette: Yes, sir. We can. Itay Michaeli: Perfect. Sorry about before. Congrats on the first earnings call. So going back to the 78% long-haul arm, Don, I was hoping you could maybe share roughly where that metric was maybe 3, 6, 12 months ago. And then on the OTA that you did that reduced the remote assistance by over 50%, curious if you could talk a bit more about that as well and kind of what are some of the issues that were resolved with that update? Don Burnette: Yes, absolutely. Thanks for the question, Itay. I'm glad that we cleared up the mic issue. So we don't have any numbers, historical numbers to share, unfortunately. This is our first data point. And of course, we will share updated data points going into the future, so you can see the trends. So unfortunately, I don't have a number to share on the historical aspect of that. Obviously, over the first several quarters of the year, we were focused very hard on delivering additional driverless trucks to Atlas and really perfecting the operation of those vehicles in that environment. And as we turn our focus to highway and our highway customers over the course of 2026, we'll have a lot more updates for you as we go. In terms of the improvement, this is incredibly exciting because efficiency is ultimately what will drive margins. And while all autonomous vehicles today require some type of remote support in certain circumstances, remote assistance in certain circumstances. It is our job as R&D developers to drive down the moments that any kind of assistance is required. So there's no specific instances I can point to or specific cases. But you can imagine that these trucks are very conservative, and they often will come to a stop if they see something they're not sure about. There's a lot of potholes that are present in the Permian. And often our truck will stop and ask human assistance for confirmation that they can continue or should they drive around it or is it safe? And ultimately, we want that conservative behavior in our trucks. But as we improve the technology, as our AI improves, as our foundation model work improves, the scene understanding, and we gave several examples of these in our deck, our scene understanding improves dramatically. The trucks can start to handle those cases on their own, and they need to call for human support less and less. And so we've actually reduced that, as we said, over 50% in the last quarter, and that's a huge, huge win and a sign that the technology is accelerating very, very quickly, and we expect that type of acceleration to continue. Itay Michaeli: That's great and good to see the progress there. Maybe just a quick follow-up on the financials. Of the roughly $6.5 million of CapEx in the quarter, can you share roughly how much of that is for purchase for soon-to-be-delivered trucks versus kind of in-period delivered trucks? Surajit Datta: Thanks. It's a great question. Most of the CapEx is for future deployment as we need some lead time to acquire -- purchase the -- purchase the AV hardware components and then get it assembled. So most of that relates to the future deployment and ramp, what I would call it like success-based. So as we plan out the deployment for each quarter, we tend to make those purchases. But it's not exactly linear as well. Sometimes we may make some bulk purchases if the pricing is attractive or if there are potential tariff situations. So we look at that as well. Operator: Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, this concludes Kodiak's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Thank you for participating. You may now...
Operator: Good morning, and welcome to the McGraw Hill, Inc., Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call for the Quarter ended September 30, 2025. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, today's call is being recorded, and a written transcript will be made available in the Events and Presentations section of the company's Investor Relations website. A webcast replay of today's call will also be made available on the company's Investor Relations website. Following the prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions. I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Danielle Kloeblen, Treasurer and Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Danielle. Danielle Kloeblen: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to McGraw-Hill's Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Results. Joining me today are Simon Allen, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Bob Sallmann, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. During this call, we will be making forward-looking statements about the company. These statements are based on our current expectations and the current economic environment. Forward-looking statements, estimates and projections are inherently subject to significant economic, competitive, regulatory and other uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of management. These forward-looking statements are also subject to the cautionary statement that is included in our earnings release and the investor presentation. These are further detailed in our 10-Q and other filings with the SEC. Important assumptions and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are specified in our earnings release issued today as well as in our SEC filings. We will also refer to certain non-GAAP measures today. We believe that these measures provide useful supplemental data that, while not a substitute for GAAP measures, allow for greater transparency in the review of our financial and operational performance. In the earnings press release and the appendix of the investor presentation as well as supplemental files on the Investor Relations website, you can find a definition of these non-GAAP measures and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. For those who listen to the recording of this call, we remind you that the remarks made herein are as of today, November 12, 2025, and have not been subsequently updated. With that, I'll turn the call over to our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Simon Allen. Simon Allen: Thank you, Danielle, and good morning, everyone. McGraw Hill continues to shape education through innovation and AI-driven technology that personalizes learning experiences at scale, driving deeper engagement and better outcomes. Fiscal second quarter results exceeded expectations, showcasing strength, resilience and the scale of our diverse portfolio, which serves the learning life cycle during the pivotal back-to-school season. This strength was underscored by fiscal Q2 revenue, which reached $669 million, our second best performance for this quarter in a decade despite a 2.8% year-over-year decline due to the anticipated smaller K-12 market. Reoccurring revenue grew 6.5% year-over-year to $422 million or 63% of total revenue, underscoring the strength of our subscription-based model. Digital revenue increased 7.6% year-over-year to $352 million, representing 53% of total revenue. In particular, our Higher Education business delivered exceptional results. Revenue expanded 14% year-over-year, while digital revenue grew 18.4% due to continued market share gains, Inclusive Access growth, enrollment favorability and realizing value-based pricing. Our trailing 12-month market share rose 160 basis points to 30% according to MPI data. The Evergreen content delivery model now available across more than 700 leading titles continues to resonate, reflected in a record high NPS score during the fall semester. The K-12 selling season met our expectations with continued solid performance despite the smaller market opportunity. Reoccurring revenue grew 3% year-over-year with share gains in Core Science, ELA and Math. Early momentum is building for ALEKS Adventure, our Supplemental Math offering for K3 students, positioning us for growth beyond the Core ahead of the major California Math opportunity in fiscal year 2027. We're already seeing positive early indicators for California Math with 2 large deals booked in fiscal year 2026. Our team also continued to deliver compelling profitability. Adjusted EBITDA reached $286 million in Q2, yielding a margin of 43%, up 60 basis points year-over-year. This reflects strong operating leverage and an expanding digital mix amid reinvestments that is enabling an exceptional pace of innovation. Our strategy, combined with our execution and forward visibility, gives us confidence to raise fiscal year 2026 guidance across the board, which Bob will detail shortly. At McGraw Hill, we focus on solutions that demonstrate proven efficacy. By integrating high-quality proprietary content with actionable student data and thoughtful pedagogy, we deliver meaningful learner outcomes. Having leveraged machine learning for over 2 decades, our AI philosophy centers on saving educators' time, strengthening student teacher relationships and personalizing learning. Our multilayered moat is built upon 3 elements. Firstly, our intellectual property. With 137 years of trusted content developed alongside our authors and more than 50 Nobel Laureates, our pedagogical-driven approach is held to the highest standards. Secondly, our proprietary data. We possess a deep understanding of the learning journey fueled by billions of student interactions across millions of digital users annually. Our solutions deliver structured learning progression through real-time insights and feedback built on evidence rather than prediction alone. And thirdly, our domain expertise. We have decades of experience helping educators and institutions integrate digital tools into curriculum. Our workforce, including former educators and technology experts, ensures solutions are grounded in pedagogy and structured learning methods that reflect classroom realities. Along with strong relationships, a trusted brand and a robust distribution network, this moat forms the foundation that allows us to deploy AI effectively across learning environments. While large language models serve as valuable information tools, education demands a structured learning progression supported by continuous student interaction and data to ensure true comprehension over memorization. Educators see us as a trusted partner, reflected in a recent survey we commissioned through Morning Consult with K-12 teachers and administrators ranking McGraw Hill as the education company using AI most effectively in its products. Helping teachers harness the power of AI to address specific student needs differentiates McGraw Hill from emerging AI-first entrants. Consider the student who is falling behind in math. Our AI-powered Supplemental solution, ALEKS, which spans K-12 through Higher Education, uses machine learning to pinpoint knowledge gaps and deliver targeted content. It helps improve pass rates by 20% according to a recent Clemson University case study. ALEKS Adventure is our recent addition for K3 Math, which is gaining traction. We are also optimistic about the global launch of ALEKS Calculus, unlocking $100 million in TAM. Now consider the fifth grade teacher struggling with administrative tasks and lesson plans. McGraw Hill Plus simplifies workloads and provides real-time insights into student proficiency, enabling targeted instruction. Available in math in 10 states with 2 more states coming online next fiscal year, we experienced a 67% increase in the number of districts that accessed McGraw Hill Plus this school year alone, along with rising utilization rates. ALEKS and McGraw Hill Plus are primed to expand in the multibillion-dollar Supplemental and Intervention market, where we hold only 5% share today. We remain very enthusiastic about Gen AI and continue embedding it into our solutions to enhance learning experiences and to support educators. AI Reader is a prime example of how we scaled a proven tool across our portfolio. Launched last spring, AI Reader encourages Higher Education students to actively engage with content until concepts are fully understood. 1 million students are engaging with the tool and 11 million learning interactions were generated in Q2 alone and accelerating. During back-to-school 2025, we expanded AI Reader, embedding the tool in 600-plus Connect titles as well as within our First Aid Forward solution for medical students. Additionally, we recently introduced 4 exciting new AI-powered solutions to enhance our portfolio. Firstly, Sharpen Advantage transforms our popular college student study app into an AI-powered enterprise solution focused on academic success through real-time faculty dashboards to track progress, address learning gaps and create personalized learning study experiences. Underpinned by our content, Sharpen Advantage offers a responsible alternative to generic chatbots institutions can trust, unlocking significant growth opportunities beyond our Core. Secondly, clinical reasoning leverages our evidence-based content and introduces virtual patient interactions to prepare medical students for real-world clinical care, positioning us for incremental digital growth. Thirdly, Writing Assistant provides real-time personalized feedback to students, fostering skill development through self-checking and self-correction. We recorded over 130,000 interactions across 877 unique school districts nationwide in October alone. Fourthly and finally, Teacher Assistant gives K-12 teachers instant planning support, reducing prep time. It's currently available for California Math with the nationwide rollout to follow. We believe our writing and teaching assistant capabilities will enhance market share and retention, particularly in the larger upcoming K-12 market opportunity. In closing, we believe that our momentum is undeniable. Our market share is growing, user engagement is accelerating and our reoccurring revenue mix is expanding. Our business remains resilient with no significant impact from tariffs or proposed federal education policy changes. As you know, the vast majority of funding comes at the state and local levels with an immaterial portion of K-12 budgets tied to course materials. Now I'll turn the call over to Bob to discuss our financial performance. Robert Sallmann: Thank you, Simon. Good morning, everyone. Our fiscal second quarter results demonstrate the strength, scale and diversity of our business. We are delivering on our financial priorities, which are disciplined execution, reinvestment to fuel growth and continued gross debt reduction. Now let's take a closer look at our fiscal Q2 financial performance. Total revenue reached $669 million, down 2.8% year-over-year due to the anticipated smaller K-12 market opportunity, which was largely offset by the strength in Higher Education. First half revenue declined just 0.5% to $1.2 billion. Reoccurring revenue increased 6.5% year-over-year to $422 million, representing 63% of our total revenue in the quarter, primarily driven by digital revenue growth of 7.6% to $352 million. Higher-margin digital contracts continue to enhance revenue quality and predictability. Our remaining performance obligation, or RPO, surpassed $1.9 billion at the end of the quarter, which provides valuable forward visibility. Gross profit margin increased nearly 150 basis points year-over-year to 79.2%, supported by efficient operations, favorable digital revenue mix and outperformance in Higher Education. Adjusted EBITDA was $286 million with a 43% margin, up 60 basis points year-over-year, driven by gross margin strength and disciplined expense management amid continued growth reinvestment. AI implementation is enhancing internal efficiency and customer experience, reducing K-12 order processing times by 27% and automating 25% of service checks while our AI-powered content creation tools delivered strong ROI, recouping its initial investment in a year with use cases expanding, which should unlock incremental margin expansion over time. Now let's dive into our business segments. In Q2, Higher Education revenue grew 14% year-over-year to $213 million in the quarter. On a year-to-date basis, revenue was $395 million, also up 14% year-over-year. Reoccurring revenue grew 13.8% to $162 million, while digital revenue expanded 18.4% to $186 million. This exceptional performance was led by market share gains of 160 basis points, reaching 30% on a trailing 12-month basis. Inclusive Access sales grew a notable 37% year-over-year. It represents over 50% of our Higher Education sales and has been adopted by nearly 2,000 campuses. The majority of Inclusive Access growth continues to come from existing customers adding new courses, demonstrating the effectiveness of cross-sell within accounts and significant expansion opportunities within the 82% of institutions served. This is supplemented by the annual onboarding of approximately 100 new universities into the program, which becomes more impactful to growth in the coming years. These new Inclusive Access relationships typically take at least 2 years to fully scale. In other words, based on recent performance, we expect the activations for accounts landed in fiscal year 2026 to increase by 15 to 20x by fiscal year 2028. This is key to supporting visibility into our future growth runway. And when combined with innovations such as Evergreen, we unlock more avenues to support retention and drive takeaway opportunities to enable incremental market share gains. This performance reflects our successful execution of investment initiatives in recent years. In addition, we captured benefits from healthy enrollment trends and value-based pricing realization. I am incredibly proud of the team's outstanding performance with their innovation and dedication yielding differentiated results. In K-12, revenue was $359 million in the quarter, down 11.2% year-over-year due to the anticipated smaller market opportunity and lapping of exceptional capture rates in the prior year. First half revenue was $630 million, down 7.3% versus prior year. Reoccurring revenue increased 2.8% to $216 million with RPO of $1.4 billion, supported by multiyear procurement cycles and upfront payments, which provide strong forward visibility and the foundation for our return to growth in K-12 in fiscal year 2027. We continue to outperform the market and retain our leadership position in Florida science. Our National Science program is driving share gains in other states, along with investments that have bolstered our go-to-market coverage, which reinforces our optimism moving forward. While the Supplemental and Intervention market is also smaller, our integration with the Core and early success with ALEKS Adventure is encouraging. Pilots generated strong momentum in South Carolina's Math adoption, showcasing share gains in the K5 market. It's worth reiterating, we anticipated the smaller market in fiscal year 2026 due to the predictable school purchasing cycles. Proposed federal education policy changes have had no material impact on our business as 90% of district revenue is funded by state and local budgets. We believe we are well positioned for fiscal year 2027 opportunities in California Math and Florida ELA, among others. And our nationwide Emerge! pilot is progressing well ahead of the large California ELA opportunity in fiscal year 2028. Global Professional revenue was $40 million in the quarter, relatively flat year-over-year, while reoccurring revenue grew 5.4% to $25 million. Strength in medical and engineering offset the exit of nonstrategic print with ongoing innovation such as the launch of clinical reasoning expected to drive incremental digital growth over time. Finally, International revenue decreased 8.8% year-over-year to $50 million in Q2, a relative improvement from the double-digit year-over-year decline in Q1. The decline in reoccurring revenue also narrowed sequentially year-over-year to 4.8%. Digital growth in select K-12 markets has partially offset softness in Canada and timing in Spain. Moving on to our balance sheet and cash flow. We ended Q2 with $463 million in cash and $913 million of liquidity with our revolving credit facility undrawn. Net leverage was 3.3x as of September 30. We generated $265 million in cash flow from operating activities in the quarter. Working capital was largely impacted by the K-12 market opportunity and prior year expense timing. In October, we prepaid $150 million in term loan principal following September's repricing that reduced our interest rate spread by 50 basis points. Year-to-date, we've prepaid $542 million in term loan debt, resulting in over $40 million in annualized cash interest savings. Our disciplined capital allocation strategy prioritizes reinvestment and debt reduction. We remain committed to a net leverage target of 2 to 2.5x and to strategic tuck-in M&A. We will pursue incremental debt reduction over the remainder of the fiscal year, leveraging cash flow from the business, which has been bolstered by cash tax savings from new tax legislation, and we'll remain opportunistic on the capital structure. Looking ahead, based on our strong first half performance, RPO visibility, sustained share gains and favorable enrollment trends, we are raising our full year guidance. We now anticipate total revenue for fiscal year 2026 in the range of $2.031 billion and $2.061 billion, reoccurring revenue ranging from $1.504 billion to $1.524 billion and adjusted EBITDA between $702 million and $722 million. Unlevered free cash flow is expected to slightly exceed the low end of the 50% to 100% adjusted EBITDA conversion range, while CapEx and product development as a percentage of revenue remains unchanged. Our Q2 tax provision was positively impacted by recent changes to federal tax policy and is expected to lower our fiscal year 2026 tax liability below the previous $30 million to $50 million range, both on a cash and GAAP basis. Finally, a few modeling items. We expect revenue seasonality trends in the back half of fiscal year 2026 to be relatively consistent with our historical average. Stock-based compensation expense is expected to be $1 million to $2 million in both the third and fourth quarters. Total interest savings are expected to be approximately $5 million in the second half of the fiscal year, and we expect approximately $6 million of debt extinguishment in Q3. For the fiscal year 2026, we expect our GAAP effective tax rate to be approximately 15% to 20% and our marginal non-GAAP cash income tax rate for the incremental changes to book income to be around 18%. We are proud of our performance and confident in our strategy. Higher Education's outperformance is notable, and we are well positioned for K-12 growth in fiscal year 2027 and beyond. Operator, let's open the call up for questions. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Your first question today comes from the line of Ryan MacDonald from Needham. Ryan MacDonald: On a great quarter. Simon, I wanted to start with Higher Ed. Clearly, an excellent performance within that segment of the business. Can you just kind of break down a little bit further for us sort of the mix of benefit from sort of enrollments? I think the data is showing about 2.4% enrollment growth for the current fall semester versus sort of execution and share gains? And then on the Inclusive Access component of that, impressive growth there. Can you just give us a sense of sort of the durability and runway for growth within Inclusive Access still? Simon Allen: Yes. Thank you, Ryan. It's good to hear from you, and thanks for a great question. And yes, we are incredibly pleased about our Higher Ed performance this quarter. I think 14% growth comes primarily in a big time way actually from taking market share. We've taken it from all our competitors. You mentioned the enrollment. I think enrollment is predicted right now. It's very early, but maybe 2%, 2.5%. We've grown massively more than that. And we're taking share from everybody. It's all around our execution. You've heard me say this so many times on these calls, but it really is true. The quality of our execution is why we win out. The product delivery, the fact that we understand what our customers need to see, how we can utilize AI and what we deliver and prove in a very efficacious way why we've done well. And then also our go-to-market teams are truly the best in the industry, in my view. And I think the performance justifies that comment when you look at, again, retention rates that are growing substantially through what we've done with our market share gains. All of the competitors that we're taking share from across every discipline on the college campus, we're seeing record NPS scores through this back-to-school period, and I think best of all, for us to now get to 30% market share. And if you remember, if you go back a decade, we were at barely 21%, 21.5%, Ryan. I mean it was way lower. We've grown now to 30%, 160 basis point growth year-on-year. And we're very proud of that. The last thing I'd say is that when we look at innovations like AI Reader, this is the product, if you remember, we launched a couple of quarters ago. And it's really proven a tremendous retention tool for us. We're seeing over -- it's actually -- I think we quoted 11 million interactions at the end of Q2. I can tell you through October, it's about 20 million now in terms of reader interactions. And we're just growing that month by month as students see the value and professors see the value of what that can give students to really help them in their class and help them succeed. So the last thing I'll say is, well, you mentioned Inclusive Access. Again, we've been telling our investors about that for the longest time. It's open to everybody. We recognize the value of it first. We continually grow every quarter our business through IA. It's a wonderful business model. And the land and expand that Bob talked about earlier is really true. This is where we're seeing the huge benefit of that. And I think when I look at the new solutions that we're creating with products like ALEKS Calculus, that's going to give us another $100 million in untapped TAM, what we've done with Sharpen and Sharpen Advantage as we look at building an institutional AI-driven product. We really are understanding what faculty want to see, how we can help them utilize AI for benefit and for absolute gain in student performance and outcomes. So let me -- Bob, let me pass on to you a bit because I know you love the Inclusive Access modeling when you look at the land and expand. So maybe you can help the final part of Ryan's question. Robert Sallmann: Sure thing. Thanks, Simon. Ryan, I also -- before I jump into that, I do want to highlight the National Student Clearinghouse data you quoted as preliminary, we've seen changes from that from our initial print to subsequent prints. So I just want to caution you that, that 2.4% you quoted is preliminary -- but within that, you should also note that the 2-year and community colleges has higher growth rates. We over-index there relative to the general market. So we're seeing enrollment slightly higher than that 2.4%, but it's worth noting that it is preliminary. And then jumping into the Inclusive Access model, we highlighted this, just the sustainability of that. We have added 100 new logos, new institutions annually. So clearly, there's a lot of runway for us to continue to land, but more impactful is that expansion. So as we land those institutions, we see 15 to 20x growth over the first couple of years. And then you'll get continuation of growth. So when we think about sustainability, lots of runway there. We're very excited about it, and we're looking forward to continuing to talk through that. Ryan MacDonald: Awesome. I really appreciate that. And maybe just a follow-up in terms of K-12. Kind of great to hear some of the commentary around California Math and in Florida as well. Can you just remind us what you're seeing with California Math and Florida ELA right now in terms of performance? And then how that -- or what sort of level of confidence that gives you as we go into, I think they call it year 1, but the second sort of tranche of that funding in fiscal '27? Simon Allen: Yes. Good question. And Ryan, apologies for the longest answer you've ever heard to Higher Ed. But thank you for bringing us into K-12, where we are equally excited about our potential. And you know and everyone knows that this year is a smaller year in K-12. What is really encouraging about FY '27 as we look ahead, and we're obviously not going to give any guidance just yet. We'll wait until the end of our fiscal year to do that. But what is really encouraging is the well-known fact of an additional $300 million TAM in that market. It's roughly 10% more in '27 than '26. And as you say, that's driven by California Math. It's also driven by Florida ELA and Texas Math. There are a bunch of different opportunities coming out for FY '27. Where we are encouraged is that we've already had good successes in California at the very earlier stages. And it's all about the suitability of our product. We have to make sure that as we create our material, we understand completely the state standards required. We make sure our pedagogical delivery of our products just fits at the right learning age range that is there. And then, of course, we're supplementing all of our Core material with McGraw Hill and of course, ALEKS that you know very well. So we're very, very bullish indeed about next year. Bob, do you have anything to add on specifically on California or Texas, for Ryan? Robert Sallmann: Yes. I think the one thing that we are excited about is being able to supplement in Supplemental/Intervention and having bundled solutions as we enter into that market. So again, as we think about that portion of our business, which represents about 15% of the K-12 revenue, we really see a nice opportunity to bundle those offerings as we walk into those opportunities next year. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Henry Hayden from Rothschild. Henry Hayden: We've seen kind of lots of concern across the sector around AI disintermediation, and we were hoping just to get some incremental color on how you would describe the competitive moats around the business or kind of in other words, what uniquely differentiates McGraw Hill's capabilities from Gen AI native new entrants? Simon Allen: Henry, thank you for the question. And just lovely to hear a familiar accent. And it's a good question because -- when you think of the issue around AI, I think there's been an enormous amount that's been underappreciated. We're just not yet recognized about McGraw Hill and our abilities to really make a difference and see AI as a massive real tailwind for our business. And we're only in -- of course, this is our second quarter earnings call, so it's new to everybody. But my hope is over the coming quarters, people recognize the real value and strength that AI gives to our business. And again, the tailwind that we're seeing, and we're seeing it across the entire part of our entire structure. When you think about what we're doing in Higher Education, we've talked a great deal about our products around AI Reader. We've talked a lot about what we've done with Sharpen Advantage, when you think about the institutional opportunity. We've talked about the ability for clinical reasoning in our medical business. And that is a significant upside for when you think about potential students learning and what they need to understand when they're going through their medical programs. And then there's ALEKS, and you've known for years that we've worked with ALEKS for now well -- really over 2 decades. And when you think about the ability for machine learning now to focus on Generative AI delivery for our Adventure for K5 as well now at the other end for ALEKS Calculus, all of these factors give us a substantial confidence. And we're seeing that in our customer reactions. We're seeing it in our financial performance, as you've heard. We're seeing it from our customers saying to us, we are using Sharpen and it is helping our students. We are seeing a massive increase in student learning and spending time on your great platform with AI Reader. Medical students are benefiting from clinical reasoning. So these are functional, efficacious products that we deliver. And because of our moat, Henry, we've got the strength of our 137 years, the trusted position that we have in the education community and really the reliability that we provide our customers with that level of trust. And they want to work with us and they want to understand how we can enhance the materials the way they teach through AI integration. So again, a long answer, but it's important to me and to all of us that I think the world at large understands just how beneficial this is for McGraw Hill because we can absolutely improve learning outcomes the way we've integrated AI. Henry Hayden: Yes. It's very helpful. And then just as a follow-up to that, we've heard from some of your peers around kind of the increased cost to store and leverage data, which has been made AI ready. How would you think about the margin outlook as data becomes a more substantial part of your offering? Simon Allen: Good question. We're beginning to measure compute cost right now. In fact, we've done that for a while. Bob, I'll pass that one over to you if you've got some additional. I know we don't exactly give too much detail, but we do have an answer, I think, to Henry. Robert Sallmann: Yes. And Henry, as we think about AI, we ultimately see this as margin expansion over time. When we've talked about the use of Scribe, which reduces our cost in certain use cases by 60% and time to market by 50%, we're able to reduce our overall cost to build product. So as we think about that cost to serve AI, we're able to offset that by driving cost reductions in our product and platform development. So we ultimately see this as margin expansion over time. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Stephen Sheldon from William Blair. Stephen Sheldon: Nice results here. Maybe I wanted to dig in a little bit more on the K-12 side. I guess, can you just provide some more color on underlying trends there and specifically how newer product traction is progressing relative to expectations as we think about ALEKS Adventure, MH Plus other things. And then just as we think about the benefit of some of these newer products, I know some are incremental revenue opportunities, but how much could they help you as you pursue some of these larger Core contracts? How much could these new product capabilities and bundling help with positioning to win those large contracts? Simon Allen: Yes, it's a good question. I'll kick off and then Bob, I'll pass to you as well to add any information that I've forgotten. But what I would say, Stephen, is that the -- and you mentioned a couple of them. The products that are making the big difference, ALEKS Adventure will give us new growth going forward. It's already beginning. It's been out about a year, give or take. McGraw Hill Plus, we've extended. It's been in 10 states. We've extended it and we're about to get into 2 more. Each one of those show substantial increase in teacher intervention and teacher activity. And the reason is that it's giving such a great level of data and detail on the student performance that teachers find very helpful. But a key part of your question is what does this do to the Core? Because you know that we're a very, very successful player in Core. The market opportunity is much bigger next year. But it isn't just that for us, the Supplemental/Intervention space where it's really 15% of our business, but we have less -- around 5% market share. That's where the real opportunity for growth comes. It's really building on the Core successes that we've enjoyed, building on with ALEKS with our Math Core adoptions, building on the ELA adoptions with Actively Learn and Achieve3000. These are the tools and then all of them integrating McGraw Hill Plus. These are the tools that give us great confidence for growth going forward to enable the market share growth to continue. Bob, you may have something else to say to that as well. Robert Sallmann: Yes. Let me add a little bit more color. So we have talked about in our prior quarter, winning in 8 of 9 markets. And so we've demonstrated that and what we're suggesting is that you'll see that over the next several years. And so what that means is while we're winning, we provide forward visibility in the next several years. These are multiyear contracts. One of the things I'll highlight is if you exclude the 3 large states, particularly Florida and Texas, where we had strong performance last year, if we exclude that and look at the remainder of the districts that we operate in, we're expanding share. We grew 200 bps. So we're winning at a greater rate. So we're winning across the market. A couple of other things that excites us. We've talked about being in 10 states for McGraw Hill Plus. Let me double-click on that and provide you some more insights as we talked about being in 10 states growing into 12, what does that really mean for our K-12 business? Again, McGraw Hill Plus is going to allow us to be very sticky over time. And so we look at it and 25% of our teachers using our Core Math products, Reveal, now have access to McGraw Hill Plus. That's nearly a 50% increase year-over-year. We've seen 4x increase in the unique users in McGraw Hill Plus year-over-year. And now we're serving over 10% districts have access to McGraw Hill Plus. So again, the importance of that is really driving that stickiness and retention over time. And then ultimately, the other big innovation we're driving is our new ELA product, Emerge! that will be coming into market, again, addressing California ELA in 2028. So again, really well positioned. The business performed and met our expectations in the period. We're really excited about how it positions us for a return to growth. Stephen Sheldon: Very helpful and good to hear. And then just as a follow-up, as we think about incremental spending plans, I guess, just given what you've seen so far this year, have your priorities changed at all where you're pushing the pedal more in certain areas of the business than others, especially as we think about product development and sales capacity across different segments. I guess just at a high level, where are you pushing the investment pedal more? Robert Sallmann: Yes. So first, let me -- at a high level, we're not going to be changing sort of the level of investment. We've highlighted that it's been 8% to 9% of our revenue. We'll continue to be at that level. Now of course, we reevaluate and redeploy where we're putting our dollars. And given some of the efficiencies that we are driving in product development, it's allowing us to accelerate the pace of investment in other areas such as some of the AI tools that we've recently released. Simon mentioned the 4 new products we brought to market. Again, the pace in which we're releasing things is allowing us to bring new products to market. But most critically, I just want to remind you that we do believe that all of this innovation will still allow us to continue to expand our margin. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Steve Koenig from Macquarie Group. Steven Koenig: And I'll offer my congratulations as well on a really good quarter. First question would be, in thinking about your outlook for the second half, maybe preface this question by asking, how did you all do kind of relative to your internal expectations in the quarter? And in terms of raising that full year guide, how much of that is related to the Q2 performance? And how much of it is related to your outlook for the back half? And any changes in your method or assumptions on your guidance? Robert Sallmann: Sure. I'll take this one, Simon. With respect to our guide in the quarter, first, noting that Q2 is the most significant quarter for our business, it provides us visibility into both enrollments, share gains and otherwise. And most importantly, in our K-12 business, it provides us the RPO that gives us that clear visibility to the rest of the year. So when we put together our guide, I'll walk you through some of the BUs that how we're thinking about it, but it's also important to note that we've narrowed the guide from prior quarter to current, meaning the revenue guide we had from high to low $60 million range, we've now narrowed that to $30 million. And then on the reoccurring and EBITDA, we were at $40 million in the prior guide. We've taken that down and narrowed our guidance to $20 million. And again, that is driven by the fact that we've moved through that seasonally important Q2 and now have greater visibility. With respect to the portions of the business that met expectations, I would say that K-12 was certainly in line with our expectations. We noted that we were having share gains. Our products are well positioned. We anticipated some of those share gains that we delivered and the overall market size being smaller is coming to in line with expectations. Where we performed slightly better, and I'll highlight that would be in Higher Education. Obviously, the share gains, we're very pleased with the continued share gains and the magnitude of those share gains and enrollment was slightly higher. And again, we talked about it on Ryan's first question about what the Clearinghouse is providing. We see it slightly above that, which is providing us a little bit of a tailwind. When I walk through for the full year, I think it's important to recognize that we have seasonality in our business. So first half being seasonally important, second half is smaller. That will then translate into a lower EBITDA margin on the lower revenue base. And then ultimately, I also think it's important to recognize that, that seasonality from first half to second half will also present itself more like fiscal year 2024 than fiscal year 2025. And it's important that I highlight that so your modeling considerations thinking about Q3 and Q4 phasing as 2025 had an outsized performance in K-12. So really anchor yourself back to 2024. And I think then as we think about that overall guide, we are very pleased with how we positioned the business and it's built on the success that we've had in forward visibility. Steven Koenig: Terrific. And if I may get in one follow-up, maybe building on the earlier question about internal investment, maybe expanding that to ask for your color more generally on your thinking on capital allocation here moving forward? Robert Sallmann: Yes. Sure. The first place that we always invest in is our organic investments. Those will always provide us with the greatest ROI. And then we remain very committed to delevering and our target of 2 to 2.5x, and that's demonstrated our commitment to this by the $150 million we paid down in October. Based on cash flow and where we see the business, there will remain an opportunity for us to further delever in the remainder of the year. We also balance that with tuck-in M&A., and the funnel today is very full. We're looking at smaller opportunities that we consider make versus buy, expanding the addressable market. We look at these opportunities. And so we think that there's a chance for us to continue to explore that, but nothing transformational at this point is in the funnel. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of George Tong from Goldman Sachs. Keen Fai Tong: You highlighted a strong capture rate performance in K-12 so far this adoption cycle. Can you share what capture rates are so far this year and how they compare to last year at the same time? Robert Sallmann: Yes. George, we're not going to provide visibility exactly on what those capture rates are. As you recall, that's coming off of our internal sales force data. But I will highlight when we look at that market, it's 200 bps higher than prior year, which is in line with our expectations. Keen Fai Tong: Got it. That's helpful. And then you talked about strong visibility into the K-12 TAM years in advance. Based on what you see today, how much do you see the K-12 TAM growing in 2027? Robert Sallmann: Yes. So that -- we've highlighted that the overall market is $300 million that we see as growing. And again, we're really well positioned as we think about the largest opportunity being that California Math. We're excited about the opportunity for us. Simon, I'm not sure if there's anything else you want to add on that. Simon Allen: No, just exactly. And we've mentioned this earlier on, George, that the extent of the market growth next year is very encouraging for us. And you've seen it in prior years where the TAM is at a much higher level, we've done very well. And of course, we would expect to have the same level of growth and performance in the out years. And FY '26, as we've communicated very clearly, has always been a low year and you look at the '27, '28. And as you look forward, you can see the opportunity then, and we're excited about that looking ahead. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Marvin Fong from BTIG. Marvin Fong: Congratulations as well on a great quarter. First question, I'd just like to follow up again on that enrollment data that we all are looking at. And I would like to attack it from the subject matter standpoint since that seems to be the other major change. Can you just talk about your -- do you over-index, under-index in subject matters like health and business are seeing strength, computer science a bit lower for understandable reasons. But anything in the subject matter trends that are beneficial to you? Robert Sallmann: Yes. It's a great insightful question. We certainly see that we have those disciplines that we see the highest growth rates, that is very favorable to us, business and other curriculum and science-related subject matter. So it does play out favorably to us. And again, I think that bodes well for how we're seeing our enrollment slightly higher than that 2.4% as advertised as a headline for undergraduate growth. Simon, I know you had something to add. Simon Allen: Yes, let me add a little bit to that because it's a good question, Marvin. We -- one of the big benefits, and I've been operating in, as you know, the Higher Ed sector for that will be 40 years in August. And the reason that we do so well is that we cover everywhere. So you look at the business economics disciplines, you look at the sciences, you look at math, you look at the humanities, social sciences, all of these areas, we're seeing growth across everything. And when you look at the tools that we create, AI Reader covers every single discipline, every title, every subject. You think about what we've done with Sharpen, we focus on every single subject again. And that's why it's the breadth and the scale that we have that give us so many advantages, particularly compared to some of the smaller start-up type companies. And that breadth of coverage is really -- it means that we're seeing very strong double-digit growth across all of those subject areas. Some are higher than others. But when we look ahead, it's the scale and the breadth of product that we have that gives us such a strong advantage. Marvin Fong: Fantastic. And a follow-up question, if I may. On international, we don't talk about it as much, but the trends are improving. You called out Spain as well as Canada, some moving parts there. Could you just kind of discuss what you're seeing there? And how should we be thinking about trends both in the back half and maybe even next year? Simon Allen: Yes. And it's a good one. I mean when you look at, as Bob indicated earlier, the decline, we expected to decline this year. And I think in areas like Spain, where we've got a good K-12 business, it has a similar cycle coincidentally this year to the U.S. So that's clearly a lower year for us in Spain. That's timing purely. Things will change next year. When I look at what's happening in Canada, we benefited from the enrollment surge in Canada over the last few years. And now, of course, enrollments in Canada have significantly reduced. But what I look at there more than anything is our market share growth. It's [Technical Difficulty] if the overall market is in decline, but how are we doing? And this is what makes me very happy because Canada, our share, we've grown over 3.5% this year. We're looking at about a 27%, 27.5% market share position in Canada. It was barely 15% in 2019 before COVID. So you're seeing really good growth in share, again, where the opportunity is for excellent product and great go-to-market. We succeed, and we've done that very well in Canada. We've also seen the upside in Latin America. We continue to do well there with our School and Higher Ed business. And also the GCC market in the Middle East is very, very strong for us. So it's a good position that we're in. We're looking forward to continuing growth as we go forward. And I think it's important that we focus on those markets where we know growth can occur. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Toni Kaplan from Morgan Stanley. Toni Kaplan: I wanted to ask another question on Higher Ed. Really strong performance this quarter there. You talked about the share gains getting to 30%. And obviously, this is off the back of Evergreen being launched. And I imagine that, that is helping contribute to that stronger retention and perhaps salespeople being able to focus more on new business. And so I was wondering if the success you're seeing is related to that platform shift or if there are other -- is there anything content-wise or otherwise that is contributing to that as well? Just wanted to understand the sustainability essentially of the Higher Ed share gains? Simon Allen: That's a very insightful question, Toni. Thank you. I would say it's across the board is the reason that we're doing very, very well in Higher Ed. Yes, Evergreen, and that's unique to us, as you know, that we launched about a year ago. Now it's over 600 titles. We're seeing tremendous retention with that and faculty are just appreciating the ability to be kept completely up to date as they're thinking about their courses. And it's also new products that we launch. It's products that we're looking at with ALEKS Calculus, which is a tremendous additional TAM opportunity for us in Higher Education. What we've done with Sharpen at the consumer level, but then particularly now Sharpen Advantage at the institutional level gives us a great deal of excitement. Then there are new content. Of course, we always look at our authors in higher education, and we commission new content and new material. That's something we're very, very proud of. We have various new courses and titles that we launch and we release through our Connect platform. It's very, very significant. And I think the sustainability for us is proven by the last number of years of our growth in Higher Ed, up now, as you say, to that 30% market share. And we feel extremely bullish about our potential in Higher Ed, and we appreciate the question. Actually, it's a very good way to pose it. Toni Kaplan: Great. And then wanted to ask about pricing. Typically, I think you're getting more of your growth through share gains, maybe some from enrollment, et cetera, and price has been less of a factor. And so I think last quarter, you mentioned you were taking price increases at a higher rate than originally planned. I was hoping you could talk about if that's still the case and if you're seeing pushback from customers to that or with your new content and platforms, maybe they're not pushing back because of the value add that you're providing. And so I wanted to understand the pricing dynamics going forward? Robert Sallmann: Sure. Thanks, Toni. Yes, from a pricing dynamic, as we've mentioned before, we apply a value-based pricing model. You highlighted some of the value adds that we've been putting in place. We have not been seeing any pushback around our pricing. The price realization has been inflationary levels, which is now in line with what we planned for in the quarter. So we're realizing the price that we planned. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Jeff Meuler from Baird. Jeffrey Meuler: How are you viewing the mix of K-12 opportunities in 2027 by state and subject? I guess, for you, do they play to your strength to an increasing degree at all? Simon Allen: Bob, I'll let you run into the detail there. But I mean, state by state, as you know, Jeff, we've got substantial opportunity as we look at FY '27. I don't know if we want to get within California, we've talked about that. We've talked about Texas and Florida ELA. Bob, I don't know if you want to get into any more detail. It may be a bit early as we think about that. I know you want to give guidance there as we get to the end of the fiscal year, but you may have comments to make? Robert Sallmann: No. And I think we -- in our prepared remarks, we highlighted the fact that we're preparing for the larger opportunities in ELA in '28 and then in '27 being Math. So we're well positioned to play to our strengths as we think about the market opportunities in the next several years. And again, from a subject mix, strengths reside in ELA and Math and our new Emerge! products. So we're well positioned, and I think that will benefit us over the next several years, that overall mix in the K-12 market. Jeffrey Meuler: Got it. And then lots of good AI anecdotes and how it's positively impacting your business and you continue to take share. On the emerging AI-first entrants that you mentioned, Simon, where are you predominantly seeing them? Is it more on the Supplemental or Intervention side? Or are they starting to come into the RFP process for Core curriculum or not? Simon Allen: Good one. I would say it's coming at the -- more at the RFP, yes, but I think increasingly, as we talk to teachers and we talk to school districts, that they understand the added value that we can provide through our Supplemental/Interventional tools. Some of them, though, are now requiring that they want that continuity. If they're using Reveal Math, let's look at a math tool that captures those students that may be underperforming. So of course, we have ALEKS. When we look at our ELA business with Emerge! that we just launched. And as we think about '27, '28 and beyond, that's when teachers are saying, "Well, listen, we need writing tools and writing instruction tools to aid in our ability to assess students." Then we provide what we've just launched with Writing Assistant. And I think it's now becoming an opportunity for us to really extend our potential with that growth by providing complete solutions, not just in the Core, but also in Supplemental. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Faiza Alwy from Deutsche Bank. Faiza Alwy: A follow-up on the Higher Education segment. There are some concerns around future enrollment trends as we look ahead over the next, call it, 3 years because of what's been called the demographic cliff. And you alluded to just the fact that you've seen higher enrollment relative to what we might be hearing from the industry. So hoping you could expand a bit more around that, just taking a step back around where you have higher exposure and how you're thinking about just outside of the market share gains, how you're thinking about enrollment as we look ahead and how that might impact your business, whether you think there's opportunity for greater pricing in the future? Or just any color there would be helpful. Simon Allen: That's a good question, Faiza. And I know we're running low on time, but I'll start, Bob, and if there's any more you want to add. I would say, Faiza, that there is always pricing opportunity, of course. The enrollment issue is -- and I think the demographic cliff is somewhat overstated as it relates to our business because the average age of our student customer is in the mid- to late 20s. When you look at the amount of business we have at the community college level, those students are often very often in their 30s and 40s. So I would say we're less concerned about enrollment issues in that way. The key element for us is this TAM expansion in the products that we are now offering and the solutions that we provide. So we see growth that way. We don't see enrollment decline being a big issue for us because of the expansion and the market share opportunities that we've seen. And our ability to really serve customers, particularly with AI, that's what they genuinely need and they need our help. So we're seeing very strong growth. That will continue going forward. We need to keep innovating with new products, new solutions to enhance the TAM that we operate within. Robert Sallmann: And bottom line is we'll continue to grow regardless of enrollment. I think that's an important takeaway. Faiza Alwy: Understood. And then just a follow-up on the K-12 segment. You alluded to market share gains in that segment. And just to put a finer point on that, are you really referencing market share gains in Supplemental and Intervention? Or are you seeing market share gains in the Core relative to more established players? Robert Sallmann: My comment on the 200 basis points was largely around the Core. And keep in mind that, that represents 85% of our business. But we are seeing gains in Supplemental/Intervention, particularly as you think how we connect to the Core. And again, I just want to reiterate how well that positions us as we move into California Math into next year. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Jeff Silber from BMO Capital Markets. Jeffrey Silber: I know it's late. I'll just ask one. I know you're not talking about fiscal '27 yet, but generally, what are you hearing about state budgets going into next year? Simon Allen: Jeff, it's a good question. And we're happy to run over. It's lovely to have so many questions. But we're hearing good things about state budgets. We're not concerned about decline. As you know, when you look at the budgeting process in K-12, it's very much a local and state-run activity. When you think about the overall percentage that -- of any budget, education budget that's given over to courseware and course materials, it's probably less than 1%. It's a tiny fraction of the overall number. So we're not seeing any concern around budgeting for next year and the years forward. And that's one of the reasons, one of the many that gives us so much confidence. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Josh Chan from UBS. Joshua Chan: I'll keep it to one as well due to the time. I guess, could you talk about the runway that you see in Inclusive Access in Higher Ed and then kind of how that and share gains may both contribute to your kind of ongoing growth kind of beyond this year? Simon Allen: Yes. It's a great question. Bob, you go right ahead. You love Inclusive Access. It's become your favorite... Robert Sallmann: I do. I know we all do. Yes. And again, just that runway is significant for us in terms of Inclusive Access. And obviously, we're very impressed with the growth that we experienced in the quarter. But more importantly is that dynamic where we're adding 100 institutions per year, we're at 2,000. You can see long runway to continue to add over the years, more and more institutions and then that several year path where we continue to grow. So it is sustainable. It's going to continue to grow, long runway there, and we're excited about Inclusive Access. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of David Karnovsky from JPMorgan. David Karnovsky: Maybe just one on K-12. I think there's been some investor concern recently about federal funding and what impact that might have to the procurement process for Core or Supplemental. So maybe just can you speak to what you saw in the recent selling season or what you're hearing from districts on this? Robert Sallmann: Yes. The one thing I'll highlight is that we're not seeing any widespread delays or any changes in purchasing patterns. It's been consistent with our expectations. And I just want to highlight that we walked into the year with our expectation of share gain in overall market size, and it's played out as we've seen. So there are always pockets where districts are being cautious and controlled in their spend. That's no change, but we're not seeing anything widespread that would indicate that federal funding is an issue at the district level. Operator: And that concludes our question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to Simon Allen for some final closing remarks. Simon Allen: Thank you, Rob, and thank you, everyone, for dialing in and bearing with us and allowing us to go over the hour. We do appreciate the questions. It makes our lives much more enjoyable. And I hope you get a sense from myself and from Bob and Danielle, whom you all speak to regularly, just how enthusiastic we are about our performance and how optimistic we are. It's a pleasure to beat and raise, and it's a lovely feeling to look at our performance and our market share growth across the businesses. And we really do feel very, very good about upcoming conversations with you. Thank you for your attention always, and thank you for your interest in McGraw Hill. We deeply appreciate your commitment to us, and we look forward to serving you and particularly our customers going forward. So thank you for dialing in, and we look forward to talking to you again in a few months. Bye-bye. Operator: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.
A. Mobley: Well, good afternoon, everyone. My name is Scott Mobley, and I'm President and CEO of Noble Roman's. Also here with me is Paul Mobley, our Executive Chairman and CFO. Before we begin, I want to refer you to the safe harbor statement contained in the summary press release that came out Friday. This conference call will contain forward-looking statements and business assessments of the kind referred to in that statement. So those provisions applied to this conference call as well. Okay. Well, I assume all of you have studied the press release that went out Friday afternoon and that you've absorbed all of those details. Keep in mind that we're holding on releasing the 10-Q for the new auditors to finish with the delay at the moment being the evaluation of that warrant liability. That's sort of a black box calculation that has to do with warrant and derivative valuation modeling. And so that's a valuation firm specializing in those complex formularies. So we'll get the Q out just as soon as we can. In case you did miss the release or you need a refresher, here are a few of the highlights. Net income before taxes was $578,918 for the quarter versus $193,314 in 2024. And keep in mind that income before tax is an important metric because we have that $3.2 million deferred tax asset, which means, of course, that we'll not be paying income tax for quite some time. Total revenue was up 6.8% for the quarter versus last year. Same-store sales in the Craft Pizza & Pub were up 4.2%, and that's despite continuing concerns with consumer sentiment. Margins at the CPPs also increased 12.8% from 7.9% a year ago. The margin contribution from our convenience store program was up 14.8% over 2024 to about $1.1 million. And the margin rate for that segment increased to 73.4% from 65.2% chiefly because expenses in that segment remain relatively stable over a long period of time. A key data trend outlined in the press release is also worth repeating this time around today, and that relates to the trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA at the year-end 2024, it was a little over $3 million, at the end of Q1 2025 is $3,135,000, at the end of Q2, it was $3,501,000. And now at the end of Q3, it is up to approximately $3,825,000. Our convenience store program continues to build on our backlog franchises sold but not yet open. Our current expectations call for about 27 additional new units during the entirety of the fourth quarter. Of course, that's always hard to predict with exactness as those time lines depend on a number of factors with the underlying convenience store business rather than with us. The psychology around some of the tariff negotiations, particularly with India, as well as the government shutdown had an impact on openings for a while, but things moving along very well at the moment. In fact, we have three brand new locations opening this week. Muncie, Indiana, Lawrence, Michigan, and Harrogate, Tennessee. Some of the same challenges impacted the Craft Pizza & Pubs, mostly as it relates to consumer spending and consumer sentiment. As I'm sure you heard a few days ago according to the recent University of Michigan survey, consumer sentiment has dropped to a 3-year low down 29.9% versus last year. We've had to maintain a value-oriented marketing approach most of the year particularly recently, which is obviously not our preference. For the same reasons, we've not taken a price increase this year. And I don't see doing so in the fourth quarter either. We'll see what the manufacturers have in store at the beginning of the year as far as price escalations, and we'll evaluate consumer sentiment at that time as well. For now, as was mentioned in the press release, we have two products waiting for introduction. One is another value-oriented play off our successful XL pizza launch, and the other is a premium-priced product, a spicy Buffalo Chicken Pizza. I see both running simultaneously at some point here soon with the 2XL party pizza being our primary value promotion and the Buffalo Chicken Pizza being passively marketed in-store and online to grease up margins. Finally, as we noted in the release, the refinancing efforts are proceeding with some accelerating and hopeful developments, but not yet anything we can announce or discuss, conversations and negotiations are ongoing. I know everyone would like to hear more on that, but that is really all we can say at the moment until such time as we have something definitive now. Okay. Well, with that brief review, we're concluding our introductory comments, and we'll now take your questions. A. Mobley: [Operator Instructions] Roger, go ahead. Unknown Analyst: Good afternoon. Very nice quarter. You can't really finance -- talk about the refinancing, but can you tell us how much still owned to Corbel? Paul Mobley: Approximately $6,000. A. Mobley: $6 million. Unknown Analyst: I'm sorry, how much? A. Mobley: $6 million approximately. Unknown Analyst: And you say in the press release that you opened an additional 9 more franchise units this year so far than you did last year, but what is the actual number opened? A. Mobley: No, that was actually saying that our backlog, Roger, had increased by 9. So we're anticipating opening about 57 to maybe 60 on the high end for the year with maybe, what, 14 more yet for the rest of the quarter. Paul Mobley: We've already 15 in this quarter. A. Mobley: Yes. We've already -- I don't know if you caught that, Roger, but we've opened 13 already this quarter. Unknown Analyst: Right. And can you update us with those franchise numbers. Can you tie that in and update us on the status of the Majors agreement to open 100 units and also have the been any more follow-up agreements for additional units with Majors? A. Mobley: We've not entered into any agreement to add to their development plan yet. I wouldn't foresee that happening for a while. We have been opening additional units. We opened a couple more for them here recently, and they're continuing to put more in the line, and they -- well, progression. So they're done here next year. Unknown Analyst: And last, can you comment on cheese and commodity prices? A. Mobley: Sure. So good news is cheese right now is about at the 10-year long-term average. So that's better than some of the high prices we had, especially through a lot of last year and into the first part of this year. How long that will last? I don't know, but we did just receive some -- forgot what it was, 22,500 pounds at a pretty good price. So that will carry us through for a good month. Other prices have been fluctuating up and down Meat prices obviously have not been favorable. It's impacted a couple of our different toppings but nothing extraordinary. There continues to be spot shortages with chicken products due to calling it the avian flu. And it's the avian flu that's actually been causing a lot of the beef pricing problems in addition to some of the tariffs. Mark, go ahead. Unknown Analyst: Congratulations on a great quarter. My question, it seems like you've done a really good job navigating the current environment. We've seen a lot of like fast casual kind of get hit. And I don't know, it seems as if the value promotion is -- I don't know how much that has affected it. And if so, it's kind of exciting, you're kind of adding on to that. But I guess with the numbers, it appears to not really -- we haven't seen the cost of goods for the month, but it doesn't really seem to be affecting that too badly. And just kind of add some color on that. Are you seeing add-on sales things like that? And how much of the XL is being purchased? A. Mobley: So we've taken kind of a double track on that. I try to -- I don't try, follow the numbers very closely every single day, and I try to parse out what we're seeing in terms of guest counts, average check add-ons. And our strategy, first of all, with the consumer sentiment, the way that it's been. Obviously, we have to be value-oriented not our preferred playing field, but that's the playing field we're on. So rather than trying to discount our existing products, we created a whole new product that we could offer at a value price and have a reason for offering it at that price, and that's sort of how the XL pizza evolved. But simultaneous with that, we've been running product specials that have higher margins. For example, I mentioned the Spicy Buffalo Chicken Pizza that we'll probably be launching here yet this quarter. Previously, we launched the Stuffed Crust Pizza. All of those are done at regular menu pricing. And most of those are being marketed on site at the restaurant passively. So as people come in, we're working on upselling to exciting products like that. So all that is to say that we try to bring in the value-oriented customer and at the same time, offer exciting new products that are premium priced for those that are willing to pay that price. Paul Mobley: Your question about cost of sales was 20.8% third quarter this year compared to 21.4% third quarter last year and 20.7% for the 9 months ended September 30 compared to 21.1% for the same 9 months last year. So we're ahead in cost of sales by a good half percent. Unknown Analyst: Yes. That's excellent considering the environment. How are you seeing same-store sales for the first, like, say, six weeks of Q4? A. Mobley: Well, Q4 started off with a little bit of a roller coaster here and there because of the -- oddly enough, the Charlie Kirk assassination had an impact for a few days on sales and then the government shutdown had an impact on sales here and there with various announcements. But then outside of those periods, we've had some good same-store sales increases. So if the market trends back now that the government is back open and all that pessimism is past us, then hopefully, I know Sunday we are up quite a lot. I don't have all the numbers handy here, but it's -- we're hoping for a return to normality here. Unknown Analyst: Okay. I know you can't really -- don't want to talk too much about refinancing. But just you're doing -- being very aggressive in paying down the debt. It just seems like even in the current terms, you'd almost have it paid off in 3 to 4 years if you wanted to. And we never have to hear the word refinance ever again. But with you -- I'm sure you'd be sorry to hear that. But is that kind of what you would prefer? Would you continue? It seems like you're able to handle that $91,000 payment, especially with over the last quarter fairly easily? Are you still looking to pay it off aggressively like that? A. Mobley: Well, if I never heard the term refi again, I would be very, very happy. But yes, our goal is to secure refinancing that obviously, we can continue to pay down on rapidly likely have been. Paul Mobley: We have those terms already signed until June of '26. A. Mobley: With our current finance. Paul Mobley: With our current loan. So we'll continue that. And we're doing that without losing any cash flow. We're gaining a little cash all the time. So that's -- we're handling that just fine, and we could continue to handle it. The situation is that Corbel, while they're happy and they go along with us and we have a good relationship with them. They have closed -- or they're trying to close out that fund that has financed us and we've agreed that we will continue to aggressively try to find an acceptable financing source to pay them off. But the bottom line is we have an agreement for their current deal until June '26, end of June '26. Unknown Analyst: Yes. And like I said, that's -- I think each quarter, you're knocking off like 5% of the principal. So just working -- right. Okay. Thank you very much. A. Mobley: All right. Any additional questions? I'll give it just a second here. All right. Well, I don't see any additional questions. So we'll go ahead and call it an afternoon. And we'll be back in touch very soon and talk to you then. Thanks very much for participating today.
Operator: Greetings. Welcome to the NextNRG Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]. Please note, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Sharon Cohen, Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin. Sharon Cohen: Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Joining us today are Michael Farkas, our Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman; Joel Kleiner, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that certain statements on this call are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve risks that could cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to our filings with the SEC, including our most recent Form 10-K and our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, for a discussion of these risks. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Michael. Michael Farkas: Thank you, Sharon, and welcome, everyone, to our third quarter earnings call. This quarter represents a significant step in NextNRG's journey as we continue advancing towards our vision. Our results clearly demonstrate that our strategy is working. Revenue is growing, margins are expanding, and our mobile fueling and energy infrastructure initiatives are driving strong measurable results across the business, making this our strongest financial performance to date. The results speak for themselves, and they set the stage for continued growth in operational excellence. I'd like to thank all of you for your confidence and take this opportunity to provide an overview of NextNRG. We're more than an energy company, we're a full-spectrum energy partner from generation and storage optimization and fueling, we give businesses the tools to be efficient, independent and the future ready. Our ecosystem combines power generation,, advanced batteries, wireless EV charging and on-demand mobile fueling to deliver energy wherever it's needed, smarter and faster than ever. We're not just following the energy transition, we're leading it. The momentum we've built continues. And as you'll hear today, the investments in our past initiatives are now delivering tangible results. Last quarter, I discussed our investments in expanding the fleet by 99 trucks and entering 10 new markets. You'll recall it was anchored in the strategic thesis than building operational density around our strongest customers will allow us to: one, optimize routes; two, enhance driving efficiency; three expand margins; and four, extend market presence of the sales of our largest customers. I'm proud to share that we are delivering on that vision, achieving our highest revenues and showing as margins days, marking the best performance in the company's history. In addition to the above, we have added 11 new markets for Miles, Florida. As we've grown and are increasing gallons delivered, we've been able to unlock volume-based supplier discounts, increasing profit margins from 8% to 11% and driving a 232% year-over-year revenue increase. Moving on to our emerging technologies, particularly our smart microgrid and battery storage solutions. We previously reported that we were working on various projects, including the California health care facilities, and I'm happy to report that we have just signed 2 power purchase agreements also known as PPAs, whereby we effectively replaced the traditional utility provider, supplying these locations with their full energy needs. Our systems are addressing a vital need, ensuring facilities remain efficient, compliant and operational around the clock. Most notably, these PPAs provide for 28 years of contractional profitable revenue to the company via energy sales, creating long-term revenue visibility. We continue to advance our Energy Division's pipeline driving meaningful progress across multiple fronts. As NextNRG evolves, our strategy is to be increasingly focused on high-demand sectors where reliability and resilience are nonnegotiable, particularly health care, assisted living and large-scale commercial facilities that require continuous mission-critical power. This approach has unified the company around a more focused sales approach within a massive TAM. Our active pipeline currently stands at over a dozen projects with several more qualified leads progressing through the pipeline. As time progresses and the market learns about NextNRG, we're watching our integrated energy ecosystem coming to life. As an example, we've been approached by solar installers who have deployed solar power generation solutions whose clients now require battery storage and/or charging solutions and the technology to optimize their energy generation, storage and usage. NextNRG is being asked to complete the energy ecosystem into a single intelligent platform. This growing interest validates our approach and reinforces the competitive advantage of our integrated energy model. As interest in our platform grows, we're strengthening relationships across the value team, expanding partnerships in solar hardware and battery storage to deliver cutting-edge technology at highly competitive pricing. These collaborations enhance our offering and position, NextNRG as a trusted full-service energy partner. Next, our much anticipated bidirectional wireless on charging initiative continues to advance. This quarter, we continued to make meaningful progress in the development framework and are moving closer to the launch of our first demonstration of this game-changing technology. While still in the planning and design phase, the groundwork that's being laid now positions us to move efficiently the execution as we refine partnerships and tech integration. We hope to provide a material update in the coming weeks. Looking ahead into 2026 and beyond, we find ourselves excited for the future a time when global and domestic energy demands are reaching unprecedented levels. I recently attended a conference where business and political is going to be, including President Trump and Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO. They underscored the urgent need to expand our nation's capacity and energy generation and storage and distribution. We specifically mentioned the growing trend for developers of data centers and other energy-intensive sites to develop on-site fully integrated smart groups to ensure power reliability. The message was clear. Our current infrastructure cannot keep pace with the accelerating demand. In fact, following this conference, I was invited to an intimate dinner Eric Schmidt's home with a group of leading business executives in America. And as I discussed what NextNRG was building, the focus quickly came on nation's need for power generation, storage and distribution. To quote Eric, "We will run out of power before we run out of capital to invest in AI infrastructure," underscoring the urgency to generate power. NextNRG is uniquely positioned to help address that challenge. Our integrated approach spending generation, storage, distribution and fueling places us at the forefront of providing the critical energy solutions needed to power the next era of growth. Our strategy remains focused on expanding, scaling and optimizing. We are deepening our presence in key markets with mobile fuel delivery, advancing opportunities in renewable distributed infrastructure and strengthening partnerships that accelerate technology deployment while improving operating efficiency and margin performance. While our near-term focus is on disciplined execution, our long-term vision remains steadfast to create a fully connected energy ecosystem that produce today's fueling needs with tomorrow's clean intelligent infrastructure. As CEO, my goal is consistently to transparently articulate our current performance while also paving a clear picture of our commitment to disciplined growth and to deliver on our commitments. I am proud that all the things we laid out in last quarter's call, we have delivered I hope to do the same next quarter, consistent and reliable leadership. With that, I'll turn it over to our CFO, Joel Kleiner, for the financial review. Joel Kleiner: Thank you, Michael. Turning to the financials. Q3 was another quarter of outstanding growth with revenue of $22.9 million, up 232% year-over-year from $6.9 million in Q3 of 2024 and up $19.7 million in Q2 2025. To put that in perspective, our total revenue for the full year of 2024 was $27.8 million. So we're approaching nearly a full year's worth of revenue in just 1 quarter. Gross profit margins also continued to expand, increasing from 8% in Q2 to 11% in Q3. Not only did we grow revenue, but we also successfully lowered our cost of goods sold demonstrating that while growing top line revenue, we are also simultaneously improving our operational efficiencies. On the expense side, our loss from operation came in at $9 million, which includes a $5.6 million noncash stock-based compensation charge. As you recall, we introduced this program last quarter as a strategy to attract and retain top talent. And as expected, this quarter's charge is significantly lower in Q2 -- and then Q2. Excluding this item, our operating loss was $3.4 million, down from $5.2 million in Q2, reflecting our continued focus on disciplined cost management and operational efficiency as we move closer to profitability and positive cash flows. Cash used in operations for the first 9 months of 2025 was $14.1 million. Because of this figure reflects quarter end working capital timing, including inventory and prepaid expenses continuing just before quarter flows as well as Q2 invoices being paid in Q3, the reported number overstates our underlying burn rate. On a normalized basis, our year-to-date operating burn is closer to $11 million. We ended the quarter with roughly $650,000 in cash which similarly reflects those working capital timing dynamics. Since quarter end, we have taken deliberate steps to strengthening liquidity. We completed the refinancing of our truck fleet and continue to streamline our debt profile, converting portions of our debt to equity and reducing the overall complexity in the capital structure. These actions provide greater financial flexibility as we manage the business. Operationally, Q3 delivered solid progress. Revenue increased our energy pipeline continue to expand, and we began advancing several opportunities towards deployment as we scale revenue, expand margins and enhance operational efficiency, the underlying trend in our cash usage is moving in the right direction. While we still have work to do ahead of us, the trajectory of our business combined with the strength of our platform and the early validation we are seeing across both fueling and energy infrastructure position us well for continued momentum in the quarters to come. Thank you. Back to you, Michael. Michael Farkas: Thank you, Joel. It's been a fantastic quarter for NextNRG. On our last call, we outlined a series of goals that we sought to achieve and I'm proud to say that we've executed on every single one of them. Our operational performance, project pipeline and financial results all reflect the disciplined growth and momentum we've been building for us. Looking ahead, we're excited to be in a unique position, both in time and in capability to help drive the future of energy across the nation and ultimately on a global scale. On our -- our savings for structure continues to spend, our pipeline is growing and profit potential continues to strengthen each passing quarter. And on a personal note, as many of you may know, I spent much of my career pioning advancements in EV charging. I'm pleased to share that I'm no longer under any noncompete restrictions, which opens the door for NextNRG to participate fully in all forms of EV charging, both wired and wireless, and to pursue high-value, high-margin energy assets that align with our long-term vision. We're just getting started, and the opportunity ahead has never been greater. Thank you all for your continued confidence and support. Operator, we can now move on to the questions. Operator: Thank you so much. I understand there are some e-mail questions, Sharon. So I'd like to hand the call back over to you for the Q&A portion. Sharon Cohen: Thank you. Yes. I've gathered some submitted questions, and then we'll now direct them to you, Michael. The first question relates to our energy division. Can you give us more detail on the kinds of projects currently in your energy infrastructure pipeline? What types of facilities are engaging with you? And what solutions are they looking for? Michael Farkas: Absolutely. Our pipeline today includes projects for municipalities as well as a large range of commercial facilities. These opportunities span everything from literally layering new components over existing infrastructure to full green build-out, greenfield build-outs. It could really depending upon the need of the facility. These customers are typically asking for 3 core components. One is on-site power generation, basically to reduce dependence on the grid and improve overall reliability. Number 2 is advanced battery storage. This is to ensure continuity of power, especially during peak demand or outages. And then we're looking at the -- our smart microgrid control system. It's really -- it's optimizing how energy is produced, stored and consumed in the all time. Many of these facilities are operating with aging equipment and insufficient backup systems. So they're looking us to design modern methodologies and integrated solutions that meet both operational requirements and regulatory standards. We're also seeing a growing wave of commercial operators who have solar installed but now needs storage and intelligent controls. And they want a unified platform that ties everything together in one simple place to be able to follow everything. They also want a single partner to complete that ecosystem. You can't have different components, different people all over the place. It's not a sound system. And that's exactly what our energy platform does. It allows the integration of all the stuff. So these are not exploratory or one-off engagements. They're well-defined high-value infrastructure deployments that directly address the reliability gaps that are out there today. Next question. Operator: Sharon, can you check if you self-muted, please? Sharon Cohen: Yes. Sorry about that. Our next question relates to the margins reported. Michael, the company delivered the strongest margins in company history this quarter. How sustainable is this improvement? What are the main drivers of further margin expansion? Michael Farkas: Joel, you want to grab that? Joel Kleiner: Sure. As we -- thank you, Sharon. Can you repeat the question? Sharon Cohen: Yes, absolutely. How sustainable is this improvement in the margins? And what are the main drivers of further margin expansion? Joel Kleiner: Our margin expansion this quarter is absolutely sustainable because it's tied directly to structural changes in the business. As we build density around our anchor customers, we're optimizing our routes, improving driver efficiency. So reducing one of the greatest components of cost of goods sold, which is the actual driver expense. And the other side is increasing our gallons delivered which we have a great contract with where we're finally unlocking volume-based discounting. Both of those lower our per unit cost. These improvements are not a onetime thing as we're continuously working towards better utilization, improve scheduling and continued vendor site advantages. We expect these to continue to grow as we continue expanding our business. Sharon Cohen: Well said, Joel. Thank you. Our next question asks to discuss the conference that you attended Michael where leaders emphasize their urgent need for more power generation and infrastructure. How does this environment impact NextNRG? Michael Farkas: The message from the event and then the follow-on dinner was very, very clear. Energy demand, especially type AI, data centers, electrification is growing faster than the grid can support. When Eric Schmidt said that we will run out of town before we run out of capital, it underscores the scale of the opportunity. NextNRG is positioned exactly where the market is heading on-site power generation, storage and smart distribution, all integrated into a single platform. As developers, operators and corporations increasingly look for reliable, scalable, off-grade or grid-enhancing solutions, the demand for smart microgrids and infrastructure only intensifies. We're aligned with that, and we're already seeing the benefits in the pipeline for customers who need these kind of services. Sharon Cohen: And our final question is about operating losses. You've made progress reducing your operating loss this quarter, where you're still running at a multimillion dollar loss. Can you lay out a clear time line or framework for when investors can expect sustainable positive cash flow? Michael Farkas: Absolutely. The improvement this quarter was driven by both scale and tighter cost discipline. Revenue grew materially massively margins expanded and our underlying operating loss improved from Q2 to Q3. The path to positive cash flow is tied to 3 things: continued revenue growth, which we're seeing, further margin expansion as operational eventually increases and maintaining disciplined SG&A spend as we scale. The remaining hurdle is simply timing. As more new markets mature and as supply discounts continue to strengthen, the economics improved quarter-by-quarter. We're not guiding to a specific date today, but the trend is clear. Our losses are narrowing. Our margins are expanding, and each quarter brings us closer to sustained positive cash flow. The fundamentals are moving in the right direction and the model scales efficiently as we continue growing. Thank you. Operator: Thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Richemont Financial Year 2026 Interim Results Presentation. I am Sandra, your call operator. [Operator Instructions] The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it is my pleasure to hand over to Richemont. Please go ahead. Alessandra Girolami: Thank you, Sandra, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Richemont's half year results presentation for the period ended 30th September 2025. Here with us today are Johann Rupert, Chairman; Nicolas Bos, CEO; Burkhart Grund, CFO; and James Fraser, Investor Relations Executive. We would like to remind you that the company announcement and results presentation can be downloaded from richemont.com, and that the replay of this audio webcast will be available on our website today at 3:00 p.m. Geneva time. Before we begin, please take note of our disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements in our ad hoc announcement and on Slide 2 of our presentation. Turning now to the presentation. Burkhart will begin by discussing key highlights and group sales. I will then provide further detail on the performance of our Maisons. And finally, Burkhart will take you through the financials and offer some concluding remarks. This presentation will then be followed by a Q&A session. Burkhart, over to you. Burkhart Grund: Thank you, Alessandra. Good morning to everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Richemont delivered solid results in the first half in a complex macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. Sales for the period reached EUR 10.6 billion, up by 10% at constant exchange rates and by 5% at actual exchange rates. Operating profit stood at EUR 2.4 billion, up by 7% compared to the prior year period or up by 24%, excluding the significantly adverse foreign exchange movements. Operating margin reached 22.2%, improving by 30 basis points. Profit from continuing operations at EUR 1.8 billion was 4% higher than the prior year period. Cash flow from operating activities amounted to EUR 1.9 billion. Finally, our net cash position remained very robust at EUR 6.5 billion after the EUR 1.9 billion dividend paid in September. Turning to our highlights, starting with the top line. The group posted double-digit growth at constant rates, led by continued success at Jewellery Maisons and sustained local demand across most regions. In the second quarter, in particular, the group and its Maisons experienced strong momentum with sales up by 14% at constant rates. In Q2, we saw higher sales across all business areas, including a remarkable 17% increase at the Jewellery Maisons. Sales at the Specialist Watchmakers were up 3%, posting their first quarter of growth in almost 2 years, while sales at other business area rose by 6%. In addition, all regions posted double-digit increases in Q2, including Asia Pacific, supported by a return to growth in China. In the period, the group showed its ability to maintain a robust financial position. Operating profit in the first half increased to EUR 2.4 billion, reflecting the positive contribution from the strong top line growth, combined with effective cost discipline. This was achieved despite external headwinds, including unfavorable FX movements, increasing raw material costs and to a lesser extent, the initial impact of additional U.S. duties. Consequently, the group maintained a solid net cash position at EUR 6.5 billion, an increase of EUR 0.4 billion over the prior year period. In this context, our Maisons continued to demonstrate agility while investing for the long term. Showing their persistent drive for creativity and product innovation, they introduced strong novelties with craftsmanship at their core. They further nurtured their brand equity through impactful yet disciplined communication spending. They continue to cultivate future growth prospects through strategic investments. This drove a higher share of our CapEx envelope towards internal boutiques and manufacturing capacities, primarily for the Jewellery Maisons. Let me now discuss the group sales performance in more detail, first by region and then by distribution channel. Unless otherwise stated, all comments refer to year-over-year changes at constant exchange rates. Most regions posted solid performances in the first half, benefiting from double-digit growth across all regions in Q2, led by strong local demand. Sales in the Americas maintained their momentum throughout the first half and posted 18% growth with strength across all business areas, all channels and all markets in the region. Of note, Jewellery Maisons and Specialist Watchmakers posted double-digit performances while several Fashion & Accessories Maisons showed encouraging signs. In Q2, the Americas region posted its seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit growth with sales up by 20%. The Americas made up 25% of group sales, up from 23% in the prior year period. Asia Pacific returned to growth in the first half, up by 5% compared to the prior year period, fueled by a 10% rise in the second quarter. Of note, sales in China, Hong Kong and Macau combined stabilized in the first half, a notable improvement to 7% growth in Q2, led by the Jewellery Maisons. The performance was solid elsewhere in Asia Pacific with notable double-digit growth in the South Korean and Australian markets. Sales in Asia Pacific made up 32% of group sales, down from 34% in the prior year period. Sales in Europe increased by 11%, driven by double-digit growth at the Jewellery Maisons and single-digit increases at the Specialist Watchmakers and other. All major markets in the region posted higher sales, notably in Italy. Growth was led by strong local demand in addition to a positive contribution from tourist spending, particularly from the American clientele. Overall, the performance in Q2 was consistent with that of Q1 at plus 11%. Sales in Europe represented 24% of group sales, a tad higher than the 23% in H1 '25. Japan ended the first half with sales down by 4% after returning to double-digit growth in the second quarter, led by an acceleration in local demand, particularly at Jewellery Maisons, where spending, while improving in Q2 declined in the first half, reflecting demanding comparatives and a stronger Japanese yen. Japan's contribution to group sales decreased slightly to 10% compared to 11% in the prior year period. Middle East and Africa posted the strongest regional growth for the period with sales up by 19%, slightly ahead of the Americas. The performance was led by the Jewellery Maisons with positive Specialist Watchmakers sales at constant rates. All markets were up with the United Arab Emirates being the key contributor. Sales in the region made up 9% of group sales, in line with the prior year period. The largest contributors to sales growth in value terms were the Americas and Europe, each adding over EUR 200 million in incremental sales, followed by the Middle East and Africa region with a contribution of over EUR 100 million. Combined with broadly stable sales in Asia Pacific and a limited decline in Japan, the group was able to generate over EUR 500 million of additional sales in the first half despite a significant negative impact from currency movements. Let us now turn to sales by distribution channel with growth expressed at constant exchange rates. Overall, the 3 channels experienced broadly similar performances in the first half, leading to a stable contribution from direct-to-client sales at 76%. Let's start with retail, which accounted for 70% of group sales, unchanged from the prior year period. Sales rose by 10%, driven by double-digit growth at the Jewellery Maisons and mid-single-digit growth at the other business area, while sales at the Specialist Watchmakers declined slightly. All regions, except Japan, posted solid performances, led by double-digit growth in the Americas and Middle East and Africa. Online retail at 6% of group sales grew by 7%. Strong performance at the Jewellery Maisons more than compensated for softness in the other business area. Sales at the Specialist Watchmakers were broadly stable in the period. All regions posted growth, led by Europe. And now moving to wholesale, which includes sales to external mono-brand franchise partners and third-party multi-brand retail partners, sales to agents and royalty income. Wholesale sales represented 24% of the group sales and were up by 9%, supported by growth at both the Jewellery Maisons and the other business area. By region, the strongest contribution came from the Americas, Europe and Middle East and Africa. Now back to you, Alessandra. Alessandra Girolami: Thank you, Burkhart. I will now review the business areas with all comparisons at actual rates unless otherwise specified. Let me start with the Jewellery Maisons, which include Buccellati, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Vhernier. Sales reached EUR 7.7 billion, an increase of 9% in the first half. At constant exchange rates, sales were up by 14%, with all regions posting double-digit growth, except for Japan, which was nearly flat. Q2 was particularly strong with sales up 17% at constant rates after a solid plus 11% in Q1. In the first half, sales grew across all distribution channels. The Jewellery Maisons generated an operating result of EUR 2.5 billion, up 9% versus the prior year period or up by 21% at constant exchange rates. Facing significant adverse currency movements, higher raw material costs and to a lesser extent, the initial impact of additional U.S. duties, the Jewellery Maisons implemented balanced price increases while aiming to maintain long-term value for clients. In parallel, they continue to invest in their network while managing their cost effectively as demonstrated by the level of communication expenses only slightly above the prior year levels. Coupled with strong top line momentum, this allowed the Jewellery Maisons to mitigate the unfavorable impact of external headwinds, resulting in a stable operating margin at 32.8%. Let's now look at the main developments over the past 6 months. Both jewelry and watch collections posted strong growth, fueled by the success of timeless lines, such as Opera Tulle and Macri at Buccellati, Clash, Panthère and Santos at Cartier and Alhambra, Perlée and Flora at Van Cleef & Arpels. Blending heritage with creative spirit, the Maisons pursued persistent innovation to foster desirability. Cartier launched its new branding campaign featuring the Panthère. And later in September, the Love Unlimited line, bringing a bold new look to the Love collection that was imagined over 50 years ago. Also in September, Van Cleef & Arpels displayed their artistic and craftsmanship savoir faire with the launch of their new Flowerlace jewelry collection. In the first half, high jewelry sales were supported by impactful and curated events in Europe and Asia for the En Equilibre collection at Cartier and l’Ile au Trésor collection at Van Cleef & Arpels, while Buccellati also hosted exclusive events in Italy. Vhernier has now celebrated an intense first full year within the group. The performance is very encouraging, and the integration is progressing as planned. Vhernier has now internalized several boutiques and refurbished one of its [ astodiers ] among other initiatives, thereby continuing to build a strong foundation for future growth. The Jewellery Maisons continue to upgrade and expand their network in strategic locations. Notable renovations, including Cartier's boutique on Collins Street in Melbourne, while key openings featured Buccellati at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai and Van Cleef & Arpels in Goethestrasse in Frankfurt. Let's now turn to Specialist Watchmakers, where sales were down by 6% in the first half. At constant exchange rates, sales were down by 2% with a notable return to growth in Q2 at plus 3%. Regional performances continued to show contrasting trends. Double-digit growth in the Americas partly offset lower sales in Asia Pacific and Japan, 2 regions that combined account for over 50% of sales in the prior year period. Of note, all regions improved sequentially in the second quarter. By channel, retail and wholesale experienced slightly lower sales, while online retail was stable at constant rates. The operating results amounted to EUR 50 million, corresponding to an operating margin of 3.2%. Gross margin was impacted by the combination of unfavorable foreign exchange movements, of which the weaker U.S. dollar and the stronger Swiss franc, rising gold prices and an initial effect from higher U.S. duties. Ongoing cost discipline visible through a slight decrease in operating expenses partly mitigated the deleveraging impact of lower sales on the fixed operating cost structure. Reflecting their varied regional footprints, the Maisons experienced mixed trends. However, they maintained a 100% sell-in, sell-out ratio over 12 months, demonstrating disciplined inventory management. Novelties drawing on the Maisons' strong heritage and showcasing their craftsmanship contributed positively. The Lange & Söhne Odysseus Honeygold limited edition, for example, was fully allocated within 1 week of its launch. IWC introduced new references of the Ingenieur and Pilot's watches. Jaeger-LeCoultre released the Reverso Duoface Small Seconds and Piaget, its new jewelry watch collection, the Sixtie. Of note, Piaget has seen 5 of its creations nominated for the '25 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve, which recognizes watchmaking excellence. 2025 also marks the 270th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin celebrated through worldwide events and new launches. Worth noting is the creation of La Quête du Temps, a mechanical marvel 7 years in the making and currently displayed at the Louvre, showcasing the Maisons' ability to combine history, craftsmanship and engineering. In parallel, while the overall number of stores was largely stable in the first half, the Maisons continue to enhance their network. Notable examples, including IWC's new booking in Taichung, Taiwan, Vacheron Constantin strategic relocation in Seoul, and Jaeger-LeCoultre's major renovation at the Kuala Lumpur Pavilion. Let's move to the other business area, comprising the Fashion & Accessories Maisons, Watchfinder & Co., and the group's watch component manufacturing and real estate activities. Overall sales were down by 1% at actual exchange rates, but rose by 2% at constant exchange rates. Regionally, Europe was the main contributor to growth and trends in the Americas were encouraging. By channel, sales in both retail and wholesale increased slightly. Growth at constant rates was driven by a double-digit rise at Watchfinder and modest growth at the Fashion & Accessories Maisons. Trends improved sequentially across all regions in Q2, leading to a 6% increase in sales at constant rates. Overall, the other business area reported an operating loss of EUR 42 million. Fashion & Accessories Maisons posted a EUR 33 million loss, improving at constant rates, thanks to controlled operating expenses while continuing to invest in the desirability of the Maisons. Turning now to Maisons' highlights. Alaïa saw its sales grow by double digits, fueled by sustained success and brand heat of its icons such as La Ballerine and Le Teckel. It is also worth highlighting the continued solid performance at Peter Millar, thanks to its lifestyle positioning and success in its crown crafted collection. Chloé saw improved momentum led by ready-to-wear, confirming that its strategy to reconnect with its roots is resonating well with clients. Overall, ready-to-wear across the Maisons achieved double-digit growth in the first half, fueled by a sustained focus on creativity. Montblanc made progress on its transformation program, comprising a greater focus on writing instruments and leather goods categories in direct-to-client channels while streamlining its wholesale network. Gianvito Rossi has been increasingly recognized as a leading global luxury female footwear brand, underscored by the enthusiastic reception of its latest golden edge fashion collection. The Maisons continue to enhance their distribution networks over the period. Openings, including Chloé in Saint Tropez, Peter Millar expanding to San Diego and Columbus, and Watchfinder, launching its first U.S. internal boutique in Soho, New York City. This concludes the review of the first half performance of each business area. Burkhart, over to you. Burkhart Grund: Thank you, Alessandra, and well done on the pronunciation of Goethestrasse. Alessandra Girolami: Thank you, Burkhart. Burkhart Grund: Let me walk you through the rest of the P&L, starting with gross profit. Gross profit increased by 2% to EUR 6.9 billion and represented 65.3% of sales, a decrease of 190 basis points compared to the prior year period. This is the result of several moving parts, which have evolved considerably in the past 6 months. Starting with our production costs that were affected by rising raw material prices, particularly that of gold and to a lesser extent this period, higher U.S. duties. With a time lag between production and effective sale, our inventory levels acted as a partial natural hedge in a period of rising material costs. Compensating for the higher production costs, we benefited from positive impacts related to pricing and favorable sales mix. This was not sufficient, however, to compensate for the material adverse currency movements of a negative 180 basis points we faced in the first half, notably driven by a weaker U.S. dollar and Chinese renminbi, next to a strong Swiss franc, one of our main manufacturing currencies. Before we move on to the rest of the P&L, let me add a few words on U.S. duties. In the first half, the impact of increased U.S. tariff rates was limited to some EUR 50 million, thanks to our proactive inventory management since April and due to the phasing of the implementation of different tariff rates, starting with 10%, then 15% for Europe-made products, followed by 39% in August for Swiss-made products. With this phasing in mind, we anticipate a greater unfavorable impact in the second half, particularly if the 39% tariffs on Swiss origin products are maintained. Based on the current levels of our U.S. inventories and planned shipments, we estimate the full adverse impact of the increased U.S. tariff rates to be around EUR 0.3 billion for the full current fiscal year. Let us now look at net operating expenses, which were stable compared to the prior year period in value and increased by just 3% at constant exchange rates. Operating expenses stood at 43.1% of sales, down 220 basis points, driving positive flow-through from higher sales. Selling and distribution expenses were up by 3% or by 6% at constant exchange rates. The rise in cost was primarily related to continued retail store network expansion as well as salary increases. As a percentage of sales, selling and distribution expenses were down 70 basis points. Communication expenses decreased by 4% or 2% at constant rates, reflecting the Maisons' efficiency in allocating the resources and to a lesser degree, some impact from the phasing of specific events from 1 year to the next. As a percentage of sales, communication spend was 8.2% down -- sorry, 8.2%, down 80 basis points and below our typical range of 9% to 10%. Administrative and other expenses decreased by 2% at both actual and constant rates amounted to 9.2% of sales, down 70 basis points, reflecting lower valuation adjustments and fewer nonrecurring costs than observed in the prior year period. This resulted in an operating profit of EUR 2.4 billion, up by 7% at actual exchange rates and by 24% at constant exchange rates. Overall, the strong sales growth contribution and the effective cost control mitigated the impact of external headwinds in the first half, namely of unfavorable foreign exchange movements, the sharp increase in the price of gold and to a lesser degree, additional U.S. duties. As a consequence, operating margin remained robust at 22.2%, a 30 basis point improvement versus the prior year period. Let us now review the rest of the P&L items below the operating profit line, starting with finance costs. Net finance costs reduced slightly to EUR 158 million for the first half, down from EUR 173 million in the prior year period. This EUR 15 million improvement is mainly comprised of the following items. On the one hand, higher net FX losses on monetary items for EUR 162 million, primarily due to a weak U.S. dollar in addition to the impact of lower fair value adjustments for EUR 129 million. The latter relates to the group's investments in externally managed bond funds and money market funds. On the other hand, more than compensating those 2 items were the EUR 326 million increase in net gains on FX hedging activities. Turning to discontinued operations, which consists of YNAP until the completion of its sale on -- at the end of April of this year. Profit for the period stood at EUR 17 million. As a reminder, last year's results included a EUR 1.2 billion noncash write-down related to the transaction. Figures presented here are the estimated final closing adjustments related to the disposal, our 33% stake in LuxExperience being now recorded as an equity accounted investment. Let's now review the profit for the period. Profit from continuing operations stood at EUR 1.8 billion, 4% higher than prior year period. This included the rise in operating profit and the improvement of net finance costs that I've just described. The evolution of the share of equity accounted results was down EUR 34 million, primarily reflecting lower gains than in the prior year period on equity-accounted businesses and to a lesser degree, the result of our stake in LuxExperience, which was included for the first time. The group's effective tax rate for the first half stood at 19.5%, in line with our expectations for the full year, absent any special unforeseen items occurring in the second half. Finally, profit for the period was EUR 1.8 billion, up from EUR 0.5 billion in the prior year period that included a EUR 1.2 billion noncash write-down from discontinued operations. Cash flow generated from operating activities came in at EUR 1.9 billion, an increase of EUR 600 million compared to the prior year period, driven by higher operating profit and lower working capital requirements. Indeed, inventories rose, but less than in the prior year period, notably as the Jewellery Maisons experienced strong sales growth. Specialist Watchmakers also demonstrated effective production management, contributing to controlled inventory levels. To a lesser extent, higher cash inflows from foreign exchange derivatives also contributed to the reduction of working capital needs. Let us now turn to our gross capital expenditure, which amounted to EUR 0.4 billion and represented 3.6% of group sales. Our CapEx was broadly in line with the prior year period. A higher share was allocated to distribution and manufacturing. Investments in our distribution network dedicated to renovations, relocations and openings of directly operated stores represented 55% of gross capital expenditure, a share 8 percentage points higher than the prior year period. The share of manufacturing spend increased to 30% of overall CapEx compared to 24% in the prior year period. The investment mostly related to the Jewellery Maisons. Other investments represented 15% of CapEx, down compared to the prior year period, the decrease mainly reflecting the completion of several noncommercial Maisons projects. Let us now turn to free cash flow. At EUR 1 billion, free cash flow was about EUR 0.8 billion higher than in the prior year period. The increase primarily reflected the EUR 0.6 billion benefit from cash flow from operating activities that I described earlier, in addition to the nonrecurrence of last year's real estate acquisitions in London. Our balance sheet remained solid. Shareholders' equity accounted for 54% of total assets. Net cash amounted to EUR 6.5 billion at the end of September, down EUR 1.7 billion compared to the end of March 2025. This decrease is more than explained by the EUR 1.9 billion dividend cash outflow in September that reflected an ordinary dividend of CHF 3 per A share, which was approved by shareholders at the latest AGM. Before turning over to the Q&A, I would like to offer some concluding remarks. Richemont delivered solid results in the first half in a complex macroeconomic and geopolitical context. Our sales growth, largely fueled by sustained local demand in most regions speaks to the strength of our Maisons' positioning built with consistency over time. And we will continue to nurture their brand equity and cultivate their potential through investing in quality locations and manufacturing capacities. While we continue to navigate uncertain times and face demanding comparatives, we maintain the course and remain focused on leading the group with the same discipline as in the past. We have full confidence in our talented team's dedication to continue to enchant our clients with craftsmanship and creativity at the core to deliver sustainable value creation for our stakeholders. Now this concludes our presentation. Thank you for your attention, and I will now hand back over to Alessandra. Anne-Laure Jamain: Thank you, Burkhart. We now start the Q&A session. [Operator Instructions] Operator: [Operator Instructions] The first question comes from Ed Aubin from Morgan Stanley. Edouard Aubin: So Ed Aubin from Morgan Stanley. So first of all, congratulations, obviously, for the strong set of results. And Mr. Rupert, congratulations for the opening of the [ former ] Cartier building in Paris. I think it's really stunning. And I guess, for your support of the art world. So just going back to the question. So Burkhart, on the exit rate and kind of the start of Q3, which I know you don't really like to comment about. But yes, if you could comment in terms of how things have been trending over the past few weeks. You're going to be facing a much higher, much more difficult comparison basis for the quarter ending December, particularly in the U.S. So are you already seeing some slowdown on the back of that and so on. So that would be question number one. And then question number two, on the gross margin, which was down 190 basis points. Burkhart, if you could just -- I know you've helpfully provided a profit bridge, but on the input cost inflation and particularly related to gold, if you could provide a little bit of color because ahead of the results, people were struggling a bit with the modeling. And related to that, you helpfully given some tariff -- quantified the tariff headwind for H2, which I guess is EUR 250 million. The consensus is currently assuming a lower rate of decline for the gross margin, only 150 basis points in H2. Does that seem realistic given that the tariff impact should be substantially higher in H2 versus H1? Burkhart Grund: Yes. Good morning. Let me -- okay, let me try to help you within the limits of what we usually do, right? I mean, forward-looking and looking at Q3 sales, you know that we will not give you that color because there is too much uncertainty going forward. What I can point out is and remember that we had a very strong third quarter last year, a growth of 10%. And I think we're confident again in the long-term prospect of the Maisons, but we cannot, at this stage, give you any indication of how we're trading. The performance across the second quarter was pretty uniform with a bit of slightly higher growth in the month of September, but that has something to do also with past year's comparison. So really nothing much to add to that. Now the gross margin, I think we have been giving some indications. Let me try to be helpful. So overall, we have a 190 basis point drop in the gross margin in the first half, out of which 170 basis points really are linked to the FX impact, so the translation effect. And it's a mixed bag between obviously weaker dollar and dollar-linked currencies, but also for example, the renminbi, to a much lower extent, the Japanese yen this year and some other currencies such as the Korean won, for example, combined with the relative strengthening of the Swiss franc, which you know is one of our major manufacturing currencies. The other drivers in the first half are about 20 basis points negative, all combined, right? The biggest downward pressure on the gross margin came from gold, which is about north of 2 percentage points. And as we pointed out, for the time being, a very minor impact from U.S. tariffs around EUR 50 million plus, which, as you know, is linked to, let's say, the inventory cycle. It sits in inventory today and will then when we sell the inventory, be recycled into the cost of goods line later. The stock revaluation and price increases for the time being roughly compensate for these negative impacts. That's why the overall decline of the gross margin not linked to FX is about 20 basis points in the first half. Now on tariffs, we will not speculate about that. We know the current rates. And answering your question, actually, your question is answered through what you put on the table saying, is that realistic to estimate that gross margin will be weaker -- with a weaker drop in the second half if we have a disproportionate impact of tariffs. So I think the answer lies in the question there. Operator: The next question comes from Antoine Belge from BNP Paribas. Antoine Belge: Yes. It's Antoine Belge at BNP Paribas. So 2 questions. First of all, can you talk a bit about China, Chinese, Greater China. I know it's a bit complicated. So in Q2, I think Greater China was up 7%. My understanding is actually Hong Kong and Macau were quite strong. So -- but so was Mainland China locally a bit positive. And what about the Mainland Chinese cluster, if you take into account maybe the impact of tourism? And more generally, what's your view on China, there is improvement, just easy comps? Are you seeing some macro impacts, better consumer confidence? And my second question is a bit of a follow-up on the topic of gross margin. So I understand that there will be some headwinds that are going to be greater in H2, but you passed quite a hefty price increases, I think, in September. So could you quantify those? I mean, according to our estimates in September globally for Jewellery Maisons, it was around a high single digit coming on top of around 3%. So I'm slightly surprised by the comment that the gross margin would be declining more than they did in H1 because there should be at least, in my opinion, more impact from pricing. So am I getting something wrong here? Nicolas Bos: Nicolas Bos here. I will answer your -- try to answer your first question although everybody would love to have a final view on China and its evolution. We've definitely seen an improvement, particularly in the last quarter, definitely on the region, what we refer to as Greater China. As you mentioned very well, it was driven by an improvement of business in Hong Kong and Macau, both touristic, so Mainland Chinese traveling to Hong Kong and Macau and also domestic clientele, particularly in Hong Kong. All in all, we see -- I don't know if it's a stabilization, but we are back to a positive performance for the region, including slightly positive in Mainland China on the very end of the period and clearly driven by the Jewellery Maisons. In general, we've seen some repatriation of purchasing, notably from Japan to Hong Kong for our Mainland Chinese clients. But it seems -- and it will be difficult to predict the future, but it seems that we are now at a more stable level of purchasing from our Japanese -- or Chinese clients, sorry. What we see at large, but maybe it's a wider discussion is that there is an evolution of consumption in China connected probably to the economic situation, but also to an evolution in taste where we see Chinese clients becoming much more demanding, discerning and differentiating when it comes to their choice of brands and collection. That affects positively the Jewellery Maisons. We still see on some of the watch Maisons a more challenging situation. And what we foresee, if we're able to foresee anything is that it's really a market that is reaching another new level of sophistication and of quality of demand, very much at par with what we see in the rest of the world. And that has an impact really brand by brand, category by category, collection by collection. But all in all, it seems to be quite stabilizing. Burkhart Grund: And Antoine, just picking up on your second question. Listen, we're not going to guide on any gross margin in the second half because we have uncertainty and volatility on currencies, on gold, et cetera. What we have pulled out or pointed out is that at current rates, we will have a disproportionate impact of tariffs in the second half. As for the first half, we have been shielded by inventory holdings and, let's say, proactive inventory management. So that's really all I can say on this topic. Antoine Belge: But maybe on the price increases, I mean, could you maybe confirm that what was taken in September at high single-digit overall global number for Jewellery Maisons, is that what happened? Nicolas Bos: Well, we had some -- as you noticed, we had some price increases because we discussed it before that we want to maintain price increases as limited as possible because for us, keeping the affordability of certain collections and the attractiveness of the Maisons is really what comes first. But regardless, we had to implement some price increases. There were some in May, low single digit. There were some in September, particularly for Cartier, quite limited on a worldwide basis to try to reflect some of the increase in the price of gold, notably. But then including also some specific local adaptation, we need to keep in mind that the dollar has depreciated 8% in 1 year. So we need also to maintain kind of fair international pricing and reflect the evolution of exchange rates. So that came on top of the slight international price increase. So we haven't seen a true impact, let's say, in desirability of traffic in the stores, meaning by that, that we didn't necessarily notice a specific spike of purchasing before the price increase nor decrease afterwards. We believe it's because it was quite reasonable and the desirability of the collection comes really first. So we'll see in the second half how that unfolds. Operator: The next question comes from Thomas Chauvet from Citi. Thomas Chauvet: A couple of questions, please. The first one, a follow-up on pricing and maybe your pricing philosophy. Nicolas, you said you're trying to maintain affordability and to try to limit price increase because obviously, you can't cut prices once you've increased them. So you're very careful. Nevertheless, do you think the consumer, not just in China but globally is also starting to buy jewelry a bit differently than in the past for other reasons than the beauty of the Cartier, Van Cleef design or the emotional value that you talked about before or simply gifting purposes or the big events of life, but also as a commodity investment? So very strategically to invest has more than as more than a store value, but maybe even an investment in an unprecedented rising gold and precious metal market. So -- and how would you react to that? Because we've seen some of your Chinese luxury competitors, if I can call them competitors. We know the way they operate, [ La Portugieser ], they increase prices by 20% today, tomorrow, mechanically, they'll reduce prices because gold prices have decreased. I know that's not how Richemont operates, but we're in a very different gold market now. So curious to hear your thoughts. And secondly, perhaps also for you, Nicolas or for Mr. Rupert. It's been over a year that Nicolas, you've been appointed as group CEO. Are there any areas where that you've identified where the group or perhaps the individual business areas, divisions could do differently, could evolve, could be a bit more efficient? Obviously, there's been huge cost efficiency in the first half, as we know. Could you share some high-level thoughts on your also perhaps portfolio review, particularly within Specialist Watchmakers and Fashion & Accessories? Are there any obvious brands that may need financial or strategic support or brands that you think maybe might prove challenging to turn around? I'm thinking perhaps Dunhill, Montblanc or Roger Dubuis. Nicolas Bos: Thank you very much for your questions. I think that would require probably a few hours to answer. But starting with the first one, I mean, the pricing philosophy has not changed. We really believe in what we call fair pricing, which is that the price of any of the creation should reflect its interest [ rate ] value. And of course, we need also to take into account variations in the price of raw materials and exchange rates. I have to correct what you said, it does happen that we decrease prices, and it has happened in the past because that fair pricing policy includes that as well. So it has happened. It's true, it's not something easy to implement, but it does happened. And on the very high end, high jewelry, exceptional watches, we do actually adjust prices up or down on a monthly basis from a European pricing that we translate into local currencies. So we have fluctuations that can go up and down. Of course, the primary focus is to limit the increases to make sure that the fair pricing is still there and the attractiveness of the collections is maintained. So we will continue to look at that. We really truly believe that our clients have a really precise understanding and assessment of value. And unlike what we sometimes hear is not because a piece is expensive and a client or collector has significant resources that elasticity is endless and that the price doesn't matter on the opposite. So we are very attentive to that, and we will continue to do so. I don't know if that answers your question. On the second part, maybe Johann will want to say something. But what I can say is that -- and we talked about it before, Richemont is very much about long term and continuity. And then I came after more than 30 years already in the group. So not here to make any form of revolution. I think that's not expected at all. We've seen a period where we had very, very unexpected and strong phenomena during COVID -- after COVID that actually led to a very, very strong ups and downs in performance across the board. And we were seeing also global purchasing trends in Asia, in America and Europe. What we see in the last period, clearly in the last year, 1.5 years is that we come back to a much more differentiated performance by brand, by category, by collection, by geography, in a way, back to what we used to see before that whole period and the pre-COVID and COVID period. So what I'm very, very attentive to with all of my colleagues is to make sure that we maintain or sometimes bring back all of our Maisons to really their core identity, their core expertise that they all have a very, very distinctive offer and complementary offer. We don't see today a global phenomena where everybody does well or everybody is challenged anymore. And my belief and our belief at Richemont is that each and every brand is much stronger when they are occupying their respective territories. And of course, the territory of expression of Panerai is different from Lange and the one of Jaeger-LeCoultre already different from Vacheron Constantin. Same for the Jewellery Maisons or the Fashion & Accessories Maisons. So this is the primary focus to make sure that they are all really playing in their specific respective field. And then taking with Burkhart and the team and all my colleagues, a very differentiated approach. Some of them are very successful, mature international brands. Some of them require still some more support because they are in development phase. Some of them are in redevelopment in some areas. You were mentioning Dunhill with this new, and I must say, fantastic designer, Simon Holloway. We also talk about Montblanc, where we do a lot of work with Giorgio Sarne, the new CEO and the team to see how Montblanc can revolve around the auto writing and the expertise in laser. And you've seen with renewed communications and identity where we try to bring back Montblanc in a way to its core expertise. So this is very much the kind of long-term work, but nothing at the end of the day, different from the previous decades, I believe. Operator: The next question comes from Erwan Rambourg from HSBC. Erwan Rambourg: Congratulations on such a standout performance. If I could just make a comment, you're sounding very low volume-wise. So -- and I don't think I'm the only one suffering from this. So if you don't mind speaking slightly louder. I'll keep it to 2 questions as asked. So one on Van Cleef. We've had pushback from people who are bearish talking about the Alhambra dependence, ubiquity, potential fatigue. Obviously, you're probably fed up with this, Nicolas, since you've probably heard these comments when you were running that brand. But I'm wondering if you could talk about maybe relative performance within Jewellery Maisons. I suspect, Buccellati is booming from a low base, but can you sort of compare and contrast what you're seeing from Van Cleef relative to what you're seeing at Cartier, please? And then second question on Cartier. Obviously, a management change there as well with now Louis being in the seat replacing Cyrille. I'm wondering, if you could talk maybe about -- I know there's no revolution going on, but maybe what the areas of focus can be and what has changed? I think people looking at the group from outside will possibly think that there's greater SG&A discipline at Cartier, that would maybe be a bit simplistic. But what would you call out in terms of maybe the 2, 3 focus points for Louis in running Cartier? And if I can cheekily add another very small question related to Cartier, Love Unlimited seems to be a pretty resounding success. Should we consider this as permanent or more in animation on the range? Nicolas Bos: Thank you very much. It's a lot of questions. And of course, we don't discuss so much performance and results by Maisons. Of course, on the Van Cleef & Arpels side, I need to answer. I don't feel any fatigue about Alhambra. So we have been seeing quite a few of them for 25 years. And I believe that most of our clients and stakeholders share the same view. So to have an icon is a blessing. So it's very often referred to as kind of liabilities. Is there a risk attached to it. At the end of the day, it's a blessing. I mean, the brands that do have iconic clients, in jewelry, in watches, in ready-to-wear or accessories are usually the ones that are very successful in the long-term if they manage to maintain the desirability and the creativity around these iconic lines. So Alhambra is, I can talk about Alhambra for some time, but I'm not going to. But it's -- to me, an extraordinary collection that's been here for more than 50 years and has offered over this more than 5 decades, almost endless opportunities for creativity with sizes, colors, styles. And that will continue, and we see that there is renewal within that collection, and that's widely appreciated. Needless to say, Van Cleef & Arpels like other Maisons is working on other collections. We've seen collections like Perlee. We were talking a bit earlier in the presentation about Flowerlace and Floral collection, some of the watch collections also at Van Cleef & Arpels that established themselves around Poetic Complications. So Alhambra is not the only collection far from that, but it's true that it's probably the most recognizable and iconic one, and it's something that we will continue to develop and protect. At Cartier, the same. Cartier is blessed with having several very iconic collection. Love is definitely one of them, created pretty much in the same period, Alhambra '68 and Love in '69. And Love Unlimited is actually a very important development within that universe of the Love collection. It's not the way I see it with the team and animation. It's really a new expression within Love. Love is a bangle bracelet. And for the first time, it has become so-called and articulated. And I believe personally, and I like jewelry, as you know, it's a fantastic piece and fantastic collection even with my Van Cleef shares, I've been quite -- I have to say and to acknowledge it's really a fantastic collection. And we've seen the response among existing clients of the Love collection or new clients actually entering the world of Cartier. And it's so far, a very, very positive response. So we'll see how it goes. But we believe it's here to stay for the long-term, and the team is already working on the further development around Love Unlimited. As for Louis and Cartier, I think Louis is doing a very good job. The transition with Cyrille is going on extremely smoothly and I pay tribute to both of them. Cyrille is still very involved with some activities at Cartier, if you think of the women's pavilion and all the philanthropic and artistic activities of Cartier. And they work really hand-in-hand with the current team. Once again, Cartier has the other Maisons is evolving and adapting to this new environment. I mean, there is always a new environment and typically the slowdown in China, which was a very, very strong market and still a very strong market for Cartier, something that the team is really addressing now and to see how we can make sure that Cartier will be ready for the next phase of the luxury industry in China. We've seen the strength of Cartier in America and the United States, which is quite impressive over the period. And they're also working there, renovating and improving the retail network and operations. So yes, he has a lot on his plate, but it's very much once again question of continuity with the previous management and the whole history of Cartier, and I'm quite confident it will continue to be very successful. Erwan Rambourg: Very useful. Best of luck. Nicolas Bos: Thank you very much. Operator: The next question comes from Jon Cox from Kepler. Jon Cox: It's Jon Cox with Kepler here. A couple of questions for you. The first one, just on the -- you had a very tight grip on costs, including on the CapEx side of things in the first half of the year. It's clearly an unprecedented environment, potentially maybe looking a bit better with China and Hong Kong coming back. Just wondering how we should think about the costs going forward in terms of you guys have a fantastic track record when things get a bit more difficult. You tend to look very closely at costs and cash flow and that sort of stuff. Is it more about maybe relaxing a little bit more? Or has the... Johann Rupert: Sorry, Jon -- it's Johann here, Jon. What makes you think that it's during tight times that we look at cash flow and cash. Jon Cox: I know you tell all the time, Johann. Johann Rupert: I just want to [indiscernible] your leg. Jon Cox: Because Nicolas is adding a bit more on the cost side maybe than you have historically done. That's the sort of gist of the question. Johann Rupert: No, no. No, then ask it directly. I think you've got to look at Burkhart as the gentleman that's managed to keep the costs under control through COVID up till now. Burkhart Grund: Yes, Jon, and we're not going to give you any guidance going forward, but we intend to confirm the reputation that you just cited and mentioned by keeping focused on that. But remember, this is not a cost-saving initiative that is disconnected from what our Maisons need to grow. And we will always continue to invest where we need to invest to make our -- prepare our Maisons for the future with the right level of resources that they need. So we would never suppress activities that will impact the future readiness, so to say, of the Maisons. We have done during COVID, have deployed an approach that have been executed by all the Maisons with a high level of responsibility and auto responsibility of how to make through a very challenging time. And the same approach is what the Maisons are driving today that they are aware of the external factors, and they know best what resources they need to deploy for the future of the Maisons. And I think this is built into the philosophy of our management teams in the Maisons and in the businesses. Jon Cox: Okay. And then maybe just as a bit of an add. You mentioned a potential EUR 300 million charge if the existing 39% tariff is maintained. If that tariff sort of goes back to 15% next week or in the next couple of days, should we just think it will be 6 weeks' worth of EUR 300 million costs? And just as an add, Johann, you're on the call. I saw your comments earlier to the media saying this misunderstanding between the Swiss and the U.S. could be resolved in the next day or 2. Any further comment on that at all? Johann Rupert: Yes. [indiscernible] those of us, Jon, that were on the call, I -- it was selective. You know what subeditors do. It could be today, but I say the comprehensive agreement would probably take up to February. But I have absolutely no idea. It's in the hands of third parties. So I'm not predicting anything. It was selective editing. Burkhart Grund: Yes. And Jon, based on what we know, which is the current rates, we expect for the full year roughly EUR 300 million impact. Again, after a good EUR 50 million in the first half, where, again, I pointed out that we're pretty much shielded in time from -- through our inventory. But that obviously, once we sell the inventory, we recycle it into the income statement, and that's where we expect overall at current rates, again, current rates, a total cost of about EUR 300 million for the full year. Jon Cox: Okay. I'm just going to throw in a cheeky one. Trade receivables have gone up a lot in that half compared to a year ago, certainly a couple of hundred million. Is this any sort of indication you guys are looking forward to a good Christmas period? Burkhart Grund: I'll answer that question right away, Jon. I just want to add one more thing on tariffs. Let's not forget that the biggest impact of tariffs comes from the tariffs -- the European tariffs, which is, as you know, 15% because we produce a significant amount of jewelry, fashion and accessory items and one watch brand as well in the European Union or inside the European Union. So that impact will stay. Here, the same logic applies. What has been in inventory will be recycled into the income statement, and that is where the biggest part of our sourcing actually comes from, right? So let's not equate just tariff impact with Swiss tariff impact. Second question, we have wholesale debt of around EUR 600 million, wholesale debt, meaning receivables, which are highly current. So this has -- is really on the back of the wholesale channel performance. We have pointed out that retail and wholesale are roughly growing at the same rate, which means that we also have a healthy recovery of sell-in, again, strictly controlled, which is watches, but which is also linked to the very strong performance of our ready-to-wear lines. And I would say this is pretty current. Our inventory -- our receivable days are quite low, talking about 40 days on average. So this is more, I would say, the expression of a healthy business in wholesale today, and I would not interpret that as pointing to the future. Jon Cox: Great. Well done on the figures. Well deserved. Burkhart Grund: Thank you. Operator: The next question comes from Luca Solca from Bernstein. Luca Solca: Luca Solca from Bernstein. Looking at the U.S., I wonder how you're thinking about American demand and whether there could be a reason to think that because of the stock market, because the crypto American consumers are very strong? Or is there also an element of consumers wanting potentially to avoid price increases and buying ahead of those price increases on the back of the tariffs that have been introduced? And how you separate which is which. I wonder if just myself thinking about the possible contribution from demand being brought forward or if that is not really a point that you would see from your retail activity in America. And congratulations, Johann, for apparently sounding the right tone with President Trump seeing the picture of you and Ponte and Dufour and a few others in the overall office with President Trump was clearly refreshing. If that goes through, I think you should be seen as a Swiss hero, but well done. On another point, and that would be my second question. There's a lot of talk about the K-shaped society coming forward. Artificial intelligence applications could possibly make wealth and income polarization and inequality even greater. You have a very broad range of prices to take care of the very rich and the middle class, and you stated that you're very careful to maintain accessibility for all consumers. Are you seeing in the way you're selling, and I'm referring to the different price points at which you sell that this K-shaped reality is indeed appearing and that you have the highest demand growth at the 2 extremes of your offer? Johann Rupert: Luca, as usual, Johann here, a very perceptive question. Plural, but please don't think that I had much to do with whatever the eventual outcome between Darren and Washington is. The -- like you, I'm really concerned, if I could put it like this, about the possible unintended consequences of the AI economy. We know that there will be winners. And -- but perhaps it's easier to spot the losers than the winners 5 years ends. Now -- and the hollowing out and polarization, I would say, especially in the United States, the biggest visible effect that I've seen is a hollowing out of the middle class. If you look at the malls and if you look at -- and I hesitate to mention names of companies. But if you speak to mall owners, they will tell you that Costco and Cartier are still doing very well. It's in the middle that the hollowing out has occurred. And this was clearly reflected in the anger displayed by the voters in the last presidential election. There is a hollowing out of the middle class. That's more evident if you look at where they're spending their money. Clearly, and I won't and worried about this in 2015. Societies cannot live with that massive differential between rich and poor. The problem is that in the new economy, and it's before AI, it's a winner takes all economy. In the past, the bricklayer who made 80 bricks an hour earned x, but if you did 120 or 100, you were paid more, but the person who laid 20% less still had an income. Today, if you write software that's 20% less effective, you get 0. And especially when you have an economy and an intellectual property-based economy where you can increase production at 0 marginal cost. It's a winner takes all economy. And if you look at, let's say, the top 10 companies in the United States and you look at their percentage of capital allocated and how it's circular amongst them, one does get a problem that how concentrated is this capital allocation and the wealth generation. I think I read somewhere that NVIDIA has created in the last year, 1.5 years, 100 billionaires amongst the staff. Now good luck to that. It does indicate that in 5 years' time and if you start looking at the differential between winners and losers because of AI, I think we're going to have more polarization. I suspect that we're going to have abundance. The real question is how is that abundance shared. That will be the real question, any case. Nicolas Bos: Luca, Nicolas here to continue on your first question. We haven't seen so much movement and variations of trends and sales linked to the timing of price increases. So there might be, to your point, some kind of global feeling that you might as well, particularly in the U.S. these days, buy before additional price increase or tariff impact materialize. It's clearly something that's in the air. But we didn't feel a massive impact of that. And over the last 6 to 9 months. We've had different price increases in the respective brands at different timings, but we haven't seen spikes or downs that we could see sometimes before that we used to see, as you know, for instance, in Japan, where a few years ago, if you are planning a price increase, you knew that the month before would be phenomenal and the month after will be really down. We didn't see any of that -- at that level in the U.S. So there is definitely that feeling, but I think it's not so important. And we feel that in a way, if I may, we have clients that -- and collectors that if they can afford and they have a good reason to buy and they want to enjoy it's the right moment. They don't know what the future is made of. So they say we might as well enjoy now and make that purchase because who knows how it's going to go. So this is pretty much what we hear. And so far, it's very much down to the desirability of the brands and the collections and the perceived wealth or actual wealth of the buyers and the clients. And we are discussing a bit earlier today with Burkhart. It's true that we see in a few countries, clients, collectors that are buying much more from their wealth's and their assets or their perceived wealth's and the stock exchange does play a role, of course, into that more than by -- according to their income and the variations of their income. And that's pretty much the case in the U.S. these days. Burkhart Grund: And Luca, if I just want to add one thing. If it were a quarterly spike, we would probably come to a different conclusion, but this is 7 quarters in a row with double-digit growth. So this is probably reshooting a bit that argument. Luca Solca: Absolute Absolutely. I understand the point on American demand. That is very reassuring. Thank you, Burkhart and Nicolas. I also think -- and thank you, Johann, for your explanations that artificial intelligence is proposing monumental questions to politics and society. So we'll see how that is taken care of. Operator: The next question comes from Patrik Schwendimann from Zürcher Kantonalbank. Patrik Schwendimann: Congrats for these outstanding numbers. And thank you, Johann, especially for your support for Switzerland. If the gold price stays where it is currently, how much more pressure on the gross margin do you expect for H2 and also for next year? And how much more price increase would you need? That's my first question. And second question, again, on China, the Chinese luxury consumption has improved recently. How sustainable do you think is this? I mean we've just seen this morning real estate market is still down. Burkhart Grund: Patrik, I really don't want to speculate. So can't really and won't really answer that question. I mean, gold pressure or gold price increase, we've seen it. Maisons have, I think, adjusted to it quite well in the first half, trying to find the right balance between limited price increases, efficiency gains, strong inventory management and strong cost management. And I think the way the mix has come out is quite favorable. And we will continue to apply that approach by our Maisons. And going into the numbers gain, how much would you need it would reduce the quality of the mix in a way. I mean it's not price increases to offset as a singular item, but we're working on many more items of the mix. And I can only confirm that this will be the policy and the approach going forward. But I would refrain with the high volatility that we have and the many moving pieces to -- and I know you have to feed your models, and I don't blame you for that at all. But it's a bit more complicated to actually run these businesses than just applying a simple model. Patrik Schwendimann: But just the recent price development, I would assume that the pressure is increasing, right, because you have a time lag. Burkhart Grund: Well, we have a time lag. Yes, that's the mechanics of it. And price increases also have a time lag because, as you know, most of them were applied pre-summer, during summer and after summer, so a bit later in the first half than from April 1. So that also has a time lag, or a stronger impact later in the year. Patrik Schwendimann: Okay. Nicolas Bos: And Patrik, if I may add, Nicolas here, to that, impossible to predict the volatility of the gold price. As you know, in others -- one of the specificities of jewelry is that gold, which is for many people, an investment vehicle, for us is a working material. So it has always been the case, will always be the case. So we have to see the fluctuations of the gold price and that they impact our cost of goods and our margins. On the other hand, as we discussed before, the desirability of gold and its investment value also, we believe, impact positively the attractiveness of jewelry. Of course, we prefer, and we will welcome your support in advising clients to buy gold under the form of jewelry instead of under purely a financial form because then they get the best of both worlds. But apart from that, we can only react afterwards. As for China, we believe that -- first of all, we've seen a stabilization of our sales. Is it going to last that we've seen the bottom of it? We never know and we cannot predict, but it seems to be stabilizing, both in Mainland China and in general, sales to Mainland Chinese, whether domestic sales or touristic, although we've seen some movements and, for instance, repatriation of sales from Japan to Hong Kong in the last quarter quite significantly. What we see is the strength of certain brands remains extremely, extremely important and that the desirability of certain lines, certain collection and probably the most iconic, the most historic the lines, the more attractive they are these days. We've seen that continue to strengthen. So we are very -- I wouldn't say optimistic, but -- yes, to some extent about China. It's a very, very sophisticated culture. Obviously, there is high purchasing power. It's impossible to predict how it's going to evolve quarter-by-quarter. But we continue to invest in our presence in China in the quality of our presence in the development of the visibility and desirability of our brands, retail network, exhibitions, activities. And we believe it's going to remain a very, very important market, although we're probably not going to see the type of growth that obviously we've seen during a few years before. Operator: The next question comes from Atiyyah Vawda from Avior. Atiyyah Vawda: I have 2 questions. The first one is on the Specialist Watchmakers store network. I noticed that the number of stores have been reduced by 14 during the period. Can you give us a bit more color on what that related to? And then the second comment is on the jewelry business. From a strategic perspective, how easy is it to launch maybe platinum versions of the products, for example, in the Love range or in the others from a manufacturing perspective, but also from the ability of the brand to actually have platinum versions of the current products? Nicolas Bos: Thank you very much. Maybe I would start with the second part, which is a bit more technical, and thank you for that. It's true that platinum that somehow decreased or almost disappeared in the jewelry [indiscernible] category a decade ago is becoming, again, a very interesting material to work with. But availability is still limited, and the workability is very different from the gold. So for instance, you are talking about the gold bracelet or if I'm talking about certain other collections, there are a lot of motives that you can create in gold that are very, very difficult to create in platinum is much harder material to work, and it's also a much heavier material. So it's less adapted to certain lines. So -- but you're right, there is a thinking behind that. And there are lines that are -- that always existing in platinum, but were a bit less visible and that become quite interesting and attractive again. But it's not going to replace gold anytime in the future for sure. It's going to complement at most. And we see that also in the watchmaking, some beautiful opportunities for platinum versions of some iron watches. Burkhart Grund: Yes. Let me just circle back on the Specialist Watchmaker network. Now just a bit of context between internal, meaning directly operated stores and external stores or franchise stores at the Specialist Watchmakers. We're talking about a good 920 stores. So 14 is a slight downward adjustment, which is primarily or a bit more than half is driven by some closures or adjustments on the franchise store network and some very few internal stores that we have closed. It's not in one market. There is a bit in China, but there's a bit in outside of China as well. I'd say, overall, it's pretty much what we do every year. We review the -- or the Maisons review their store network and adjust when they see the need. And this is not something very major that has happened here. Operator: Next question comes from James Grzinic from Jefferies. James Grzinic: I just had 2 quick questions. The first one, Burkhart, you talked to reduced building inventory at the end of half 1, if you compare it to last year, given that strong growth in jewelry sales in Q2. Can I just check that if demand were to grow as strongly in the peak quarter as it did in half 1, your machine really could feed that demand? That's the first question. And secondly, can you perhaps more generally talk to what the customer response has been to those meaningful Cartier price rises through mid-September. Any markets where there's been more resistance than others or vice versa? Nicolas Bos: James, Nicolas here. On the second question, we mentioned before that we haven't seen real significant trends around the price increases. So maybe a very, very case-by-case basis, some slight acceleration before the price increase and slight deceleration after. But even on a monthly basis, it pretty much averages. So we didn't see any noticeable movement there. Burkhart Grund: On the inventory, let me kick off and then Nicolas will complement. Just look at -- let's look at the numbers. First of all, there's about a EUR 600 million increase in inventory. A good half of that, so a bit more than EUR 300 million is linked to either FX, meaning valuation or revaluation of inventories due to the higher input costs, notably gold. So that automatically revalues or increases the value of our inventory. The other half is increased inventory per se. And the split there is between the biggest part of that in really underlying inventory increase is work in progress, meaning in the production or manufacturing process today and a smaller part is finished goods. So this is really just the number side. And when you see the inventory coverage, it's gone from close to 20 months to about 18. So that's really the financial frame of it, so to say. You know that we have been investing over the last years in -- primarily in additional capacity for jewelry making. And you've seen as well in the first half of the year that a bigger part, a bigger share of the CapEx went not just into distribution, but also into manufacturing, and that manufacturing was concentrated in the Jewellery Maisons. So we have been focusing over the last years already also because we've had shortage in lines to rebuild the inventory holdings to the right level and have had good success in it, but this is an ongoing process that we continue to complete. Does that cover, Nicolas, or do you have? Nicolas Bos: No, very much so then we could go more in detail, but it's very much the investment in production workshops that you will find for the Jewellery Maisons at Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels and Buccellati and also at Vhernier and Valenza recently. So we are definitely -- we are very -- we are being cautious. We don't want to build overcapacity, obviously, but we want to make sure that we are ready for the future. And if trends continue to be positive, we can answer to them. With limitations that will remain, availability of craftsmanship for handmade jewelry remains an issue. And then it's a very lengthy process that we tackle of identifying young talent, training them, being involved with the schools and so on. But this is more a 3-, 5-, 8-year journey to train craftsmen. But it's been an ongoing process for years and years. So we're quite confident that we will probably continue to see some scarcity and some shortage on some collections, but that's the nature of the activity. But all in all, our capacity to supply will follow the demand, the way we look at it. James Grzinic: That's great. Thank you, Nicolas. So to paraphrase you, if top line turns out to be demand would support double digit in peak trade, you'll be able to feed that basically given your production capability now and notwithstanding the inventory balance at the end of September. And I presume you are satisfied with price elasticity since those price rises at Cartier in September that will allow you to continue to, I think, that -- use that fine balance of value, affordability, et cetera, et cetera? Burkhart Grund: James, are you trying to find out if you should buy now Christmas present or later? James Grzinic: I already had. So I'm kind of assess that. Burkhart Grund: Okay. So rest assured, that's fine. Operator: The next question comes from Chris Huang from UBS. Chris Huang: Chris Huang from UBS. Congratulations on the results, and I will stick to 2 questions. My first one, sorry, Burkhart, just to come back on the commentary you made on September faster than the quarter. I assume that's a group level comment. So could you perhaps please talk specifically about the Jewellery Maisons as you had newness from Love Unlimited at the end of the quarter, and that should be quite mix accretive. So just wondering if you can touch on the cadence of Jewellery Maisons to help us think about the momentum ahead. The other question I have is a clarification on pricing. Nicolas, you mentioned the pricing you did in September. So thank you for that. But just to clarify, what's the incremental contribution from pricing in Q2, specifically versus Q1 for the division? I'm just trying to understand within that 6 percentage point sequential acceleration, how much of that actually came from pricing? Was it more of a low single digit or mid-single-digit contribution, please? Burkhart Grund: Chris, I'm not sure if we can be really helpful on these questions. They're very, very short-term oriented. I understand where you're coming from, but commenting on a single month and then by -- with a high level of granularity by Maisons is not something that we recommend to do because it can lead to conclusions that are do not reflect the reality of our business. Our business is always be it by year, be it by quarter, cyclical and has as much to do with the current trends as well as the comp base of the prior year. And this is the way I would leave it today. I would not endeavor to go further. Sorry for not being more helpful than that. Chris Huang: No worries, understood. Operator: We will now take the last question from Carole Madjo from Barclays. Carole Madjo: Carole Madjo from Barclays. Two questions, please. The first one, can you share a bit more color on the state of the watch market? Do you feel like the market has finally stabilized, I guess, mostly in China and that the positive growth you are able to deliver in Q2 can be sustained? That's the first question. And then number two, just to come back on communication costs, which was lower in H1. Are you still happy with the ratio of around 10% of sales for the full year, which is what you have been doing over the past few years? I know you talked about some phasing effect. So are there any particular events worth flagging that you will do in H2 to push top line as again, you will be facing tougher comps? Nicolas Bos: Nicolas here, on the watch market, I mean, we would love to be able to predict how that market is going to evolve. What we've seen definitely in the recent period is a stabilization for most of our Maisons. They come from very, very different situations, the respective weight of the geographies. For instance, some of the Maisons were extremely successful in Asia and in China in the past. And of course, the slowdown in China did hurt them more than the ones that had more of an American or European footprint. So we see all the Maisons pretty much coming back to a more healthy and better balanced situation. As I mentioned before, also very much refocusing and focusing on their core collection, core identities and delivering a strong and clear message to the -- their collectors and their stakeholders. So we are seeing some positive impact of all this. How it's going to evolve in the future is difficult to predict. We see, for sure, a more and more differentiated watch market, where it's much more difficult to see a global trend even at the scale or the level of one country or one price category. And if you see, for instance, the success of Cartier watches in the past period, be it in sale or even in attractiveness and buzz around the Cartier collection, it's extremely high and shows also an evolution or kind of coming back in terms of taste towards smaller shaped watches that had a bit disappeared for a period. So we very much have individual and singular trend Maison by Maison, and we try to very much follow them on a very granular level. Difficult to say how it's going to evolve. For sure, what we see, and we see that also through the activities of Watchfinder, which is the secondhand watch business that we own. Burkhart Grund: Pre-loved. Nicolas Bos: Pre-loved, sorry, Mr. Chair. Pre-loved watches. We see for sure that the speculative bubble on watches that followed the COVID period has burst and is gone now, and we are back to a much more, let's say, rational and a bit more predictable consumer behavior when it comes to whether pre-loved or first love watches. Johann Rupert: If I may just make a final observation. These successes at, for instance, Cartier, it's not turn on, turn off. It takes years to develop. And I really would like to pay homage to not only obviously Louis, but Cyrille and what they have prepared. And what you are witnessing is really the power of Cartier. There are only so many Maisons in the world that have the power and the reach and the influence and the trust of consumers across all continents that if they have good products, these products sell and sell at scale. So I mean, this comes from Alain Perrin says, Cartier is a machine, and you are seeing the results of decades of work, really decades. And I'd like to pay homage to all of those people. That's why when you have something very, very good like the new Love's range, it can sell, and it can sell at scale. Alessandra Girolami: Thank you very much. This will now conclude the call. Please do not hesitate, of course, if you have any further questions, and talk to you soon. Thank you. Burkhart Grund: Thank you very much. Nicolas Bos: Thank you. Burkhart Grund: Thank you.
Operator: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for waiting. Welcome to Cosan's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Release Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] The conference call is being recorded and will be available on the company's IR website at cosan.com.br. [Operator Instructions] Please note that the information contained in this presentation and in statements that may be made during the conference call regarding Cosan's business prospects, projections and operating and financial goals are based on beliefs and assumptions of the company's Executive Board as well as information currently available. Forward-looking considerations are not a guarantee of performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and refer to future events that depend on circumstances that may or may not materialize. Investors should bear in mind that overall economic circumstances market conditions as well as other operating factors may affect Cosan's future performance and lead to results that differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. I will now turn it over to Mr. Rodrigo Araujo. Rodrigo Alves: Hi, everyone. Welcome to our earnings call of the third quarter of 2925. Here, we have the disclaimers about future projections and future assumptions with respect to the company's results. Next slide, please. So looking at the financial highlights of the third quarter of 25, you can see that we had an EBITDA under management of BRL 7.4 billion that's about BRL 1 billion less than 2024 and mostly impacted by the results of Moove, Radar and Raizen that we're going to detail later on. We also had given the lower EBITDA and the higher financial expenses, we had a lower net income in the period, negative BRL 1.2 billion. Our net debt was relatively stable in the quarter, slightly higher than Q2 '25. We had a quarter with lower dividends received. Of course, we have a concentration of dividends in the beginning and end of the year. So that's reflected in dividends for Q3. And in that sense, we also have our debt service coverage ratio of 1x. And this is, of course, one of the main reasons why the company needed to improve and enhance its capital structure and did the transactions that we announced recently. And in terms of safety, we continue to have positive metrics, low metrics in terms of incidents. Of course, there's an increase compared to Q2 '25, but still highly efficient ratios. And we continue, of course, to have safety as a priority for the company and continue our journey of improving safety over time. Next slide, please. In terms of operational performance for Q3 '25, we had in the case of Rumo, we had largest -- an increase in the transported volumes but also a reduction in the average tariffs that resulted in an increase in EBITDA of 4%. The company has been repositioning itself over the course of the year to improve its competitiveness in the Brazilian logistics market. In the case of Compass, we had higher distributed volumes in the quarter, also an increase in the participation of the residential segment that has healthier margins and it's quite accretive for the company as well. We continue to see the increase in the volumes sold by Edge in the unregulated market in Brazil. So we saw a growth of 6% of Compass EBITDA in the quarter. In Moove, something that we've been talking about. We already see the company having stable volumes compared to '24. When we compare to the second quarter of 25, there was a 13% increase in the volumes sold. So the company is gaining back its track in terms of volume, even though the EBITDA was 7% lower, and we are working on eliminating the logistics and tax inefficiencies of the new production settlements settings for the company after the fire in the Rio de Janeiro plant. We continue with the CapEx of the reconstruction of the plant. And in terms of insurance, the company has already received until October roughly BRL 500 million of proceeds in insurance. In the case of Radar, we had the sale of properties that impacted positively the results in 2024 that didn't occur in '25. So that's the main reason for the difference year versus year, and we will have the land appreciation review in the fourth quarter. We expect increase in the value of the portfolio given the current market environment. Finally, in Raizen, we have an increase in the pace of harvesting that was favored by weather conditions. So the sugarcane crushing increased in the quarter, even though we had lower sugar prices that affected EBITDA. And we also have an overall lower volume given the drought and fires that affected the company's production for this year. In the fuel distribution segment, we see a very healthy environment. We see operations of the federal police in Brazil and the crackdown of irregular players that's translating into higher margins and healthier margins. So we have quite relevant margins in the fuel distribution segment in Raizen. Next slide, please. In terms of liability management, you can see that, as I mentioned, gross debt relatively stable, net debt slightly higher, interest coverage about 1x. And in terms of the amortization schedule, we continue to have a duration of roughly 6 years with an average cost of CDI plus 90 bps. So no relevant change in terms of the debt structure of the company. And finally, when we look at the cash position through the quarter, we have no relevant events in terms of liability management. We only have the dividends received and interest payments in the quarter. So those were the only events that happened this quarter compared to the second quarter. So that's the main reason for the changes in the cash balance. So next slide, please. So thank you for participating in our earnings call of the third quarter of 2025, and we continue with the remaining of our earnings call. Thank you. Thank you for joining. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Before we begin the Q&A session, Mr. Marcelo Martins would like to say a few words. Please go ahead, Mr. Martins. Marcelo Martins: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us at our earnings release conference call. And before we move on to the Q&A session, I'd just like to make a few comments because this is a key time for the company. I'd like to talk about what Cosan is going through right now. Since there's been a change in management at Cosan, more specifically when Nelson stepped down as a CEO and went to Raizen and I joined as a CEO, roughly 12 months have gone by. So a year after that change, and that's when we first started discussing our objective to improve Cosan's capital structure very objectively, and we discussed different alternatives. We've always made it clear that we wanted to as efficiently and constructly as possible, preserve the portfolio and look for an encompassing solution that would be definitive and to provide a positive perspective for the business and for Cosan. All of you who have taken part in conversations with us, with me here at Cosan or at other events will know that we've always made it clear that our first option was to potentially divest from some assets, but we also wanted to preserve the quality and integrity of our portfolio to continue to be a compelling company for future investments. And that's precisely what we did. We looked at what Brazil was going through, what the market was going through and came to the conclusion that the best option was to find relevant shareholders that could make significant contributions to the future of the company at an investment size that would also make sense. So in our pursuit, we identified a few potential investors, and I am completely confident that we ended up with the best investors possible for the future of this company. We were able to not only increase capitalization significantly, so reducing the company's issues substantially. So even if we still have a residual divestment balance so that we can reduce Cosan's debt to 0 or close to 0 in the near future, which is another commitment I've made to investors. We looked for a relevant transaction with the contribution of these new shareholders as the main factor and also some subscriptions to this new public offering that ended last week. I'm very happy to say, and I can speak for myself, for Cosan and Rubens as a controlling shareholder of Cosan that we are extremely happy to have highly valuable shareholders who have huge credibility in the market. They're very successful. They're fantastic risk managers, portfolio managers. They are very familiar with the infrastructure sector and considering our portfolio right now, they will make amazing contributions to the future of this company. So before anything else, I wanted to thank Boston and their commitment the level of involvement they've shown to the process and the fact that we were able to conclude this transaction. So looking forward, very excited and fully confident in the future of this company. That said, we know that as of now and over the next few months, probably the next year, we will be focusing entirely on integrating the new shareholders with a shareholder getting to know the companies in depth. You know the level of contribution they'll be making and what we expect as well at the Board at Cosan and the invested companies. The objective is to fully engage this group of shareholders, looking at future investments, that should bring the company's debt to 0 or close to 0. We also want to make it very clear that we do have divestment priorities, but this plan will be executed at the right pace so that we can really create value without any pressure to sell assets at any price. That is not going to happen, has not happened and will not happen, especially now that we are in a much more comfortable position when it comes to capital structure. So we will be focusing on our portfolio on identifying the priorities at Cosan looking forward and divesting so that we can execute our plan as efficiently as possible. And we're going to look at growth options down the line once we know the way forward, then we'll be able to look at assets that will become part of this portfolio in the future because, obviously, we want to unlock value and to use the levers we've always used in the past, but which hasn't been possible for the time being, given that we'll be focusing on rebalancing our capital structure. That's the main change now. We have a completely open horizon whilst a while back, there was quite a high level of uncertainty. So that was basically what I had to say. These are just my opening remarks, and we can now begin the Q&A session so that Rodrigo and I can answer any questions you might have about our results. Operator: We will now begin the Q&A session with Mr. Marcelo Martins, Mr. Rodrigo Araujo, and Ms. Camila Amorim. [Operator Instructions] Our first question is from Gabriel Barra from Citi. Gabriel Coelho Barra: My first point based on what Marcelo said is about supply. What was the allocation rationale in terms of supply and the outcome? I know Marcelo touched on it, but if you could provide us with a bit more detail, it would be really interesting to hear about that. And second question, also touching on what Marcelo said is after this capitalization, the company is a bit more comfortable and can now think about restructuring the portfolio, selling assets. If we could talk specifically about Raizen, even if the company is in a more comfortable position now with a better capital structure, Raizen has been burning cash and you've changed the perspective of the second offering to strengthen the subsidiary company's capital structure. So could you tell us about Cosan's strategy considering the subsidiary companies? Will there be a third entrant? What are the options on the table? Could you tell us about that? So those are my 2 questions. Rodrigo Alves: Thanks Barra. I'll start with your first question, and Marcelo can answer your second question. About the offering, this transaction was big enough to be relevant for the company's capital structure and for new partners to come in with expertise in infrastructure in Brazil with a long-term strategy and an amazing plan with the new partners. And that can be seen in the stats of the offering. The first offering was 10x the demand. The second offering was also significant. So we had 2 very successful offerings. And an interesting challenge in terms of allocation. For the first offering, we kept what we said to the market when we announced the offering, so we prioritized existing shareholders. The first offering had one non-shareholder that was long term strategic and was allocated. The rest were all part of the company's existing base. The second offering was a priority offering but we went beyond that and gave allocation priority to the existing shareholder base. 2/3 of the offering was allocated to the existing base. So we've really prioritized the company's long-term shareholders who've been with the company a long time, believing in our recovery journey. So in summary, we had 2 successful offerings where we kept what we had said that we were going to prioritize our existing shareholders. I'll turn it over to Marcelo so he can talk about our capital structure. Marcelo Martins: Well, Gabriel, adding to what Rodrigo said, we were very happy with the level of interest and demand for our first and second offering, which is a clear testament to the fact that the market is betting on the future of the company as well as knowing that this was the best solution possible considering the different alternatives and that we were committed to the market to resolve our capital structure this year. That's why it was so important to deliver on all these elements within 2025. As for Raizen, yes, we do understand solutions for the company's capital structure are required urgently. And I just want to say that I'm very happy with what the company's management has been delivering. And considering all of our expectations concerning what was to be delivered, I'd say management has complied with what we had expected for this year, 100%. Despite the challenging scenario, deliveries have been very positive. And a lot of points were addressed during the call on Friday. We know that this is the best way possible and it will be very positive for the portfolio and for the companies in the future. But obviously, capital structure challenges remain our conversations with Shell have progressed considerably. On a number of aspects that can be potential solutions or solution, we have made progress, although we haven't yet come to a conclusion about the way forward. I'd say that in our conversations with them, the clearest direction compared -- is much clearer than we had a few years -- weeks ago, but we haven't come to a final conclusion yet to announce to the market. We have been working hard on it. This is a massive priority for me and Cosan's team. After Cosan's capitalization we know that we need to focus on that, and we'll continue to work on it with a sense of urgency and closely with Shell so that we can come to a conclusion. I can't share with anything with you for the time being because we're still working on it. We haven't come to consensus on their side or on our side. So no conclusions yet. What we did do recently during the second offering was to announce that we might be using proceeds from that offering to capitalized companies, broadly speaking, and Raizen is included in that. So that remains, obviously. We have already disclosed that because we think that's a key consideration when it comes to Cosan. And depending on the solution, if it's a broad solution with a positive effect, we will definitely consider that capitalization. As I said, we haven't decided on the terms yet. And in fact, the structure to be pursued so that we can continue to deleverage the company hasn't been decided on yet. But our commitment to get to the right solution and to potentially making a capital contribution remains as we had said previously. Operator: The next question is from Isabella Simonato from Bank of America. Isabella Simonato: You touched on many different points, including the new shareholders and Raizen's process. And on Friday, during the call, you also announced several Board changes to the directors. I would imagine that comes from a shareholders' agreement that was signed. But if we could also talk about the context of the changes in directors, which at the end of the day also had an impact on Raizen at a crucial time, as we all know, when they're working on the balance sheet. So if you could provide us with more color about that, that would be very helpful. Marcelo Martins: Well, yes, those changes to the Board are a consequence of the new partners coming in. We had agreed that those changes would take place. And obviously, totally in line with the new partner's contributions to the company. Not only were we expecting those changes, but we also believe that they are extremely positive to the future of the company. Another point, which I didn't mention during my opening remarks, but I will now, before I address the financial changes is that we have been making significant changes at Cosan to streamline the team and to streamline the company itself. We believe that in line with Cosan's future and the contributions the company will have to make to its portfolio, it is important to streamline the holding company and to generate more efficiencies, which is something we've been thinking about for a while and now is the time to do it. I think that streamlining process will be very accretive in terms of value to Cosan. Streamlining the holding company and reducing expenses will also be a huge contribution in addition, obviously, to the capital increase. So that's how we're going to proceed. As for the changes in CFOs. Now that Rodrigo is leaving and with the objective of bringing in people from inside the company who have the knowledge and who can run this area with in-depth knowledge of the portfolio and the process, it had to be somebody from the company. Bergman has been with us a long time, 14 years, I think. He's been through many companies in the group. He has a lot of experience within the group. So he's highly qualified to take on the job. And since the holding company is focusing on the portfolio, the partnership with the new partners and focusing on the portfolio more constructively, it was key to bring in someone, if I may use a word in English that could hit the ground running. So he is somebody who is going to come in and hit the ground running and continue to manage things as we expect them to be managed now that Rodrigo is leaving. And somebody who is going to come into Rafa's place to make the right contributions, who had experienced enough to run such a complex company as Raizen. Hence, Lorival is now taking Rafa's place. What I wanted to say is that during the 2 years, Rodrigo spent with us, he made massive contributions even though it wasn't a long time, he was extremely active. He had a huge role to play and made exceptional contributions to the company. When we said we were going to sell our stake at Vale and with the current capitalization, that means we move BRL 20 billion in the Brazilian capital market in 12 months. That's a historical milestone for any company in Brazil, especially considering current times. So I really want to thank Rodrigo for his contribution, and I wish him the greatest of successes in his next professional stage. Isabella Simonato: Excellent. Marcelo, if I can have a follow-up question, please. Looking at the shareholders' agreement, it's clear that the new shareholders can join the Board, and it's slightly different at Raizen. Rubens -- and will be more in charge of the JV and the JV decisions. Did you make that decision? Did Shell have an opinion? And also, congratulations, Rodrigo, on the last 2 years. And I wish you success on your next stage. Marcelo Martins: These are actually, our new shareholders' agreement will keep the same terms as the pre-existing shareholders agreement. And these were the terms for Raizen already. So what we agreed with the new partners is that we wouldn't change anything. We would keep the same terms. There was no reason to change it, and that is our agreement with Shell. That's why Raizen was the exception. We have kept the appointment of the Board members in line with the shareholders agreement that is in force. As Rodrigo leaves, we're going to replace him at Raizen. We have an idea of who's going to do that, and we should be doing that soon. I just wanted to make that clear. And obviously, it won't be anyone appointed by the new partners for the reason I have just given you. Operator: The next question is from Thiago Duarte, BTG. Thiago Duarte: Good morning, everyone. Marcelo, Rodrigo pleasure to talk to you. If we can go back to Marcelo's opening remarks about the role the holding company has to play in this new context. Historically, Cosan has been going through different formats as a holding company, diversification, then simplification, eliminating holding companies along the way. In the last few years, there's been a significant investment cycle at the holding company and the subsidiary companies. And now with the offering, things are much more tangible. You're talking about a significant simplification with new partners coming in the controlling shareholders group, not only in terms of reducing expenses, but also bringing down the company's debt to 0. So given that context, once this process is concluded or is on the right track, a significant part of it has already been done. What will be the role that Cosan as the holdco will have to play in the future? And I also have a second question. Considering the funds that you raised and considering that a major part of it, if not all, will be used to reduce the holdco's debt, as you said. My question is what part of that debt would you be tackling? Do you think it will be the cost of debt or the maturity, the duration? What kind of an impact will that have on your liability and liquidity? Rodrigo Alves: I'll start with your second question, Thiago, and then I'll turn it over to Marcelo to talk about the holding company. Yes, you're right in terms of how the funds will be used. Substantially, they will be used to pay for the debt, we had already announced that during the offerings. In terms of priorities, there is a cost packing order to be tackled because the duration is compatible. And there's a lot that can go into call in the short term. And the trade-off will end up being positive between a high cost, but also a duration contribution. In terms of the duration itself, I think there is a first stage where there will be a reduction but once the company's credit improves, we'll have more opportunity for tactical operations in the long term. We don't have anything maturing by 2028. So in terms of that kind of pressure there isn't any. And a really good duration for the holding company's horizon. So we'll be focusing on costs, but naturally, there will be an opportunity for a part of the debt, which is callable in the short term to have a positive impact on the duration as well. I'll turn it over to Marcelo so he can answer your first question about the holding company. Marcelo Martins: Well, Thiago the last time Cosan had a capital increase before this one, obviously, was in 2007. So that was roughly 18 years ago. And that capital increase took place before we started diversifying our portfolio because the first acquisition of sugar and ethanol took place in 2008 when we acquired Esso Brasileira de Petróleo. So in practice, all the financing of these acquisitions of the companies in the portfolio took place in the last 17 years, which means that if we had leveraged the company in time because, obviously, that capital increase was crucial for that acquisition, but not enough to build up a portfolio that leveraging took place gradually over time. And it wasn't efficient because it's -- this is a pure holding company. Up to the point where the macro scenario changed, interest rates, skyrocketed and that coincided with the recurring leveraging of our stake at Vale. So we started going in a direction to where to resolve the company's capital structure, either would have to make a significant sale in the portfolio or have a capital increase somehow, which is what we did. So the holding company played a role in the last 17, 18 years that has changed. It doesn't make any sense continuing to use Cosan as a leveraging tool for future growth. First, because it's been clear to us for a while, especially our experience with Vale that we shouldn't develop any other verticals using Cosan's resources. So future investments will be made through the controlled companies when that makes sense again when the time is right. So there's no sense in continuing to leverage Cosan over time. It doesn't make financial sense. It's fiscally inefficient. So the holding company, regardless of our active participation in portfolio management, the holding company will no longer be a vehicle for future investments. We need to consider creating efficiencies and streamlining it over time, and that is our objective for now. Now what will happen once we get to a size that makes sense and the leverage that makes sense, then we'll discuss it again. But right now, we want to create efficiencies and streamline it. Operator: The next question is from Matheus Enfeldt from UBS. Matheus Enfeldt: My first question is based on what Marcelo said about timing. I know it's hard to say, but there's a lot of news about Cosan being in a hurry to resolve investments, to reduce the company's balance sheet in the very short term, which diverges from what you said, Marcelo which is that you now have the time to do it gradually. So I'd like to hear about that timing difference. When do you think we'll be able to see new decisions about the company's portfolio? And also in terms of timing, the message about Raizen sounded very different to my ears in the sense that Raizen doesn't need capital immediately, that it's in no rush, that it can perhaps wait for 2 or 3 years. Whereas what you said, Marcelo, is that they want to resolve it in the short term. So could a potential solution for Raizen happen in the next 6 months? Or do you think it will be over the next 2 or 3 years? So that's my first question. Second question is about Moove. We haven't talked about Moove yet. I'd like to hear more about the company's results. You had quite a solid result. How much of that came from operations? How much of that is a result of insurance proceeds or tax credits? I'd just like to hear about what's recurring and how the operational business is running? Rodrigo Alves: Thanks for the questions. I'll start with your question about Moove and Marcelo can talk about the company's balance sheet and timing. Let me just recap what we showed during the presentation. In terms of volume, the company is well covered. If you compare it to the same period last year, you can see that there's been significant volumes recovery, the reconstruction CapEx. Obviously, the dismantling and reconstruction of the Rio de Janeiro plant is ongoing. And given the volume solution, the company is focusing on eliminating tax and logistics complications in the setup, which transfer interstate products, a return of ICMS credits. The logistics is much more complex than if it was centralized in a single asset. So the company is working on that so that it can land on a new production setup. It's not just about the real plan, part of what was going to be done that will be done to the facilities that we've been acquiring over time, especially in Sao Paulo. So the company is on track to position itself competitively. And given everything that happened, that's quite remarkable. In terms of the insurance proceeds, yes, there was a considerable recognition in the second quarter, another BRL 200 million in the third quarter. But the main thing than the accounting recognition was what we expected that would happen, which is significant cash coming in, BRL 300 million in the second quarter, in October another BRL 200 million, which we have announced and that reiterates our confidence in the process. And we are confident that the company will recover. And again, the Rio de Janeiro plant reconstruction CapEx, as I said, part of the insurance was associated to property. So we expect that Rio's plant CapEx will also be covered and realized over time. I think that's it. And I'll turn it over to Marcelo. Marcelo Martins: Matheus, let me make it very clear so that there is no doubt. Our sense of urgency at Raizen is obviously much more along the lines of 6 months than 2 years. There's no question about that. As we continue to talk and define a strategy with Shell, not only will we announce that, we will also start executing on it as soon as possible. And there is definitely a sense of urgency. No, we do not think that we can wait for 2 years before we find a solution for Raizen's capital structure. The point is that it has been delivering significantly but that's part of the equation. The sense of urgency is there. As for the portfolio, what I said was there is no need for any fire sale of assets. In other words, we will do what's best to solve the company's indebtedness and the portfolio's prospects without burning assets. That doesn't mean there is no sense of urgency, but it's changed with the capitalization. So we have resolved a major part of the capital structure. And the rest will be done, delivered and announced will be executed in a time frame that makes sense, in a schedule that makes sense, for the price that makes sense and the right mood in a coordinated and organized fashion. We don't want to give anybody the impression that we're rushing around trying to sell assets. We didn't do it in the past when we needed to raise funds. So obviously, we're not going to do it now, considering that a major part of that solution has been found. Operator: The next question is from Monique Greco from Itaú. Monique Greco: I have a couple of questions. If you could provide us with more detail about some of the things you've already touched on. First question is if you can comment on the streamlining measures at the holdco level. Have you mapped them? Have you started implementing them? Do you have a time frame in mind to get to the streamlined level you would like? I heard that you are hoping to cut annual expenses by half at the holdco level. My second question is about the divestment agenda. Could you comment on the order and the pipeline? What would make a sense focusing on first? Rodrigo Alves: Thank you, Monique, and thank you for the questions. Well, with regard to implementing measures, as Marcelo said, we have mapped a process to streamline the structure at the holdco level, partly decentralizing some the rules, which is something we had already been doing. Now looking forward, we want to bring the holdco to a level that is strictly necessary. So we'll be focusing on what will remain in the portfolio. For next year, considering this personnel streamline, we should be saving about BRL 30 million for next year. That 50% reduction entails a few other initiatives. As you know, our prospectus announced that we are looking into the company's ADR because of its relevant annual cost. It's over BRL 10 million when we consider all the associated costs. So that's something we're considering, and other things as the physical space as well as other expenses based on what the company has been doing and will take place over time. So without giving you a time frame, we believe that it is very doable to bring -- to cut down on costs by half. As Marcelo said that is key in terms of capturing the value of the deal we announced. So it is in our interest to implement those measures as quickly as possible so that we can capture them also as soon as possible. And Marcelo will tell you about our divestment agenda. Marcelo Martins: As we've been saying to the market, Monique, divestments should take place following the order of capital allocation priority within the portfolio. And obviously, considering that we should start with Radar. So if you look at our portfolio and the level of priority of the business is looking forward, I think Radar is possibly the company where we might consider thinking selling a more considerable share. The rest will come as a consequence of that first step, obviously, depending on the size of the divestment, then we can allocate it to the other businesses as we consider a combination of value, size of the business and the future strategy for investment in those businesses. That's why it's the asset that makes the most sense to start with at the moment. Operator: The next question is from Regis Cardoso from XP. Regis Cardoso: Good morning, Marcelo, Rodrigo. Congratulations on the offering. Your exit will surprise, Rodrigo, but it will leave an important legacy. Marcelo you just talked about Radar, would it make sense to sell more assets or a stake in the company itself? And if you could talk about Rumo, would it make sense to sell a stake? Is there a minimum stakehold and needs to have to remain as a controlling shareholder? And the same applies to Moove, I would imagine that in time, a decision to raise funds at Moove would depend on resuming production. And I don't know if there's anything else on your radar in terms of when it would be possible to normalize things. Marcelo Martins: Well, first of all, with regards to Radar, it's a combination of factors. We can continue to sell properties that are part of the portfolio or sell a part of Cosan's stake. Obviously, there is a trade-off between speed and what makes the most sense in terms of adding value. So we'll look into that to make a decision on the best way forward. We know that, that is compelling to many investors. We have an exceptional portfolio, one of the best portfolios in Brazil. Its size is considerable and a performance track record that is also exceptional. So those are all very positive factors when we consider a significant divestment in that business. As for the other businesses, and I can speak for all other businesses, they are considered very relevant to the portfolio with the potential to create huge value, all of them without exception. If we are effectively going to consider selling a stake in some of them, more diluted stake in more than one of them or if we're going to concentrate it more in one rather than the others, will depend on, first, understanding our strategy looking forward as well as potential buyers and opportunities that may arise. Always, always bearing in mind that value is key. We have built this portfolio over time. We've made considerable progress in terms of growth investments. And obviously, we will make divestments that make sense for the right price depending on the demand, but also obviously considering what is key to the portfolio as a priority. Regis Cardoso: May I ask a follow-up question, please? What about capitalization at Raizen? Is there a maximum amount that you'd be willing to contribute? Marcelo Martins: Well, that is under discussion, but in the context of the offering, I think we've made it clear where that amount would be, right? Where that value would be. We're currently discussing that. I mean it will depend on how our conversations with Shell goes. It depends on what they will be willing to do. It depends on many other factors. But on our side, let's remember all of our statements, the first offering, the second offering and the context. So it will be within those thresholds that we announced to the market. Operator: This concludes the Q&A session. I will now turn it over to Mr. Marcelo Martins for his closing remarks. Marcelo Martins: Well, thank you again for joining us. And this has been a very exciting journey. Our objective is to resolve Cosan's capital structure and more broadly speaking, all the group's companies. We are extremely happy with where we've got to and very excited with the prospects for the group, its portfolio and a clear notion that we will be able to create significant value, again, as we have done in the past. So we want to stop just resolving the company's capital structure and start building again. But until we do so, that's what we'll be focusing on. Construction will come after that. Once again, I want to thank Rodrigo and the whole team for their huge effort, the professionalism, everyone at Cosan, even through tough times when we're talking about cutting down on our personnel, as we know, their level of commitment and professionalism is unique. We are undoubtedly one of the best companies in terms of its people. I want to thank my own team. I want to work -- to thank everyone who works for the companies in the portfolio, and thank you for joining us. Thank you. Operator: Cosan's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Release Video Conference Call is now concluded. For further questions, please contact the Investor Relations department. Thank you so much for joining us, and have a great afternoon. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]
Hendrik du Toit: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Ninety One interim results presentation for the half year to 30 September 2025. I will highlight the key numbers before moving to the business review. Kim McFarland, our Finance Director, will then present the financial review. I will then update you on recent developments and conclude before we take questions. Those of you participating through the webcast can submit questions during the presentations via the chat function at the bottom of your screen. Assets under management rose more than 19% over the past year. Flows turned around strongly. We recorded net inflows of GBP 4.3 billion for this half year, resulting in adjusted earnings per share growing by 15%. This net inflow number consists of GBP 2.4 billion of organic inflows and GBP 1.9 billion that came from the Sanlam U.K. transaction. The dividend per share increased to 6p per share and operating margins expanded to 32.1%. Staff shareholding grew to 32.7%. The people of Ninety One are fully aligned with all our other shareholders. I'm delighted to report that our business is growing again, in terms of revenues, earnings and assets under management. This is supported by investment returns and a significant turnaround in net inflows. We are sticking to our core strategy and investing in our existing growth drivers, while selectively backing new growth initiatives across our ecosystem. Investment performance remains competitive. The Sanlam relationship is delivering, and Ninety One is poised for further growth. We always show the long-term track record of Ninety One to remind everyone that we are about growth over time and not growth all the time. The business has been built over many years in a patient and predominantly organic way. Markets have been supportive of late, but we are clear that sustaining growth over time takes focus, rigorous execution, discipline and belief. We remain committed to our people-centric, capital-light and technology and AI-enabled business model. Market conditions have improved over the reporting period. The panic that followed Liberation Day is now history, and animal spirits are back supporting overall equity market levels. More interestingly, we are observing a new openness to diversification of institutional portfolios, which includes interest in emerging markets. This interest seems to be driven by the desire to diversify geographically as well as a recovery in relative returns. Given the high concentration levels in indices, we are also witnessing a renewed interest in active strategies. A little over 1 year ago, I reported to you in a world in which active long-only and emerging markets across the capital structure would deeply out of favor. Therefore, Ninety One was experiencing a third consecutive year of hostile business conditions. I'm delighted to report that these conditions have improved substantially over the past year. Despite the strong performance from emerging markets and the rise in financial asset prices generally, we are some way off historic levels of demand at this stage. As mentioned at the end of the previous reporting period, our industry continues to be extremely competitive. Clients are setting high standards and continue to be price sensitive. Fee pressure remains a challenge. It goes without saying that Ninety One is exposed to market levels and how financial assets are priced. A sharp decline in markets will affect revenue generation and new business volumes. More generally, the Internet era is being replaced by the AI era. This touches every industry, including our own. At Ninety One, we are embracing this and look forward to reporting progress in more detail in due course. In summary, conditions have improved, while competition remains relentless in this industry. Equity markets have done well over the past 3 years with headline indices close to doubling. Over the past 6 months, our clients continued to benefit from strong performance. Emerging markets in general have outperformed developed markets and the strength in South Africa further contributed to our assets under management and driving these through the threshold of GBP 150 billion and $200 million, respectively. In fixed income, we have also seen positive returns, even though developed market bonds have had a tough time. Ironically, this is where most of the inflows in our industry have been over the past few years. Emerging market bonds are doing much better, and we expect demand to grow in this space. This is an area in which Ninety One is one of the market leaders. Since our listing, investors showed little interest in emerging markets. We're now seeing a decline in the active outflows in equities and an improvement in the environment for specifically active equities. For the second half year in a row, we're seeing positive active fixed income inflows. But as you can see, we are still well below the long-term demand levels for emerging markets. Judged by recent client engagements, we expect demand to pick up in due course. This assumes a world in which risk assets remain attractive. The outflows that have been with us from 2022 have started to reverse in the second half of the 2025 financial year, and inflows have now accelerated into the first half of the 2026 financial year. In addition, we have added GBP 1.9 billion of Sanlam U.K. assets with the completion of the acquisition of Sanlam U.K. We also benefited from the strongest year since 2020 in terms of market and portfolio growth. We are mindful of the fact that markets do not usually go up in a straight line, and we remain vigilant on the cost front. These slides show organic net flows, excluding the Sanlam take on. We had substantial equity inflows largely in our competitive global equity offerings, and positive flow in all asset classes, except multi-asset. This related to our own performance and general client demand. We have addressed the situation by bringing in new leadership and renewed focus on the multi-asset part of our business. The majority of our client groups were positive for the half year given the pipeline. And given the pipeline, I'm hopeful that U.K. will show positive results for the full year and that South Africa will return to positive net flows for the second half as well. Investment performance has been solid over the period, and we can compete in the areas where we need to compete for net inflows. As always, a few strategies have done outstandingly well while there are also laggards. Overall, we have a competitive offering, which has the potential to generate ongoing net inflows and meet the high standards of our clients. I now hand over to Kim McFarland, our Finance Director, to take you through the financial results. Thanks, Kim. Kim McFarland: Thank you, Hendrik. I'm here to present a set of strong financial results for the period ended 30 September 2025. I would like to highlight that our core operating business has again produced a solid outcome. Management fees and adjusted operating expenses both increased by 3%, resulting in the core business recurring results increasing by 2% on the prior period to GBP 82 million. Management fees were at GBP 290.7 million. This is as a result of the increase in average AUM from GBP 126.7 billion to GBP 139.7 billion, alongside a decline in the average management fee rate to 41.5 bps. More on this later, but worth noting that the increased closing AUM positions Ninety One's revenues well for the next 6 months. Adjusted operating expenses of GBP 208.7 million includes the interest expense on the lease liabilities for our office premises and the full bonus accruals. It does exclude nonoperating costs. The business produced an adjusted operating profit of GBP 98.8 million, up 12% from the prior period. This increase is predominantly as a result of higher performance fees of GBP 4 million. Other income is negligible and there's mainly a number of fair value adjustments on seed investments. There were FX losses as a result of the stronger GBP to USD in the period. So the adjusted operating profit margin increased from 30.5% to 32.1%. And at the finals for 2025, we reported an adjusted operating profit margin of 31.2%. So let me explain further the decline in the average management fee rate. This is calculated as a monthly average and over the 6-month period has shown a slow decline. However, there was a market fall at the end of H1 2026, which we have analyzed. During the period, daily average AUM upon which the management fees are generated, consistently lagged monthly average AUM upon which the average management fee rate is calculated due to the manner in which markets moved markedly during the period. And this effectively overstated the average management fee rate decline by an estimate 0.8 bps. Calculated on a daily averaging basis, the actual daily average rate is closer to 42.3 bps. So closer to a fall in 1 bp over the 6-month period, which is higher than our historic guidance. There were further factors that are impacted on the fee rate in the period, which were a significant AUM increase in lower-than-average fee rate clients. The Sanlam U.K. take on being an example, although this impact was small. However, the take on of large mandates at lower-than-average fee rates has and will have a material impact on our management fee rate, an AUM decrease for higher than average fee rate clients. The U.K. OEIC being an example, and this would have had an estimate 0.5 bp negative impact. And at the same time, there were some downward fee adjustments for existing clients who generally compensated with additional assets. Ninety One's profit before tax after considering the list of nonoperating adjustments, adjusting net -- adjusted net interest income, the small share scheme, net expense, corporate-related professional fees and now the amortization of the intangible asset as a result of the U.K. Sanlam transaction increased by 10% to GBP 102.2 million. At the interim, the share scheme is generally a net expense. And this is largely reflecting the amortization impact from prior year credits where staff bonuses were allocated to Ninety One shares. At the year-end, we have a better understanding of the share scheme and the allocation of annual staff bonuses to Ninety One shares. Remember, we fully expensed the bonus payments within adjusted operating expenses, irrespective of how settled. IFRS requires the amortization of bonus-related share awards over 4 years, which is then included in the share scheme expense. The effective tax rate for the year was 25%, down from 26.3% in the prior period, and this was driven by higher earnings in lower tax jurisdictions. And in the prior period, there were a larger number of nondeductible expenses. So the above factors resulted in a profit after tax of GBP 76.7 million, up 11% from the prior period. And our adjusted EPS shows a 15% increase to 8.4p, more than the increase of adjusted operating profit of 12% due to the lower effective tax rate on the adjusted operating profit and a lower number of ordinary shares for the calculation of adjusted EPS. So this analysis summarizes the absolute movement in adjusted operating profit from H1 2025 to H1 2026. It clearly shows that management fees, performance fees and other income increased. These increases were partially offset by the increase in employee remuneration, but noting business expenses were actually lower by GBP 2.7 million than the prior period. This is the analysis of the movement in adjusted operating expenses. Adjusted operating expenses increased by 3% to GBP 208.7 million. Employee remuneration represented 64% of the total expense base. In the prior period, it was 62%, and increased by GBP 9.5 million to GBP 134.1 million. This was driven by an increase in fixed remuneration consistent with the increase in head count and annual inflation increases as well as an increase in variable remuneration in line with increased adjusted operating profit. Over 50% of employee remuneration remains variable and the resulting compensation ratio was 43.6%, up from 42.9% in the prior period. Business expenses decreased by 3% to GBP 74.6 million. We began to analyze the cost changes, at a high level, we've broken this down -- the movement down as follows: inflation-linked increases of GBP 1.4 million for those costs that are impacted by inflation. FX-linked impact was negative GBP 2 million. And there's been a pickup in technology spend of GBP 1.7 million, with other costs then decreasing by GBP 2.8 million. Technology now is the largest business expense. Previously, it was third-party administration. Looking ahead, we're expecting business expenses to be impacted by inflation, ongoing technology spend and the move into the new offices in Cape Town planned for January 2026. Post the Sanlam integration in South Africa, there will be a cost impact, which will be predominantly headcount driven. So increases to employee remuneration as well as the resulting general operating costs. This is showing the business expenses and total expenses as a percentage of average AUM in basis points over a 5.5-year period. The adjusted operating profit margin over the period is also reflected here. Irrespective of the movement in AUM, business expenses have marginally decreased over the period, even noting the continual investments in our core technology system. Total expenses as a percentage of average AUM hav,e, in fact, declined aided by the growth in the denominator. The adjusted operating profit margin has remained in the range of 31% to 35%, reflecting ongoing cost management with the underlying AUM growth. Ninety One's qualifying capital was GBP 316.3 million at the end of September 2025. In line with our dividend policy, the Board has proposed an interim dividend of 6p, this is an increase of 11%. After this dividend payment, there will be an estimated capital surplus of GBP 155.3 million. This will result in a capital coverage of 245%. During the period, we continued with our buybacks, and this resulted in another return of capital of GBP 20.4 million and a reduction of 14.1 million shares. We did, however, issued GBP 13.7 million of plc shares for the U.K. Sanlam transaction in the period. In line with our capital-light model, since listing over 5.5 years ago, we have returned close to 60% of our initial market capitalization to shareholders. So a few updates regarding the Sanlam transaction. All regulatory approvals have now been secured. The U.K. transaction completed on the 16th of June 2025, with the result of GBP 1.9 billion of AUM on boarded and Ninety One plc issuing 13.7 million shares. It's planned for the SA transaction to be completed by the end of the financial year, which results in expected total onboarded AUM of circa GBP 17 billion and revenue in line with what we previously reported. An additional 112 million shares will be issued when the SA transaction closes. Now reviewing the position for H1 2026. The adjusted EPS and operating margin were accretive. There was a slight dilution on the average fee rate, which I mentioned earlier. And also, as previously mentioned, we will be waiting the shares issued to Sanlam for the determination of the adjusted EPS for the interim and then for the final 2026 results. For the interest, this looks as follows. So shares in issue, excluding Sanlam U.K. is GBP 882.7 million, weighting of shares issued for the Sanlam U.K. is 13.7 million times by 107, the days since the transaction in the period, divided by 183, so the days in the total period, which gives you 8 million shares. So shares in issue for adjusted EPS calculation is 890.7 million. The actual number of shares and issue at end of September 2025 was 896.4 million. The intangible assets arising on the balance sheet for the Sanlam transaction will be amortized over 15 years. To note, this is tax deductible in the U.K. but not in South Africa. And so on that final technical point, I will now hand you back to Hendrik. Hendrik du Toit: Thank you, Kim. At Ninety One, we think long term and our commitment to our strategic pillars do not preclude us from constant improvement and development of our firm. Over the period, we've continued to invest in talent. We've broadened the top leadership team and evolved accountability throughout our firm. We ensured that our 3 core opportunities international public markets, Southern Africa and private markets are adequately resourced to compete effectively as market-facing units, supported by our 3 pillars of investments, client group and operations. And so as we go into the second half of the year, we have formed a dedicated international public markets team, which can focus on the commercial opportunity for a recovery in demand for active investment management especially in international and emerging market strategies. We have a focused and strong Southern African team to take a market-leading business to an entirely new level. Finally, we've reinforced our private markets team with fresh talent and additional senior leadership and asked them to accelerate progress in this growth market. We are backing new growth opportunities out of the recently established Ninety One Foundry. These include in-region presence and partnerships in key emerging markets, allowing us to become domestic competitors in certain regions and deepen our investment insight in these fast-evolving markets. For example, we opened 2 offices in the Middle East in the previous reporting period. We have now put additional resources in, and we are building an on-the-ground domestic business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which includes a strong investment presence. In Asia, we're developing an exciting joint venture with a Singapore-based alternative investment firm with deep experience and relationships in the region and in particularly China. This will strengthen our investment capabilities in the region as well as positioning us to compete more effectively for capital flowing out of the region. We have established a digital finance unit with dedicated leadership to provide clients in certain markets with a far better experience than they traditionally have received from asset management firms. We've committed substantial resources to AI-related innovation which we will update you on further at the end of the year. I must stress that these developments are fully expensed through the cost line and are not consuming significant additional capital. Over the reporting period, we've made meaningful progress on the technology front, which includes a major systems migration. Now that this has been fully completed, significant resources have been freed up for further enhancements and innovation. These are the additional 3 areas of growth we're pursuing, which we believe will impact the way we run our business in years to come. What we're really trying to do is from strong foundations, build the active investment manager of the future. To become the active manager of the future, AI is key. At Ninety One, we approach AI on 3 levels: advocate, equip and use. So this is how we rate ourselves. We see quite high levels of adoption, we see reasonable levels of experimentation given the widely available AI tools to all our staff members, sort of 6 out of 10. Then our people have embraced it, and we are working hard to get our proprietary data organized for the effective deployment of AI across the firm. The proof of the pudding is in the transformational impact of AI. We have much to do on this front. The business is stronger than it was in the previous reporting period, supported by better business conditions and recovering demand. We plan to improve and modernize our business through disciplined investments in and adjacent to our core activities and markets. Emerging markets and the search for diversification are coming back into favor, which supports us. Active investing has a role to play in this world particularly within emerging markets and in the global equity opportunity set. The strategic clarity and simplicity of our business model enables us to seize the opportunity with pace and strength. In short, we see renewed opportunity for growth. Thank you very much. We can now move on to Q&A. We will take questions in the room first, and then will watch -- then we'll take questions from webcast viewers. [Operator Instructions] I think Angeliki, you had the hand up right in the beginning, so. Angeliki Bairaktari: This is Angeliki Bairaktari from JPMorgan. So your flows were much stronger than the previous semester, GBP 2.4 billion. And we -- you say in your presentation that you feel that active is back. Can you perhaps give us a little bit more color with regards to where you see that strength coming from I think you had APAC, Middle East and also equities. But if you can just give us a little bit more color on the pipeline that you're seeing for the next 6 to 12 months where you see the strength coming from? And that's my first question. And then maybe on the management fee margin outlook. There's a lot of moving parts there, relative to my expectations, the management fee margin followed more. I think we still have some dilutive impact to come from Sanlam once the further AUM gets onboarded on the platform. So how should we think about the run rate, management fee rate for next year perhaps? Hendrik du Toit: I think you've asked the real questions that we all need answers for. So I can give you color on what we see rather than a prediction, Angeliki. So firstly, the -- if I can go to the flow or the pipeline that we see. Firstly, the result is again emphasizing the strength of our diversity. We source capital from the same kind of client but in different regions around the world. They have slightly different perceptions on risk and on willingness to take risk at a point in time. And that's why we've seen equity up weightings from large clients in Asia. And that's really where we've seen it. In the rest of the world, particularly North America, where we've delivered some positive, we are seeing a significant search activity or investigating activity's about how to diversify's their portfolios. That flood's gate has not yet opened. We expect that given the sense that markets normalize over time, and we've come out of a long period of underperformance for the rest of the world relative to the U.S. And we know these things go into 10, 15-year cycles. There's a very good paper on our website about dollar cycles and dollar cycles and international investments seem to be highly correlated. You can go and read that. So -- but what we have seen in the last 6 months picking up from the previous 6 months, not the year ago, but the preceding half year is an intensity or intensification of client and search a client engagement and, call it, presearch engagement. What, of course, can change the flow picture is whether we, in this very competitive world win in the very final stage. I mean an example in the last 6 months, and it really hurts me to say it. But after eliminating all competitors, we came second for a sort of close to $5 billion mandate, one client that would have made this figure look a lot better. And so we are driven, and I think you should understand it Ninety One deals in the upper end of the institutional market. Small numbers of clients make a big difference. The fee on that depends on where they're already engaging with that client at scale, and therefore, the client gets a better deal and we price persistency as well. So clients that are persistent, and this is not price cutting, but clients that are persistent have proven themselves to be persistent over time, get a better deal than those who rent your capacity. And so sometimes, we would not do a deal, which we could do and create great inflows to make all of you happy because we know this client is a capacity renter. And they'll come for 3 years and then cause a problem for us when they go out again, whereas others deserve the respect of a value-for-money deal plus scale benefit. So it's very, very difficult to predict where we are. I think we still, with our underlying guidance of market fee pressure is around -- and I still think it's around the 1 where we are is 50% of our growth typically when we're in growth cycles is upweighting from existing clients, 50% is new. If those existing clients are the big ones, your fee goes lower, if they come from general market, mutual fund market, et cetera, your fees are a bit better. But I think over time, Ninety One is moving towards and increasingly institutional. So the breakdown in the addendum to the slide pack, the appendix where we show institutional versus adviser actually, we are trending towards a much more institutional business. And even in South Africa, where we have a strong advisory business, those advisory firms are getting bigger and bigger and behaving more like institutional multi-manager. So I think -- we're going through that lowering a fee process but hiring of what increasing of volume and therefore, increase operating margin but not necessarily on a fee basis. So I think the 1% we guide to is still the underlying fee compression in our industry. We might as of late, be hit by something a little more or less, but it depends. And it also depends on the growth of the alternatives business because that is a still and where I see the real fee pressure in our industry is actually on the alternatives business. I don't think the 2 and 20 models are going to hold because if clients look at their fee budgets, this is where. So what they're currently doing, just an interesting thing in private equity, private credit, et cetera. They pay the full fee, but then they do a deal on the side to co-invest for nothing. So what is the real effective fee of providing those services and your capabilities to a client for free. So I think about -- it would be a really interesting work -- a piece of work for you to do when you look at that side. So I think that's where the fee pressure is more than in ours, but we are preparing for a world where we have to be at least 1 basis point more efficient every year. And I can't tell you whether we're going to be at 40. Right now, I'll -- Kim, I think you've got the answer. We're running at a slightly higher fee level, maybe you can add here for me, then actually the number shown there. Kim McFarland: Yes. Well, I kind of explained that in my sort of daily -- I think I did that on the call this morning actually as well on the sort of daily, monthly factor. But I think you're sort of -- you're asking the question about looking ahead. And Hendrik is right, we are seeing pressure on the fees, both. You've got the standard 1 bp a year that we advise on. But when you're looking at both new mandates, but actually more so existing client mandates that are coming on board at lower rates and then giving us the asset to compensate. So hence, we're seeing the pickup in the AUM, but they are often negotiating at lower fee rates. So this is why we're definitely seeing more fee pressure. Hendrik du Toit: But for us, it is -- the value lies in embedding those relationships for the long term. And if you can do that, you have a higher-quality business. But what we're not doing is price-cutting to win volume. We don't going out there saying, "Hey, we're cheap". But this -- and I still believe, this market will settle down when nominal interest rates are on the rise again because actually, it's hard for a treasurer or someone to sign a check, when he earns it out of interest, it's easier. So I think there's a -- there is a link, which one day will prove statistically, but we can't give you an exact number now. The next step on the pipeline, we're seeing substantial opportunities against scale ones, so there won't be fee level enhancing ones, they'll probably be roughly where we are for the rest of the year that we should convert. What we don't know is where the unexpected redemptions or changes in strategy can happen with the client. And that's the problem when you deal with these large clients. They get a new CIO, they get staff changes and a new strategy comes in, you're being seen as okay, but not necessarily central to the strategy. So -- but I'm fairly comfortable that the visibility of the pipeline is better than it's been in recent reporting periods. Jonas Dohlen: Jonas Dohlen here from Deutsche Bank. Just one follow-up. Yes, just one follow-up on the fee margin. I was just wondering if that guidance now includes the Sanlam or if that's still on kind of the legacy assets on that 1 basis point... Hendrik du Toit: Sanlam is lower because it's a $20 billion deal. So it's lower, and it's largely fixed income assets. Jonas Dohlen: Yes. But on a group level, you expect 1 basis point... Hendrik du Toit: Yes, on an organic basis. So there's an organic basis and then there's the Sanlam transaction. And what I'm saying, the 1 basis point is the market pressure. If we were to ex Sanlam or if we were to get a big up weighting from a sovereign wealth fund where we already have a premium deal because they've got billions and billions with us, it's probably going to be below that fee level. If we win 500 million mandate chunks, it will be at or around or above that fee level. You see. So that's why I'm saying the market -- the institutional market pressure is roughly 100 basis -- or 100 basis points per year. The -- sorry, 1 basis point per year excuse me. 1 basis point per year. But the -- for us, Sanlam is a separate transaction and then obviously hugely accretive from a profitability point of view, and it depends then what kind of flow we get. Jonas Dohlen: Great. And then just on the tax rate as well. I think you mentioned... Hendrik du Toit: I don't understand... Jonas Dohlen: 25%. Kim McFarland: 25%. Correct. Jonas Dohlen: Being a reasonable number to go forward. I'm just wondering how to kind of square that circle. I mean you have a higher tax rate in South Africa, and that amortization part not being tax deductible as well? Kim McFarland: But we have tax in many other jurisdictions as well. So it's linking up the 2 of it. And -- you're right. When I'm looking at it, I'm looking for the next 6 months and the South African impact is only -- it's going to be in the results for a couple of months next year. I think looking ahead with the nondeductibility of the amortization piece, it will tick up a bit. Hendrik du Toit: Piers, you'll come back in new uniform. Piers Brown: Yes. Indeed, yes, it's Piers Brown from Investec. Hendrik du Toit: Very good. Piers Brown: So very happy about that. I might be greedy and actually, go for 3 questions. So the first one, yes, just back on to the fee rate conversations. So I guess, if you look at this from the perspective of the operating margin, you're -- I mean you printed 32%, which looks very good for the first half. If I take out the performance fees, you -- which I know is a slightly dubious calculation, but it looks like you're maybe sub-30%. But the question would be just on the fee rate outlook, do you think 30% is still the level you can protect? Hendrik du Toit: I think you have to compensate higher average assets under management, that compensates a bit because remember, the markets had a run close to the end, there was Liberation Day down than up. So your average AUM doesn't reflect your actual AUM. And you've got to look at where the sterling is strong or weak, which then deflates a big cost base. So I'm more comfortable than you. But you are right, there's -- the core revenues have not grown as much as they should have. So we don't run to a target actually. And therefore, it's not something we monitor daily. But I'm not at this stage, I'm comfortable that we're going to come back to you with a 25% operating margin, put it that way. Kim McFarland: I think that's too right. I think you've also got to recognize the fact that we're taking on the Sanlam assets, as I said, next year at a low cost. Hendrik du Toit: And I would remind everybody, we've bought I know we call the GBP 1.9 billion acquired growth, but we bought back those shares already. So if you think about it, it's just a mandate win, the big one is going to take a bit longer, but if we can do that, if we have the cash flows, then you know what, it's actually akin to an organic transaction. Piers Brown: Okay. Second one is just on the composition of flows. And sort of relating this into Sanlam, but I mean you've had GBP 1.3 billion of Africa outflows, offset by very strong inflows in Asia Pac. Is there anything in the Africa performance, which is maybe impacted by clients reallocating in advance of Sanlam or... Hendrik du Toit: No, no, it's not Sanlam. It's the -- South Africa is actually a very competitive market, and it's very transparent. When you know exactly what each competitor is doing and your cousin or your kid works at the competitor, you literally know what goes on. And so we had some performance pressure in 1 or 2 strategies, which didn't get -- the market goes quickly, moves quickly against you. We've had the back end of the so-called 2-pot system, which means money was released out of the pension system, where if you're a large provider, you have to suffer that. That is now gone. So that structural bit has left. And then, of course, there was the back end of the internationalization of the SA equity or SA investment market because the exchange controls were relaxed for international opportunities opened up for retirement funds. The Minister gave a big -- a few years -- 2 years ago, a big -- there was a big change in the -- what they call Regulation 28. And that means they could invest more. So there was a structural flow abroad. Typically, to new competitors rather than to someone already has a high wallet share with a client because it just makes sense for those clients. And actually, international passive was a big winner there where we don't compete. So I think those 2 forces are over, think on our investment side, we have all intends -- we intend to be very competitive, and we have recovered quite a lot in terms of competitiveness. So I think on all 3 factors, we're stronger in the second half than the first, but it is one of those markets where if you have a big share and you're not absolutely on top of it, the competitors come after you and we've got some very good competitors in that market. Piers Brown: Okay. Perfect. And just maybe a last one on capital. So 245% capital coverage ratio. I think you've sort of indicated 200% in the past is where you'd like to be. It doesn't feel like there's an awful lot of need for seed capital for some of the new initiatives. So the obvious question is, would you look to move closer to the [ 200% ]? Kim McFarland: We will -- I mean, as you noted, we've continued with buybacks in the actual period. We will continue to look for opportunities to use additional seed capital for buybacks when we're comfortable with the price, and obviously in agreement with the Board. Hendrik du Toit: If pricing is reasonable, we think reducing the denominator is always better than just paying out the cash. But we must look at where the market goes. And who knows, there may be opportunities. Any other questions? Investing definitely add value for money, you'll get your dividend. Varuni, are there any of online questions. Varuni Dharma: Yes. There are a few. First one is from Brian Thomas at Laurium Capital. Are you able to comment on the buyback program that was suspended during the half? Are there any metrics that you take into account in determining when you buy back stock that we should be mindful of? Hendrik du Toit: Before we answer that, there's -- Kim just reminds me, there is one thing in the Africa side. There was a 1 single client sort of -- and many clients pay out and eventually but reallocated away from us as well. So you should sort of have the impact of that number. And that's why I'm quite confident that it can turn around. Sorry, on the buyback, yes, we carefully -- we carefully look at value and value in the context of the industry and the context of what we see ahead because the one downside with buying back is if you overpay for your own stock. And therefore, it's always a consideration and a discussion with the Board. It's not an automatic buyback process. And -- but our industry has been so extremely -- I actually had benefit of last week in Paris when I went to watch the Rugby and I have to remind, I know the French listeners, it was a wonderful moment for South Africa and Paris. But in spite of referee against us, we're still -- but I actually went to watch the Rugby with someone who used to be one of the top financial analysts in the market about 25 years ago -- 20 years ago. And he's gone to private equity. He hadn't looked at valuations of asset managers. He was -- it's a bit like talking to someone who fell asleep 25 years ago because he was completely mind boggled by the relative valuation of asset managers against other financial firms particularly wealth today because in his time, it was exactly the opposite. We were the 20 multiple shops and the others were single digit. So I think broad -- and that reminded me again, that these cash flows, quality cash flows are still, in my opinion, or at least in our opinion, fairly cheap, which is why we have also been acquiring stock slowly and as a management team because we think the market is not appreciating the quality of the cash flows we generate. And so even though they don't -- may not grow as much organically there could be -- and there has been a re-rating of late. Now if the re-rating is too much, we will obviously step away. But our industry is still structurally very cheap compared to other cash flows of similar quality. I mean just close your eyes, 30%-plus operating margins is that's tech. Okay, what do you pay for tech? Palantir last when I looked at 185 PE multiple. So it's very different. And it's in that context that we think rather than in short 1 month, 1 week, 1 quarter valuation cycles. But there is a proper process, which Kim can talk to you about when she reports it again. Do you want to add something, Kim? Kim McFarland: Yes, that's fine. Hendrik du Toit: Any other questions? Varuni Dharma: Yes. Next question, Murray Winckler from Laurium again. Congratulations on returning to net inflows for the business. Headcount increased by 8%, which seems high. What should we expect going forward? Hendrik du Toit: Murray, well to done to you, by the way. You're one of those guys stealing business. We will have to come take it back. Just I mean that is one of the big questions. Can we get to a bigger -- a real efficiency for our business? That's about the digitization and the technology investment. But we should also remember that there was some preparation for -- although we're not taking on many people from Sanlam, there's a significant preparation for taking on a book of that size that -- and then there's also the improvement of our communication with end clients, which we had to invest in to make sure it's there. And again, technology over time will make that a lot easier but it was really important, and we've had challenges on -- with South Africa being on the gray list. We've had real challenges on dealing with our international funds into South Africa and our service capability had to just be much sharper, much better equipped to deal with it. And then we've also been building the private markets business, which is much more -- actually much more human intensive than certain public markets investment businesses. And that's about the reasons. I don't know Kim, are there any other ones that you pick up and you want to... Kim McFarland: I think that's right. I think the pickup in a lot of op staff on the IP platform in South Africa. Likewise, on the Sanlam. A lot of them are actually long-term contractors at this stage because I see it as a temporary thing. So I think the sort of more permanent headcount growth has been in private markets and within the actual business. So I think the question is what are we thinking about it looking forward? I'm not seeing an 8%. I wouldn't be looking at an 8% increase in headcount going forward, I think, would be my answer. Hendrik du Toit: And I think with a better use of technology, we could run the same quality service, leaner, that includes client acquisition, client service, investment processes, but it's very important to do these things very slowly over time. I'm not as bold as the big banks that say that they will run -- I mean, 2 of the big bank CEOs in Global Bank CEOs confirmed to me that they'll double their business over the next 5 years with the same staff levels. That has to be seen whether that's going to realize, but those are ambitious goals. I think we should have similar goals, but it's early stage saying it because the promise and the layer of technology is always there and then the delivery is slightly behind. And we've -- those of us who have worked in the markets a long time have realized that. But definitely don't budget for a 8% staff increase, Murray. That's not going to happen. Varuni Dharma: Next question from Jaime Gomes, Laurium Capital. Can you please explain the expected total onboarded AUM from Sanlam remaining the same as what it was this time last year, circa GBP 17 billion. Has the book experienced some outflows given the strong market performance over the last 12 months? Hendrik du Toit: The book is roughly -- it's the same number. There might be a little benefit rand to sterling exchange. So it might be a little more in sterling. But remember, it's a very fixed income, heavy book. There are also -- there could be a few wins associated as well, but we first got to deliver them. So we're very comfortable that the numbers will reflect what we told the market at least. Varuni Dharma: Next question from Hubert Lam. Can you give us an update on the alternatives business and new initiatives, including private credit? And he has a second question, which is, how should we think about further investments you need to make in AI and tech and what that means for your cost base? Hendrik du Toit: Hubert, nice to get a question from you. I know you have another meeting, so you're not here in person. I would say that my simple answer is private markets are hard. And I'm so glad we didn't buy an overpriced boutique to grow, which then doesn't grow, okay? Because the top guys dominate they've got such a strangle hold. And so that's my one point. I think we found niches which we can live in and defend and grow. And what we have actually done is put some of our -- to make sure they get the full support of the firm, put some of our top leadership very close to the private markets guys and they support them to get through and we build it around and particularly around our emerging markets positioning. Now what we know is the emerging markets haven't had huge flows as such. We think there will be appetite and there will be appetite coming. We modest net inflow have been consistently in that space. But we are building through our cost line, and it's fully reflected in our cost line, we are building capability to be actually -- to be fully competitive in our various areas. And I think our focus is private credit. And private credit and transition credit, and that is very clear, and we have built a market name and position there. So we would expect accelerating flows to follow. But those businesses take -- will take a while to impact -- to truly impact on the bigger Ninety One bottom line. If you model us, model us largely as a long-only business, long-only active business because that's still very dominant in terms of revenues and flows. Kim McFarland: Cost. Hendrik du Toit: And yes, but private market is costly to build. It's high fee, but costly, whereas public markets could be done very efficiently with slightly lower fee, and that's the sort of trade-off between the businesses. But we do see the merger. And so the partnership we announced in the joint venture we announced with in -- with the Singapore based, which we are about to announce because we'll probably -- will probably sign in the next few days, and that's why we haven't been long on detail because anything still -- things have to be -- until they're fully signed, you don't want to talk too much. But there, we have -- we're talking to a business which does long short and crossover between public and private. Now I think these universes are getting closer, and one just has to make sure you understand what happens to the other side of the liquidity fence rather than just staying in the curated even if you want to be a very good long-only business staying in the highly curated screen-based long-only part of life. You've actually got to get -- understand what entrepreneurs are doing and what's happening in the ever longer pre-IPO pipeline because we do know a lot more happens on that side of the fence now from venture right through to growth. And I think that's important for us. But as these things emerge, who knows what product constructs will look like, who knows what client appetite will look like. Clients today are still very organized in boxes between the so-called alternatives units, which is now quite frankly, mainstream and active long only, which is becoming increasingly alternative and passive. So they've got their different boxes. But as they start looking at the total portfolio approach, who knows how they are going to buy and that's what we need to be prepared for. Kim McFarland: And I think the question on uptick in technology spend or AI spend, which was the other one, I think Hendrik mentioned the fact that our big technology replatforming exercise did complete early this year. So those costs are now -- and the ongoing cost of that are actually largely built into our figures. AI has largely been a part of our operating cost line. So the gain, how you should think about it is really a continuation of what our cost base is right now. Hendrik du Toit: Yes. And we absorb in what is available or what can be bought. We don't go to bleeding edge development. The big thing is getting your data organized. And I mean it's been with -- that data story has been with me ever since I've been in this firm. Everyone said we have to organize our data better. But you can get so much more value if you are properly digitized as digital middle business models are showing, it is not trivial and that easy. But as a midsized business, if we can't get it right, nobody can get it right. So -- but we're spending resource and effort on it to make sure we can extract maximum value given the enhancements of the available tools. And they are genuinely moving very fast. And I think 5 years from now, we will be in an entirely different world, and we need to be ready for it. Any other questions, Varuni? Varuni Dharma: Yes, a couple. We have a couple of questions on buybacks. The first one from James Slabbert from Standard Bank. There was a slide on the existing capital stack in the business, would it be aggressive to model for annual buybacks far in excess of earnings remaining after the payout of dividends. I think you've touched on that. But -- so by modeling for buybacks in excess of earnings. And then whilst we're on buybacks, a question from Keenon Choonoo from Investec. Is there a preference between Ninety One Limited or PLCs when considering buybacks? Kim McFarland: So we look at both the plc and the limited lines as far as buybacks are concerned. In fact, we look at even PLCs on the JSE line when we look at buybacks. So we look at all three because there sometimes is a variation in price. So we look at all 3 -- effectively 3 lines, although there's obviously 2 shares to answer that question. As far as buybacks to ceding earnings, we look at buybacks from a capital position. So we -- it comes back to the question asked earlier by peers, you aim for a 200% capital position. We're in excess of that. So I'm rather looking at my capital position, understanding, yes, is there any seed? Is there any regulatory requirements. As you mentioned, there's not an awful lot of that at the moment, but we take that into consideration and at the same time, then look at opportunities for buyback based on surplus capital that we're holding on the balance sheet. Hendrik du Toit: Yes. But we -- what we don't do is this is a highly operationally leveraged business. It will only be an extreme that we will leverage the business. You remember, this is what sticks out asset managers. They go on leverage and then they get the fall in assets under management. They get outflows and the debt stays the same and the equity gets wiped out. So we will be very, very careful to ever go beyond what we can do out of our ongoing earnings or surplus capital. Some other industries, people get very brave. I think, yes, this is probably one of the reasons why we haven't bought the firm from the market yet, okay, because you don't leverage these businesses. . Varuni Dharma: Another question from James Slabbert for clarity on the 1 basis point fee margin compression. Would you apply that to the current fee rates that H1 2026 or the FY '25, so the year-end? Hendrik du Toit: I think we've already done this year, we've already done it. I mean we doubled it. So we think we could have a -- we're not 100% sure, but we could have a far lower decline in the second half, just given what's happened in flow dynamics, excluding the Sanlam. But -- and it's really a gut feel here. But that 100 basis points feels like the underlying trend in the market, not necessarily ours. And James, I wish we can't even forecast it to our Board where we're going to be -- it's very -- you've got a very hard job at doing that. I don't know whether Kim can give you any more wisdom except to say the trend is not up. Kim McFarland: Well, I think you're right. I think you're going to look at the most recent fee rate. And if it's in the half year, so you're taking half or 0.5 based on the most recent fee rate, but then you have to take into consideration, as we mentioned, the Sanlam assets coming on board, which will have a further impact and should we take on any large new mandates in the period. If we see those flows, there's likely to be further fee erosion, hopefully not, but there's likelihood. Hendrik du Toit: You see -- especially when you do the relationship deals, with a large insurance company or something like that. And they are genuinely sensitive because it hits their profit, but they can give you assurance about commitment, timing, i.e., embedded value or present value of the deal, that's different from when you get in the normal distributed pension market OCIOs most -- many of them are in -- or multi managers are different because you're not going to compete on price there at all. So it depends where the flow comes from. What we haven't seen, and I think that's the bit you should understand. We haven't seen the sort of -- I've hinted that there are opportunities to grow. But the good times aren't back yet. When you get into the good times and clients want to deploy fast and -- they just want to get the money out there. Then price sensitivity tends to take a backseat. At the moment, they have lots of time to deploy. They're thinking multiyear. They're not chasing markets. I think if you get up severe underperformance or you get -- and I don't think we're going to see it immediately, but if you get a big correction in the dollar, then that changes life. And that's the positive for us. But I don't want you to model that. Varuni Dharma: Last question from Herman [ Van Veltsa]. Do new clients favor fixed fees? Or do they tend to opt for performance fees? Hendrik du Toit: Herman, nice to hear from you again. Another old campaign. I wish clients wanted to give more performance fees because the way you could resolve this constant fee bickering and say, come on, pay us afterwards, pay us properly. But Interestingly, clients have typically been burned by performance fees because they end up paying more. And so they're reluctant to do that. They're also reluctant to go to the -- I mean, in mutual funds, where it's quite prevalent in South Africa, it's not actually encouraged in the rest of the world. ETFs are very difficult. You can't really do -- it's difficult to do, whereas institutional owners don't want to go and pay the big check and ask their Board to pay a large check to a manager unless it's in the alternative bucket. Now again, if those buckets fade and different kind of people contract with us, we could possibly push more performance fees. We think it's a way to align well, although buy-side analysts or sell-side analysts would say it's lower quality of earnings. But I think we could make more profit. They're very happy to do that when they buy Millennium or Citadel. But for some reason, there is a reluctance in our space because that's just what it is. So we would be quite open because we know, over time, 80% of our offerings beat the benchmark. So it's in our favor. But -- it's not the reality today. So I wouldn't model for much bigger performance fee component in our business. I'd roughly keep it similar, noting that a period of good performance, we will own more performance fees. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, and I'll see you after second half, and I hope the positive -- the positive hence, have realized, but it's up to the market. Thank you. Kim McFarland: Thank you. Hendrik du Toit: Thank you very much, guys.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and good evening. Thank you for joining Sohu.com Limited's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After management's prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Today's conference call is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. I'd now like to turn the conference over to your host for today's conference call, Huang Pu, Investor Relations Director of Sohu.com Limited. Please go ahead. Huang Pu: Thanks, Rebecca. Thank you for joining us to discuss Sohu.com Limited's third quarter 2025 results. On the call are Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Charles Zhang, CFO, and invest president of finance, Gemstone. Also, us, Chang will see with the Win Chen and the CFO Bin Wang. Before management begins their prepared remarks, I would like to remind you of the common safe harbor statement connection with today's conference call. Except for the information contained here, the matters discussed on this call may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates, and projections, and therefore, should not place undue reliance on them. All risky statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. For more information about the potential risks and uncertainties, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent annual report on Form 20-F. With that, I will now turn the call over to Dr. Charles Zhang. Charles, please proceed. Dr. Charles Zhang: Thanks, Huang Pu, and thank you, everyone, for joining our call. The 2025 marketing services revenues were in line with our guidance. Well, both our online game revenues and the bottom-line performance are benefiting from our continuous efforts in the gaming business and were well above our prior expectations. We recorded positive net income this quarter. For the social media platform, we continue to refine our products, integrate resources to better meet users' needs, and enhance their experiences. Meanwhile, leveraging our product metrics and distinctive events, we remain committed to generating and distributing diversified premium content and continuously energizing our platform. Our differentiated advantages and unique IP enabled us to further unlock monetization potential. For online games, both new and established titles delivered outstanding performance driven by our deep understanding of our needs and proven operational expertise. Before going through each business unit in more detail, let me first give you a quick overview of our financial performance. The 2025 total revenue is $180 million, up 19% year-over-year, and 43% quarter over quarter. Marketing services revenues are $14 million, down 27% year over year and 13% quarter over quarter. Online game revenues are $162 million, up 27% year-over-year and 53% quarter over quarter. GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Limited is $9 million, compared with a net loss of $60 million in 2024 and a net loss of $20 million in the second quarter of this year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Limited was $9 million, compared to a net loss of $12 million in the third quarter of last year and a net loss of $20 million in the second quarter of this year. Now I'll go through our key businesses in more detail. For the Sohu platform, we continue to leverage cutting-edge technologies to optimize our products and promote deeper integration across our product metrics. This enabled us to further adapt to various narrows, improve operation efficiencies, and enhance users' experiences. At the same time, relying on the synergies between various online and offline events, we continue to stimulate the generation and dissemination of premium content and attract more users to our platform. In the quarter, we hosted a variety of events and activities to further build a vigorous social networking platform, providing users with abundant opportunities for online and offline communications. The 2025 autumn convention of social media influencers effectively promoted deeper communication among broadcasters across different verticals and significantly increased their vitality and retention on our platform. The ongoing 2025 Sohu Hip Hop Dancing Festival and other model competitions successfully ignited the passion of young people and further consolidated our influence in these areas. All these activities gained widespread recognition and popularity, continuously infusing a large amount of content and traffic into our platform. As a result, we were able to further expand the influence of Sohu and fostered a prosperous platform ecosystem. Additionally, we also held special theme activities like the Halloween American TV series party. Not only did we engage users with innovative content forms, but it also became a highlight of our social media's American TV series month, which brought audiences classic dramas such as Westworld and The Mandalorian. Meanwhile, we also launched multiple TV dramas, original drama, and short dramas during this quarter to attract and retain users. The original drama, The Rebirth, was well-received by audiences, attracting more users to our platform. Through our flagship IP, the physics class, and Charles's physics class, we continue to strengthen our differentiated competitive advantages and create monetization opportunities. With trust, we were able to reach a wider audience through discussions on popular science topics and hot events, bringing physics knowledge closer to the general public. This not only helped us generate unique and premium content, but also consistently unlocked monetization potentials. Together with the resources of Sohu's product metrics and our marketing capabilities, we actively adapted to market trends and provided advertisers with customized marketing solutions through a series of innovative campaigns and events, which are highly recognized by both audiences and advertisers. Next, turning to our gaming business, in 2025, we launched a new PC game, TLBB Return, based on a beloved early version of TLBB PC. The game features reduced grinding and pay-to-win pressure, offering players a lighter gaming experience. It helped us attract many former players, and its revenue performance has so far exceeded our expectations. For TLBB PC, we also launched game content for TLBB Vantage that recreated the classic design of the game, which evoked nostalgia among players. Players' enthusiasm was far beyond our expectations. With regular TLBB PC updates, we offered new gear and rewards for our promotional events and redesigned the cross-server clan wall gameplay, which boosted willingness to pay among higher-paying players. For mobile games, we launched an expansion pack for Legacy TLBB Mobile, which brought enhancements to the OEN clan's skills alongside a new storyline and engaging activities. Revenue for this game remained stable on a sequential basis. For the mobile TLBB Mobile, next quarter, we will continue to launch expansion packs and content updates for the TLBB series and other titles to further keep players engaged. Amid an increasingly competitive market, we remain committed to our top game strategy. We follow a user-centric philosophy and adhere to sound methodologies and a systematic R&D process to enhance efficiency and product success rates. As part of this strategy, we are taking concrete steps to unlock the potential of our TLBB IP. Meanwhile, building upon our core strengths in MMORPGs, we are working to diversify into new types of games, including card-based RPGs, sports games, and casual games, as well as expand our offerings for global markets. Now I'd like to give an update on the ongoing share repurchase program. As of November 13, 2025, Sohu.com Limited had repurchased 7.6 million ADS for an aggregate cost of approximately $97 million, accounting for two-thirds of the $150 million program. With that, I will now turn the call over to Joanna. Joanna Lv: Thank you, Charles. I will now walk you through the key financials of our major segments for 2025. All numbers are on a non-GAAP basis. You may find a reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures on our website. For the social media platform, quarterly revenues were $70 million, compared with $73 million in the same quarter last year. Quarterly operating loss was $71 million, compared with an operating loss of $72 million in the same quarter last year. For Changyou, quarterly revenue was $163 million, compared with $129 million in the same quarter last year. Quarterly operating profit was $88 million compared with operating profit of $62 million in the same quarter last year. For 2025, we expect marketing service revenues to be between $50 million and $60 million. This implies an annual decrease of 15% to 20% and a sequential increase of 10% to 18%. Online game revenue is expected to be between $130 million and $123 million. This implies an annual increase of 3% to 12% and a sequential decrease of 24% to 30%. Both non-GAAP and GAAP net loss attributable to Sohu.com Limited are expected to be between $25 million and $35 million. This reflects management's current and preliminary view, which is subject to substantial uncertainty. This concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, we would now like to open the call to questions. Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, please press 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press 11 again. We will now take our first question from the line of Thomas Chong at Jefferies. Please go ahead. Thomas Chong: Hi. Good evening. Thanks, management, for taking my question. My first question is about the online game business. Given our online games performed very strongly in Q3, I'm just wondering how the quarter-to-date performance is so far? In particular, when I look into the guidance, it basically implies a sequential decline. So I'm not sure if we are a bit conservative in giving out Q4 gaming guidance. And on the other hand, when I look into our portal business, when I look into the advertising side, we are actually seeing quite a sequential rebound in terms of the advertising revenue. Can Charles, may I ask about how you think about the macro sentiment coming into Q4, as well as the trend for different categories? And based on the current visibility, how should we think about the brand advertising outlook in 2026? If there's any color on that? Thank you. Huang Pu: The performance of the fourth quarter so far is in line with our expectation. The strong third quarter results are primarily driven by the successful launch of a new game, TLBB Return. Meanwhile, the new servers of TLBB Vantage also performed very well, achieving historic highs. So the actual revenue of the third quarter exceeded our expectation a lot. The performance of the fourth quarter depends mainly on the performance of new TLBB Return and the content and activities that we will launch during the first quarter for TLBB PC, Legacy TLBB Mobile, etc. Thomas Chong: Okay. So I think the Q4 rebound... Thomas, you... Is the same? Yes? Above the Q4? Yeah. Yeah. I think since the user... The whole ad base is not that big. Right? So it kind of oscillates a little bit. It depends on some, like, some, you know, a pact signed late and allocated to this quarter but went to the next quarter. Right? So it's... But we do have some... First of all, the macroeconomic situation is not that good, you know, under pressure. And different sectors like auto and IT services continue to deteriorate. But as our new innovative marketing campaigns or services are unique, we are still able to attract some advertising. So we are going against the trend and basically stabilizing the advertising revenue on a small basis. Because in Q4, we have some good events creating opportunities to advertise. Thomas Chong: I see. Thank you, Charles. May I ask a follow-up question about AI? Like, can you comment on how AI is integrated within Sohu.com right now? And are we seeing better productivity, cost savings, or enhanced advertising monetization so far? Thank you. Dr. Charles Zhang: I think AI has more impact and usefulness or improvement in productivity on the gaming business. Right? For Sohu.com, we are not developing a large language model. Instead, we are using AI to improve the user experience. Like for our social media platform, AI can summarize video content and provide subtitles. Also, in our news app, there are AI-enhanced search and question-answering features. So we are basically using AI and different models to improve our existing media and social network services, rather than investing heavily in the hardcore large language model. Yaobin Wang: The application of AI is mainly applied in art design, code generation, and game planning creation. Dr. Charles Zhang: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. We will now take our next question from Alicia Yap at Citi. Please go ahead, Alicia. Alicia Yap: Hi. Yeah. Thank you. Good evening, management. Thanks for taking my questions. I have a couple of follow-ups. First, on the gaming, can management share with us what are the biggest surprises you learned from the TLBB Return version? And which one is the bigger driver in terms of the outperformance for this quarter? Is it the TLBB Vintage new server or the new game TLBB Return? And I understand you gave out the Q4 guidance. You mentioned this reflects the current situation. I wanted to know, is the Vintage server seeing a drop-off in users, or are the new titles TLBB Returns seeing a sequential decline in users and revenue? Any color on that for Q3 and Q4 would be helpful. And then, a second question for Charles on the macro situation. I think you mentioned auto, IT services, and the ad sentiment seems to be deteriorating. Are there any industry verticals or subsectors you see either improving sentiment or it being about the same as the last few quarters? Thank you. Huang Pu: The first surprise from TLBB Return is that the user spending is beyond our expectation. Because it was positioned as a gameplay that's more relaxing and requires less time. And demand for spending is also less. So, originally, we thought the users' paying wouldn't be very good. Dr. Charles Zhang: Yeah. Huang Pu: Second, the retention is very stable, better than our expectations. As for the contribution to revenue increase of the quarter, we do not disclose the specific numbers for individual games. So far, the user base for both TLBB Return and TLBB Vintage are very steady, but their revenues are trending down. That's because TLBB Vintage performed very well in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, we plan to roll out fewer promotional activities. For TLBB Return, as it was newly launched in the third quarter, it will experience natural decline compared to the initial launch period because users tend to have a stronger willingness to pay when the game was initially launched. Dr. Charles Zhang: Okay. So your second question is about the macro situation, the sectors? Yeah. Overall, the ad market is under pressure. For example, in the auto industry, there's fierce competition as there are too many car companies. They need to promote their brands and sales to stand out. However, the profit margins are very low for them, so the ad budgets are thinning. With this situation, we have unique campaigns like a physics class and social network distribution, allowing us to get ad budgets. The auto industry is flat but still declining. We are also looking at consumer electronics. China's manufacturing base is strong with many new products, but these need marketing for the domestic market. Our innovative offerings, such as live streaming and social media distribution, allow us to get consumer electronics advertisers. So, despite the deteriorating market situation, we can get some advertising. Huang Pu: Okay. Thank you, Charles. Operator: Thank you. I am showing no further questions. And with that, we conclude our conference call today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.
Operator: Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to StubHub's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, November 13, 2025. I will now turn the call over to Clinton Hooks with StubHub. Clinton Hooks: Thank you for joining us to discuss StubHub's Third quarter 2025 results. For reference, our third quarter 2025 earnings release and presentation are available under the Quarterly Results section of our Investor Relations website at investors.stubhub.com. Before we begin, please note that today's discussion will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. We assume no responsibility for updating these statements. Therefore, please exercise caution in relying on them. For detailed risk factors, please refer to our SEC filings. We'll also discuss certain non-GAAP measures, which we believe are useful to investors for evaluating our performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for GAAP results. Full reconciliations to GAAP measures are available in our earnings release. Unless otherwise noted, our profitability and EBITDA discussions today refer to non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA. Joining me today are Eric Baker, our Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Connie James, our Chief Financial Officer. They will provide opening remarks, then take questions. With that, I'll turn it over to Eric. Eric Baker: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our first earnings call as a public company. I want to welcome all our investors, both those who supported us throughout our private journey and those who are new to the StubHub story. We're grateful for your trust and partnership, as we embark on this next chapter together. Today, I'll focus primarily on the progress we've made in establishing StubHub as a leading live event ticketing marketplace and on our strategic initiatives. I'll then hand it over to Connie to speak to our third quarter financial performance. While we won't be providing detailed 2026 guidance on today's call, we look forward to sharing our outlook during our next earnings call in early 2026. With that said, I want to begin by stepping back and discussing the business that we have built over the last 2 decades and share the long-term vision of where we are going, one that continues to be defined by a customer-focused and relentless drive to make live entertainment accessible to everyone everywhere. The past few years have been transformative for our business. We completed the StubHub acquisition, navigated the pandemic, fully rebuilt StubHub's technology stack, restored StubHub as the clear category leader and have now entered the public market. Our thesis for the acquisition was to restore StubHub's market leadership in North America and create a unified global ticketing marketplace. Our business today is the result of the successful execution of that thesis, and we are very proud of the asset that exists as a result. Today, StubHub operates what we believe is the largest global secondary ticketing marketplace for live event tickets, selling over 40 million tickets annually across more than 200 countries and territories from over 1 million sellers all over the world. Our many years of leadership in the resale market have created brands synonymous with the category, resulting in moats around our business and durable competitive advantage through customer loyalty and trust, organic traffic and superior acquisition and conversion. We maintain what we believe is the most comprehensive operations and supply chain capabilities in our category, the largest event catalog in the world and the capability to fulfill virtually any ticket across any category, all through a single global marketplace. Our business produces a huge data asset as tens of millions of people interact with our product services on what we believe is the largest floating price marketplace for live events in the world. This data on supply, demand, pricing, user behavior, etc., provides structural advantage through differentiated product innovation, marketing optimization and pricing intelligence. Finally, this is all built on a single, modern, globally deployed technology stack, allowing us to rapidly innovate across our product surface and nimbly deploy features using new technologies, something becoming increasingly important as AI development shapes the future of digital commerce. Our business has built a rare combination of best-in-class financial attributes that create exceptional value at scale with proven durability. First, we are growing rapidly with nearly 20% GMS growth over the last 12 months. Second, our marketplace models operated with enduring economics, consistent take rates and high margins. Third, we built a profitable customer acquisition engine that allows us to grow and take market share while generating profits through our performance marketing channels. Fourth, our asset-light business model and the natural flow generated by our marketplace dynamics result in exceptional cash conversion. Fifth, we've demonstrated remarkable resilience through economic cycles, consistently growing nearly every year since inception. And finally, we operate in a large and expanding core global secondary ticketing market with durable long-term tailwinds. In addition, we have opportunities for significant TAM expansion through accessing the broader ticketing ecosystem. We believe you would be hard-pressed to find many other companies to check these boxes. That said, we are most excited about leveraging these assets to realize our vision to become the global destination for consumers to access live entertainment. We believe that buyers want one destination where they can purchase any ticket for any event in their language and currency. Sellers want to optimize revenue and attendance through broad distribution and pricing intelligence. We believe we can service these needs by building a single product that puts the world's live entertainment at fans' fingertips and services their needs throughout their entire journey. This is not something that exists in our category today. This is a product and service that can only be built by applying technology and relentless customer focus to eliminate friction around the live event experience. Technology businesses innovating on behalf of consumers have reimagined access to many products and services, information, music, video, food, but not yet for live entertainment. This is exactly what StubHub is, a business with a core competency in technology development focused on applying its expertise to revolutionize the way consumers interact with live event commerce. With this context, we can turn to some of the topics I think are top of mind regarding recent developments in our operating environment. First, we wanted to discuss some recent developments in our core resale market. Restoring StubHub's market share in North America was the key tenet of our acquisition thesis. Following our acquisition of StubHub in 2020 and the completion of the technology migration in 2022, we have consistently gained share in the North American market, transforming StubHub from a business that was roughly comparable in size to the nearest competitor in 2022 to one that is now approximately 4x larger than that same competitor based on GMS and comparable metrics. This momentum in share gains and the subsequent positive impacts of relative share we observed led us to invest in accelerating this dynamic via disciplined customer acquisition and conversion levers, specifically take rates and performance marketing, which continued in the most recent quarter. I want to highlight one specific downstream impact of this share gain, our growing share of the point-of-sale market. In our market, the point-of-sale is a software product used by power sellers to manage the listing, pricing, distribution and fulfillment of their ticket portfolios. Sellers build their operational workflows around the software infrastructure, which becomes sticky as a result, like many enterprise software products. For many years, the technology was provided by one of our competitors, whose product had the majority share of the market. We recently launched our own product called ReachPro. As our relative market share of sales volume has increased, we've seen rapid adoption of our technology. We have benefited from a powerful network effect. As our marketplace captures a larger share of sellers' sales, these sellers are increasingly willing to migrate their operations to what we believe is our far superior technology, backed by our unmatched data and insights. In the secondary market, installation of ReachPro naturally produces higher relative market share. When sellers use our tool, they tend to index their behavior around our marketplace, ensuring competitive pricing and high standards of fulfillment, leading to structural advantage and benefits for our buyers. It also provides valuable data insights, which can be used to improve the quality of our products and a strategic product development surface to launch advertising products and innovate with features that will serve large sellers even at enterprise scale. Q3 was both our largest relative market share quarter to date and the largest quarter of new seller adoption for ReachPro. We believe we have line of sight into becoming the largest provider of this product in the medium term, a durable and strategic asset created in part via our relative market share investments. This brings us to the next topic, direct issuance, which we believe will be a major innovation to original issuance ticketing distribution that will promote competition and improve the fan experience while improving economics for ticket issuers. As I mentioned earlier, we believe buyers want a single platform that offers access to all the world's live entertainment. At the same time, sellers maximize revenue and attendance by accessing the broadest possible distribution with the smartest pricing intelligence. Our strategy to unlocking this value proposition is through what we call direct issuance. Generally speaking, there are 3 seller types in the market: individuals, power sellers and enterprise sellers. StubHub and viagogo began as platforms to service individual sellers, season ticket holders, concert goers whose plans change and so on. As liquidity of the market grew, market makers developed. Power sellers selling large quantities of tickets through the marketplace on a regular basis, and we ultimately developed products such as ReachPro to allow these sellers to manage the listing, pricing and fulfillment of tickets seamlessly. For our business, direct issuance simply refers to expanding the supply side of our platform once again to allow enterprise sellers, content rights holders like teams, arts and venues to access our marketplace through a frictionless technology-enabled experience as any individual or power seller does. We believe simultaneous multichannel or open distribution using data-backed pricing intelligence is the future of ticket distribution, as it will maximize value for fans and content. To be clear, this is a very different model to legacy primary ticketing companies. Primary ticketing company's core service is to provide access control to venues. And secondarily, they provide a retail web storefront with limited or no marketing. Content today, for the most part, sells an inventory through antiquated distribution methods. They often sell tickets, expiring products that drive huge economics exclusively through these access control providers. The result is an opaque market with huge inefficiency, narrow distribution, lack of pricing intelligence and ultimately, unsold seats and tremendous value loss for content, not to mention a lack of competition leading to a terrible experience for fans. We are not competing with this model, and we are not providing access control technology. We offer something new, the ability for content to access StubHub's distribution engine through a variety of options that does not require them to switch their access control provider. We make our distribution available to content rights holders with no exclusivity requirement, broadening their distribution and empowering them with robust data insights from our scaled floating price marketplace to make informed pricing and utilization decisions. This means content rights holders can access our marketplace, distribution, data and customers, in the same way individuals and power sellers can. They can list tickets multichannel across retail outlets at whatever price points they choose to optimize their utilization and yield, and we compete to sell inventory the same we do today. We're actively making investments to grow this business and demonstrate the benefits of open distribution's content and are excited about the progress we are making. We recently signed a partnership with Major League Baseball, a great example of one of the world's premier sports properties endorsing open distribution. MLB momentum has continued, and more teams are continuing to become sellers on StubHub, several of which are doing so without any additional economic incentive or protection from us. They're selling just as any other seller on our platform does. We have also had success with the music festival category, adding Peachtree Entertainment, one of the largest independent promoters in the Southeast, and LED Presents, an independent EDM promoter on the West Coast. These promoters combined put on dozens of events attended by hundreds of thousands of fans annually. We have also continued to add talent to lead this initiative. Shaun Stewart, who spent much of his career building supply chain for travel businesses such as Expedia and Airbnb, joined as VP of Direct Issuance. Shaun will be reporting to Raj Beri, who was instrumental in building Uber Eats' APAC business and recently joined StubHub as Chief Business Officer to oversee all global supply. Direct issuance represents an addressable market opportunity well in excess of $100 billion, a transformative growth vector that we believe will drive substantial long-term growth, value creation for our business and shareholders for years to come. The other business we are in the early stages of developing is advertising, which we believe can be a large and profitable business for us, as it has been for many other marketplaces. We are pursuing 2 advertising models initially. First, sponsored listings, where sellers can bid for premier placement on event pages to dramatically increase exposure. For any given event, we may be merchandising hundreds, even thousands of tickets on our event pages. These are expiring products, meaning that sellers receive nothing if the ticket does not sell. With the sponsored listing offering, sellers can bid for higher visibility among competing inventory, improving the likelihood of a buyer seeing and ultimately purchasing their ticket. Conversations with sellers on our platform have demonstrated tremendous interest and features such as sponsored listings as an additional and powerful tool for sellers on our marketplace. As ReachPro has gained users and market share, we've also established a ready-made distribution platform for sponsored listings, as we can build access to the feature directly into ReachPro's user workflow without the heavy lift of a sales force. The second advertising model is through more traditional corporate advertising partnerships with businesses in adjacent product categories that can be additive to the customer experience. One example of this is Booking.com. Event tourism is a rapidly growing category, and we know that many of our customers are purchasing tickets for events outside of where they live. Our partnership with Booking is a great example of how we can monetize post-purchase real estate in our product to deliver a travel offering to customers. And it is also a great example of a high-quality business, recognizing the value of our customer base and paying us for access. We believe this will extend to other categories adjacent to sports, music and live event attendance. We are very excited about the potential for advertising on our platform. Of course, as with everything we do, our #1 priority is ensuring that we do not adversely impact the customer experience. Therefore, introducing advertising thoughtfully and methodically remains our focus. We recognize investors are eager for more details on direct issuance and advertising. We intend to provide a more fulsome update on the long-term opportunity on our call early next year. To close, StubHub is a business that is growing fast at scale while generating profits and cash flow. StubHub is a global category leader with the data, technology and customer focus to continue capturing share of the global ticketing market. Indeed, we are very proud of all that we have accomplished to date. However, the real goal for us is to reimagine our market to create an unprecedented experience for fans and an asset of tremendous value in the process. That is what is really exciting. With that, I'll turn the call over to Connie to discuss our financial results. Constance James: Thanks, Eric. Before I discuss our third quarter financial performance, I'd like to share our financial philosophy that guides our decision-making, and ultimately, how we look to drive long-term shareholder value. To that end, the foundation of our value creation approach rests on 3 financial principles. First, we prioritize driving sustainable market share growth by strategically investing in our marketplace ecosystem. Second, we are committed to long-term margin expansion through operational discipline and the natural leverage in our marketplace model. Third, we focus relentlessly on cash flow generation. Our business model efficiently converts adjusted EBITDA into free cash flow, providing us the financial flexibility to reinvest in the business and optimize our capital structure. With that context, let's turn to our third quarter results, beginning with our key marketplace metrics, gross merchandise sales, or GMS. GMS represents the total economic value flowing through our platform and directly drives the network effects that make StubHub increasingly valuable to both buyers and sellers. Our GMS reached $2.4 billion in the third quarter, representing 11% growth from the prior year period. This performance demonstrates the fundamental strength of our marketplace even as we navigated the anticipated impact of the federally mandated all-in pricing in the United States earlier this year. As expected, the transition has reduced conversion rates as customers adjusted to the new pricing format. Based on our internal estimates previously disclosed, we believe the implementation of all-in pricing had an estimated 10% one-time impact on the size of the North American secondary ticketing market. We expect this transition effect will continue to influence year-over-year comparisons through May 2026 as we cycle through the full 12-month period following the May 2025 implementation date. Even with this temporary growth headwind, our results demonstrate the resilience of our business model and our ability to continue to gain market share in this dynamic environment. Beyond the impact of all-in pricing, we believe our GMS growth reflects a more fundamental trend, sustained share gains across the North America secondary ticketing market, where we continue to outpace overall market, as well as continued international expansion. When excluding the outsized impact of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour from the prior year period, our GMS grew 24% year-over-year with broad-based strength across our platform and categories. Revenue for the third quarter was $468 million, up 8% compared to last year. The performance was primarily driven by our GMS growth, offset by 2 factors worth highlighting. First, as Eric discussed earlier, we made the strategic decision to further invest in market share expansion, in part through a reduction in take rates, resulting in our revenue as a percentage of GMS declining slightly to 19% this period compared to 20% in the prior year period. This measured reduction in take rates reflects our deliberate approach to balancing near-term results with long-term market leadership. Second, we experienced a reduction in inventory revenue as we strategically phased out the use of minimum guarantees for direct issuance sellers. This move is aligned with our long-term marketplace strategy of building sustainable, scalable relationships with content rights holders. Unless otherwise noted, the following discussion of our results will be on an adjusted basis to exclude stock-based compensation and other one-time costs. Full reconciliations to GAAP figures are available in our press release. Our adjusted gross margin was 84% during the quarter, up from 82% last year. The improvement primarily reflects a reduction in ticket substitution and replacement costs. Adjusted sales and marketing expenses were $255 million or 54% of revenue compared to $221 million or 51% of revenue last year. The increase as a percentage of revenue was driven by the reduction in take rates to drive relative market share gains in the North America secondary market. Adjusted operations and support expenses were $17 million or 3.5% of revenue during the quarter compared to $16 million or 3.6% of revenue last year. Adjusted G&A was $52 million or 11% of revenue during the quarter compared to $62 million or 14% of revenue last year. As we look forward, we do anticipate a modest amount of investment in technology resources. On the profitability front, we delivered adjusted EBITDA of $67 million, representing 14% of revenue, up 21% compared to $56 million or 13% of revenue in the same period last year. Finally, I want to highlight a one-time item on the income statement. Our GAAP results for the quarter include a nonrecurring noncash expense of $1.4 billion related to stock-based compensation granted prior to our IPO. The expense was triggered by the completion of our IPO. Accounting standards require recognition of these previously granted rewards in the quarter when the IPO-related performance conditions are satisfied. To be clear, all stock-based compensation, including this one-time expense is excluded from our adjusted EBITDA calculations. Additionally, this accounting recognition has no impact on our cash flow or cash position as it represents a noncash expense. Turning to cash flow. Before diving into our performance, I want to provide some context on how we view operational cash generation in our business. Our marketplace model has inherent favorable cash flow characteristics. We collect cash from buyers at the time of purchase, but remit payments to sellers at a later date, often after the event occurs. These cash balances show up on our balance sheet as payments due to sellers. With this timing difference, we earn a yield on these proceed balances. To illustrate, on a trailing 12-month basis, you will see $41 million of interest income on our income statement. Additionally, we are asset-light with only $26 million of CapEx over the trailing 12-month period. We also benefit from over $1 billion of NOLs, resulting in minimal cash taxes in the medium term. Over the same trailing 12-month period, our cash tax amount was only $17 million. This allows us to consistently convert cash at a rate roughly 100% of our adjusted EBITDA. In relation to free cash flow, we measured on a trailing 12-month basis to reduce the lumpiness created by quarterly timing differences between when we collect cash from buyers and when we remit payments to sellers, which is impacted by seasonality and event mix. For the 12-month period ending September 30, free cash flow was $6 million, which included $120 million of net cash outflows due to the change in our payments due to buyers and sellers. This amount was impacted by an atypical concentration in seller proceed outflows occurring in the fourth quarter of '24 following the final leg of Taylor Swift's North American tour. Our trailing 12-month free cash flow also included $153 million in cash interest costs during the period. Excluding those items, we generated $279 million in free cash flow conversion of approximately 100% of TTM adjusted EBITDA. Taking a step back, I want to frame our results within the broader context of our 2025 objectives. This year, our priorities have been clear: to grow market share in North America, to expand internationally and to lay the groundwork for long-term TAM expansion through disciplined and focused investment. From the outset, we anticipated that 2025 would present a more challenging growth environment for our market. There were 2 notable, but temporary factors shaping this year's comparisons. First, we are lapping the unprecedented Taylor Swift Eras Tour; and second, the industry transitioned to all-in pricing, which took effect in May. In addition, we are lapping the historic Yankees-Dodgers World Series as well as an unusually high concentration of major on sales that occurred in last year's fourth quarter. This year, we are observing some shifts in the timing of these on sales. Several large tours that would typically go on sale in the fourth quarter occurred earlier in late September. It remains to be seen how this concert on-sale timing dynamic plays out in November and December. Even with these temporary market dynamics in 2025, we are executing well against the objectives within our control, driving strong operational performance and expanding our leading market share position. And as we look ahead to 2026, the Taylor Swift comparison will be behind us, and we will lap the implementation of all-in pricing in May. Fan demand for live events remains strong, and we're excited about what is shaping up to be another robust year for live entertainment. Let me now address our thoughts on guidance, as we navigate our early stages as a public company. We are focused on operating the business for long-term value creation. Of course, we want to provide our investors with transparency so they can track our progress and execution against our long-term goals. While we are not providing specific guidance today, we plan to share annual guidance for our 2026 expectations when we report our fourth quarter and full year 2025 results early next year. Turning to the balance sheet. Our capital structure philosophy centers on maintaining flexibility and optionality to position our business for long-term success. This approach guided our capital markets activity during the quarter, which was designed to enhance our financial strength by prioritizing a reduction in our leverage, something that will continue to be a key priority. During the quarter, we successfully executed 2 transactions that collectively raised approximately $1 billion. First, we raised $224 million through our Series O preferred equity, which will convert into common equity at the expiration of the lockup. Next, we completed our $800 million IPO, raising net proceeds of approximately $758 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. The influx of capital provided us with the opportunity to significantly improve our balance sheet by reducing leverage and lowering our debt service costs while maintaining strong liquidity. Specifically, we reduced our total debt by approximately 30%, retiring $750 million of our U.S. dollar-denominated term loan, bringing our total debt down to $1.7 billion. As a result, we ended the quarter with $1.4 billion of cash and cash equivalents or $623 million, net of our payments due to sellers, and $1.1 billion of net debt. The ratio of our net debt to TTM adjusted EBITDA was 3.9x at quarter end. Importantly, the interest rates on our remaining term loans are hedged via interest rate swaps through February 2027, resulting in a fixed, blended interest rate of 5.8%. Over the last 12 months, our debt service cost between cash interest and required amortization was $174 million. Today, our annual debt service requirement is $99 million, a reduction of $75 million, or 43%. Given the excess cash amounts we are holding, we intend to make additional debt repayments in the near term, which will reduce this cost even further. We also increased our revolver capacity by $440 million during the quarter from $125 million to $565 million, expanding our available liquidity and ability to respond quickly to any short-term capital need. Our strengthened balance sheet not only supports disciplined growth, but also reduces the interest burden, directly enhancing free cash flow generation. This creates a virtuous cycle that enables continued disciplined investment in organic growth and further deleveraging, both of which remain central to our capital allocation priorities in the near and intermediate term. With that, we will now open the call to Q&A. Operator? Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our first question comes from the line of Doug Anmuth with JPMorgan. Constance James: Eric, during 2025, you've made some substantial investments in core resale market share and also direct issuance. Can you just talk about the returns you're seeing on those 2 areas of spending and whether you expect those to continue in '26? And then, I know there's some noise as Eric mentioned in the 4Q on sales versus last year, but just curious on the thought process in not providing a 4Q guide in that you're halfway through the quarter. Eric Baker: Sure. Thanks for the question, Doug. Appreciate it. So I think you had a few things in there in terms of what we've been doing with market share investment, how we think about that and how we think about the outlook for the business. Again, I think as we said in our opening remarks, we take a long-term approach, so we are not providing guidance, and we'll be talking about 2026 when we're on our next call. But with that being said, let me address some of the things that you brought up. So first is, as you noted and as we talked about, we had a real focus this year in investing to take market share and to do that in a very systematic way. And we've been extremely pleased with the results. I think we can see in this quarter that has just passed that, that has continued to pace. Our relative market share, I think, as I said, is about 4x. And I think everyone can see what has happened out there in the market in a great way. I think what's exciting about that, again, is that we're really creating permanent advantages in terms of how people are situated. One of the things I mentioned at the opening was around the point-of-sale system. And we've seen that what we've deployed in the point-of-sale system has rapidly been taking share ahead of schedule, moving us into a dominant position, which obviously feeds the data that we have, feeds the -- we get increased durable share as people use the POS to operate their business, and it provides a great backbone for our advertising business and sponsored listings. So we're very excited about all of that. I think Connie addressed, as we go and we look forward from where we sit, there's an extremely strong market for live events. It's as strong as ever. I think Connie addressed their shifts in terms of when on sales may happen. But as we look at it, everything is going at pace. Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Eric Sheridan with Goldman Sachs. Eric Sheridan: As we turn the page on 2025, curious how you're thinking about aligning marketing investments over the medium to long term? And what signals you're getting in terms of the receptivity to marketing investments to continue to grow the user base across all the array of offerings and products you're bringing to the market? Eric Baker: Great. Eric, thank you for the question. And I think some of that echoes what I also would follow up. And I think as Doug asked about some of the various investments, and I talked about market share, and we're seeing great traction and durability in that as we sort of see the flywheel is working, I think the other thing which we've talked about is, obviously, we're very excited about our direct issuance business. And what that for us really means open distribution. And to sort of recap what that is, is we really view it as, look, our mission backing up is that for fans. We want to give them easy access to the events they want to go to so they can access those live events and get there in a very easy, delightful fashion. We also want to assist content in making sure tickets don't go unsold, seats don't go empty, and they can maximize their revenue. And that's a real pressing issue for people. I think even Live Nation on their most recent call mentioned that 98% of their events do not sell out. And there's tons of tickets, obviously, don't sell. Sports has a similar dynamic, where they're trying to fill arenas. And so I think this ties into the direct issuance initiative, and to your question, which is that we have seen a tremendous receptivity, which is that in order to solve this issue that rights owners have in order to try and increase their revenue, increase throughput, get people into the arenas, they see the wealth of data and distribution we have, that has sort of led to, obviously, Major League Baseball, where we're seeing great receptivity from the teams. We talked about the festival channel, where we signed up Peachtree and LED, and we've been doing a great job with that. Tying that back to your question in terms of some of the marketing spend, we also talked about as we built that out, we've made the investment to prove it. And we see rights owners and people in the queue coming on board where it does not require any financial payment for them to access our open distribution. And so similar to how teams like the Dodgers have done that, when I was speaking with Shaun and Raj just last week in New York, and we were looking at the pipeline, the majority of the pipeline, as it's transitioning, does not involve any cash payment from us. And so we think this is going in an excellent direction and tracking the way we want to see it. Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Justin Post with Bank of America. Justin Post: Wondering if you could give us any visibility on the sponsored listing ad launch, when you're thinking the timing is and how quickly that could ramp? And then second, maybe talk more about the Major League Baseball deal, are you going to get direct tickets from the league? And are you seeing more productive discussions across multiple leagues? Eric Baker: Excellent. Justin, thank you for the question. Appreciate it. I think you're asking -- let me address some of the advertising generally, including sponsored listings, then I can talk about what you asked about MLB. So let's talk about advertising. And first, let me just frame it. The way we think of our opportunity in advertising is, first of all, doing things which are value-added for our consumer base to enhance that experience and doing it for other members in the ecosystem who are selling tickets. There's 2 flavors of that advertising. One is, again, where you have things like the Booking.com deal that we did, where we work with different potential partners so that post-purchase people, if you're traveling again, we have a huge international business. People travel for these events, you can book through Booking and so forth. And so that Booking has been a great proof point and a start to that. The second, which you mentioned, is sponsored listings. And so on sponsored listings, just to explain what that is, is basically that we have sellers on our platform, and these sellers are looking to sell their tickets. And as in many marketplaces, we put the ability for these people to pay to bump their listings to the top and sort of feature them. This is not reinventing the wheel. Here's what we're excited about and get to sort of why we're excited about the progress and the promise for it. We have 2 great aspects to it that are unique. One is that these people are selling a perishable item. So it expires, and then, it's not worth anything. So it's very important to get that in front of people. And most of the supply that we have on our platform is competing to try and get in front of customers. And so if you've got similarly priced supply, taking the sponsored listings avenue is very attractive to these people, and we think, will add a lot of value and be done in a way that works for the customer. The second thing I want to highlight is I talked about our point-of-sale system in terms of relative market share and how that's helped us lock people in. That creates a very easy conduit. The point of sale, again, is what these sellers are using to operate their business. So as they operate their business, as they list tickets, as they price tickets, right in that workflow, with one click, they will be able to opt for sponsored listing. This means that basically, that product is our sales force to tie in for it. So that's why we're very excited about the opportunity. What we're trying to do is make sure that we roll it out the right way for consumers, in the right way that it works smoothly for sellers. As we've said, that will be rolling out second half of Q4. We look forward to rolling that out. Lastly, real quickly, I think, Justin, you mentioned about MLB. Let me quickly just recap what is that deal, and then, I can talk about why we're excited about it and how it looks promising. What the deal is? MLB, at the corporate level, they will be taking advantage of direct issuance with tickets that they control for certain MLB events, which is exciting. They're also helping us facilitate signing additional teams, as we already work with, as people know, the Yankees, the Dodgers and others. That has already been extremely promising. We're really liking the pipeline on that. And again, as I alluded to, many of these teams are understanding they're not concerned with or focused on a payment. They see the value of open distribution inherently driving intrinsic value for them. So that's an exciting way that it ramps in a great economic situation for us. Thank you. Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Mark Mahaney with Evercore. Mark Stephen Mahaney: Eric, I just want to ask about the direct issuance market. And if you think about it in terms of low, medium, high-hanging fruit, if there's such an expression, where do you think the best opportunities are for StubHub in the next 2 to 3 years? Is it more international? Is it more U.S.? Is it more sports? Is it more live theater? Like what are the best opportunities to ramp up into this promising market? Eric Baker: Sure. Thank you, Mark. Appreciate it. Let me again say that what we are talking about doing for content is universal to all content. So when I talk -- talking with Shaun the other day, when you go in and you say, we have a solution where we can actually get you access to more data, more distribution, more people nonexclusively to help drive your revenue and fill seats, people are like, this is great. They're very receptive to it. Because remember, what content is trying to solve every day is increasing the revenue, increasing the attendance and doing that in a way that works for fans. And we -- obviously, that's what we've been doing for years and years. So it's really just about making that as easy as possible from a product and service solution. So that's a long way of saying we're seeing a very diverse pipeline across the board. There's obviously multiple sports leagues in the United States. But globally, we've said before, we worked with European soccer franchises. Festivals we work with, I cited 2, that are domestic, but there are many internationally that we're looking at working with. We talked about the increased ramp in MLB. So I think really, this is something that is attractive across the board. Let me leave you with one other thought, Mark, on this, is that another way to think about it, and we've said this, is that this is not something which is competing with primary ticketing. We are not trying to replace primary ticketing companies. You can imagine us partnering with primary ticketing companies in order to open up our distribution to them. And that being a very powerful way to access anything across the planet because, again, this is a $150 billion-plus market. So it is a huge ocean to fish in, and we're very excited about it. Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Brian Pitz with BMO Capital Markets. Brian Pitz: Maybe a broader question on how StubHub is thinking about the future of Agentic search and ticket buying. Maybe you could provide us your views on how agents will impact either future take rates or advertising revenue going forward as we are hearing more and more industry discussions around Agentic capabilities in live event ticketing? Eric Baker: Yes. No, thank you, Brian, and thank you for the question on AI, which is obviously a very exciting topic. And so let me open by just saying, in the immediate term, everything has been business as usual with consumers using the channels that they use, and that continues. That being said, as you say, and we're always thinking long term and how this works. And I'll tell you why we're excited about the opportunities and how we think it will play out. The first thing is that any time there's top-of-the-funnel ways to reach people in competitive ways with people giving you that access top of the funnel to reach people and compete, which is traditional Google search and other methods, we believe it's extremely powerful. We believe we're extremely well positioned, and what we're seeing is that when you're looking at where you send traffic and where the agent needs to go and how they need to, they're solving for the best solution for that consumer, which naturally goes back to who has that supply chain, who has the catalog, who can be relied on for the ticket, who has the best selection, et cetera. So as we build that, we see the same way it worked even in search and everything else. That's ultimately where you need to be. Now, I think over time, what we're very excited about, Brian, is there's going to be both paid and unpaid ways to take advantage of this. We think that as we see in our dialogues with many of these companies that we talk to all the time, there may be ways where there's a paid model for them to drive traffic, but again, always with a quality score and thinking that way. And there's ways that there will be unpaid as they show. But again, the key thing is that they're going to want to drive people to the best possible outcome for consumers that's going to deliver value, and that's what we're building. So we're excited about the opportunities. That's how we see it. Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Lloyd Walmsley with Mizuho. Lloyd Walmsley: You guys talked earlier about the headwind to growth from all-in pricing. And just wondering if you guys feel like you've carved some of that back already. Is it still running at sort of the low double-digit headwind rate? And do you feel like we're just -- we're sort of -- we just have to comp through it next year? And then secondly, if you could just comment on how meaningful you think World Cup could be next year? And any early indications you're seeing on that would be great. Eric Baker: Sure. Thank you for the questions, Lloyd. Let me on all-in pricing and then World Cup. And so let me straight on, I think, as we talked about before when we've discussed this and we talked about it, the all-in pricing is a 10% headwind, we believe, for 1 year. We'll lap it in May of '26, I think, as Connie said. So that is -- we don't see any deviance from that. That's what we see. That sort of is what it is. I do want to put that in context for people to understand one thing. We talk about running our business for the long term and that we're really trying to do right by the consumers and the content. And look, I want to put this in context, we also have explained to people, we lobbied for all-in pricing for multiple years. It's something that I think you can go to the SEC website, it's public record. It's not something -- and we were the only people, I think, in our sort of sector to do that. And the reason I bring that up is we did that knowing that there would be this hit. And we knew that in the short term, it's obviously arithmetic, Lloyd, it's 10%. But in the long term, it creates a much better experience for consumers, and it's going to behoove people like us who provide the best experience. Anyway, that's all on pricing. The World Cup, again, listen, we don't -- again, we're not quantifying going forward, but what -- here's what I can tell you. The World Cup has always been a tremendous event for even going back to the days of viagogo because our heritage is international. It's phenomenal in terms of resale, and it is a global event that's going to be North America with a ton of matches, which is arguably the biggest sports spectacle on planet Earth. So we are extremely excited about it and very much looking forward to it, and we'll see. Operator: And our next question comes from the line of John Blackledge with TD Cowen. John Blackledge: One question on take rates. Could you talk about take rates between the secondary market and the emerging direct issuance business? And do you expect them to be similar as the direct issuance bid scales? And secondly, just curious if you can unpack the 3Q '25 GMS growth between North America and international? Eric Baker: Thanks, John. I appreciate the question. So let me -- I believe you had a question about how do take rates, how do you think about then direct issuance and open distribution and some stuff around our international business. Let me frame some stuff and then maybe Connie will give whatever color we can as well. So I think the first thing is when we talk about the open distribution-direct issuance model, the very straightforward answer to you is the take rates are the same. As we sit here today and everything we've seen, the take rates are the same. That's just fact. I think to help understand, so I want people to understand what we're doing here and why that is, is sometimes people again say, well, doesn't a primary ticketing company have a different take rate? And again, I just want to be very clear, we're not running a primary ticketing access control system. What we're doing is providing a marketplace, providing distribution for people just like we do for fans, just like we do for power sellers, no different. That is why we are able to tell people that when they sell through us, we're charging through the marketplace in the same way. We're not charging them. So that's the answer to that question. I think in terms of U.S. international, I'll just give you in terms of high-level flavor, and we don't break it out. So that's just not to disappoint you there. International has been a rapidly growing business for us, we're very excited about. I think sometimes we don't do a good enough job of articulating to people viagogo, which obviously went on to acquire StubHub, was built internationally. We're in 200 countries. I will tell you, Asia and Latin America are particularly strong. And I will also tell you that if you listen to different event and concert schedules for 2026 and what everyone says in the industry, which we see is tours are going increasingly global, and they're increasingly in these different geographies. So we're very excited about that. Constance James: Yes. Nothing further to add, just to emphasize that international continues to be an area where we see consistent growth. We're also excited to have Raj on board, who's going to put some direct focus on international as well, which is super exciting. So great momentum across the board. Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Shweta Khajuria with Wolfe Research. Shweta Khajuria: The first one is on direct issuance. Could you please talk to how you're thinking about the number of teams that you expect to perhaps bring on onto the platform next year? And what level of visibility do you have in terms of the timeline? Anything you can comment on when do you need to sign them all by to benefit by the end of next year? So that's the first one. And the second one, any color on just the overall demand trends that you're seeing through the quarter through October and November that could help us out as to how we think about fourth quarter going forward? Eric Baker: Yes. No, Shweta, thank you for the question. I know I think in terms of -- let me talk generally, I think about. I can talk to you generally about DI and open distribution, how we think about that. And also certainly, how do we see sort of live event demand and what's going on? Obviously, as we've said, the way that we think, and we're not providing guidance at this time, and I'm sure we look forward to the next call and talking about next year then. With that context, what I would say is in direct issuance, again, the way we think about it is, again, I think to the question that Eric may have answered -- asked earlier, is that we really have this wide ocean, and it's in so many different compartments when we talk to Shaun and Raj that you've got different leagues, different festivals, different geographies. So it's very, very broad. And what we're finding is the applicability is pretty universal and that really what we need to do is have the product and service work for people the right way. What I would also tell you is that when you get the product and service done the right way, and remember, I want to make this very clear, we are not doing this where it's not exclusive to us. It's multi-listed on multiple platforms, and it fits into their workflow. It doesn't -- that means you don't have to sign up at some predetermined date. You don't have to make a long-term decision. It becomes an option that is in your workflow at any point in time to flip the switch and sell through the retail channel. That then becomes a beautiful thing because you're not bidding on RFPs years in advance and saying, I own this for X years. So that's -- thank you for asking the question. It's an important distinction. I think, in terms of just consumer demand and live events, again, and we don't -- not giving guidance and stuff, but I will take it this way, the demand for live events is phenomenal. We don't see anything with consumer demand that's any different. I think as Connie alluded to, as she spoke, we run a marketplace business and the timing of when things go on sale on the event catalog sometimes varies. And I've been doing this for 20, 25 years, my gosh. And it can move. Sometimes things go in the fourth quarter instead of first quarter, sometimes things go in the third quarter instead of the fourth quarter. That is a timing catalog question that has nothing to do with the robust demand that we see from consumers who love going to live events and continue to do so. Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Jason Helfstein with Oppenheimer. Jason Helfstein: I guess, I want to just maybe re-ask the Shweta's question just because we're getting asked this by a number of clients. So maybe, Connie, can you help us understand, I guess, how much pull forward did you see in 3Q that may kind of be affecting fourth quarter? And I guess, how meaningful is kind of the unfavorable World Series relative to last year? And then a second question that's been coming up, Ticketmaster, Live Nation, whatever, has been under increased pressure, I think, to try to rein in speculative sellers. Can you just talk about like how you manage the business around speculative selling? And just your broad thoughts about it. Is it something that like -- kind of it's something we should all be paying attention to or just in the scope of a very big business, it's just not meaningful? Constance James: Yes. Great. Thanks for the question. And happy to provide some color. As we mentioned, we knew going in to the fourth quarter that it would be a little bit of a tough comparison. We had the unique Taylor Swift comp as well as the World Series. And as I mentioned, we did see a little bit of timing shift in relation to September. To Eric's point, what we continue to focus on is the long term. We know that there can be timing shifts from time to time. What we continue to be focused on is capturing share. And in the third quarter, we were able to do just that. In fact, if you look at our market share, we were nearing 50%. So as we look at it, we think it's merely a timing issue more than anything else. And more broadly, I'd say the outlook for '26 continues to look really strong. And so if there's a little bit of timing, the good news is that we're well positioned to capture a significant portion of those on sales when they do come in. So hopefully, that gives you a little bit of color. In relation to speculative ticketing, et cetera, I'll pass it over to Eric to provide some color. Eric Baker: Yes. No, thanks for the question, Jason. I think sometimes when people talk about, I think, within speculative ticketing, there's a lot of people in the market that -- how do we make sure that we're guaranteeing people get tickets and that it happens in an authentic way. That's our business. That's what we do. So minimizing fraud and make sure these tickets get delivered. So for us, there's not -- it's business as usual and nothing to talk about there. Operator: And our final question comes from the line of Andrew Boone with Citizens. Brianna Diaz: This is Brianna on for Andrew Boone. Just can you share how users are currently interacting with the mobile app and how that may be different than on the web? And do you see an opportunity for the mobile app to evolve into a more comprehensive platform, whether that's through loyalty program or a different lever to drive better frequency and retention? Eric Baker: Thank you for the question. Appreciate it. I think the question about mobile app, on the first thing, just we don't break out for the purposes of what we report. I think though, as you allude, and I think what we are seeing and what you're sort of alluding to is that as we are getting more and more people coming back to us all the time, as we think about what we provide to make that experience easy to know who you are to -- even with these things where we're adding in things through Booking and other things to build a more complete product, that's really what we're striving to do. So as we continue to do that, we're certainly adding the building blocks for a complete product and making it easier and easier for people to know that they just have the first port of call to go to, which is StubHub, and that's what we're excited about. Thank you. Operator: And ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Eric Baker for closing remarks. Eric Baker: Thank you, everyone, for joining us for our first earnings call as a public company. We very much appreciate it. As I said at the outset, both to those who have been along with us for our many-year journey and for those who are new to the story, thank you for taking the time. We look forward to speaking to you again in the future. Operator: And ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call, and we thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.
Operator: Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Arbe Robotics Ltd. Third Quarter 2025 Results Conference Call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Following management's formal presentation, instructions will be given for the Q&A session. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. You should have all received by now the company's press release. If you have not, please check with the company's website at www.arberobotics.com or call EK Global Investor Relations. I would now like to turn the floor over to Mr. Kenny Green from EK Global Investor Relations. Mr. Green, would you like to begin? Kenny Green: Thank you, Operator. Good day to all of you, and welcome to Arbe Robotics Ltd.'s conference call to discuss the results of the third quarter of 2025. Before we begin, I would like to remind our listeners that certain information provided on this call may contain forward-looking statements, and the Safe Harbor statements outlined in today's press release also pertain to this call. If you have not received a copy of the release, please view it in the Investor Relations section of the company's website. Today, we are joined by Kobi Marenko, Arbe Robotics Ltd.'s Co-Founder and CEO, who will begin the call with a business update. Then we will turn the call over to Karine Pinto-Flomenboim, CFO, who will review the financials. Finally, we will open the call to our listeners for the question and answer session. And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Kobi Marenko. Please go ahead. Kobi Marenko: Thank you, Kenny. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our results and recent business developments. I'll begin with an update on the most important aspect of our current activities: our strategic progress with OEMs. We are pleased with the solid strategic progress made in the third quarter. As you know, our main goal is to secure design wins with OEMs and become the radar technology provider and core enabler of their ADAS and autonomous driving programs. While it is a long process, we are moving forward and making solid progress each and every quarter. We believe that we are well-positioned and in the lead to be selected as the key enabler for an eyes-off, hands-off automated driving program for a serial retail vehicle by one of the major European OEMs in the near future, and we hope to share further information as soon as we hear. Additionally, another premium European OEM is conducting data collection for a Level 3 program using radars based on Arbe Robotics Ltd.'s chipset. We continue to make strong progress with other OEMs as well. A top Japanese OEM ordered our radar kit for its Level 4 development activities and approved the expansion of the project it initiated last year based on our chipset, including predevelopment activities. I also want to add that in terms of our highly strategic non-OEM collaborations, a global leader in artificial intelligence computing has ordered radar development kits for its full stack of autonomous driving software development, marking a strong validation from one of the most influential players shaping the future of autonomous driving technology as well as AI in general. Global economic shifts are causing some OEMs to postpone new model launches and lengthen their decision timelines for autonomous driving solutions. Despite this, Arbe Robotics Ltd.'s market position continues to grow stronger. We remain encouraged by the steady progress we have achieved throughout 2025, and as the year comes to a close. Based on what we see now, we believe we are well-positioned to secure the key European OEM program I discussed earlier in the short term and additional three program wins within the next three quarters. Our initiatives are aligned with the path to OEM selection, and we continue to expect that Arbe Robotics Ltd.'s radar technology will serve as a key enabler for 2028 passenger vehicle platforms. We expect the initial revenues will begin in 2027 with a ramp-up in 2028 as our chipsets are used in high-volume production. Thanks to our strong balance sheet, we delivered $52 million in net cash, and we have the runway to support all programs as our revenue reaches the ramp-up stage. With regard to our focus on non-automotive projects, we are seeing increasing global demand in the defense sector. We are currently supplying radar systems for defense pilot programs and evaluation projects. Last quarter, we announced a new defense client. In addition, in the third quarter, we expanded into the maritime domain since our Tier 1 supplier for non-automotive applications announced an order from Watches for radar systems powered by our chipset. These systems will support collision prevention for boats in all weather and lighting conditions. Boating represents another promising new vertical for our radar technology. During the quarter, we won two prestigious automotive technology industry awards: the JUST Auto Excellence Award for leading technology in the perception category and the Auto Tech Breakthrough Award for sensor technology solution of the year 2025. Both awards are proof of Arbe Robotics Ltd.'s contribution to the automotive industry and leading technological advantages, which are bringing unparalleled safety for drivers and advancing ADAS and autonomous driving. Before closing, I want to welcome Chris Van den Elzen to our Board of Directors. Chris brings over thirty years of experience in the automotive industry, working with both OEMs and Tier 1s as former Vice President of Magna International and Executive Vice President of Veoneer, and brings us strong business experience and deep technological expertise, and I'm sure he will be a very valuable asset. In closing, Arbe Robotics Ltd. is well-positioned to benefit from current industry trends as the market transitions to high-resolution radar. Now I would like to turn it over to our CFO, Karine, to go over the financials. Karine Pinto-Flomenboim: Thank you, Kobi, and hello, everyone. Let me review our financial results for the third quarter of 2025 in more detail. Revenue for the third quarter of 2025 totaled $300,000 compared to $100,000 in Q3 2024. As of September 30, 2025, backlog stood at $200,000. Gross profit for Q3 2025 was negative $200,000 compared to negative $300,000 in the same period last year. The improved change in profitability related to revenue mix. Turning to operating expenses, total operating expenses for Q3 2025 were $11.3 million, down from $12.2 million in Q3 2024. The decrease in operating expenses was primarily due to lower share-based compensation expenses resulting from the full vesting of prior grants and to the reduced volume of new grants, which was the result of new grants being in the form of bonus liability. The decrease in operating expenses was partially offset by an unfavorable foreign exchange impact and higher labor costs. Operating loss for the third quarter of 2025 was $11.5 million compared to a $12.4 million loss in 2024. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measurement, which excludes expenses for non-cash share-based compensation and for non-recurring items, was a loss of $9.2 million in 2025 compared to a loss of $8.2 million in 2024. We believe that this non-GAAP measurement is important in management's evaluation of our use of cash and in planning and evaluating our cash requirements for the coming period. Net loss in the third quarter of 2025 was $11 million compared to a net loss of $12.6 million in 2024. As of September 30, 2025, Arbe Robotics Ltd. held $52.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term bank deposits. Turning to our outlook, while global economic shifts are leading some OEMs to delay new model launches and extend decision timelines for advanced driver assistance systems, Arbe Robotics Ltd.'s market position continues to strengthen. We are actively expanding engagements with leading OEMs, progressing through advanced RFQ stages, and building a solid foundation for large-scale adoption. Our goal remains to secure four design wins with OEMs in the coming three quarters. For 2025, revenues are expected to be in the range of $1 million to $2 million. The change to our revenue expectation reflects shifts of certain NRE programs. However, adjusted EBITDA expectations remain unchanged at a loss of $29 million to $35 million. I want to stress that Arbe Robotics Ltd. enters 2026 with a significantly strengthened balance sheet with over $52 million in net cash, supporting continued execution of our long-term strategic and growth plan. Now we will be happy to take your questions. Operator? Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we'll begin the question and answer session. Our first question today comes from Suji Desilva from ROTH Capital. Please go ahead with your question. Suji Desilva: Hi, Kobi. Hi, Karine. First question on the guidance for four design wins. Curious if that's four separate OEMs. And second of all, the specific guidance of the next three quarters, I'm curious what's driving the near-term visibility there? Kobi Marenko: So yes, it's four different OEMs. And basically, we know that for sure there are decisions that should be taken in the next three quarters. We believe that we will be able to win at least four of them. Suji Desilva: Okay, Kobi. Very helpful. Thanks. You said at least four. Okay. And then the customer programs, do you have a sense whether these model wins or opportunities are for certain premium models or across the board platforms or mainstream? Any color on the penetration you would expect if you secure these wins will be helpful? Kobi Marenko: We believe that all of the programs will start with premium cars. But with the volumes as time goes by and the years go by, this will go to non-premium models as well. We see it from the numbers. So we're starting, of course, in very high-end. And it's going to still, it won't be in entry-level vehicles, but it will be in high-end and let's say the top cars. Suji Desilva: That's helpful, Kobi. And then last question maybe for Karine. The calendar 2025 full-year guide implies a wide Q4 range here. I'm wondering what the factors are to swing it from the low end to the high end? Karine Pinto-Flomenboim: Thanks. Sorry, can you repeat the question? Suji Desilva: Sure. Your full '25 revenue guidance of $1 million to $2 million implies a fairly wide Q4 range of outcomes. I'm wondering what might swing it to the high versus low end? Is that product shipments or revenue coming in? Any color there would be helpful. Karine Pinto-Flomenboim: Understood. So as we mentioned, we have some NRE shifts, and based on the decision that is made by our customers, the sooner the decision will be made, the sooner in Q4, then we will be able to push those NRE revenues rather than push them outside to 2026. So this is what's driving mainly the tweak between the low to the high end. Suji Desilva: Okay. Thanks, Kobi. Thanks, Karine. Operator: And our next question comes from George Gianarikas from Canaccord. Please go ahead with your question. George Gianarikas: Hi, everyone. Thank you for taking my questions. Maybe just to give us a little bit more insight into how these conversations are going with the OEMs and the puts and takes, things that are happening that you see as positive, and maybe some of the reasons you're seeing for the push out in decision making? Thank you. Kobi Marenko: So I think, first of all, I think that the dialogues are going well. And we see more and more OEMs buying radars and using them in order to collect data and to train their algorithms for full self-driving. What we see now, I think with all of the OEMs, there was at the beginning of the year, there was, I believe, decisions were postponed because they didn't know what the tariff will look like and what influence it will have. And this is what caused, I think, at least two quarters of delay. Right now, there is a clear path to decisions. And I think that from now on, we will see decisions are taken, will be taken. There is price pressure from the OEMs on every component in the system. And I think because of that, we have a huge advantage because our high-end radar is almost in the price of low-end radar today in the car, and we will be able, from the beginning, to design our system for a price that is affordable, and now we see the benefit of it. George Gianarikas: Thank you. And maybe just, I know it's early, but I'd like to understand how you think we should think about 2026 and 2027, maybe, and just sort of the way we should model the ramp in your revenue, OpEx, cash burn, just so we can have sort of a sense of a new model over the next couple of years? Thank you. Kobi Marenko: So I think '26, most of our revenues will come from non-automotive, which we see right now a great ramp-up from this business. As I mentioned, from almost every vertical that we are touching, we see orders and repeated orders from different sectors, from yachts, from small cities, all of that are bringing more and more orders, and we believe that next year we should expect a nice amount of revenues from non-automotive. The second part of it is the ramp-up of revenues from China from hiring. We still don't have the final visibility on the exact month that it will start, but we believe that we will see some revenues from common vessels in China as well. Karine Pinto-Flomenboim: Just to complete for your understanding of the OpEx, so as Kobi mentioned, next year will be non-automotive. Our current OpEx structure supports those revenues. And also going towards '27, so we assume a stable level of OpEx not increasing too much, and towards the ramp-up of the automotive, we will see a ramp-up, of course, in headcount, mainly customer base, to support this ramp-up. Kobi Marenko: Thank you. Operator: And ladies and gentlemen, with that, we'll be ending today's question and answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Mr. Marenko for any closing remarks. Kobi Marenko: On behalf of the management of Arbe Robotics Ltd., I would like to thank our shareholders for your continued interest and long-term support of our business. Our employees and partners, your continued dedication is deeply appreciated. In the coming months, we will be meeting with investors and presenting at various investor conferences, which we have announced, and we hope to see some of you there. If you're interested in meeting or speaking with us, feel free to reach out to our Investor Relations team. You can contact us at investors@arberobotics.com to schedule a meeting. And with that, we end our call. Have a good day. Operator: And ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's conference call and presentation. We do thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.
Mona Qiao: Our business practices received recognition from mainstream media. In October, People's Daily online a special commentary noting that So-Young International Inc. is setting an example for the rational development of the industry through the supply operations, transparent pricing, and compliance management. We believe the industry landscape is shifting from marketing-driven to trust-driven. We will continue to uphold transparency, standardization, and inclusive access to build a service system that truly puts customers at ease. We continued to strengthen our medical aesthetic supply chain. In Q3, shipments of elasticity exceeded 59,800 units, up above 53% quarter over quarter. Due to the combined impact of seasonal factors and industry prosperity, in Q3, revenue of pulp declined by million quarter over quarter. GMV for verified medical aesthetic services was around RMB260 million, with per capita incentive GTV up 6% year over year. We continue to optimize the content recommendation and traffic distribution mechanisms to improve conversion efficiency. Looking ahead, we will continue pursuing our long-term goal of centers, expand build-out in core cities and commercial hubs while further elevating standardized and digital management to raise the bar for service delivery and user experience. We believe our durable competitive advantage comes from long-term commitment and accumulated trust. We will drive daylight medical aesthetic industry towards maturity with more measured case and more professional capabilities, creating long-term value for shareholders. Now I will hand over to our CFO, Nick Zhao, who will walk through the financial results followed by the Q&A session. Nick Zhao: Hello, this is Nick Zhao. Please note that all amounts are quoted in RMB. Please also refer to our earnings release for detailed information on our comparative financial performances. On a year-over-year basis, total revenues during the quarter were RMB386 million, up 4% year over year, primarily due to our business expansion of the branded aesthetic center. Aesthetic treatment services revenues reached RMB183.6 million, showing 304.6% year over year, once again exceeding the high end of our guidance. This was primarily driven by the robust business expansion of our branded aesthetic centers. Information on the reservation services revenues was RMB117.2 million, down 34.5% year over year, primarily due to a decrease in the number of medical service providers subscribing to information services on our platform. Revenues from sales of medical products and maintenance services were RMB67 million, down 25% year over year, primarily due to a decrease in order volume of Bangkok equipment. Revenues from other services were RMB18.9 million, down 67.6% year over year, primarily due to a decrease in revenues from So-Young Prime. Cost of revenues were RMB203.8 million, up 43.4% year over year, primarily due to the business expansion of our branded aesthetic centers. Within the cost of revenues, the cost of aesthetic treatment services was RMB100 million, up 333.2% year over year, primarily due to the business expansion of our branded aesthetic centers. The cost of information and reservation services was RMB12.9 million, down 44.7% year over year, in line with the decrease in revenue generated from information reservation services. The cost of medical products sold and maintenance services was RMB million, down 18.3% year over year, primarily due to a decrease in costs associated with the sales of medical equipment. The cost of other services was RMB15.2 million, down 64.6% year over year, primarily due to a decrease in costs associated with So-Young Prime. Total operating expenses were RMB255.6 million, up 13.6% year over year. Sales and marketing expenses were RMB130.7 million, up 13.8% year over year, primarily due to the increase in expenses associated with the branding and user acquisition activities for our aesthetic centers. G&A expenses were RMB88.6 million, up 26.7% year over year and 12.4% quarter over quarter, primarily due to the one-time accrual of approximately RMB5.8 million year-end bonuses, and the business expansion of our branded aesthetic centers. R&D expenses were RMB36.3 million, down 9.6% year over year and up 16.5% quarter over quarter. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to improved staff efficiency, while the sequential increase was due to the one-time accrual of approximately RMB3.6 million year-end bonuses, and continued investment in Miracle Laser products, particularly in clinical trials. Income tax expenses were RMB1.1 million compared with RMB2.1 million in the same period of 2024. Net loss attributable to So-Young International Inc. was RMB64.3 million compared with a net income attributable to So-Young International Inc. of RMB20.5 million during the same period last year. Non-GAAP net loss attributable to So-Young International Inc. was RMB61.6 million compared with non-GAAP net income attributable to So-Young International Inc. of RMB22.2 million during the same period of 2024. Basic and diluted losses per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB0.64 and RMB0.64, respectively, compared with basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB0.2 and RMB0.2, respectively, during the same period of 2024. As of September 30, 2025, our cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, term deposits, and short-term investments were RMB942.8 million, primarily due to an increase in investment in branded aesthetic centers. Looking ahead to 2025, we expect Treatment Services revenues to be between RMB216 million and RMB226 million, representing a 165.8% to 178.1% increase from the same period in 2024. This outlook reflects our confidence in the strong growth momentum of our branded aesthetic center business. As we near the 50-center milestone, we have also seen continued improvement in center-level profitability and operating cash flow, demonstrating our model's scalability and operational efficiency. Going forward, we will pursue disciplined expansion while maintaining our focus on operational excellence and cost optimization to drive sustainable and quality growth. These efforts will reinforce the financial resilience of our aesthetic center business and create enduring value for our shareholders. This concludes our key remarks. I will now turn over the call to the operator and open the call for Q&A. Thank you. Operator: We will now begin the question and answer session. The first question comes from Hai Jingpang with Citec Securities. Please go ahead. Hai Jingpang: So, okay, let me briefly translate myself. Thank you for taking my question. This is He Jin Kai from Citi Securities. So first of all, congratulations on the company's continued rapid expansion of the chain clinics. So could you share more about the open plans for next year, including your regional strategy and expected pace for the new clinic openings by quarter? Thank you. Mona Qiao: By 2025, we will reach 50 centers. Our goal is to lay a solid foundation focusing on customer acquisition efficiency and growing the user base. As the business scales, we will enter a new stage of development, relying more on digitalization and AI capabilities to replicate service processes. This will drive breakthroughs in the bottlenecks the industry often faces, providing support for a broader build-out in the following stage. The number of new centers to be opened next year will remain consistent with previous plans and will not be less than thirty-five. We will keep the overall pace of center opening balanced, progressing on a quarterly basis to ensure every new center quickly enters the operational phase following its establishment. Our focus will remain on fourth-tier cities since they have strong demand and high repurchase rate potential, which will help us quickly build up regional density and amplify brand equity. At the same time, we will also systematically establish a presence in second-tier cities with a mature consumer base to validate our model and gain experience for long-term expansion. Thank you. The next question comes from Stacey Chen with Haitong International. Please go ahead. Stacey Chen: I will check with myself. First of all, congratulations to the management for achieving such rapid growth even during the off-season quarter. I noted that you have renewed the core member data this quarter. So could you explain more about the membership system for the aesthetic center business and how we conduct the membership operations? Thank you. Mona Qiao: The membership system is core to our aesthetic center's operations. Each time a user completes a visit, a record is created, which helps us build a clear, tiered membership from level one to eight and identify high-value users with more committed and ongoing engagement. Level three and above are defined as core members. They have higher center visit frequency and greater flexibility to select additional services, with annual spending 2.5 times higher than the average, making them the growth driver for the aesthetic center. During Q3, they contributed a high double-digit percentage of our aesthetic center business revenue with a repurchase rate of nearly 30%. We provide tiered benefits and service touchpoints based on individual user consumption patterns, which ensures they continuously perceive brand value and receive positive reinforcement for their boosting repeat purchase rates. In Q3, our membership operations made solid progress. Users with verified visits increased by nearly 40,000, 36% quarter over quarter, including over 10,000 new core members, up 40% quarter over quarter. Additionally, we have also enhanced repeat customer value operations. Specifically, repeat customer revenue reached RMB120 million in Q3, up 32% quarter over quarter, accounting for 65% of aesthetic treatment service revenues. Verified treatment leases from repeat customers surged over four times year over year to 50,000, while ARPU also increased. These metrics exceeded our targets. Going forward, we will continue to focus on the conversion of highly active users and extending the life cycle of high-value users. Thank you. The next question comes from Nelson Cheung with Citi. Please go ahead. Nelson, is your line muted? Nelson, do you want to check if your line is muted? We will move on to James Wong with GS Securities. Please go ahead, James. James Wong: And my question for the company is how is the Miracle PLA version 3.0 starting since its September launch? And what is new compared to the previous version? And what is the plan for promoting it? Mona Qiao: PLA version 3 was an important upgrade on the supply chain. In China's medical specialty market, PLA is still mostly used as an injectable for shaping. Before launching, we conducted research in South Korea and found that practitioners adopt a more standardized and safer bolster technique. After multiple rounds of testing, we launched Sutiem. In terms of products, its ultra MicroSphere comes with five key features, including ultra smooth, ultra solid, ultra fine, ultra pure, and ultra active across safety, results, and longevity. These features make each product the best fit for single use. Moreover, with its overall performance upgraded, Miracle PLA version 3 is also more competitively priced, offering consumers a high-quality, yet value-for-money experience. Regarding the promotion, we made upgrades based on the market's landscape and user pain points. To capture user mindshare, we adopted Sutiem, a miracle more suitable for skin boosters, and introduced the concept of ultra micro CS to take the lead in the segment. We also released two versions, Miracle PLLA version 3 and version 3 Pro, to address different users' needs and budgets, thereby lowering the decision threshold for users. The first batch of 5,000 units was fully sold out within a short time. The massive restock is expected in late November. We will continue to drive market penetration rates for Miracle PLLA version 3, converting users more efficiently and increasing ARPU and user loyalty. Market feedback shows that Miracle PLA version 3 is receiving high attention. We implemented an online purchase limit of one per purchase per user. From this purchase, we can see that about 56% of users paid the promotion price at RMB4,999, reflecting the trust we placed in our blockbuster product. In the next year or two, the PLA that we have been working on upstream is expected to receive approval for launch, which should reduce procurement costs by several times. Overall, Miracle PLA version 3 is not just a product upgrade. It is an important part of supply chain construction and blockbuster strategy. We will adopt the same approach for future categories. We will continue to deepen the vertical integration of our supply chain, further enhance safety, and continuously convert manufacturers into long-term supply partners. Simultaneously, we will leverage our growth stage in marketing products, doctors, and channels to build differentiated areas and solidify our brand moat. Thank you. The next question comes from Nelson Cheung with Citi. Please go ahead. Nelson Cheung: Congratulations on the solid quarter. With the expanding aesthetic center count, how do we ensure the safety and compliance of the entire chain system? And how does the internal quality control mechanism work? Thank you. Mona Qiao: This is our top priority. We have built a six-pillar compliance framework covering compliance, risk control, supervision, internal audit, medical service delivery, and information security departments, and we will continue to make this framework more refined and systematic. We adhere to high standards and resources. On the treatment side, we only offer three mature medical aesthetic treatments with clear mechanisms and solid user feedback to avoid potential risks. On the personnel side, we implement rigorous doctor's qualification assessments with an acceptance rate of around ten percent. All doctors are also required to complete pre-employment training and regular emergency drills to ensure the highest professional service and emergency response capabilities. In medical service delivery, we implement tiered diagnosis that matches treatments with doctors based on their qualification levels. We conduct regular online and offline sessions as part of our control, ensuring reliable medical service across all centers. If there is any user feedback or dispute, we handle it at headquarters with a crisis response team composed of key departments, including user experience, PR, GR, and legal. Currently, our average response time is under two hours, with issue resolution completed within two days. The compliance rate is below 1%. Going forward, we will continue to uphold the highest standards of safety and compliance. With digital and AI tools, we aim to maintain high-quality control efficiency and ensure consistent medical service quality and user safety across all centers as the business continues to grow rapidly. Thank you. The next question comes from Jenny Xu with CICC. Please go ahead. Let me repeat it in English. So how does the management view the potential for improving the profitability of the aesthetic center business in the future? Thank you. We believe it is paramount to demonstrate our user base spending, the improvements of operating profit as it scales. As the operating model gradually matures, we are confident profitability will improve. On the cost side, we continue to optimize the structure of our customer acquisition channels, including referrals from existing customers and both public and private domain traffic, continuously consolidating our advantage in customer acquisition costs. In addition, there is significant room to lower the consumable cost. For instance, we recently upgraded Miracle PLLA from version two to version three. As the new product gains volume, it will strengthen our bargaining power with upstream partners and further optimize our cost framework. In the future, with the gradual realization of digitalization, AI, and economies of scale, the fixed cost in data operations will be fully diluted. On the revenue side, as users increasingly prioritize resource and professionalism, they are willing to spend on premium treatments. Coupled with high-quality medical aesthetic products, leveraging our robust strategy, business volume has gradually concentrated on a number of SKUs with the value share of blockbuster products increasing. The top nine products contributed over 30% of revenue in Q3. This lays a solid foundation to further improve our margins through proprietary customized products. Once the number of aesthetic centers and verified treatment visits reach the center level, we will focus on enhancing LTV of core members, further driving profit margin. Therefore, we believe there is great potential for the profitability of the aesthetic center business to increase from its current base. Thank you, operator. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation, and you may now disconnect.
Operator: Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by for JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. Second and Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After management's prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session. As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the meeting over to your host for today's call, Ms. Stella Wang. JinkoSolar's Investor Relations. Please proceed, Stella. Stella Wang: Thank you, operator. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today for JinkoSolar's second and third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. The company's results were released earlier today and are available on the company's IR website at www.jinkosolar.com as well as on newswire services. We have also provided a supplemental presentation for today's earnings call, which can also be found on the IR website. On the call today from JinkoSolar are Mr. Li Xiande, Chairman and CEO of JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., Mr. Gener Miao, Chief Marketing Officer of JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., and Mr. Charlie Cao, CFO of JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. Mr. Li will discuss JinkoSolar's business operations and company highlights, followed by Mr. Miao, who will talk about the sales and marketing, and Mr. Cao will go through the financials. They will all be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session that follows. Please note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, our future results may be materially different from the views expressed today. Further information regarding this and other risks is included in JinkoSolar's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. JinkoSolar does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable law. Now it's my pleasure to introduce Mr. Li Xiande, Chairman and CEO of JinkoSolar Holdings. Mr. Li Xiande will speak in Mandarin, and I will translate his comments in English. Please go ahead, Mr. Li. Li Xiande: In the first three quarters of 2025, our global module shipments totaled 61.9 gigawatts, once again ranking number one worldwide. Driven by our outstanding product performance and a strong presence in high-value overseas markets, gross margin improved sequentially for two consecutive quarters to 2.9% in the second quarter and 7.3% in the third quarter. Net loss continued to narrow sequentially. We are pleased to see that our intensive efforts devoted to storage R&D in the past two years started to bear fruit gradually. In the first three quarters, our cumulative energy storage system (ESS) shipments exceeded 3.3 gigawatt-hours, increasing significantly for two consecutive quarters. This, combined with the rising share of overseas markets, has helped the profitability of our energy storage business improve noticeably. Considering that energy storage products have the process of installation, commissioning, and acceptance, there will be a lag in revenue recognition in our financial statements. We are confident that as economies of scale accelerate and competitiveness continues to improve, our energy storage business will more than double next year. Its revenue contribution is expected to rise significantly and it serves as a key driver of our overall gross margin expansion. In the second and third quarters, we continued to keep moderate utilization rates at a reasonable level. Since the third quarter, prices of polysilicon wafers and cells have all risen, and module prices showed some upward trends. Given that bidding rules in all provinces are still in the implementation phase, central and state-owned enterprises need some time to recalculate their IRR returns and adjust their business model for any project. It is expected that demand will take some time to release. However, we have seen some positive signals in the raw material segment. Supported by rising raw material prices, module prices in overseas markets have also increased. The upgrade of the world's high-power production capacity has become important for accelerating the industry's high-quality development. This technical upgrade also meets end-task demand for high-power products to achieve more reliable investment returns. As an industry pioneer to upgrade existing telecom capacity through technology enhancements, we made steady progress in high-power products upgrade in the third quarter. We have already delivered some high-power products carrying a premium of 1 to 2 US cents per watt compared to their conventional products. As the upgrade of the third-generation products with a maximum power of 670 watts is completed, we expect the shipment proportion of high-power products to increase quarter over quarter next year, accounting for 60% or above in 2026. Since market-based electricity reform has removed the mandatory energy storage requirements, China's energy storage industry is accelerating its market-oriented development. There is an increasing gap between peak and off-peak electricity prices, and the implementation of policies such as capacity pricing and capacity compensation means independent energy storage projects in multiple provinces can achieve sound economic returns. Driven by both improving economics and global energy transition, demand is increasing in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. In the US, the rapid expansion of AI data centers has led to an unprecedented surge in electricity demand, straining domestic electricity supply. Solar plus storage has therefore emerged as a safer and more easily deployed solution. We expect the global demand for energy storage to experience explosive growth driven by increasing renewable energy penetration and its declining storage cost. This once again validates our strategic decision to invest in the energy storage business in line with industry trends, and it has helped us build a long-term competitive advantage. As a leading enterprise in the PV sector, we possess long-established advantages in channels, brand reputation, and customer resources, enabling us to provide a localized one-stop solar plus storage solution. On the manufacturing side, we currently have 12 gigawatt-hours of pack capacity and 5 gigawatt-hours of battery cell capacity, and continuously improve product performance through self-developed technological breakthroughs. On the market side, we focus on high-margin overseas markets, particularly utility-scale and industrial and commercial projects. Although the lead time for reserve cycles is relatively long, demand remains strong, providing stable growth momentum for the company's energy storage business. In summary, the global supply chain is recovering, so the balance between supply and demand is gradually improving. As technological upgrades accelerate the industry's high-quality development, the market share of high-power and high-value products will continue to expand and become a dominant force in market pricing. As market competition, particularly in project bidding, increasingly favors leading enterprises that demonstrate strong technological capabilities and long-term reliability, resources such as bank financing are also concentrating towards leading enterprises, further strengthening their market share. With strong technological capabilities, long-term reliability, and global diversification of our energy storage business, we are well-positioned to further strengthen our competitiveness and benefit from the industry's next upward cycle. The 15th Five-Year Plan proposed accelerating the decarbonization of both the energy supply and the consumption sectors. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) have also recently issued guidance on promoting renewable energy integration and power system regulation, further emphasizing the critical role of energy storage in the construction of a new energy system. We expect that these measures will further strengthen the competitiveness of China's renewable energy sector and steer the industry back onto a healthy and rational development path. Looking forward to the fourth quarter and the full year, we will continue to actively respond to the industry's call for rational development by maintaining sustainable production levels and focusing on upgrading and transforming high-efficiency capacity. At the same time, we will proactively adapt to changes in overseas policies to ensure sustainable supply for our customers. We will keep strengthening our competitive advantages in technology and global operations, achieving a balance between scale and profitability while consolidating our industry-leading position. We expect total shipments, including solar modules, cells, and wafers, to be between 85 gigawatts to 100 gigawatts for the full year of 2025, and ESS shipments to be 6 gigawatt-hours for the full year of 2025. Gener Miao: Total shipments were 21.5 gigawatts in the third quarter, with module shipments up 9.93%. By the end of the third quarter, we became the first module manufacturer in the industry to achieve cumulative global module shipments of 370 gigawatts, with total cumulative shipments of the Titanium Series surpassing 200 gigawatts, the best-selling module series in history. In terms of geographic mix, in the third quarter, we focused on higher-value overseas markets, with shipments accounting for over 65%, achieving strong growth in Asia Pacific, emerging markets, and Europe. Shipments to the US were nearly 1.3 gigawatts, doubling against the backdrop of electricity market reform. Customer demand for high-power products continues to rise. Our high-power Titanium 3.0 series, with its high bifaciality rate of 85% and excellent low-light performance, can generate stable electricity during long, dark, and cloudy weather, effectively extending power generation hours. At the same time, in a market environment with increasing volatility in electricity prices, the outstanding power generation performance of Titanium 3.0 enables more power generation during peak price periods in the morning and evening, creating higher yield and more reliable returns for clients. According to our outdoor field test data, in Chengdu, China, under low-light conditions such as dawn and dusk, Titanium achieves a 7.2% gain compared to PERC products. And in Kagoshima, Japan, Titanium shows a 10.79% gain over PERC products in low-light conditions. In the third quarter, we delivered some high-power products that carried a 1 to 2 US cents premium compared to conventional products. We expect that our highest power, the Titanium 3.0 product with max 670 watts, will be produced on a large scale next year, further strengthening our competitiveness on the product side. We once again topped the PV Tech 2025 module test and reliability report with a triple-A rating, thanks to our solid operational capability, outstanding technological innovation, and strong recognition from global customers. As one of the few enterprises to continuously maintain top-tier creditworthiness and technological strength in the global PV industry, in the latest release of the BNEF energy storage tier-one list for Q4 2025, we were recognized as a tier-one energy storage provider for the seventh consecutive quarter. Our continuous efforts in sustainable development have also earned international recognition repeatedly. In the recent MSCI ESG, we were upgraded to an A rating, maintaining our position in the top tier of ESG performers in the global PV industry. Additionally, our S&P CSA score continued to improve from 2024, rising significantly to 78, far ahead of the industry. On the demand side, we expect the global PV demand to slightly contract in 2026. In China, due to the improvement, implementation of policy reform 136, the pace of carrying out the 15th Five-Year Plan, as well as industry self-discipline and anti-evolution measures, demand is expected to slightly decrease year over year in 2026. Markets outside China are generally expected to remain healthy. In the mid to long term, the urgent power demand from AI data centers, combined with most countries' commitment to reduce carbon emissions, will drive growth in the global deployment of clean energy and new grid infrastructure over the next three to five years. The Information Office of the State Council recently released the white paper on China's action on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, which emphasizes that energy storage is a key support for building a new type of power system and an adequate base for actively developing the renewable energy plus energy storage solution. In the United States, we are already seeing some tech giants deploying co-located or nearby solar plus storage at their data centers to meet rapidly growing electricity needs. We believe renewable energy plus energy storage has become an inevitable and accelerating trend. We remain optimistic about our long-term prospects in the US market. Although trade policies impose certain constraints on the manufacturing side, we have taken proactive measures and made early strategic deployments, adjusting our manufacturing and supply chain in response to policy changes to provide US customers with long-term stable and reliable solutions. We are confident that leveraging our advantage in technology innovation, high-power products, and global network, we can continue to satisfy our global clients' demand for clean, safe, high-efficiency, and reliable integrated solar and storage solutions. We will also continue to improve our competitiveness in global markets. Charlie Cao: Thank you, Gener. We are pleased that our focus on high-performance products and high-value markets, as well as our efforts in cost and expenses control, have delivered steadily improved financial results. Gross profit margin turned positive in the second quarter and continued to improve by 4.4 percentage points in the third quarter. Net loss and adjusted net loss narrowed sequentially for two consecutive quarters. Operating cash flow was $340 million in the third quarter, improving significantly quarter over quarter. Operating cash flow is expected to be positive for the full year 2025. Moving to the details in the third quarter, total revenue was $2.27 billion, down 10% sequentially and 34% year over year. The sequential decrease was mainly due to a decrease in solar module shipments, and the year-over-year decrease was primarily due to a decrease in the average selling price of solar modules. Gross margin was 7.3%. The sequential improvement was mainly due to a lower unit cost of products sold, and the year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease in ASP of solar modules. Total operating expenses were $363 million, up 36% sequentially and down 32% year over year. The sequential increase was due to an increase in the impairment of long-lived assets, while the year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease in shipping costs as our solar module shipments decreased and the average freight rate declined during the third quarter this year. Total operating expenses accounted for 16% of total revenues, compared to 10.6% in the second quarter and 15.4% in the third quarter last year. Operating loss margin was 8.7%, compared with an operating loss margin of 10.7% in the second quarter this year and an operating profit margin of 0.3% in the second quarter last year. Moving to the balance sheet, at the end of the third quarter, our cash and cash equivalents were $3.3 billion, compared with $3.4 billion at the end of the second quarter and $3.2 billion at the end of 2024. Days sales outstanding were 105 days, compared with 97 days in the second quarter. Inventory turnover days were 90 days, compared with 66 days in the second quarter this year. At the end of the third quarter, total debt was $6.4 billion, compared to $6.7 billion at the end of the second quarter. Net debt was $3.1 billion, compared with $3.3 billion at the end of the second quarter this year. Debt conditions improved sequentially. Let me go into more details of the second quarter. Total revenue was $2.51 billion, up 30% sequentially and down 25% year over year. The sequential increase was primarily due to an increase in solar module shipments, while the year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease in ASP of solar modules. Gross margin was 2.9%. The sequential improvement was mainly due to a lower unit cost of products sold, while the year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease in ASP of modules. Total operating expenses were $266 million, down 24% sequentially and 15% year over year. The sequential decrease was mainly due to the reduced expected credit loss expense in the second quarter, while the year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a decrease in the impairment of long-lived assets, reduced expected credit loss expenses, and decreased shipping costs as the average freight rate declined during the second quarter this year. Total operating expenses accounted for 10.6% of total revenues, compared to 18.1% in the first quarter of 2025 and 16.9% in the second quarter of 2024. Operating loss margin was 7.7%, compared to 20.7% in the first quarter this year and 4.7% in the second quarter last year. Moving to the balance sheet, at the end of the second quarter, our cash and cash equivalents were $3.4 billion, compared with $3.77 billion at the end of the first quarter this year and $1.9 billion at the end of the second quarter last year. Days sales outstanding were 97 days, compared with 111 days in the first quarter this year. Inventory turnover days were 66 days, compared to 84 days in the first quarter. Our operating efficiency is improving. At the end of the second quarter, total debt was $6.7 billion, compared to $6.4 billion at the end of the first quarter. Net debt was $3.3 billion, compared to $2.6 billion at the end of the first quarter this year. Stella Wang: This concludes our prepared remarks. Charlie Cao: We are now happy to take your questions. Operator, please proceed. Operator: Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press 1 on your telephone, and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press 2. If you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. Your first question comes from Philip Shen with ROTH Capital Partners. Philip Shen: Hi, everyone. Thank you for taking my questions. First one is on your gross margins. Can you share some color on what you see as the difference between yours and Canadian Solar? They reported recently 15%. You guys have Q3 gross margins at about 7%. And what was the main driver you think for that underperformance? And then can you provide some color on the storage and solar gross margin difference? And then finally, what do you think margins look like for Q4? Charlie Cao: Thanks, Philip. And I think compared to our peer, particularly Canadian Solar, the gross margin difference is, you know, the different revenue contribution from the energy storage business. But if you look at Jinko, you know, quarter by quarter, we did improve gross margin dramatically. It's coming from the majority, you know, the module business. But for the energy storage sectors, we did want to have a, you know, very, very positive update. I think in the prepared remarks of Chairman Li, we think, you know, our energy storage business is really for the, you know, dramatic growth in next year, 2026. And we are expecting significant revenue contributions and gross margin expansions. You know, the storage is really, you know, in supply shortage. And this year, we shipped around 6 gigawatt-hours, you know, shipments. And next year, we expect to double, at least double. And in terms of the revenue recognition, it's a little bit different because, you know, the revenue is recognized, you know, for the shipments. With the final acceptance, it's a little bit delayed one quarter to two quarters. And for the energy storage business, the gross margin is at a decent level. We expect at least 15% to 20% gross margin. And, you know, looking forward, particularly for the ESS business out of China, we target 70% to 80%, you know, ESS business next year. And in terms of revenue contribution from the energy storage business, we expect 10% to 15%. I mean, you know, the rough revenue from ESS business compared to the total revenues of Jinko next year. So it's a very, you know, we are actually, we think our business is shifting from purely module business to module plus ESS next year. Philip Shen: Great, Charlie. Thank you very much for the color. And can you share also a little bit more color on your view? You've given us some color on the storage market. You shared that next year could be six gigawatt-hours. What might the geographic shipment mix be for 2026? And how much to the US, how much to China, and then maybe Europe and others? Thanks. Charlie Cao: Yes, yes. This year is six gigawatt-hours, and next year is double, okay? That is the total volume. In terms of geographical distributions, non-China, roughly think 70% to 80%, including the United States. And in the United States, we are in discussions with a lot of potential customers and developing, and we believe, you know, step by step, we are getting more and more orders from the US. We have a strong pipeline, particularly, I think, from Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Philip Shen: Got it. Okay. Great. Thank you. Shifting over to one more question here. On the foreign entity of concern for the US, FIEC. Can you help us understand you plan to have a big business shipping US, sorry, shipping solar modules to the US. Now you plan to ship batteries also to the US. Can you help us understand how you plan to comply with foreign entity of concern requirements for the US market? Thanks. Charlie Cao: Yes. Looking for the next year, we don't believe there's a lot of negative impact from the FIEC, let's say, OVBB, you know, compliance. We do see a lot of, you know, safe harbor projects, particularly for the solar plus some storage, you know, projects. And we committed, you know, to long term, and, you know, we, I think we really shape our supply chain, you know, globally, and including, and we are exploring options for our, you know, solar module facilities in Florida. And we think, you know, from the long term, there is going to be, you know, demand for both FIEC and non-FIEC. And we are in the, you know, if there is some kind of development, particularly for, you know, transforming our solar module facilities in the United States to the long FIEC entities, and we will let the investor know. But we have been in the process of discussion with potential investors. Philip Shen: Got it. Okay. Thank you, Charlie. I'll pass it on. Operator: Your next question comes from Alan Lau with Jefferies. Alan Lau: Hello? This is Alan from Jefferies. Thanks for taking my question. So my first question is about the ESS business. I would like to know if there's any discussion with any of the AI data centers or, yeah, our hyperscaler clients. And what type of demand are they requiring? Like, are they more like two to four hours of proof capability compatible demand, or it's more like even longer hours of storage with five? Thank you. Charlie Cao: Yeah. We're seeing the AI-driven data center, you know, is going to put a lot of demands for the global electricity from long term. And our ESS team is in discussion with potential and pipelines, you know, for the AI data center, including the US, Europe, and including China. But it's still, you know, it's in progress, and we believe we are able to reach a significant milestone early next year. Alan Lau: I see. Clear. Thanks. So in relation to the geographical breakdown, we'd like to know if the gross margin of ESS is similar across the regions, or it should be higher in Europe or the US. Like, how do you see the margins in different regions that you operate? Charlie Cao: Oh, you mean, yes, it's margin, you know, different regions, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We, you know, it's depending on different markets. And China is still a little bit low, but I think it's recovering a little bit. You know? Yes. This is very competitive in China. Europe and the US is, you know, it's still, we think that it is still a decent gross margin. So, you know? And the Middle East is a little bit low, and I think China and the Middle East is, yes, yes. The pricing, you know, the competitiveness, and the margin is relatively low to under ratings. But we think, you know, it's still very healthy. And, you know, business and in the next two years. Alan Lau: Yep. Would like to know on the cost side of ESS because I've noticed that the upstream raw materials are all the cost of raw materials like freezing, or searching, any plans to lock in any raw materials, or how are your view on different raw materials like batteries or, like, even more upstream battery materials like lithium carbonate, etcetera. Charlie Cao: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We, you know, because the strong demand is a material, it's unlikely in the upper work, and firstly, we have five gigawatts, you know, and battery cell capacities. And which put us at a relative advantage. And the second one, we partner with the key materials and, you know, suppliers. And the second one, we, you know, when negotiating contracts, we did anticipate, you know, some kind of material cost, you know, upwards. So it's a combination. I think it's a little bit challenging, but we think we can manage and how to minimize the impact of the material, you know, the pricing. Alan Lau: I see. I think my next question is about the speed length. On the solar module market. So how do you see the demand growth next year for maybe both solar and ESS? What is the growth rate you see? Charlie Cao: Yes. For the demand side, we should look separately for both PV and ESS. Right? So for the PV side, I think we are in a conservative way. We are expecting more or less flat year in 2026 versus 2025. So the main reason is because China demand, you know, we believe it will have a drop compared with 2025. Which, because the weight of China demand is so high in the global demand. So even with the other markets booming or other markets' growth, we still expect the total demand of the globe in the PV industry for next year will be more or less flat year. However, when we look into the ESS, it is in a different scenario. Right? So with more and more renewable installed, the grid needs more security for the ESS contribution. Certainly, we are seeing a sharp increase for the ESS side. That's why from the ESS, we are still keeping an optimistic opinion or expectation for next year's installation. If we need to quantify that, we think it will be at least a 25% increase for the ESS year over year. Alan Lau: I see. Thanks, Gener. Like to know what type of installation in China you are looking at? Like, because there are even numbers flowing around, like, are you looking at low 200 or even below 200 gigawatts in China. Charlie Cao: I am not that conservative for China because when recently, I visited a lot of our distributors and even installers in China, in all the different provinces, I think most of them still keep an optimistic view for next year. So that having said all those, I believe that it will be around, let's say, module-wise, it will be around mid-200. Let's say, around 250. About. And if we look into the grid connection number, it should be somewhere around 23%. Right? It's yours. And I think the October and in the process to get money out of China. And after regulatory approval. And we have paid the, you know, withholding tax, and we expect to get the money by the end of this month. And very soon. And for the shareholder, you know, the shareholder returns and we commit at least $100 million a year, and we had to pay a dividend early this year. And we start we bought some shares, certain shares. And I think last quarter, you know, in the middle of this year. And after the window, you know, after earning lease and we plan to repurchase this year throughout the end of the year. Alan Lau: Is that, like how much shares have been purchased or, like, how like, will the company look to basically buy all the remaining amount in the buyback program in the remaining one month? Charlie Cao: Yes. And I think we, you know, we plan to use the right, the monetization issues and the key, you know, funding and which is available, and it's around $78 million. So we, I think, depending on how the market moves, we definitely will repurchase the shares by the end of this year. And roughly, I think, this year, you know, $100 million, and we had to go dividend, I think, $70 million. So that's our, you know, the base plan. Alan Lau: That's clear. We will send you. Yes. It's a year-over-year plan, and next year, it's roughly the same plan. Charlie Cao: I see that plan. Thank you. Thanks, Charlie. Operator: Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Next question comes from Rajiv Chaudhri with Sensorra Capital. Rajiv Chaudhri: My first question is regarding your guidance for module shipments for the fourth quarter. It's a very big range, 18 to 33 gigawatts. And you're essentially kept to the same range that you gave for the full year back in the early part of the year. But now we are halfway through the fourth quarter. Could you help us narrow down what the range would be for Q4 for module shipments? Charlie Cao: Yeah. I think we will close to the lower end of the range. I think because of the regulatory requirement, we have to keep that range as before. But from the operational level, we believe the lower end of the range is more, let's say, realistic. Rajiv Chaudhri: I see. So related to that, what do you think the global shipments of modules would be for the industry as a whole in 2025? Charlie Cao: Well, we technically believe from the product-wise, we are looking at roughly 700 gigawatts. That's the high-level numbers we are estimating for the whole industry. Rajiv Chaudhri: And do you believe that 700 gigawatts would have been shipped out by the industry as well, or that was just the production? Charlie Cao: Well, I think it's more realized to a production closer to the production side, but because every company has slightly different ways to calculate or announce their shipment numbers. So that's why it's difficult to figure out what's the real shipment number. But production-wise, I think the number is more realistic. Rajiv Chaudhri: I see. Okay. So moving on to another relating to CapEx. Could you give us the CapEx target for 2025 and also for 2026? Charlie Cao: It's roughly 5 billion RMB this year and next year. And by next year, we didn't have any, you know, plan to, you know, expand, you know, capacity, and it's kind of upgraded to a next-generation top kind of technology. And it's going to have significant, you know, high-end, high-power output. Solar modules, as we are able to provide to our customers, you know, next year, roughly 60%. Right. We hope we go some, you know, with price premium and relatively good margin contributions. Next year, quarter over quarter, as a capacity for the high-end, you know, upgrade high-end module capacity will be released quarter by quarter. Rajiv Chaudhri: So Charlie, just to be clear, this year, the CapEx is RMB 5 billion. And next year, it will be flat at RMB 5 billion? Charlie Cao: Yeah. Roughly. Roughly. But next year is I'll talk about this year is roughly payment of outstanding, you know, amount, you know, 5 billion. And next year, we are doing the upgrade. We are doing the upgrade existing capacities and to the next high level, you know, top-down capacity. And we foresee a lot of strong demands and with higher module price and higher gross margin contributions. Rajiv Chaudhri: So you made a very interesting point that operating cash flow will be positive in 2025. It looks like you will be generating operating cash flow positive in 2026 as well. And maybe substantially higher than 2025 because the gross margin will be higher. Is that a correct assessment? Charlie Cao: Yes. That's right. That's right. And, you know, we talked about firstly, I think the catalyst is the first one is ESS storage business next year. We are looking to, you know, 10% to 15% revenue contributions from ESS with decent gross margin and positive net profit release. The second one is the module business. We have, I think, the most advanced top con, you know, upgrade capacities in the industries. And developed by ourselves for the technology, and which will roughly have 60% shipment of the modules coming from the next generation Jinko developed. Top con capacities with higher, you know, gross margins. And the second one, we think from the high-level standards in the industry, anti-evolutions, you know, taking effect step by step. And the capacity will accelerate, you know, phase out and leading by the, you know, a top of on top of that industry-leading self-discipline, you know, control production volume, and reasonable, you know, pricing based on the cost will take, you know, further, I think, enforcement. So combined together, I think the industry is reaching the low point that is recovering step by step. And we think we are getting ready for the, you know, from the market and product perspective. And the plus, are shifting solar plus ESS story and the business. So the basic funding year, we are, you know, we are confident that we are able to, you know, navigate the cycles and in turn to positive earnings. That's kind of the, you know, the best plan next year. Rajiv Chaudhri: So should we no. You talked about the premium products and the fact that they've got premium pricing. But on the cost side, will your cost for these premium products still be lower than the cost for the standard products this year? In other words, do the costs keep going down even as the price goes up? Charlie Cao: Yes. Yeah. Initially, by design, the cost is a little bit higher, but they are very, very small. You know, incremental cost. And by the way, our R&D team continues to, you know, dive into the details and to try to, you know, further improve the cost. But back to your question, I think the, you know, the high-end product cost is very, very small incremental, you know, cost increase. At the beginning. But we believe over, you know, over time, you know, our R&D team with our operational teams will continue to improve the cost. Rajiv Chaudhri: Final question, Charlie. On market share, in the past, in 2023 and '24, your global market share had gone up to somewhere between 15% to 16% of the global market. This year, it is down a little bit. I guess, because you have restrained production because of the pricing. Should we expect that your market share next year will go up again and maybe go up a lot more than 16% because the industry itself is consolidating? So and what do you think the range for next year module shipments could be? Charlie Cao: The consolidated market share after consolidation of, you know, the industry consolidation and the phase-out of capacity, the industry, you know, turns into the kind of normal situation. It's for sure, it's very good for tier-one companies. If you look at it long term, we are confident and we will continue to penetrate the market share. And next year is still, I think, you know, from the top-down approach, you know, and I think China will continue to, you know, launch, you know, implement the anti-involution policies. We don't expect significant, you know, shipments increase, you know, for the module bands. But, yes, it's a different story. Rajiv Chaudhri: I see. Okay. Thank you very much. Charlie Cao: Welcome. Operator: Your next question comes from Philip Shen with ROTH Capital Partners. Philip Shen: Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my follow-up question. One of the check-in with check back in with you on in terms of Q4 margin outlook. What kind of solar module ASP could we see in Q4? And then what kind of margin for the overall quarter that we see? Charlie Cao: We expect relatively stable Q4 versus Q3. But ESS business is contributing more revenues, and we estimate our ESS business in the fourth quarter is going to reach positive profitability levels. But the contribution is not significant, but next year is a different story. Right? We have talked about it. And for the module business, we expect, you know, relatively stable. Philip Shen: Okay. Got it. Thanks. And then can you talk about module ASPs for Q1 and Q2 of next year? And then also the trajectory for margins, you know, as you blend in more battery. Thanks. Charlie Cao: Yes. Phil, I think it's difficult to share those numbers or estimations right now because you know what is happening. It's like some of the key markets are still, you know, there are, you know, some key or some important policy is upcoming. For example, you know, the US, the guidance of the FIEC or material assistance or even upcoming 232. Which will significantly impact the market prices. Like in China, you know, there's anti-involution policies, and there's even more rumors coming out regarding the polysilicon. Even to the other part of the manufacturing value chain as well. So those changes could significantly change the market price overnight. That's why we believe it's still too early to share our estimation on the prices for next year. Philip Shen: Okay, Gener. That makes sense. You talked about the rumors on Poly. Can you give us a little bit more color on that? Thanks. Gener Miao: I don't have too much more to share based on there's a lot of rumors on the market or on the Internet. So I don't know what you're referring to. Philip Shen: Yeah. I was just you mentioned it, so I thought I would try to see if there's more color. Gener Miao: No. We are not part of the game, so I don't have too much to share with everyone. But thank you for your question. Philip Shen: Yep. No problem. Okay. Thank you, guys. I'll pass it on. Operator: Your next question comes from Brian Lee with Goldman Sachs. Tyler Bisset: Hey, guys, this is Tyler Bisset on for Brian. Thanks for taking our question. Just quick housekeeping questions. Can you share what was D&A and CapEx in Q2 and Q3? Charlie Cao: You mean the absolute number or percentage. Right? Hello? Hello? Tyler Bisset: Yeah. I'm sorry. Like, the actual number. Charlie Cao: I think it's a financial statement. You gotta check out, you know, the financial statements, the R&D, and the, you know, operating expenses and that we have disclosed quarter by quarter. So what would be your, you know, key question you want to explore? It D&A. And CapEx in February and March, like the absolute numbers. Charlie Cao: You mean the depreciation or CapEx? Tyler Bisset: Sorry. Depreciation. Alright. And then separately CapEx. Charlie Cao: Okay. Depreciation by quarter, I think, roughly, you know? And I think $300 million a quarter. And the CapEx, I think, is the first half year. We, you know, spend roughly 2 billion RMB. Operator: That is our last and that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.
Operator: Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Elders Limited FY '25 Results Investor Briefing. [Operator Instructions]. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Mark Allison CEO and Managing Director. Please go ahead. Mark Allison: Thank you very much, and welcome to all for the Elders' full year results presentation for the FY '25 financial year. And thank you for joining Paul and myself for the session today. As an overview, the full year results today are solid on a year-to-year basis with EBIT up 12%, transformational projects on track, positive progress on leverage and strong cash generation. Throughout the year, Elders has demonstrated solid operational and financial resilience in the face of mixed seasonal conditions. Our diversified portfolio through its national geographic footprint and multiproduct and service offering played a key role in mitigating the dry conditions across key agricultural regions and the increased competitive activity in our retail business. Stronger activity in livestock and real estate and high financial discipline also supported the solid result. On the transformational project front, we've also made good progress on Wave 2 of our SysMod project with all states rolled out and bedded down by the end of this calendar year. We are also well progressed in the final components of this project with Wave 3, and the completion phase, Wave 4, advancing in full on time. Focusing now on the areas out of our control. The FY '25 season has been a problematic year from a seasonal viewpoint, with a drier than average and late start to the winter crop across Southern Australia, with credit to our highly diversified business model, this is offset by our agency business, our real estate services business, our financial services and our feed and processing services businesses. Rural products has seen some limitation with very dry conditions in Southern Australia and Western Australia. In this context, the performance of Elders with its clear and consistent strategy, multiple diversifications, high financial discipline, hard-working and committed team and enduring customer anchor as the most trusted brand in Australian agriculture on an unprompted basis has remained resilient. This result is strong in safety, sustainability and cash flow with the full year outcome approaching the midpoint of the EBIT guidance range provided earlier this year. Moving now to the Delta Agribusiness acquisition, which completed on November 3. This acquisition is fully aligned with the Elders acquisition rationale that delivered Titan Ag, AIRR and many other bolt-on acquisitions to Elders, with pre-synergies EPS accretion, enhancement of our technical and AgTech expertise and offerings, strengthening of our geographical diversification, particularly in New South Wales and Northwest Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, building on our crop protection and animal health regulatory package portfolio to drive our backward integration strategy, providing an additional platform for retail segmentation, allowing greater customer centricity and providing further coverage for our real estate and financial service offerings. Moving on to the FY '26 outlook. We are very optimistic on the broad outlook for Australian agriculture at a seasonal and commodity level with the return to average conditions. In addition, we welcome Delta Agribusiness to our portfolio as a platform for significant growth. The outlook and fundamentals for livestock remains sound, with prices for sheep and cattle forecast to be supported by strong international demand against the backdrop of tightening supply. The combination of a positive seasonal and commodity outlook also provides a great backdrop for continued growth of our -- in our real estate and financial services businesses. It's worth noting at this point that our first 6 weeks of trading for FY '26 is tracking some 30% up on last year for the same time on an apples-to-apples basis. So this is without the inclusion of Delta that's come in on November 3. Our approach for today is that I'll provide an overview of the results. Paul will go to the detail of our financial performance, and I'll then provide an update of our outlook and growth and transformational initiatives as we deliver the final year of our Fourth Eight Point Plan. With this overview, I will now commence with the FY '25 full results presentation. So if we can move along to the next slide. The approach, as you see with the -- it's worth noting in the appendix that there's further detail and transparency on sensitivities, business model, et cetera. So why it's worth looking at. So kicking off on the executive overview on the slide committed to improving our safety performance. So from a safety viewpoint, at the core backward-looking metric of lost time injuries, there have been 6 lost time injuries this year, which is an increase from last year. Quite a disappointing result, predominantly in the livestock area. And so we have been able to significant reduce -- significantly reduce injuries across our manual handling and our rural products area. But a disappointing result. We continue to aim for zero injuries to anyone. I think it is worth noting that at the start of the Eight Point Plan process, there were 34 lost time injuries. So we've made significant progress over the Fourth Eight Point Plans, and the lost time injury frequency and the total recordable injury frequency, and you can see the trend on the second slide, are significantly below equivalent industry benchmark. Moving to the next slide, just a quick snapshot of the financial performance. You can see the underlying EBIT, some 12% up on last year. Our return on capital of 11.3%, holding stable and maintained strong cash conversion and the dividend per share payout. And moving to the next slide. So Paul will clearly go into the detail on the financials. Moving to the next slide, and this is over the Eight Point Plan years. And you can see significant return as committed in Eight Point Plan 1, 2 and 3. At the beginning of -- prior to Eight Point Plan -- the Fourth Eight Point Plan, we took the decision to invest heavily in our transformational projects. And there's some $100 million of cost and capital being spent through this period in order to drive our systems modernization project, our automated wool project and also our Crop Protection formulation project. So we knew that, that would drag on our cost of capital and resources and focus through that period, but critical transformational projects that we're at the process of completing, with the formulation process complete, the automated wool project complete and with SysMod running into Wave 3 and 4, which are the final 2 waves through next year. Moving to the next slide. And some of the work we're doing across -- with our people and communities. It's worth noting, again, 186 years of Elders in Australian -- regional rural Australia and agriculture. Unprompted remain the most trusted brands throughout all of these areas and with significant activity across -- with multiple activities across the business. From a safety viewpoint, very clear focus on safety from an engagement enablement viewpoint, as you can see, quite high engagement enablement, as have been for many years, and also a very high focus on safety throughout our people. Moving to the next slide. And just a quick look at the work we do from a sustainable responsible future viewpoint. Many of you are aware of our alignment across many environment, people and community projects and the work we've done with our sustainability report. And you'll note the very strong and aligned partnership with the Royal Flying Doctors. So from our viewpoint, this is who we are. This is core to our DNA, and we'll continue to invest and be highly engaged with our communities around Australia. Moving to sustainability. And our progress against the emissions targets with the next slide. And you can see the trend towards the emission targets we've set. We'll continue to work through these. As many of you will also be aware, there's been a reviewed methodology on emissions calculations from livestock. So we're working through that. But I think the point to note is that we're well on track. And if you take the time to read the sustainability report, I think you'll be very impressed with the progress we're making right across the board in this area. Moving to the next slide. And this is really to emphasize one of the changes that we've made this year. Historically, we've been diversified by product and service, and we've talked about that in our business model, and it's in the business model that appears in the appendix of this pack. But you'll see right through the supply chain from crop protection, through the wholesale with the Elders Rural Service, Delta Agribusiness and then real estate and feed and processing, there's a very solid diversification component that comes out of the business. And if you look through all the key investment drivers, and I think Paul will comment on many of these, very strong EPS growth, diversification. The industry fundamentals are looking very good. And I think it's one of the points that you'll hear us make a few times that we're at the stage now where we've moved through our transformational projects and the big cost of capital resource investment, and we've got an outlook of positive commodity conditions and also seasonal conditions. So we feel very, very optimistic about the next 3 to 5 years as we run through all of these. And finally, just as a quick recap before we jump into the deep dive into the financials. The next slide, just to recap on Delta Agribusiness that joined the group on the 3rd of November, a great business, well run, very complementary from a geographical viewpoint, and it fills many gaps that we did have, very strong in its technical expertise, which also complements Elders significantly. We're looking at $12 million of synergies at EBIT level over a 3-year period in the original business case. Now given that the ACCC have put on a 12-month delay, we're discussing around the Delta Board on how we can fast track this with regard to backward integration given the strong foundation of Four Seasons' brands or products at the moment. So that's a very positive opportunity to fast track those synergies, targeting greater than 15% post synergies from an ROC viewpoint and very much aligned to Elders -- across our approach to the business. And as we've said a number of times, as divisions, all the divisions are stand-alone. So with that, I'll pass over to Paul to go through the financials, and then I'll come back towards the end on strategy and outlook. Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks, Mark, and welcome, everybody. I'll commence on Slide 14 of the pack, which summarizes progress against key financial objectives. Highlights include: double-digit growth in our agency real estate and feed and processing businesses; below inflation cost growth when adjusted for acquisition and transformation; strong momentum in SysMod, as Mark referenced, with all states now live on Wave 2 retail, and Wave 3 livestock to commence rollout in early 2026; product and geographic diversification, mitigating the impact of dry conditions in Southern states; Delta Ag acquisition to further enhance our geographic diversification from FY '26 and strengthen our technical capability in ag tech and precision agriculture; leverage to return to target in FY '26 through a renewed focus on capital allocation and client profitability. I'll now turn to Slide 15, which displays Elders' 5-year financial performance. I note the following progress from FY '24. Sales revenue increased $70.4 million, or 2.2% despite mixed seasonal conditions supported both by acquisition and organic growth. Gross margin increased 7.4%, up $47 million compared to the prior corresponding period or PCP. Comparatively, costs increased 6.2%, noting this includes the impact from acquisition and is therefore not comparable to inflation. Costs will be further discussed later in the presentation. Underlying EBIT increased $15.5 million compared to PCP, but has declined over the 5-year period, with FY '25 impacted by dry conditions. Moving to Slide 16 now, which contrasts FY '25 against PCP. In addition, this slide details the impact on key financial metrics from capital held on September 30 in preparation for the completion of the Delta Ag acquisition, which occurred on November 3. Elders has delivered a resilient result with the following highlights evident. Sales revenue, up $70.4 million despite dry conditions in some key cropping regions, which thankfully ended in June. Gross margin increased $47 million, to $684.6 million, up 7% year-on-year, with growth achieved across most products. Underlying EBIT increased $15.5 million, to $143.5 million, supported by a strong turnaround in agency services and continued growth in real estate. Return on capital was steady at 11.3%, notwithstanding the mixed seasonal conditions and systems modernization CapEx weighing on this metric as the capital outlay proceeds benefits. Improving this metric in FY '26 is a key priority. Cash conversion was broadly in line with expectations with a favorable outlook for FY '26. Net debt increased $20.5 million, to $457.3 million, excluding capital held for the Delta completion, broadly in line with sales growth and the impact of higher cattle prices. I'll discuss these key metrics further as we move through the pack. Moving to Slide 17, which displays Elders' gross margin diversification, a key defense against seasonal variability. As noted, gross margin increased $47 million, to $684.6 million, with growth across most products more than offsetting the impact on crop protection from dry conditions. The key drivers of this result include agency gross margin up $27.1 million, or 22%, following a strong recovery in livestock prices and increased cattle volumes. The outlook for agency services remains positive, driven by strong international demand for protein as well as some destocking in drier regions, limiting supply and supporting prices. Real estate services gross margin increased $22.5 million, or 27.2% with property management, residential, broadacre and commercial all improved on PCP, supported by both acquisition and organic growth. Feed and processing was another highlight with gross margin up $4.1 million or 23.8% due to productivity and efficiency benefits from the new feed mill commissioned in August 2024. Financial services gross margin increased $2.3 million, or 4.2%, supported by continued growth in our new broker model alongside improvement in the livestock warranty product. An increase in on-balance sheet lending was also achieved, partially because of the increased cattle prices. Collectively, the increase in gross margin across these products more than offset the reduced earnings from the exit of the Rural Bank exclusivity agreement in FY '24. Wholesale products delivered a steady result, notwithstanding lower crop protection sales from those dry regions. Growth in the above products significantly outweighed the negative impact from crop protection, which will be discussed further on the following slide. Moving to Slide 18, which analyzes product performance. This slide demonstrates the importance of our product and geographic diversification. The waterfall forward efficiency chart shows the extent of dry conditions, especially in South Australia and Western Victoria, which negatively impacted Elders' retail business with sales, gross margin percent and client confidence, all impacted. Fortunately, seasonal conditions improved from late June which caused for optimism for a recovery in these regions in FY '26. Turning now to Slide 19 to discuss costs, which increased $11.4 million, or 2.2% when adjusted for acquisitions and the impact of transformation. Part of this increase resulted from the inclusion of Elders Wool in base costs from transformation in FY '24, which added an additional $3 million, or 0.6% to base costs. Given this change in categorization, holding base costs below inflation was a pleasing outcome. Turning now to Slide 20 to discuss return on capital, which was steady in FY '24 despite mixed seasonal conditions. When adjusted for the impact of acquisitions and transformational projects, return on capital is 12.7%. Lifting return on capital is a priority for FY '26 through a renewed focus on capital allocation, client profitability and delivery of SysMod benefits. In terms of capital allocation, Mark will speak to the potential divestment of the Killara Feedlot in the strategy and outlook section. Moving now to Slide 21. And working capital, where we see an increase of $68 million from FY '24, mostly driven by higher cattle prices, which increased working capital in feed and processing and financial services. Resale inventory increased $12 million from FY '24, a pleasing result given the late start to winter crop in key cropping regions, which caused an uplift in carryover inventory. This carryover inventory is forecast to clear in the first half of FY '26. On to Slide 22. And cash flow, where we see an operating cash inflow of $117.9 million, a pleasing result considering the late start to winter crop, which pushed some receivables to the fourth quarter. The outlook for operating cash flow and cash conversion in FY '26 is positive with a focus on client profitability to result in some receivables being transitioned to third-party lenders away from Elders' balance sheet. I note that the physical payment of company tax for Elders Limited will recommence in 2026. We'll now move to Slide 23 to provide a detailed update on net debt and leverage. The waterfall charts display a normalized net debt and leverage position, adjusting for the benefit of capital held at balance date in preparation for the completion of Delta Ag. Breaking down the movement in net debt, we see an increase from $436.8 million at the end of FY '24, to $457.3 million at balance date, acknowledging this includes the benefit of $50 million of equity retained for flexibility in acquisitions, approximately 40% of which was deployed in FY '25. I note that the majority of net debt pertains to client receivables, which is self-liquidating in nature. Excluding receivables funded through debtor securitization, Elders' core debt is $161.9 million. Turning to leverage. We see a reduction from 3.1x at the end of FY '24, to 2.9x, normalized for Delta funds held. A return to our target range of 1.5 to 2x is forecast in FY '26 from a renewed focus on capital allocation and client profitability and increased referral of client loans to third-party lenders given trade receivables comprise almost 2/3 of net debt. I note that the return to target leverage is underpinned by but not dependent on the potential sale of Killara Feedlot. I'll now move to Slide 24, where we see significant headroom across banking covenants, noting that these calculations do not require adjustment for the capital held for the completion of Delta Ag. I also note that our bank leverage covenant excludes receivables funded through debtor securitization given their self-liquidating nature. I'll now move to Slide 25, which provides a macro overview of key growth pillars over the coming years. This slide has been included to demonstrate significant growth opportunities and focus areas over the coming years and is not meant to be exhaustive. Regarding systems modernization, Elders has now commenced the final wave of its SysMod program, which once completed, will provide Elders Rural Services with a modern technology platform in Microsoft Dynamics, which itself is evolving at pace. Delivering a return of at least 15% on the program spend is both a high priority and significant growth pillar in the coming years. The acquisition of Delta Ag represents a significant milestone for Elders, increasing points of presence and geographic diversification while enhancing Elders' technical expertise in ag tech and precision agriculture. Accelerating synergies from backward integration in crop protection and animal health are key priorities for FY '26, as Mark noted. The divisional structure is aimed at improving focus and accountability within significant business units. By way of example, real estate services gross margin has grown $45.6 million, or 77% since FY '23, but market share remains less than 5% nationally. We believe the divisional model will help accelerate growth in this and other business units. Acquisition will remain a growth pillar alongside organic growth, provided acquisition prospects meet our financial and values criteria. Finally, the new Elders' brokerage business is noted as a growth pillar, given success to date with our brokered loan book exceeding $1.3 billion from a near standing start in FY '24. Gross margin from loan brokerage has increased from $0.9 million in FY '23, to $6.1 million in FY '25 at a CAGR of 160% with our network of brokers expanded further in recent months. This concludes the financial section of the presentation. I'll pass back to Mark now, who will provide an update on strategy and outlook. Mark Allison: Thanks, Paul. And really leading off from Paul's comments on the divisional structure, just going to Slide 27 as we look at the Fourth Eight Point Plan. And historically, we've expressed the Eight Point Plan in terms of the diversification of our products and services. And we're now looking at the Eight Point Plan in terms of the 6 divisions of Elders and how that diversification across the matrix of products and services adds further to our ability to work through difficult seasonal conditions. So when you look at the -- this is the final year of the Fourth Eight Point Plan, we've had the ambition of 5% to 10% growth in EBIT and EPS through the cycles over an Eight Point Plan. Clearly, as we -- at above 15% return on capital. Clearly, as we come into a taxpaying state in the next financial year, the EPS growth ambition will need to be adjusted accordingly. But -- and we've emphasized the impact that the transformational part of our agenda over these 3 years has had from a cost of capital and resource on the business. But we're setting us up now for a very solid platform with all the transformational projects coming to a close as we go forward for the next 3 to 5 years. Going on to the next slide. And we -- our view and our move to go to a divisional structure, effective the beginning of FY '26, was really around the fact that each of these areas of the businesses had largely been run as either stand-alone or with a particular focus and emphasis through the governing Board or management team. So as we've laid them out, we've laid them out in order of supply chain, starting with Elders Crop Protection. very experienced managers right across all of the divisions. So Elders Crop Protection with Nick Fazekas. This includes our Titan Crop Protection business and our formulation businesses in Eastern Australia and Western Australia with AgriToll and Eureka. And it's a specialist crop protection business as per Nufarm, Adama, et cetera, et cetera. Then we move the next step along the supply chain to our wholesale business, with Peter Lourey. And this has -- I think you're all aware of AIRR, with multiple touch points and membership base throughout Australia for the AIRR business, and its highly efficient and effective warehouse network throughout Australia. Next, as we go to retail, we have Elders Rural Services, which has a complete offering of retail products, agency products, real estate, financial, et cetera, right across the board. And that business at the moment, since the split of divisions, I've been acting as the divisional CEO for ERS. And very shortly, we'll have an upgrade to that appointment, and we'll announce that in the next few weeks. The next business, again, Gerard Hines running Delta Agri business, very experienced and competent manager and co-founder of the business and with an excellent executive team. So the Delta Agri business doesn't have -- sorry, has a much greater focus on cropping technical service with some additional services -- products and services, but very well run, and looking forward to a period of strong growth and profitability across the board. Elders Real Estate. So Tom Russo had previously run the product of real estate before he ran the Elders network. And so we thought it was appropriate for him to take control of the separate dedicated division. The idea here is that Elders Real Estate has grown significantly, and we'll talk about the growth profile, some slides coming up. Tom is a highly experienced professional in this area, across a number of areas as well, has been the guardian of the expansion of the property management component of Elders Real Estate and also our entry into commercial real estate, which we kicked off a big time in Tasmania. So lots of growth opportunity there, highly dedicated manager and executive team and pretty exciting. And then feed and processing, that, we talked about with Andrew Talbot, another highly experienced manager with a great team. He's grown the profitability of feed and processing fivefold since the First Eight Point Plan, have done an excellent job. The record profitability of this division this year is based on a number of the investments we've made historically with feed mill, center-pivot irrigation, shading, a bunch of investments that have enhanced well [indiscernible] productivity. And it's a very, very well-run business in the portfolio. The consideration we've had with feed and processing is actually if you look across that supply chain, feed and processing is a different business to the others. And our thinking is that it's been highly successful. It's grown significantly. We've invested significant capital and got good returns as we saw with record profitability this year. But we've reflected on whether feed and processing would do much better and go to the next level with under natural ownership. And so that's the reason we're considering a divestment of the feed and processing division. And if the moons align and there's an appropriate shareholder value-creating proposition put in front of us, we'll consider it strongly. And I'll just reiterate Paul's earlier comment that our pathway to back on leverage and to a lesser extent -- well, actually, on leverage is the key metric we're thinking about, is not dependent on the divestment of feed and processing. So if the exercise comes up with options that are not to enhance the shareholder value, then obviously, we're very happy, and it's a great business and a great team to be in the Elders Group. So moving to the next slide. And if we look at the modernizing of the platform, we've talked about SysMod. We gave a commitment from a transparency viewpoint to disclose each of the cost of capital components of each of the waves as the Board approved business cases, so when it was formally approved. And we've done that. But you can see -- and if we include Wave 1, there's some $100 million to $110 million investment over this period. And this is the period in that slide that we talked about upfront, where from '22 -- FY '22, where we have had considerable transformational investment. Now with all of these investments, as we've seen with Killara on the capital investment there, there is a lag. And so the benefits of these investments are coming through now, in FY '26. And as we close off SysMod at the end of FY -- calendar FY '26, we look forward to those investments coming through into the future. And I think it's worth noting that this does really set Elders up with a contemporary platform where we can take advantage of multiple AI opportunities that historically we haven't been able to. So just looking to the next slide and running through each of the waves and the different components of the waves. That's really for information. But as I mentioned, the plan is that we'll complete these. We're still running in full on time, which I know sounds amazing for an IT project, but we're still running in full on time, and it's -- we're looking for the finish line as we run out next year. Okay. Now moving to the next couple of slides. In the next 2 slides, we've wanted to showcase a couple of products and services just to put more of a spotlight on them. And for this presentation, we picked financial services and real estate, which we had covered in the half year. But really to emphasize, in terms of the balance of our portfolio, products and services, we've now -- clearly, we've strengthened our position across the whole supply chain and real products, from Elders Crop Protection, to wholesale, to retail, all the way through and technical service. And in our portfolio, we're looking at really strengthening and rebalancing our financial services, all capital and real estate. So the characteristics of both of these services, as we look at them, and it fits nicely in our portfolio management, a high return on capital. We have a relatively low market share in both, financial services and in real estate. The brand is important. So unprompted most trusted brand in Australian -- regional, rural Australian agriculture. So the Elders brand is critical. There's excellent market outlook in both areas. And obviously, there are links to livestock outlook and general commodity outlook, but a strong outlook, and it really does help us balance the portfolio. So just a quick a quick look at financial services. And you can see, in line with Paul's comments, solid growth, replacing the Rural Bank exclusivity agreement and growing in a capital-light manner. So -- and we can go to questions on that in detail. The next slide on real estate. Very, very similar profile. And I think the gems that are probably not as obvious for everyone. One is the product -- sorry, the property management business. We have some 20,000 properties that we're managing now across Australia, which is a very solid and reliable flow for us and also our entry into the commercial real estate only in regional, rural Australia. So very, very positive platforms. And in terms of portfolio balance, a bit -- quite nuanced, and this is how we run Elders as you -- many of you are very aware. So then going to the forecast and outlook across all of the areas on the next slide with -- without going through each one of them, and [indiscernible] each one of them on the next slide. You can see our thinking is that we've had a period of difficult market conditions and significant transformational investment. We've come through that period. We've lagged benefits from the transformational investment. Right now, we're confronted with the next 3 to 5 years, we're looking at completion of the transformational projects, the commodity outlook and the seasonal outlook being average to positive and our ability to really hone in division by division to grow, to drive the capital out, as Paul mentioned, from a leverage viewpoint and to enhance the business for strong growth against the backdrop of average to good seasons. So it feels very positive. For the first 6 weeks, as I mentioned, of this trading year, FY '26, apples-with-apples. So with that, Delta included, we're up some 30% on the previous year. So very early days. But I think it does fall into the -- our thinking and how we've been talking about our outlook for FY '26 going forward. So with that, I think I'll open up for questions. So we'll just leave that slide on the screen, and we'll open up for questions. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from James Ferrier from Canaccord Genuity. James Ferrier: First question I wanted to ask you about was just on your view on livestock volumes in the year ahead, just in the context of the volumes that were achieved in FY '25 as a baseline, herd sizes as they stand right now. I mean everyone can see the livestock prices, but what's your view on volumes in the year ahead? Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks for the question, James. And it is one where there is a little bit of uncertainty going forward, I think particularly in sheep volumes. And just for those who don't know, we saw certainly higher cattle volumes in FY '25, up about 13%. Sheep volumes were down about 8.1%. So we do see that rebuild coming through SA and Western Vic, and that's likely to drag on sheep volumes into FY '26. Cattle is a little bit different just because of the geographical footprint. But it is one to watch. But what we do expect is that if volumes do taper off in sheep, we expect prices to offset because the international thematic for Australian protein remains very strong. And so we just see that price being flowing through the supply chain. James Ferrier: Yes. That makes sense. Second question, on Slide 17. We can see there that crop protection gross profit declined 9% on PCP. What was the volume of product associated with that $129 million of gross profit? Paul Rossiter: Yes, I don't have a volume number to hand, James. So I'll see if I can cover that post. But I will speak to the impact of dry conditions. So we did note a roughly $12 million impact from SA and Vic, [ Riv ] at the half. We saw that continue into the second half, mostly in Q3. We think the impact was roughly $19 million volumes. Yes, we're certainly up in Northern New South Wales, obviously down in SA and Vic, but I don't have the net numbers here. Mark Allison: I think, James, the story is on margin compression as you've seen with other businesses and the sales that we experienced particularly in the dryer areas. James Ferrier: Yes. Okay. Understood. And last one from me and probably one for Paul again. Just some thoughts on D&A, CapEx, interest and tax for the year ahead. Paul Rossiter: Yes. Look, depreciation, well, will increase given the completion of Wave 2 and the commencement of the continued amortization of SysMod CapEx. In terms of CapEx outlook, once again, in FY '26, it is dominated by SysMod. Some of Wave 4 will fall into FY '27, as you can see on the SysMod slide. So it's a bit uncertain, but we think -- I'd say, sort of $20 million to $25 million will fall from SysMod into FY '26 and perhaps another $5 million to $10 million outside of that. In terms of tax, so we will pay a small amount of tax, about $1 million following the submission of the FY '25 tax return. So it will be in February 2026, and then we'll pay effectively pay-as-you-go company tax thereafter. I think your question may be referring to the statutory tax rate, which fell in FY '25. That was pertaining to a tax credit related to prior period for R&D. So that's likely to be nonrecurring. Operator: Your next question comes from Richard Barwick from CLSA. Richard Barwick: Can I just double check, when you're talking SysMod -- and obviously, it looks like some benefits from an EBIT perspective are expected in FY '26. Are you able to put some numbers around that? And then equally, what you would see as the non-underlying OpEx impact from SysMod in '26? Paul Rossiter: Okay. So yes, thanks for the question, Richard. So in terms of benefits, the major tranche of benefits is through an uplift in retail margins. And we see that coming from better control of discounting and better categorization of clients. And just for context, a 1% uplift in retail gross margin percent is about $22 million. So 0.5% uplift there gets us fairly close to the benefits required. The other benefits we see coming from uplift in sales, and that comes from better client data over time, but probably longer dated than the retail margin benefits. In terms of non-underlying OpEx for FY '26, so if we work on roughly 60% CapEx, 40% non-underlying OpEx, over that sort of $20 million to $25 million in FY '25. Richard Barwick: Okay. And my other question is to do with the -- there's quite a sizable impairment of goodwill obviously captured within this FY '25 result. Can you just give us a little bit more background exactly what that related to, please? Paul Rossiter: Yes. So there's a couple of businesses that we impaired, both which were reported on during FY '25. So one was Currin Co, where we lost a number of agents in Victoria. The other was Esperance Rural. Yes, we had, I suppose, an unsuccessful transition post earnout. Mark Allison: I think, Richard, it's -- one of the learnings is that, as you know, we've been highly successful with our acquisition -- bolt-on acquisition template in keeping the vendors in the business. And when we do our post-implementation reviews post earnout, it's been 95% plus positive. And we've identified in the last 12 months, whether it's through tougher conditions or whatever the driver is, that the 2 years post earnout is now an area that we need to really focus on in terms of potential loss of staff as we saw with -- actually, it was longer than 2 years with Currin Co, where the vendor leaves the business, the earnout is completed. Historically, we've seen that in business as usual within ERS. And we've now established a project a couple of months ago to identify how we ensure that we don't get a repetition of that situation because it had been a very high success rate of post earnout of keeping the people. Richard Barwick: And well, I guess it's -- the obvious question is, what are the risks? I mean, obviously, you've got something in place here to try and to mitigate it, which would suggest you are a bit concerned that this could repeat with some -- because I mean you made a lot of acquisitions in the last few years. Yes, how do we think about that risk? Mark Allison: Yes. Well, I think the -- a couple of points, is that if there is -- like something in the order of 100 bolt-on acquisitions, and we've had 2 or 3 like this. Clearly, the Currin Co was a larger one. If you like a sense of Shakespearean irony, the Esperance rural supply defection was to Delta. I'm sure you enjoy that. But the -- I think the materiality of it has dropped off because we aren't pursuing the same sort of strategy on bolt-on acquisitions that we had, as you're aware, given that the rural product supply chain is pretty complete and also given that the ACCC regime is hard to unscramble to do business. The -- our sense is that, that won't be where we'll be getting our growth from. It will be more organic. But I think the issue is that post earnout, the -- and we have time. We have 2 or 3 years each time. We have to have the business as usual hooks and retentions in place for these people. Because as you know, in regional, rural Australia, the personal relationship goes a long way. Operator: Your next question comes from Ben Wedd from Macquarie. Ben Wedd: Maybe just turning to your question -- your comments around capital allocation there and particularly with the potentially moving some of the receivables into third-party lenders there. I'd just be interested in sort of, I guess, any timeframes you can give around that and how that sort of looks from an operational standpoint. Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks, Ben. Look, it is something -- and I think the way that I'd explain it firstly is that we are taking a return on capital approach. So where we're not seeing, I suppose, a deep relationship with clients that warrants the use of Elders' balance sheet, then we'll look to obviously do that business with the client that use third-party financiers. So we do see this as certainly something that has commenced already. It's a process that's commenced. And that will roll through FY '26 and beyond. But it won't be something that we seek to do hurriedly either. So it will be an incremental thing over a number of years with a significant start in FY '26, particularly in the fin services and seasonal finance areas. Ben Wedd: Yes. Got it. And then maybe just any comments you can sort of give us around Delta's sort of performance over the last 12 months as it might compare to Elders as well in some of those key categories like ag chem and other cropping areas. Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks, Ben. So I mean, just a couple of comments. I think the first thing to note is that Delta's financial year is June 30, and their footprint was very exposed to dry conditions that occurred in FY '25. So I think there are a couple of key distinctions between Delta and Elders. The other being, Elders obviously had an offset in livestock agency that doesn't exist to the same extent in Delta. Yes, so the Delta result was impacted certainly more than Elders by the dry conditions. Trading, since it started raining in July in Delta has been above -- certainly above PCP. So yes, that business is operating very well. Operator: Your next question comes from Evan Karatzas from UBS. Evan Karatzas: Maybe just to follow up on that one then, so sort of the ASIC accounts for Delta. So the EBITDA went from sort of the $53 million to $40 million. Can you sort of just give a bit more information around if you expect that original FY '24 earnings to be realized assuming, I guess, normal conditions? And then anything you can say around the synergy benefit we should expect in '26 for Delta as well? Mark Allison: Yes. I think the key point for us is that what we experienced as the turnaround from these dry conditions was outside the Delta financial year. And so that's what we've experienced ourselves. Just as a note, prior to going to the next phase on the acquisition a few months ago, we -- so Paul, myself and the Chair of the time, Ian Wilton, sat down with the Delta management team to go through their FY '25 results, just to give ourselves comfort that our proposition and thesis on the acquisition remained on track. And after the presentations, discussions, I think, Paul, it's fair to say that we felt very, very comfortable. In terms of your question on the synergies, I think it's a key point for us. We've already had meetings with the team, with [ Jarred ] and Matt and Chris and the team around the synergies. We had planned for 12-month -- sorry, a 3-year development of the -- or extraction of the $12 million synergies. Our belief is that given the timing, given the November 3 timing and the proximity to the FY '26 winter crop that we do have time to do a lot of the work that we wouldn't have been able to do if it had been in the same period the previous year. So our sense is that we can fast track those synergies and bring them through. And as you know, they're largely crop protection. They're largely providing different crop protection supply chains out of Titan into the Four Seasons brand. And with Steve Hines, the person who runs that business within Delta, there's great alignment with Nick Fazekas, who runs the overall crop protection business. So we've established the governance structure, the Board structure, et cetera, around Delta and all the divisions. And again, I feel pretty comfortable and optimistic that we will get -- we will optimize the synergies in FY '26. Evan Karatzas: Okay. And just final question. Just with the debt position, can you provide a number of -- to sort of normalize it if you remove the reduction in carryover inventory in SA, Vic and removing or transitioning some of the select client loans from Elders' balance sheet to third parties, just so we can sort of look for an adjusted or a like-for-like debt position, please? Paul Rossiter: Yes. Look, just very high level and back of envelope, I would say the carryover inventory, I've put a number of around $30 million on that, which we expect to be resolved in the first half. In terms of -- I'll put another bucket in there, Evan, in terms of overdue debtors, we think there's a $20 million to $25 million opportunity there. You may have noted that we have had a $10 million increase in 90-day plus receivables. That is 2 clients -- 2 large clients, that we expect to be resolved in FY '26. So we feel that we're at a peak in terms of overdue receivables as well. And then you've got -- in terms of client receivables or client loans, seasonal finance and loans, I've put a number of sort of around -- a target of around $50 million across financial services and seasonal finance. Evan Karatzas: Okay. That's super helpful. Maybe just a quick one, I'll just sneak it in. The 1Q comments you made, do we assume you're up 30%? Do we assume we're sort of back close to that? I think you previously mentioned, like, a through cycle 1Q average EBIT was around $37 million. Is that sort of where we're, I don't know, trending towards or run rating towards? Paul Rossiter: Yes. And I think the -- in terms of tailwinds in the business, Evan -- so I think the -- certainly, livestock prices are up relative to year-on-year. I'd say that tailwind will moderate the further we get through the financial year. Obviously, livestock prices increased throughout FY '25. But I think in terms of the Q1, it goes back a couple of years, when we gave that number, obviously noting that's not audited. But yes, it's a fair comment. Operator: Your next question comes from Paul Jensz from PAC Partners. Paul Jensz: Just one at the top, Mark, if I can. You talk about the 5% market share you have in the wider farm input space. Can you see some additions to your business or the Elders business? Or is it a case of organic growth from where you are to get a larger part of that pie? Mark Allison: Yes. Thanks, Paul. So when you say the larger rural products, are you referring to finance? Paul Jensz: Right across the board. You had a chart there with the Delta acquisition where you're a small part of a very big pie in farm inputs. and you've got the new structure that you have. I'm just wondering where to from here if you're just such a small part of the pie? Mark Allison: Okay. Yes. So that broader pie includes fuel, like all the finance, et cetera, et cetera. So a whole heap of services that we're not in. So I think our focus with -- well, I think it's -- the focus that Delta has had for a long time, will continue on, where it's a service-based customer-centric approach across the board. Delta is very small in Queensland and -- but ERS is also not that strong in Queensland. So there are geographical gaps, but it will largely be sticking to the knitting of what each of the divisions does best. And in that -- in the case of Delta, although it's got some broader offers, the focus is around that very technical rural products-based customer centricity. Paul Jensz: And that's across the broader Elders business as well, if I look at the new structure that you have? It's really just sticking to the core business? You don't see another bolt-on there? Mark Allison: No, I don't think so. I think our view is that the -- any deviations, slight deviations from where we are now, we've talked about in the Elders Real Estate business, it's around strengthening our commercial real estate in regional rural Australia area, continuing to build on our property management business, which is a really solid good business. I think in ERS, there's a lot of -- in the traditional pink-shirted DRS front end, there's a lot of efficiency. Because we've just put SysMod through ERS, they've got the front-end point of sale across all the branches across Australia. So it's really around all the efficiencies that we promised and controls. And again, customer understanding that Paul talked to in terms of data, that ERS hasn't been doing in the past. In terms of Elders Crop Protection, I think the focus will be some -- a little more on integration because the formulation businesses run stand-alone to the traditional Titan business. So we'll slowly move around integration there on systems. And then feed and processing, really, we're looking at ways of expanding efficiency with acquiring extra land with some increased backgrounding, many of the efficiency programs that we've had previously. So across each division -- and I guess it goes to the point of why having focused divisions makes so much sense. Because each of them have their own nuance, their own focus, and it allows the management teams to really drive the efficiency and profitability. Paul Jensz: Okay. And then if I -- just a second question, if I can, if I build the building blocks towards, let's say, 2027, '28 numbers that consensus have, it doesn't seem to be a lot of, I suppose, underlying organic growth if you do the SysMod 250 staff that came across with the bolt-ons, Delta and the small free kit you get from '25, some of the earnings come into '26. So I'm interested in that organic growth number because I don't think consensus has got a big number in there for it and neither do I at the moment. Mark Allison: Yes. Well, I'm not sure how the -- what the assumptions are on the models. But I do know from a -- I mean, if backward integration is organic growth, and we certainly see it that way, the backward integration opportunity for ERS still has 10-or-so percent to go of the available generic portfolio and the -- just in crop protection and in Delta, there's probably 40% to go. So I think from us doing things that we control, not relying on market conditions, there's a lot of -- and then you've got also the benefits, the lag benefits of the transformational projects. But yes, your observation is probably right, Paul. Paul Jensz: And the final one, I thought others would ask this question, Mark, but I'll do it. The press -- I love talking about management transition, Mark, and your term comes up at the end of next year. I'm interested in whether you could return fire with what the press, like, talking with management change. Mark Allison: Yes. No, I thought the comment in the Australian was relatively accurate. I said when we refreshed the Board and I stayed -- I decided to stay, I said the earliest that I'd leave would be at the end of this Eight Point Plan, so that's September next year. And that's still the case. And it's not a term in the contract. It's an ongoing contract. So basically, my position has been that as a minimum, I'll stay to the end of the Eight Point Plan. Operator: Your next question comes from John Campbell from Jefferies. John Campbell: Firstly, just for clarity, what's the dollar value of adjustments that you've made to arrive at adjusted EBIT? Paul Rossiter: So you're -- in the investor presentation, John? John Campbell: Yes. Yes, it just said $143 million, just for clarity. So I know what we're adjusting. Paul Rossiter: Okay. I might just come back offline on that. So we do have -- we've got a list in the annual report, but yes, I'll come back on that offline. John Campbell: Yes. I can see where you've got that in the accounts. I just wasn't 100% sure which is included in your adjustment calculations. But I think we've got a call on this afternoon, Paul, so we can maybe touch base then. And just Mark, around -- and you sort of touched on it, but I presume with the improving seasonal conditions in the Southern regions that impacted in FY '25, in terms of that competitive intensity in crop protection that you've been talking about, I presume you see FY '26, so that sort of level of intensity and price competition and the like abating over the course of '26? Mark Allison: Yes. I think there are probably 2 components that leads us to think that way. One of them is around the seasonal conditions, as you just mentioned. And the second one is the stabilization of COGS out of Chinese factories. So the idea of lower priced cost of goods coming into Australia and then driving market price down, that doesn't seem to be where it was. Earlier, I think 6 months ago, we were concerned that tariffs on Chinese crop protection into North America may drive dumping of product in Australia and therefore, further drive prices down. If you're caught with high-cost inventory, you're obviously going to be screwed from a margin viewpoint. But our sense is that it's stabilized. And regardless, even a stabilized normal season environment, Australia has the lowest crop protection prices for all around the world. And it's not uncommon for multinational companies to divert product from Australia to Europe because they can make so much more money out of the same active ingredient. John Campbell: Okay. So that all augurs pretty well for crop protection for '26? Mark Allison: It looks like -- yes, as I said, I think we're pretty optimistic, both commodity season and the back of the transformational projects. Operator: Your next question comes from Mark Topy from Select Equities. Mark Topy: I just wanted to ask a question around the property side, the retail, the growth and both in the gross margin and the sort of volumes and some expectation around that and maybe some breakdown between what's organic and what's been achieved by acquisition because you clearly got a very strong growth rate. Can you give us some sense of how that looks going forward now? Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks, Mark. So just for clarity, so that was for real estate services. Mark Topy: Yes. Paul Rossiter: Yes, yes. So look, we -- in terms of growth, we see roughly the split between acquisition and organic, about 60% acquisition in F '25, 40% organic. I do note that one of the significant benefits from the acquisition of Knight Frank was to substantially grow our commercial real estate business. It also introduced a valuations business to the group as well. So when we think about real estate growth, it is across residential properties under management, broadacre, commercial and now valuations. So there's a few strings to the bow there. I'd also just make a comment in regards to broadacre. It did grow, but very fractionally in F '25, that part of the book was held back by the dry conditions in South Australia and Victoria. We do expect sort of pent-up vendor demand as those regions improve. Mark Topy: Right. Just thinking about the Tasmania market, kind of, say, how much growth opportunity do you see in that market going forward? Mark Allison: Yes. I think with Tasmania per se, I think it's -- it would be incremental growth. But I think the big benefit of that acquisition, which is the old Knight Frank business, is the commercial real estate knowledge, networks, et cetera, in the Mainland. And we're already seeing that is very, very important. So there are many contacts and insights that we didn't have on commercial real estate that we've gained from that business that is really helpful in our approach to Mainland expansion in commercial real estate. Mark Topy: Great. And just on the Delta side then, can you just talk to the systems and system harmonization in terms of what's being done in the Elders and whether any CapEx might be required if you like to harmonize Delta in line with Elders? Mark Allison: Yes. So the SysMod project is predominantly Elders'. And our approach at the end of Wave 4 when we switched off the AS400, and we're completely on Microsoft Dynamics 360 -- 365, sorry, we might have got a discount. Definitely not. So from that point forward, each of the acquisitions or each of the other divisions, whether that be AIRR, Elders Crop Protection or Delta, will be business case-based. So if there's a business case from the Delta Board around aligning, enhancing systems, then it will be treated on a return on capital business case basis. And we want to take it to business as usual because it's not just an ideological, everything has to be on the same system. This is all around return to shareholders. And all the systems that they're all operating on are fine. Mark Topy: They're all fine. Okay. I was going to say. And then in terms of -- I know you want to accelerate the Delta, but in terms of any risk areas, in terms of that integration, I noticed, for instance, they've got -- they're using different property managers. Do you perceive any sort of issues in migrating Delta across to Elders in that regard? Mark Allison: No. Well, I mean, it's all going to stay the same. So there's -- in terms of backup and stuff, which I think you're talking about. So we've got a mandatory integration. We've got a [ might ], and then there's a light touch component of it. Each of those are being developed with project teams between the businesses. So the -- our view is that it's a well-run business. It's got good management. It's got a strong Board governance to set the direction, and we'll be making the right decisions for the right reasons rather than any kind of ideological control-based decision. Of course, the mandatories around safety, financial transparency, regulatory compliance and so they're mandatories, as you'd expect. Operator: Unfortunately, that does conclude our time for questions. I'll now hand back to Mr. Allison for closing remarks. Mark Allison: Okay. Well, thank you very much to everyone. I did note that we have a couple more in the queue. So apologies to those. Paul and I have a back-to-back with all Elders staff. So 2,000 or 3,000 people will be waiting on the line for 5 minutes. So we've had to call it there. So for those that we haven't been able to talk to, we look forward to talking to you in our one-to-one sessions. But I appreciate everyone coming in, and thank you very much. Operator: That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.
Operator: Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Elders Limited FY '25 Results Investor Briefing. [Operator Instructions]. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Mark Allison CEO and Managing Director. Please go ahead. Mark Allison: Thank you very much, and welcome to all for the Elders' full year results presentation for the FY '25 financial year. And thank you for joining Paul and myself for the session today. As an overview, the full year results today are solid on a year-to-year basis with EBIT up 12%, transformational projects on track, positive progress on leverage and strong cash generation. Throughout the year, Elders has demonstrated solid operational and financial resilience in the face of mixed seasonal conditions. Our diversified portfolio through its national geographic footprint and multiproduct and service offering played a key role in mitigating the dry conditions across key agricultural regions and the increased competitive activity in our retail business. Stronger activity in livestock and real estate and high financial discipline also supported the solid result. On the transformational project front, we've also made good progress on Wave 2 of our SysMod project with all states rolled out and bedded down by the end of this calendar year. We are also well progressed in the final components of this project with Wave 3, and the completion phase, Wave 4, advancing in full on time. Focusing now on the areas out of our control. The FY '25 season has been a problematic year from a seasonal viewpoint, with a drier than average and late start to the winter crop across Southern Australia, with credit to our highly diversified business model, this is offset by our agency business, our real estate services business, our financial services and our feed and processing services businesses. Rural products has seen some limitation with very dry conditions in Southern Australia and Western Australia. In this context, the performance of Elders with its clear and consistent strategy, multiple diversifications, high financial discipline, hard-working and committed team and enduring customer anchor as the most trusted brand in Australian agriculture on an unprompted basis has remained resilient. This result is strong in safety, sustainability and cash flow with the full year outcome approaching the midpoint of the EBIT guidance range provided earlier this year. Moving now to the Delta Agribusiness acquisition, which completed on November 3. This acquisition is fully aligned with the Elders acquisition rationale that delivered Titan Ag, AIRR and many other bolt-on acquisitions to Elders, with pre-synergies EPS accretion, enhancement of our technical and AgTech expertise and offerings, strengthening of our geographical diversification, particularly in New South Wales and Northwest Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, building on our crop protection and animal health regulatory package portfolio to drive our backward integration strategy, providing an additional platform for retail segmentation, allowing greater customer centricity and providing further coverage for our real estate and financial service offerings. Moving on to the FY '26 outlook. We are very optimistic on the broad outlook for Australian agriculture at a seasonal and commodity level with the return to average conditions. In addition, we welcome Delta Agribusiness to our portfolio as a platform for significant growth. The outlook and fundamentals for livestock remains sound, with prices for sheep and cattle forecast to be supported by strong international demand against the backdrop of tightening supply. The combination of a positive seasonal and commodity outlook also provides a great backdrop for continued growth of our -- in our real estate and financial services businesses. It's worth noting at this point that our first 6 weeks of trading for FY '26 is tracking some 30% up on last year for the same time on an apples-to-apples basis. So this is without the inclusion of Delta that's come in on November 3. Our approach for today is that I'll provide an overview of the results. Paul will go to the detail of our financial performance, and I'll then provide an update of our outlook and growth and transformational initiatives as we deliver the final year of our Fourth Eight Point Plan. With this overview, I will now commence with the FY '25 full results presentation. So if we can move along to the next slide. The approach, as you see with the -- it's worth noting in the appendix that there's further detail and transparency on sensitivities, business model, et cetera. So why it's worth looking at. So kicking off on the executive overview on the slide committed to improving our safety performance. So from a safety viewpoint, at the core backward-looking metric of lost time injuries, there have been 6 lost time injuries this year, which is an increase from last year. Quite a disappointing result, predominantly in the livestock area. And so we have been able to significant reduce -- significantly reduce injuries across our manual handling and our rural products area. But a disappointing result. We continue to aim for zero injuries to anyone. I think it is worth noting that at the start of the Eight Point Plan process, there were 34 lost time injuries. So we've made significant progress over the Fourth Eight Point Plans, and the lost time injury frequency and the total recordable injury frequency, and you can see the trend on the second slide, are significantly below equivalent industry benchmark. Moving to the next slide, just a quick snapshot of the financial performance. You can see the underlying EBIT, some 12% up on last year. Our return on capital of 11.3%, holding stable and maintained strong cash conversion and the dividend per share payout. And moving to the next slide. So Paul will clearly go into the detail on the financials. Moving to the next slide, and this is over the Eight Point Plan years. And you can see significant return as committed in Eight Point Plan 1, 2 and 3. At the beginning of -- prior to Eight Point Plan -- the Fourth Eight Point Plan, we took the decision to invest heavily in our transformational projects. And there's some $100 million of cost and capital being spent through this period in order to drive our systems modernization project, our automated wool project and also our Crop Protection formulation project. So we knew that, that would drag on our cost of capital and resources and focus through that period, but critical transformational projects that we're at the process of completing, with the formulation process complete, the automated wool project complete and with SysMod running into Wave 3 and 4, which are the final 2 waves through next year. Moving to the next slide. And some of the work we're doing across -- with our people and communities. It's worth noting, again, 186 years of Elders in Australian -- regional rural Australia and agriculture. Unprompted remain the most trusted brands throughout all of these areas and with significant activity across -- with multiple activities across the business. From a safety viewpoint, very clear focus on safety from an engagement enablement viewpoint, as you can see, quite high engagement enablement, as have been for many years, and also a very high focus on safety throughout our people. Moving to the next slide. And just a quick look at the work we do from a sustainable responsible future viewpoint. Many of you are aware of our alignment across many environment, people and community projects and the work we've done with our sustainability report. And you'll note the very strong and aligned partnership with the Royal Flying Doctors. So from our viewpoint, this is who we are. This is core to our DNA, and we'll continue to invest and be highly engaged with our communities around Australia. Moving to sustainability. And our progress against the emissions targets with the next slide. And you can see the trend towards the emission targets we've set. We'll continue to work through these. As many of you will also be aware, there's been a reviewed methodology on emissions calculations from livestock. So we're working through that. But I think the point to note is that we're well on track. And if you take the time to read the sustainability report, I think you'll be very impressed with the progress we're making right across the board in this area. Moving to the next slide. And this is really to emphasize one of the changes that we've made this year. Historically, we've been diversified by product and service, and we've talked about that in our business model, and it's in the business model that appears in the appendix of this pack. But you'll see right through the supply chain from crop protection, through the wholesale with the Elders Rural Service, Delta Agribusiness and then real estate and feed and processing, there's a very solid diversification component that comes out of the business. And if you look through all the key investment drivers, and I think Paul will comment on many of these, very strong EPS growth, diversification. The industry fundamentals are looking very good. And I think it's one of the points that you'll hear us make a few times that we're at the stage now where we've moved through our transformational projects and the big cost of capital resource investment, and we've got an outlook of positive commodity conditions and also seasonal conditions. So we feel very, very optimistic about the next 3 to 5 years as we run through all of these. And finally, just as a quick recap before we jump into the deep dive into the financials. The next slide, just to recap on Delta Agribusiness that joined the group on the 3rd of November, a great business, well run, very complementary from a geographical viewpoint, and it fills many gaps that we did have, very strong in its technical expertise, which also complements Elders significantly. We're looking at $12 million of synergies at EBIT level over a 3-year period in the original business case. Now given that the ACCC have put on a 12-month delay, we're discussing around the Delta Board on how we can fast track this with regard to backward integration given the strong foundation of Four Seasons' brands or products at the moment. So that's a very positive opportunity to fast track those synergies, targeting greater than 15% post synergies from an ROC viewpoint and very much aligned to Elders -- across our approach to the business. And as we've said a number of times, as divisions, all the divisions are stand-alone. So with that, I'll pass over to Paul to go through the financials, and then I'll come back towards the end on strategy and outlook. Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks, Mark, and welcome, everybody. I'll commence on Slide 14 of the pack, which summarizes progress against key financial objectives. Highlights include: double-digit growth in our agency real estate and feed and processing businesses; below inflation cost growth when adjusted for acquisition and transformation; strong momentum in SysMod, as Mark referenced, with all states now live on Wave 2 retail, and Wave 3 livestock to commence rollout in early 2026; product and geographic diversification, mitigating the impact of dry conditions in Southern states; Delta Ag acquisition to further enhance our geographic diversification from FY '26 and strengthen our technical capability in ag tech and precision agriculture; leverage to return to target in FY '26 through a renewed focus on capital allocation and client profitability. I'll now turn to Slide 15, which displays Elders' 5-year financial performance. I note the following progress from FY '24. Sales revenue increased $70.4 million, or 2.2% despite mixed seasonal conditions supported both by acquisition and organic growth. Gross margin increased 7.4%, up $47 million compared to the prior corresponding period or PCP. Comparatively, costs increased 6.2%, noting this includes the impact from acquisition and is therefore not comparable to inflation. Costs will be further discussed later in the presentation. Underlying EBIT increased $15.5 million compared to PCP, but has declined over the 5-year period, with FY '25 impacted by dry conditions. Moving to Slide 16 now, which contrasts FY '25 against PCP. In addition, this slide details the impact on key financial metrics from capital held on September 30 in preparation for the completion of the Delta Ag acquisition, which occurred on November 3. Elders has delivered a resilient result with the following highlights evident. Sales revenue, up $70.4 million despite dry conditions in some key cropping regions, which thankfully ended in June. Gross margin increased $47 million, to $684.6 million, up 7% year-on-year, with growth achieved across most products. Underlying EBIT increased $15.5 million, to $143.5 million, supported by a strong turnaround in agency services and continued growth in real estate. Return on capital was steady at 11.3%, notwithstanding the mixed seasonal conditions and systems modernization CapEx weighing on this metric as the capital outlay proceeds benefits. Improving this metric in FY '26 is a key priority. Cash conversion was broadly in line with expectations with a favorable outlook for FY '26. Net debt increased $20.5 million, to $457.3 million, excluding capital held for the Delta completion, broadly in line with sales growth and the impact of higher cattle prices. I'll discuss these key metrics further as we move through the pack. Moving to Slide 17, which displays Elders' gross margin diversification, a key defense against seasonal variability. As noted, gross margin increased $47 million, to $684.6 million, with growth across most products more than offsetting the impact on crop protection from dry conditions. The key drivers of this result include agency gross margin up $27.1 million, or 22%, following a strong recovery in livestock prices and increased cattle volumes. The outlook for agency services remains positive, driven by strong international demand for protein as well as some destocking in drier regions, limiting supply and supporting prices. Real estate services gross margin increased $22.5 million, or 27.2% with property management, residential, broadacre and commercial all improved on PCP, supported by both acquisition and organic growth. Feed and processing was another highlight with gross margin up $4.1 million or 23.8% due to productivity and efficiency benefits from the new feed mill commissioned in August 2024. Financial services gross margin increased $2.3 million, or 4.2%, supported by continued growth in our new broker model alongside improvement in the livestock warranty product. An increase in on-balance sheet lending was also achieved, partially because of the increased cattle prices. Collectively, the increase in gross margin across these products more than offset the reduced earnings from the exit of the Rural Bank exclusivity agreement in FY '24. Wholesale products delivered a steady result, notwithstanding lower crop protection sales from those dry regions. Growth in the above products significantly outweighed the negative impact from crop protection, which will be discussed further on the following slide. Moving to Slide 18, which analyzes product performance. This slide demonstrates the importance of our product and geographic diversification. The waterfall forward efficiency chart shows the extent of dry conditions, especially in South Australia and Western Victoria, which negatively impacted Elders' retail business with sales, gross margin percent and client confidence, all impacted. Fortunately, seasonal conditions improved from late June which caused for optimism for a recovery in these regions in FY '26. Turning now to Slide 19 to discuss costs, which increased $11.4 million, or 2.2% when adjusted for acquisitions and the impact of transformation. Part of this increase resulted from the inclusion of Elders Wool in base costs from transformation in FY '24, which added an additional $3 million, or 0.6% to base costs. Given this change in categorization, holding base costs below inflation was a pleasing outcome. Turning now to Slide 20 to discuss return on capital, which was steady in FY '24 despite mixed seasonal conditions. When adjusted for the impact of acquisitions and transformational projects, return on capital is 12.7%. Lifting return on capital is a priority for FY '26 through a renewed focus on capital allocation, client profitability and delivery of SysMod benefits. In terms of capital allocation, Mark will speak to the potential divestment of the Killara Feedlot in the strategy and outlook section. Moving now to Slide 21. And working capital, where we see an increase of $68 million from FY '24, mostly driven by higher cattle prices, which increased working capital in feed and processing and financial services. Resale inventory increased $12 million from FY '24, a pleasing result given the late start to winter crop in key cropping regions, which caused an uplift in carryover inventory. This carryover inventory is forecast to clear in the first half of FY '26. On to Slide 22. And cash flow, where we see an operating cash inflow of $117.9 million, a pleasing result considering the late start to winter crop, which pushed some receivables to the fourth quarter. The outlook for operating cash flow and cash conversion in FY '26 is positive with a focus on client profitability to result in some receivables being transitioned to third-party lenders away from Elders' balance sheet. I note that the physical payment of company tax for Elders Limited will recommence in 2026. We'll now move to Slide 23 to provide a detailed update on net debt and leverage. The waterfall charts display a normalized net debt and leverage position, adjusting for the benefit of capital held at balance date in preparation for the completion of Delta Ag. Breaking down the movement in net debt, we see an increase from $436.8 million at the end of FY '24, to $457.3 million at balance date, acknowledging this includes the benefit of $50 million of equity retained for flexibility in acquisitions, approximately 40% of which was deployed in FY '25. I note that the majority of net debt pertains to client receivables, which is self-liquidating in nature. Excluding receivables funded through debtor securitization, Elders' core debt is $161.9 million. Turning to leverage. We see a reduction from 3.1x at the end of FY '24, to 2.9x, normalized for Delta funds held. A return to our target range of 1.5 to 2x is forecast in FY '26 from a renewed focus on capital allocation and client profitability and increased referral of client loans to third-party lenders given trade receivables comprise almost 2/3 of net debt. I note that the return to target leverage is underpinned by but not dependent on the potential sale of Killara Feedlot. I'll now move to Slide 24, where we see significant headroom across banking covenants, noting that these calculations do not require adjustment for the capital held for the completion of Delta Ag. I also note that our bank leverage covenant excludes receivables funded through debtor securitization given their self-liquidating nature. I'll now move to Slide 25, which provides a macro overview of key growth pillars over the coming years. This slide has been included to demonstrate significant growth opportunities and focus areas over the coming years and is not meant to be exhaustive. Regarding systems modernization, Elders has now commenced the final wave of its SysMod program, which once completed, will provide Elders Rural Services with a modern technology platform in Microsoft Dynamics, which itself is evolving at pace. Delivering a return of at least 15% on the program spend is both a high priority and significant growth pillar in the coming years. The acquisition of Delta Ag represents a significant milestone for Elders, increasing points of presence and geographic diversification while enhancing Elders' technical expertise in ag tech and precision agriculture. Accelerating synergies from backward integration in crop protection and animal health are key priorities for FY '26, as Mark noted. The divisional structure is aimed at improving focus and accountability within significant business units. By way of example, real estate services gross margin has grown $45.6 million, or 77% since FY '23, but market share remains less than 5% nationally. We believe the divisional model will help accelerate growth in this and other business units. Acquisition will remain a growth pillar alongside organic growth, provided acquisition prospects meet our financial and values criteria. Finally, the new Elders' brokerage business is noted as a growth pillar, given success to date with our brokered loan book exceeding $1.3 billion from a near standing start in FY '24. Gross margin from loan brokerage has increased from $0.9 million in FY '23, to $6.1 million in FY '25 at a CAGR of 160% with our network of brokers expanded further in recent months. This concludes the financial section of the presentation. I'll pass back to Mark now, who will provide an update on strategy and outlook. Mark Allison: Thanks, Paul. And really leading off from Paul's comments on the divisional structure, just going to Slide 27 as we look at the Fourth Eight Point Plan. And historically, we've expressed the Eight Point Plan in terms of the diversification of our products and services. And we're now looking at the Eight Point Plan in terms of the 6 divisions of Elders and how that diversification across the matrix of products and services adds further to our ability to work through difficult seasonal conditions. So when you look at the -- this is the final year of the Fourth Eight Point Plan, we've had the ambition of 5% to 10% growth in EBIT and EPS through the cycles over an Eight Point Plan. Clearly, as we -- at above 15% return on capital. Clearly, as we come into a taxpaying state in the next financial year, the EPS growth ambition will need to be adjusted accordingly. But -- and we've emphasized the impact that the transformational part of our agenda over these 3 years has had from a cost of capital and resource on the business. But we're setting us up now for a very solid platform with all the transformational projects coming to a close as we go forward for the next 3 to 5 years. Going on to the next slide. And we -- our view and our move to go to a divisional structure, effective the beginning of FY '26, was really around the fact that each of these areas of the businesses had largely been run as either stand-alone or with a particular focus and emphasis through the governing Board or management team. So as we've laid them out, we've laid them out in order of supply chain, starting with Elders Crop Protection. very experienced managers right across all of the divisions. So Elders Crop Protection with Nick Fazekas. This includes our Titan Crop Protection business and our formulation businesses in Eastern Australia and Western Australia with AgriToll and Eureka. And it's a specialist crop protection business as per Nufarm, Adama, et cetera, et cetera. Then we move the next step along the supply chain to our wholesale business, with Peter Lourey. And this has -- I think you're all aware of AIRR, with multiple touch points and membership base throughout Australia for the AIRR business, and its highly efficient and effective warehouse network throughout Australia. Next, as we go to retail, we have Elders Rural Services, which has a complete offering of retail products, agency products, real estate, financial, et cetera, right across the board. And that business at the moment, since the split of divisions, I've been acting as the divisional CEO for ERS. And very shortly, we'll have an upgrade to that appointment, and we'll announce that in the next few weeks. The next business, again, Gerard Hines running Delta Agri business, very experienced and competent manager and co-founder of the business and with an excellent executive team. So the Delta Agri business doesn't have -- sorry, has a much greater focus on cropping technical service with some additional services -- products and services, but very well run, and looking forward to a period of strong growth and profitability across the board. Elders Real Estate. So Tom Russo had previously run the product of real estate before he ran the Elders network. And so we thought it was appropriate for him to take control of the separate dedicated division. The idea here is that Elders Real Estate has grown significantly, and we'll talk about the growth profile, some slides coming up. Tom is a highly experienced professional in this area, across a number of areas as well, has been the guardian of the expansion of the property management component of Elders Real Estate and also our entry into commercial real estate, which we kicked off a big time in Tasmania. So lots of growth opportunity there, highly dedicated manager and executive team and pretty exciting. And then feed and processing, that, we talked about with Andrew Talbot, another highly experienced manager with a great team. He's grown the profitability of feed and processing fivefold since the First Eight Point Plan, have done an excellent job. The record profitability of this division this year is based on a number of the investments we've made historically with feed mill, center-pivot irrigation, shading, a bunch of investments that have enhanced well [indiscernible] productivity. And it's a very, very well-run business in the portfolio. The consideration we've had with feed and processing is actually if you look across that supply chain, feed and processing is a different business to the others. And our thinking is that it's been highly successful. It's grown significantly. We've invested significant capital and got good returns as we saw with record profitability this year. But we've reflected on whether feed and processing would do much better and go to the next level with under natural ownership. And so that's the reason we're considering a divestment of the feed and processing division. And if the moons align and there's an appropriate shareholder value-creating proposition put in front of us, we'll consider it strongly. And I'll just reiterate Paul's earlier comment that our pathway to back on leverage and to a lesser extent -- well, actually, on leverage is the key metric we're thinking about, is not dependent on the divestment of feed and processing. So if the exercise comes up with options that are not to enhance the shareholder value, then obviously, we're very happy, and it's a great business and a great team to be in the Elders Group. So moving to the next slide. And if we look at the modernizing of the platform, we've talked about SysMod. We gave a commitment from a transparency viewpoint to disclose each of the cost of capital components of each of the waves as the Board approved business cases, so when it was formally approved. And we've done that. But you can see -- and if we include Wave 1, there's some $100 million to $110 million investment over this period. And this is the period in that slide that we talked about upfront, where from '22 -- FY '22, where we have had considerable transformational investment. Now with all of these investments, as we've seen with Killara on the capital investment there, there is a lag. And so the benefits of these investments are coming through now, in FY '26. And as we close off SysMod at the end of FY -- calendar FY '26, we look forward to those investments coming through into the future. And I think it's worth noting that this does really set Elders up with a contemporary platform where we can take advantage of multiple AI opportunities that historically we haven't been able to. So just looking to the next slide and running through each of the waves and the different components of the waves. That's really for information. But as I mentioned, the plan is that we'll complete these. We're still running in full on time, which I know sounds amazing for an IT project, but we're still running in full on time, and it's -- we're looking for the finish line as we run out next year. Okay. Now moving to the next couple of slides. In the next 2 slides, we've wanted to showcase a couple of products and services just to put more of a spotlight on them. And for this presentation, we picked financial services and real estate, which we had covered in the half year. But really to emphasize, in terms of the balance of our portfolio, products and services, we've now -- clearly, we've strengthened our position across the whole supply chain and real products, from Elders Crop Protection, to wholesale, to retail, all the way through and technical service. And in our portfolio, we're looking at really strengthening and rebalancing our financial services, all capital and real estate. So the characteristics of both of these services, as we look at them, and it fits nicely in our portfolio management, a high return on capital. We have a relatively low market share in both, financial services and in real estate. The brand is important. So unprompted most trusted brand in Australian -- regional, rural Australian agriculture. So the Elders brand is critical. There's excellent market outlook in both areas. And obviously, there are links to livestock outlook and general commodity outlook, but a strong outlook, and it really does help us balance the portfolio. So just a quick a quick look at financial services. And you can see, in line with Paul's comments, solid growth, replacing the Rural Bank exclusivity agreement and growing in a capital-light manner. So -- and we can go to questions on that in detail. The next slide on real estate. Very, very similar profile. And I think the gems that are probably not as obvious for everyone. One is the product -- sorry, the property management business. We have some 20,000 properties that we're managing now across Australia, which is a very solid and reliable flow for us and also our entry into the commercial real estate only in regional, rural Australia. So very, very positive platforms. And in terms of portfolio balance, a bit -- quite nuanced, and this is how we run Elders as you -- many of you are very aware. So then going to the forecast and outlook across all of the areas on the next slide with -- without going through each one of them, and [indiscernible] each one of them on the next slide. You can see our thinking is that we've had a period of difficult market conditions and significant transformational investment. We've come through that period. We've lagged benefits from the transformational investment. Right now, we're confronted with the next 3 to 5 years, we're looking at completion of the transformational projects, the commodity outlook and the seasonal outlook being average to positive and our ability to really hone in division by division to grow, to drive the capital out, as Paul mentioned, from a leverage viewpoint and to enhance the business for strong growth against the backdrop of average to good seasons. So it feels very positive. For the first 6 weeks, as I mentioned, of this trading year, FY '26, apples-with-apples. So with that, Delta included, we're up some 30% on the previous year. So very early days. But I think it does fall into the -- our thinking and how we've been talking about our outlook for FY '26 going forward. So with that, I think I'll open up for questions. So we'll just leave that slide on the screen, and we'll open up for questions. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from James Ferrier from Canaccord Genuity. James Ferrier: First question I wanted to ask you about was just on your view on livestock volumes in the year ahead, just in the context of the volumes that were achieved in FY '25 as a baseline, herd sizes as they stand right now. I mean everyone can see the livestock prices, but what's your view on volumes in the year ahead? Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks for the question, James. And it is one where there is a little bit of uncertainty going forward, I think particularly in sheep volumes. And just for those who don't know, we saw certainly higher cattle volumes in FY '25, up about 13%. Sheep volumes were down about 8.1%. So we do see that rebuild coming through SA and Western Vic, and that's likely to drag on sheep volumes into FY '26. Cattle is a little bit different just because of the geographical footprint. But it is one to watch. But what we do expect is that if volumes do taper off in sheep, we expect prices to offset because the international thematic for Australian protein remains very strong. And so we just see that price being flowing through the supply chain. James Ferrier: Yes. That makes sense. Second question, on Slide 17. We can see there that crop protection gross profit declined 9% on PCP. What was the volume of product associated with that $129 million of gross profit? Paul Rossiter: Yes, I don't have a volume number to hand, James. So I'll see if I can cover that post. But I will speak to the impact of dry conditions. So we did note a roughly $12 million impact from SA and Vic, [ Riv ] at the half. We saw that continue into the second half, mostly in Q3. We think the impact was roughly $19 million volumes. Yes, we're certainly up in Northern New South Wales, obviously down in SA and Vic, but I don't have the net numbers here. Mark Allison: I think, James, the story is on margin compression as you've seen with other businesses and the sales that we experienced particularly in the dryer areas. James Ferrier: Yes. Okay. Understood. And last one from me and probably one for Paul again. Just some thoughts on D&A, CapEx, interest and tax for the year ahead. Paul Rossiter: Yes. Look, depreciation, well, will increase given the completion of Wave 2 and the commencement of the continued amortization of SysMod CapEx. In terms of CapEx outlook, once again, in FY '26, it is dominated by SysMod. Some of Wave 4 will fall into FY '27, as you can see on the SysMod slide. So it's a bit uncertain, but we think -- I'd say, sort of $20 million to $25 million will fall from SysMod into FY '26 and perhaps another $5 million to $10 million outside of that. In terms of tax, so we will pay a small amount of tax, about $1 million following the submission of the FY '25 tax return. So it will be in February 2026, and then we'll pay effectively pay-as-you-go company tax thereafter. I think your question may be referring to the statutory tax rate, which fell in FY '25. That was pertaining to a tax credit related to prior period for R&D. So that's likely to be nonrecurring. Operator: Your next question comes from Richard Barwick from CLSA. Richard Barwick: Can I just double check, when you're talking SysMod -- and obviously, it looks like some benefits from an EBIT perspective are expected in FY '26. Are you able to put some numbers around that? And then equally, what you would see as the non-underlying OpEx impact from SysMod in '26? Paul Rossiter: Okay. So yes, thanks for the question, Richard. So in terms of benefits, the major tranche of benefits is through an uplift in retail margins. And we see that coming from better control of discounting and better categorization of clients. And just for context, a 1% uplift in retail gross margin percent is about $22 million. So 0.5% uplift there gets us fairly close to the benefits required. The other benefits we see coming from uplift in sales, and that comes from better client data over time, but probably longer dated than the retail margin benefits. In terms of non-underlying OpEx for FY '26, so if we work on roughly 60% CapEx, 40% non-underlying OpEx, over that sort of $20 million to $25 million in FY '25. Richard Barwick: Okay. And my other question is to do with the -- there's quite a sizable impairment of goodwill obviously captured within this FY '25 result. Can you just give us a little bit more background exactly what that related to, please? Paul Rossiter: Yes. So there's a couple of businesses that we impaired, both which were reported on during FY '25. So one was Currin Co, where we lost a number of agents in Victoria. The other was Esperance Rural. Yes, we had, I suppose, an unsuccessful transition post earnout. Mark Allison: I think, Richard, it's -- one of the learnings is that, as you know, we've been highly successful with our acquisition -- bolt-on acquisition template in keeping the vendors in the business. And when we do our post-implementation reviews post earnout, it's been 95% plus positive. And we've identified in the last 12 months, whether it's through tougher conditions or whatever the driver is, that the 2 years post earnout is now an area that we need to really focus on in terms of potential loss of staff as we saw with -- actually, it was longer than 2 years with Currin Co, where the vendor leaves the business, the earnout is completed. Historically, we've seen that in business as usual within ERS. And we've now established a project a couple of months ago to identify how we ensure that we don't get a repetition of that situation because it had been a very high success rate of post earnout of keeping the people. Richard Barwick: And well, I guess it's -- the obvious question is, what are the risks? I mean, obviously, you've got something in place here to try and to mitigate it, which would suggest you are a bit concerned that this could repeat with some -- because I mean you made a lot of acquisitions in the last few years. Yes, how do we think about that risk? Mark Allison: Yes. Well, I think the -- a couple of points, is that if there is -- like something in the order of 100 bolt-on acquisitions, and we've had 2 or 3 like this. Clearly, the Currin Co was a larger one. If you like a sense of Shakespearean irony, the Esperance rural supply defection was to Delta. I'm sure you enjoy that. But the -- I think the materiality of it has dropped off because we aren't pursuing the same sort of strategy on bolt-on acquisitions that we had, as you're aware, given that the rural product supply chain is pretty complete and also given that the ACCC regime is hard to unscramble to do business. The -- our sense is that, that won't be where we'll be getting our growth from. It will be more organic. But I think the issue is that post earnout, the -- and we have time. We have 2 or 3 years each time. We have to have the business as usual hooks and retentions in place for these people. Because as you know, in regional, rural Australia, the personal relationship goes a long way. Operator: Your next question comes from Ben Wedd from Macquarie. Ben Wedd: Maybe just turning to your question -- your comments around capital allocation there and particularly with the potentially moving some of the receivables into third-party lenders there. I'd just be interested in sort of, I guess, any timeframes you can give around that and how that sort of looks from an operational standpoint. Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks, Ben. Look, it is something -- and I think the way that I'd explain it firstly is that we are taking a return on capital approach. So where we're not seeing, I suppose, a deep relationship with clients that warrants the use of Elders' balance sheet, then we'll look to obviously do that business with the client that use third-party financiers. So we do see this as certainly something that has commenced already. It's a process that's commenced. And that will roll through FY '26 and beyond. But it won't be something that we seek to do hurriedly either. So it will be an incremental thing over a number of years with a significant start in FY '26, particularly in the fin services and seasonal finance areas. Ben Wedd: Yes. Got it. And then maybe just any comments you can sort of give us around Delta's sort of performance over the last 12 months as it might compare to Elders as well in some of those key categories like ag chem and other cropping areas. Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks, Ben. So I mean, just a couple of comments. I think the first thing to note is that Delta's financial year is June 30, and their footprint was very exposed to dry conditions that occurred in FY '25. So I think there are a couple of key distinctions between Delta and Elders. The other being, Elders obviously had an offset in livestock agency that doesn't exist to the same extent in Delta. Yes, so the Delta result was impacted certainly more than Elders by the dry conditions. Trading, since it started raining in July in Delta has been above -- certainly above PCP. So yes, that business is operating very well. Operator: Your next question comes from Evan Karatzas from UBS. Evan Karatzas: Maybe just to follow up on that one then, so sort of the ASIC accounts for Delta. So the EBITDA went from sort of the $53 million to $40 million. Can you sort of just give a bit more information around if you expect that original FY '24 earnings to be realized assuming, I guess, normal conditions? And then anything you can say around the synergy benefit we should expect in '26 for Delta as well? Mark Allison: Yes. I think the key point for us is that what we experienced as the turnaround from these dry conditions was outside the Delta financial year. And so that's what we've experienced ourselves. Just as a note, prior to going to the next phase on the acquisition a few months ago, we -- so Paul, myself and the Chair of the time, Ian Wilton, sat down with the Delta management team to go through their FY '25 results, just to give ourselves comfort that our proposition and thesis on the acquisition remained on track. And after the presentations, discussions, I think, Paul, it's fair to say that we felt very, very comfortable. In terms of your question on the synergies, I think it's a key point for us. We've already had meetings with the team, with [ Jarred ] and Matt and Chris and the team around the synergies. We had planned for 12-month -- sorry, a 3-year development of the -- or extraction of the $12 million synergies. Our belief is that given the timing, given the November 3 timing and the proximity to the FY '26 winter crop that we do have time to do a lot of the work that we wouldn't have been able to do if it had been in the same period the previous year. So our sense is that we can fast track those synergies and bring them through. And as you know, they're largely crop protection. They're largely providing different crop protection supply chains out of Titan into the Four Seasons brand. And with Steve Hines, the person who runs that business within Delta, there's great alignment with Nick Fazekas, who runs the overall crop protection business. So we've established the governance structure, the Board structure, et cetera, around Delta and all the divisions. And again, I feel pretty comfortable and optimistic that we will get -- we will optimize the synergies in FY '26. Evan Karatzas: Okay. And just final question. Just with the debt position, can you provide a number of -- to sort of normalize it if you remove the reduction in carryover inventory in SA, Vic and removing or transitioning some of the select client loans from Elders' balance sheet to third parties, just so we can sort of look for an adjusted or a like-for-like debt position, please? Paul Rossiter: Yes. Look, just very high level and back of envelope, I would say the carryover inventory, I've put a number of around $30 million on that, which we expect to be resolved in the first half. In terms of -- I'll put another bucket in there, Evan, in terms of overdue debtors, we think there's a $20 million to $25 million opportunity there. You may have noted that we have had a $10 million increase in 90-day plus receivables. That is 2 clients -- 2 large clients, that we expect to be resolved in FY '26. So we feel that we're at a peak in terms of overdue receivables as well. And then you've got -- in terms of client receivables or client loans, seasonal finance and loans, I've put a number of sort of around -- a target of around $50 million across financial services and seasonal finance. Evan Karatzas: Okay. That's super helpful. Maybe just a quick one, I'll just sneak it in. The 1Q comments you made, do we assume you're up 30%? Do we assume we're sort of back close to that? I think you previously mentioned, like, a through cycle 1Q average EBIT was around $37 million. Is that sort of where we're, I don't know, trending towards or run rating towards? Paul Rossiter: Yes. And I think the -- in terms of tailwinds in the business, Evan -- so I think the -- certainly, livestock prices are up relative to year-on-year. I'd say that tailwind will moderate the further we get through the financial year. Obviously, livestock prices increased throughout FY '25. But I think in terms of the Q1, it goes back a couple of years, when we gave that number, obviously noting that's not audited. But yes, it's a fair comment. Operator: Your next question comes from Paul Jensz from PAC Partners. Paul Jensz: Just one at the top, Mark, if I can. You talk about the 5% market share you have in the wider farm input space. Can you see some additions to your business or the Elders business? Or is it a case of organic growth from where you are to get a larger part of that pie? Mark Allison: Yes. Thanks, Paul. So when you say the larger rural products, are you referring to finance? Paul Jensz: Right across the board. You had a chart there with the Delta acquisition where you're a small part of a very big pie in farm inputs. and you've got the new structure that you have. I'm just wondering where to from here if you're just such a small part of the pie? Mark Allison: Okay. Yes. So that broader pie includes fuel, like all the finance, et cetera, et cetera. So a whole heap of services that we're not in. So I think our focus with -- well, I think it's -- the focus that Delta has had for a long time, will continue on, where it's a service-based customer-centric approach across the board. Delta is very small in Queensland and -- but ERS is also not that strong in Queensland. So there are geographical gaps, but it will largely be sticking to the knitting of what each of the divisions does best. And in that -- in the case of Delta, although it's got some broader offers, the focus is around that very technical rural products-based customer centricity. Paul Jensz: And that's across the broader Elders business as well, if I look at the new structure that you have? It's really just sticking to the core business? You don't see another bolt-on there? Mark Allison: No, I don't think so. I think our view is that the -- any deviations, slight deviations from where we are now, we've talked about in the Elders Real Estate business, it's around strengthening our commercial real estate in regional rural Australia area, continuing to build on our property management business, which is a really solid good business. I think in ERS, there's a lot of -- in the traditional pink-shirted DRS front end, there's a lot of efficiency. Because we've just put SysMod through ERS, they've got the front-end point of sale across all the branches across Australia. So it's really around all the efficiencies that we promised and controls. And again, customer understanding that Paul talked to in terms of data, that ERS hasn't been doing in the past. In terms of Elders Crop Protection, I think the focus will be some -- a little more on integration because the formulation businesses run stand-alone to the traditional Titan business. So we'll slowly move around integration there on systems. And then feed and processing, really, we're looking at ways of expanding efficiency with acquiring extra land with some increased backgrounding, many of the efficiency programs that we've had previously. So across each division -- and I guess it goes to the point of why having focused divisions makes so much sense. Because each of them have their own nuance, their own focus, and it allows the management teams to really drive the efficiency and profitability. Paul Jensz: Okay. And then if I -- just a second question, if I can, if I build the building blocks towards, let's say, 2027, '28 numbers that consensus have, it doesn't seem to be a lot of, I suppose, underlying organic growth if you do the SysMod 250 staff that came across with the bolt-ons, Delta and the small free kit you get from '25, some of the earnings come into '26. So I'm interested in that organic growth number because I don't think consensus has got a big number in there for it and neither do I at the moment. Mark Allison: Yes. Well, I'm not sure how the -- what the assumptions are on the models. But I do know from a -- I mean, if backward integration is organic growth, and we certainly see it that way, the backward integration opportunity for ERS still has 10-or-so percent to go of the available generic portfolio and the -- just in crop protection and in Delta, there's probably 40% to go. So I think from us doing things that we control, not relying on market conditions, there's a lot of -- and then you've got also the benefits, the lag benefits of the transformational projects. But yes, your observation is probably right, Paul. Paul Jensz: And the final one, I thought others would ask this question, Mark, but I'll do it. The press -- I love talking about management transition, Mark, and your term comes up at the end of next year. I'm interested in whether you could return fire with what the press, like, talking with management change. Mark Allison: Yes. No, I thought the comment in the Australian was relatively accurate. I said when we refreshed the Board and I stayed -- I decided to stay, I said the earliest that I'd leave would be at the end of this Eight Point Plan, so that's September next year. And that's still the case. And it's not a term in the contract. It's an ongoing contract. So basically, my position has been that as a minimum, I'll stay to the end of the Eight Point Plan. Operator: Your next question comes from John Campbell from Jefferies. John Campbell: Firstly, just for clarity, what's the dollar value of adjustments that you've made to arrive at adjusted EBIT? Paul Rossiter: So you're -- in the investor presentation, John? John Campbell: Yes. Yes, it just said $143 million, just for clarity. So I know what we're adjusting. Paul Rossiter: Okay. I might just come back offline on that. So we do have -- we've got a list in the annual report, but yes, I'll come back on that offline. John Campbell: Yes. I can see where you've got that in the accounts. I just wasn't 100% sure which is included in your adjustment calculations. But I think we've got a call on this afternoon, Paul, so we can maybe touch base then. And just Mark, around -- and you sort of touched on it, but I presume with the improving seasonal conditions in the Southern regions that impacted in FY '25, in terms of that competitive intensity in crop protection that you've been talking about, I presume you see FY '26, so that sort of level of intensity and price competition and the like abating over the course of '26? Mark Allison: Yes. I think there are probably 2 components that leads us to think that way. One of them is around the seasonal conditions, as you just mentioned. And the second one is the stabilization of COGS out of Chinese factories. So the idea of lower priced cost of goods coming into Australia and then driving market price down, that doesn't seem to be where it was. Earlier, I think 6 months ago, we were concerned that tariffs on Chinese crop protection into North America may drive dumping of product in Australia and therefore, further drive prices down. If you're caught with high-cost inventory, you're obviously going to be screwed from a margin viewpoint. But our sense is that it's stabilized. And regardless, even a stabilized normal season environment, Australia has the lowest crop protection prices for all around the world. And it's not uncommon for multinational companies to divert product from Australia to Europe because they can make so much more money out of the same active ingredient. John Campbell: Okay. So that all augurs pretty well for crop protection for '26? Mark Allison: It looks like -- yes, as I said, I think we're pretty optimistic, both commodity season and the back of the transformational projects. Operator: Your next question comes from Mark Topy from Select Equities. Mark Topy: I just wanted to ask a question around the property side, the retail, the growth and both in the gross margin and the sort of volumes and some expectation around that and maybe some breakdown between what's organic and what's been achieved by acquisition because you clearly got a very strong growth rate. Can you give us some sense of how that looks going forward now? Paul Rossiter: Yes. Thanks, Mark. So just for clarity, so that was for real estate services. Mark Topy: Yes. Paul Rossiter: Yes, yes. So look, we -- in terms of growth, we see roughly the split between acquisition and organic, about 60% acquisition in F '25, 40% organic. I do note that one of the significant benefits from the acquisition of Knight Frank was to substantially grow our commercial real estate business. It also introduced a valuations business to the group as well. So when we think about real estate growth, it is across residential properties under management, broadacre, commercial and now valuations. So there's a few strings to the bow there. I'd also just make a comment in regards to broadacre. It did grow, but very fractionally in F '25, that part of the book was held back by the dry conditions in South Australia and Victoria. We do expect sort of pent-up vendor demand as those regions improve. Mark Topy: Right. Just thinking about the Tasmania market, kind of, say, how much growth opportunity do you see in that market going forward? Mark Allison: Yes. I think with Tasmania per se, I think it's -- it would be incremental growth. But I think the big benefit of that acquisition, which is the old Knight Frank business, is the commercial real estate knowledge, networks, et cetera, in the Mainland. And we're already seeing that is very, very important. So there are many contacts and insights that we didn't have on commercial real estate that we've gained from that business that is really helpful in our approach to Mainland expansion in commercial real estate. Mark Topy: Great. And just on the Delta side then, can you just talk to the systems and system harmonization in terms of what's being done in the Elders and whether any CapEx might be required if you like to harmonize Delta in line with Elders? Mark Allison: Yes. So the SysMod project is predominantly Elders'. And our approach at the end of Wave 4 when we switched off the AS400, and we're completely on Microsoft Dynamics 360 -- 365, sorry, we might have got a discount. Definitely not. So from that point forward, each of the acquisitions or each of the other divisions, whether that be AIRR, Elders Crop Protection or Delta, will be business case-based. So if there's a business case from the Delta Board around aligning, enhancing systems, then it will be treated on a return on capital business case basis. And we want to take it to business as usual because it's not just an ideological, everything has to be on the same system. This is all around return to shareholders. And all the systems that they're all operating on are fine. Mark Topy: They're all fine. Okay. I was going to say. And then in terms of -- I know you want to accelerate the Delta, but in terms of any risk areas, in terms of that integration, I noticed, for instance, they've got -- they're using different property managers. Do you perceive any sort of issues in migrating Delta across to Elders in that regard? Mark Allison: No. Well, I mean, it's all going to stay the same. So there's -- in terms of backup and stuff, which I think you're talking about. So we've got a mandatory integration. We've got a [ might ], and then there's a light touch component of it. Each of those are being developed with project teams between the businesses. So the -- our view is that it's a well-run business. It's got good management. It's got a strong Board governance to set the direction, and we'll be making the right decisions for the right reasons rather than any kind of ideological control-based decision. Of course, the mandatories around safety, financial transparency, regulatory compliance and so they're mandatories, as you'd expect. Operator: Unfortunately, that does conclude our time for questions. I'll now hand back to Mr. Allison for closing remarks. Mark Allison: Okay. Well, thank you very much to everyone. I did note that we have a couple more in the queue. So apologies to those. Paul and I have a back-to-back with all Elders staff. So 2,000 or 3,000 people will be waiting on the line for 5 minutes. So we've had to call it there. So for those that we haven't been able to talk to, we look forward to talking to you in our one-to-one sessions. But I appreciate everyone coming in, and thank you very much. Operator: That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.
Hendrik du Toit: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Ninety One interim results presentation for the half year to 30 September 2025. I will highlight the key numbers before moving to the business review. Kim McFarland, our Finance Director, will then present the financial review. I will then update you on recent developments and conclude before we take questions. Those of you participating through the webcast can submit questions during the presentations via the chat function at the bottom of your screen. Assets under management rose more than 19% over the past year. Flows turned around strongly. We recorded net inflows of GBP 4.3 billion for this half year, resulting in adjusted earnings per share growing by 15%. This net inflow number consists of GBP 2.4 billion of organic inflows and GBP 1.9 billion that came from the Sanlam U.K. transaction. The dividend per share increased to 6p per share and operating margins expanded to 32.1%. Staff shareholding grew to 32.7%. The people of Ninety One are fully aligned with all our other shareholders. I'm delighted to report that our business is growing again, in terms of revenues, earnings and assets under management. This is supported by investment returns and a significant turnaround in net inflows. We are sticking to our core strategy and investing in our existing growth drivers, while selectively backing new growth initiatives across our ecosystem. Investment performance remains competitive. The Sanlam relationship is delivering, and Ninety One is poised for further growth. We always show the long-term track record of Ninety One to remind everyone that we are about growth over time and not growth all the time. The business has been built over many years in a patient and predominantly organic way. Markets have been supportive of late, but we are clear that sustaining growth over time takes focus, rigorous execution, discipline and belief. We remain committed to our people-centric, capital-light and technology and AI-enabled business model. Market conditions have improved over the reporting period. The panic that followed Liberation Day is now history, and animal spirits are back supporting overall equity market levels. More interestingly, we are observing a new openness to diversification of institutional portfolios, which includes interest in emerging markets. This interest seems to be driven by the desire to diversify geographically as well as a recovery in relative returns. Given the high concentration levels in indices, we are also witnessing a renewed interest in active strategies. A little over 1 year ago, I reported to you in a world in which active long-only and emerging markets across the capital structure would deeply out of favor. Therefore, Ninety One was experiencing a third consecutive year of hostile business conditions. I'm delighted to report that these conditions have improved substantially over the past year. Despite the strong performance from emerging markets and the rise in financial asset prices generally, we are some way off historic levels of demand at this stage. As mentioned at the end of the previous reporting period, our industry continues to be extremely competitive. Clients are setting high standards and continue to be price sensitive. Fee pressure remains a challenge. It goes without saying that Ninety One is exposed to market levels and how financial assets are priced. A sharp decline in markets will affect revenue generation and new business volumes. More generally, the Internet era is being replaced by the AI era. This touches every industry, including our own. At Ninety One, we are embracing this and look forward to reporting progress in more detail in due course. In summary, conditions have improved, while competition remains relentless in this industry. Equity markets have done well over the past 3 years with headline indices close to doubling. Over the past 6 months, our clients continued to benefit from strong performance. Emerging markets in general have outperformed developed markets and the strength in South Africa further contributed to our assets under management and driving these through the threshold of GBP 150 billion and $200 million, respectively. In fixed income, we have also seen positive returns, even though developed market bonds have had a tough time. Ironically, this is where most of the inflows in our industry have been over the past few years. Emerging market bonds are doing much better, and we expect demand to grow in this space. This is an area in which Ninety One is one of the market leaders. Since our listing, investors showed little interest in emerging markets. We're now seeing a decline in the active outflows in equities and an improvement in the environment for specifically active equities. For the second half year in a row, we're seeing positive active fixed income inflows. But as you can see, we are still well below the long-term demand levels for emerging markets. Judged by recent client engagements, we expect demand to pick up in due course. This assumes a world in which risk assets remain attractive. The outflows that have been with us from 2022 have started to reverse in the second half of the 2025 financial year, and inflows have now accelerated into the first half of the 2026 financial year. In addition, we have added GBP 1.9 billion of Sanlam U.K. assets with the completion of the acquisition of Sanlam U.K. We also benefited from the strongest year since 2020 in terms of market and portfolio growth. We are mindful of the fact that markets do not usually go up in a straight line, and we remain vigilant on the cost front. These slides show organic net flows, excluding the Sanlam take on. We had substantial equity inflows largely in our competitive global equity offerings, and positive flow in all asset classes, except multi-asset. This related to our own performance and general client demand. We have addressed the situation by bringing in new leadership and renewed focus on the multi-asset part of our business. The majority of our client groups were positive for the half year given the pipeline. And given the pipeline, I'm hopeful that U.K. will show positive results for the full year and that South Africa will return to positive net flows for the second half as well. Investment performance has been solid over the period, and we can compete in the areas where we need to compete for net inflows. As always, a few strategies have done outstandingly well while there are also laggards. Overall, we have a competitive offering, which has the potential to generate ongoing net inflows and meet the high standards of our clients. I now hand over to Kim McFarland, our Finance Director, to take you through the financial results. Thanks, Kim. Kim McFarland: Thank you, Hendrik. I'm here to present a set of strong financial results for the period ended 30 September 2025. I would like to highlight that our core operating business has again produced a solid outcome. Management fees and adjusted operating expenses both increased by 3%, resulting in the core business recurring results increasing by 2% on the prior period to GBP 82 million. Management fees were at GBP 290.7 million. This is as a result of the increase in average AUM from GBP 126.7 billion to GBP 139.7 billion, alongside a decline in the average management fee rate to 41.5 bps. More on this later, but worth noting that the increased closing AUM positions Ninety One's revenues well for the next 6 months. Adjusted operating expenses of GBP 208.7 million includes the interest expense on the lease liabilities for our office premises and the full bonus accruals. It does exclude nonoperating costs. The business produced an adjusted operating profit of GBP 98.8 million, up 12% from the prior period. This increase is predominantly as a result of higher performance fees of GBP 4 million. Other income is negligible and there's mainly a number of fair value adjustments on seed investments. There were FX losses as a result of the stronger GBP to USD in the period. So the adjusted operating profit margin increased from 30.5% to 32.1%. And at the finals for 2025, we reported an adjusted operating profit margin of 31.2%. So let me explain further the decline in the average management fee rate. This is calculated as a monthly average and over the 6-month period has shown a slow decline. However, there was a market fall at the end of H1 2026, which we have analyzed. During the period, daily average AUM upon which the management fees are generated, consistently lagged monthly average AUM upon which the average management fee rate is calculated due to the manner in which markets moved markedly during the period. And this effectively overstated the average management fee rate decline by an estimate 0.8 bps. Calculated on a daily averaging basis, the actual daily average rate is closer to 42.3 bps. So closer to a fall in 1 bp over the 6-month period, which is higher than our historic guidance. There were further factors that are impacted on the fee rate in the period, which were a significant AUM increase in lower-than-average fee rate clients. The Sanlam U.K. take on being an example, although this impact was small. However, the take on of large mandates at lower-than-average fee rates has and will have a material impact on our management fee rate, an AUM decrease for higher than average fee rate clients. The U.K. OEIC being an example, and this would have had an estimate 0.5 bp negative impact. And at the same time, there were some downward fee adjustments for existing clients who generally compensated with additional assets. Ninety One's profit before tax after considering the list of nonoperating adjustments, adjusting net -- adjusted net interest income, the small share scheme, net expense, corporate-related professional fees and now the amortization of the intangible asset as a result of the U.K. Sanlam transaction increased by 10% to GBP 102.2 million. At the interim, the share scheme is generally a net expense. And this is largely reflecting the amortization impact from prior year credits where staff bonuses were allocated to Ninety One shares. At the year-end, we have a better understanding of the share scheme and the allocation of annual staff bonuses to Ninety One shares. Remember, we fully expensed the bonus payments within adjusted operating expenses, irrespective of how settled. IFRS requires the amortization of bonus-related share awards over 4 years, which is then included in the share scheme expense. The effective tax rate for the year was 25%, down from 26.3% in the prior period, and this was driven by higher earnings in lower tax jurisdictions. And in the prior period, there were a larger number of nondeductible expenses. So the above factors resulted in a profit after tax of GBP 76.7 million, up 11% from the prior period. And our adjusted EPS shows a 15% increase to 8.4p, more than the increase of adjusted operating profit of 12% due to the lower effective tax rate on the adjusted operating profit and a lower number of ordinary shares for the calculation of adjusted EPS. So this analysis summarizes the absolute movement in adjusted operating profit from H1 2025 to H1 2026. It clearly shows that management fees, performance fees and other income increased. These increases were partially offset by the increase in employee remuneration, but noting business expenses were actually lower by GBP 2.7 million than the prior period. This is the analysis of the movement in adjusted operating expenses. Adjusted operating expenses increased by 3% to GBP 208.7 million. Employee remuneration represented 64% of the total expense base. In the prior period, it was 62%, and increased by GBP 9.5 million to GBP 134.1 million. This was driven by an increase in fixed remuneration consistent with the increase in head count and annual inflation increases as well as an increase in variable remuneration in line with increased adjusted operating profit. Over 50% of employee remuneration remains variable and the resulting compensation ratio was 43.6%, up from 42.9% in the prior period. Business expenses decreased by 3% to GBP 74.6 million. We began to analyze the cost changes, at a high level, we've broken this down -- the movement down as follows: inflation-linked increases of GBP 1.4 million for those costs that are impacted by inflation. FX-linked impact was negative GBP 2 million. And there's been a pickup in technology spend of GBP 1.7 million, with other costs then decreasing by GBP 2.8 million. Technology now is the largest business expense. Previously, it was third-party administration. Looking ahead, we're expecting business expenses to be impacted by inflation, ongoing technology spend and the move into the new offices in Cape Town planned for January 2026. Post the Sanlam integration in South Africa, there will be a cost impact, which will be predominantly headcount driven. So increases to employee remuneration as well as the resulting general operating costs. This is showing the business expenses and total expenses as a percentage of average AUM in basis points over a 5.5-year period. The adjusted operating profit margin over the period is also reflected here. Irrespective of the movement in AUM, business expenses have marginally decreased over the period, even noting the continual investments in our core technology system. Total expenses as a percentage of average AUM hav,e, in fact, declined aided by the growth in the denominator. The adjusted operating profit margin has remained in the range of 31% to 35%, reflecting ongoing cost management with the underlying AUM growth. Ninety One's qualifying capital was GBP 316.3 million at the end of September 2025. In line with our dividend policy, the Board has proposed an interim dividend of 6p, this is an increase of 11%. After this dividend payment, there will be an estimated capital surplus of GBP 155.3 million. This will result in a capital coverage of 245%. During the period, we continued with our buybacks, and this resulted in another return of capital of GBP 20.4 million and a reduction of 14.1 million shares. We did, however, issued GBP 13.7 million of plc shares for the U.K. Sanlam transaction in the period. In line with our capital-light model, since listing over 5.5 years ago, we have returned close to 60% of our initial market capitalization to shareholders. So a few updates regarding the Sanlam transaction. All regulatory approvals have now been secured. The U.K. transaction completed on the 16th of June 2025, with the result of GBP 1.9 billion of AUM on boarded and Ninety One plc issuing 13.7 million shares. It's planned for the SA transaction to be completed by the end of the financial year, which results in expected total onboarded AUM of circa GBP 17 billion and revenue in line with what we previously reported. An additional 112 million shares will be issued when the SA transaction closes. Now reviewing the position for H1 2026. The adjusted EPS and operating margin were accretive. There was a slight dilution on the average fee rate, which I mentioned earlier. And also, as previously mentioned, we will be waiting the shares issued to Sanlam for the determination of the adjusted EPS for the interim and then for the final 2026 results. For the interest, this looks as follows. So shares in issue, excluding Sanlam U.K. is GBP 882.7 million, weighting of shares issued for the Sanlam U.K. is 13.7 million times by 107, the days since the transaction in the period, divided by 183, so the days in the total period, which gives you 8 million shares. So shares in issue for adjusted EPS calculation is 890.7 million. The actual number of shares and issue at end of September 2025 was 896.4 million. The intangible assets arising on the balance sheet for the Sanlam transaction will be amortized over 15 years. To note, this is tax deductible in the U.K. but not in South Africa. And so on that final technical point, I will now hand you back to Hendrik. Hendrik du Toit: Thank you, Kim. At Ninety One, we think long term and our commitment to our strategic pillars do not preclude us from constant improvement and development of our firm. Over the period, we've continued to invest in talent. We've broadened the top leadership team and evolved accountability throughout our firm. We ensured that our 3 core opportunities international public markets, Southern Africa and private markets are adequately resourced to compete effectively as market-facing units, supported by our 3 pillars of investments, client group and operations. And so as we go into the second half of the year, we have formed a dedicated international public markets team, which can focus on the commercial opportunity for a recovery in demand for active investment management especially in international and emerging market strategies. We have a focused and strong Southern African team to take a market-leading business to an entirely new level. Finally, we've reinforced our private markets team with fresh talent and additional senior leadership and asked them to accelerate progress in this growth market. We are backing new growth opportunities out of the recently established Ninety One Foundry. These include in-region presence and partnerships in key emerging markets, allowing us to become domestic competitors in certain regions and deepen our investment insight in these fast-evolving markets. For example, we opened 2 offices in the Middle East in the previous reporting period. We have now put additional resources in, and we are building an on-the-ground domestic business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which includes a strong investment presence. In Asia, we're developing an exciting joint venture with a Singapore-based alternative investment firm with deep experience and relationships in the region and in particularly China. This will strengthen our investment capabilities in the region as well as positioning us to compete more effectively for capital flowing out of the region. We have established a digital finance unit with dedicated leadership to provide clients in certain markets with a far better experience than they traditionally have received from asset management firms. We've committed substantial resources to AI-related innovation which we will update you on further at the end of the year. I must stress that these developments are fully expensed through the cost line and are not consuming significant additional capital. Over the reporting period, we've made meaningful progress on the technology front, which includes a major systems migration. Now that this has been fully completed, significant resources have been freed up for further enhancements and innovation. These are the additional 3 areas of growth we're pursuing, which we believe will impact the way we run our business in years to come. What we're really trying to do is from strong foundations, build the active investment manager of the future. To become the active manager of the future, AI is key. At Ninety One, we approach AI on 3 levels: advocate, equip and use. So this is how we rate ourselves. We see quite high levels of adoption, we see reasonable levels of experimentation given the widely available AI tools to all our staff members, sort of 6 out of 10. Then our people have embraced it, and we are working hard to get our proprietary data organized for the effective deployment of AI across the firm. The proof of the pudding is in the transformational impact of AI. We have much to do on this front. The business is stronger than it was in the previous reporting period, supported by better business conditions and recovering demand. We plan to improve and modernize our business through disciplined investments in and adjacent to our core activities and markets. Emerging markets and the search for diversification are coming back into favor, which supports us. Active investing has a role to play in this world particularly within emerging markets and in the global equity opportunity set. The strategic clarity and simplicity of our business model enables us to seize the opportunity with pace and strength. In short, we see renewed opportunity for growth. Thank you very much. We can now move on to Q&A. We will take questions in the room first, and then will watch -- then we'll take questions from webcast viewers. [Operator Instructions] I think Angeliki, you had the hand up right in the beginning, so. Angeliki Bairaktari: This is Angeliki Bairaktari from JPMorgan. So your flows were much stronger than the previous semester, GBP 2.4 billion. And we -- you say in your presentation that you feel that active is back. Can you perhaps give us a little bit more color with regards to where you see that strength coming from I think you had APAC, Middle East and also equities. But if you can just give us a little bit more color on the pipeline that you're seeing for the next 6 to 12 months where you see the strength coming from? And that's my first question. And then maybe on the management fee margin outlook. There's a lot of moving parts there, relative to my expectations, the management fee margin followed more. I think we still have some dilutive impact to come from Sanlam once the further AUM gets onboarded on the platform. So how should we think about the run rate, management fee rate for next year perhaps? Hendrik du Toit: I think you've asked the real questions that we all need answers for. So I can give you color on what we see rather than a prediction, Angeliki. So firstly, the -- if I can go to the flow or the pipeline that we see. Firstly, the result is again emphasizing the strength of our diversity. We source capital from the same kind of client but in different regions around the world. They have slightly different perceptions on risk and on willingness to take risk at a point in time. And that's why we've seen equity up weightings from large clients in Asia. And that's really where we've seen it. In the rest of the world, particularly North America, where we've delivered some positive, we are seeing a significant search activity or investigating activity's about how to diversify's their portfolios. That flood's gate has not yet opened. We expect that given the sense that markets normalize over time, and we've come out of a long period of underperformance for the rest of the world relative to the U.S. And we know these things go into 10, 15-year cycles. There's a very good paper on our website about dollar cycles and dollar cycles and international investments seem to be highly correlated. You can go and read that. So -- but what we have seen in the last 6 months picking up from the previous 6 months, not the year ago, but the preceding half year is an intensity or intensification of client and search a client engagement and, call it, presearch engagement. What, of course, can change the flow picture is whether we, in this very competitive world win in the very final stage. I mean an example in the last 6 months, and it really hurts me to say it. But after eliminating all competitors, we came second for a sort of close to $5 billion mandate, one client that would have made this figure look a lot better. And so we are driven, and I think you should understand it Ninety One deals in the upper end of the institutional market. Small numbers of clients make a big difference. The fee on that depends on where they're already engaging with that client at scale, and therefore, the client gets a better deal and we price persistency as well. So clients that are persistent, and this is not price cutting, but clients that are persistent have proven themselves to be persistent over time, get a better deal than those who rent your capacity. And so sometimes, we would not do a deal, which we could do and create great inflows to make all of you happy because we know this client is a capacity renter. And they'll come for 3 years and then cause a problem for us when they go out again, whereas others deserve the respect of a value-for-money deal plus scale benefit. So it's very, very difficult to predict where we are. I think we still, with our underlying guidance of market fee pressure is around -- and I still think it's around the 1 where we are is 50% of our growth typically when we're in growth cycles is upweighting from existing clients, 50% is new. If those existing clients are the big ones, your fee goes lower, if they come from general market, mutual fund market, et cetera, your fees are a bit better. But I think over time, Ninety One is moving towards and increasingly institutional. So the breakdown in the addendum to the slide pack, the appendix where we show institutional versus adviser actually, we are trending towards a much more institutional business. And even in South Africa, where we have a strong advisory business, those advisory firms are getting bigger and bigger and behaving more like institutional multi-manager. So I think -- we're going through that lowering a fee process but hiring of what increasing of volume and therefore, increase operating margin but not necessarily on a fee basis. So I think the 1% we guide to is still the underlying fee compression in our industry. We might as of late, be hit by something a little more or less, but it depends. And it also depends on the growth of the alternatives business because that is a still and where I see the real fee pressure in our industry is actually on the alternatives business. I don't think the 2 and 20 models are going to hold because if clients look at their fee budgets, this is where. So what they're currently doing, just an interesting thing in private equity, private credit, et cetera. They pay the full fee, but then they do a deal on the side to co-invest for nothing. So what is the real effective fee of providing those services and your capabilities to a client for free. So I think about -- it would be a really interesting work -- a piece of work for you to do when you look at that side. So I think that's where the fee pressure is more than in ours, but we are preparing for a world where we have to be at least 1 basis point more efficient every year. And I can't tell you whether we're going to be at 40. Right now, I'll -- Kim, I think you've got the answer. We're running at a slightly higher fee level, maybe you can add here for me, then actually the number shown there. Kim McFarland: Yes. Well, I kind of explained that in my sort of daily -- I think I did that on the call this morning actually as well on the sort of daily, monthly factor. But I think you're sort of -- you're asking the question about looking ahead. And Hendrik is right, we are seeing pressure on the fees, both. You've got the standard 1 bp a year that we advise on. But when you're looking at both new mandates, but actually more so existing client mandates that are coming on board at lower rates and then giving us the asset to compensate. So hence, we're seeing the pickup in the AUM, but they are often negotiating at lower fee rates. So this is why we're definitely seeing more fee pressure. Hendrik du Toit: But for us, it is -- the value lies in embedding those relationships for the long term. And if you can do that, you have a higher-quality business. But what we're not doing is price-cutting to win volume. We don't going out there saying, "Hey, we're cheap". But this -- and I still believe, this market will settle down when nominal interest rates are on the rise again because actually, it's hard for a treasurer or someone to sign a check, when he earns it out of interest, it's easier. So I think there's a -- there is a link, which one day will prove statistically, but we can't give you an exact number now. The next step on the pipeline, we're seeing substantial opportunities against scale ones, so there won't be fee level enhancing ones, they'll probably be roughly where we are for the rest of the year that we should convert. What we don't know is where the unexpected redemptions or changes in strategy can happen with the client. And that's the problem when you deal with these large clients. They get a new CIO, they get staff changes and a new strategy comes in, you're being seen as okay, but not necessarily central to the strategy. So -- but I'm fairly comfortable that the visibility of the pipeline is better than it's been in recent reporting periods. Jonas Dohlen: Jonas Dohlen here from Deutsche Bank. Just one follow-up. Yes, just one follow-up on the fee margin. I was just wondering if that guidance now includes the Sanlam or if that's still on kind of the legacy assets on that 1 basis point... Hendrik du Toit: Sanlam is lower because it's a $20 billion deal. So it's lower, and it's largely fixed income assets. Jonas Dohlen: Yes. But on a group level, you expect 1 basis point... Hendrik du Toit: Yes, on an organic basis. So there's an organic basis and then there's the Sanlam transaction. And what I'm saying, the 1 basis point is the market pressure. If we were to ex Sanlam or if we were to get a big up weighting from a sovereign wealth fund where we already have a premium deal because they've got billions and billions with us, it's probably going to be below that fee level. If we win 500 million mandate chunks, it will be at or around or above that fee level. You see. So that's why I'm saying the market -- the institutional market pressure is roughly 100 basis -- or 100 basis points per year. The -- sorry, 1 basis point per year excuse me. 1 basis point per year. But the -- for us, Sanlam is a separate transaction and then obviously hugely accretive from a profitability point of view, and it depends then what kind of flow we get. Jonas Dohlen: Great. And then just on the tax rate as well. I think you mentioned... Hendrik du Toit: I don't understand... Jonas Dohlen: 25%. Kim McFarland: 25%. Correct. Jonas Dohlen: Being a reasonable number to go forward. I'm just wondering how to kind of square that circle. I mean you have a higher tax rate in South Africa, and that amortization part not being tax deductible as well? Kim McFarland: But we have tax in many other jurisdictions as well. So it's linking up the 2 of it. And -- you're right. When I'm looking at it, I'm looking for the next 6 months and the South African impact is only -- it's going to be in the results for a couple of months next year. I think looking ahead with the nondeductibility of the amortization piece, it will tick up a bit. Hendrik du Toit: Piers, you'll come back in new uniform. Piers Brown: Yes. Indeed, yes, it's Piers Brown from Investec. Hendrik du Toit: Very good. Piers Brown: So very happy about that. I might be greedy and actually, go for 3 questions. So the first one, yes, just back on to the fee rate conversations. So I guess, if you look at this from the perspective of the operating margin, you're -- I mean you printed 32%, which looks very good for the first half. If I take out the performance fees, you -- which I know is a slightly dubious calculation, but it looks like you're maybe sub-30%. But the question would be just on the fee rate outlook, do you think 30% is still the level you can protect? Hendrik du Toit: I think you have to compensate higher average assets under management, that compensates a bit because remember, the markets had a run close to the end, there was Liberation Day down than up. So your average AUM doesn't reflect your actual AUM. And you've got to look at where the sterling is strong or weak, which then deflates a big cost base. So I'm more comfortable than you. But you are right, there's -- the core revenues have not grown as much as they should have. So we don't run to a target actually. And therefore, it's not something we monitor daily. But I'm not at this stage, I'm comfortable that we're going to come back to you with a 25% operating margin, put it that way. Kim McFarland: I think that's too right. I think you've also got to recognize the fact that we're taking on the Sanlam assets, as I said, next year at a low cost. Hendrik du Toit: And I would remind everybody, we've bought I know we call the GBP 1.9 billion acquired growth, but we bought back those shares already. So if you think about it, it's just a mandate win, the big one is going to take a bit longer, but if we can do that, if we have the cash flows, then you know what, it's actually akin to an organic transaction. Piers Brown: Okay. Second one is just on the composition of flows. And sort of relating this into Sanlam, but I mean you've had GBP 1.3 billion of Africa outflows, offset by very strong inflows in Asia Pac. Is there anything in the Africa performance, which is maybe impacted by clients reallocating in advance of Sanlam or... Hendrik du Toit: No, no, it's not Sanlam. It's the -- South Africa is actually a very competitive market, and it's very transparent. When you know exactly what each competitor is doing and your cousin or your kid works at the competitor, you literally know what goes on. And so we had some performance pressure in 1 or 2 strategies, which didn't get -- the market goes quickly, moves quickly against you. We've had the back end of the so-called 2-pot system, which means money was released out of the pension system, where if you're a large provider, you have to suffer that. That is now gone. So that structural bit has left. And then, of course, there was the back end of the internationalization of the SA equity or SA investment market because the exchange controls were relaxed for international opportunities opened up for retirement funds. The Minister gave a big -- a few years -- 2 years ago, a big -- there was a big change in the -- what they call Regulation 28. And that means they could invest more. So there was a structural flow abroad. Typically, to new competitors rather than to someone already has a high wallet share with a client because it just makes sense for those clients. And actually, international passive was a big winner there where we don't compete. So I think those 2 forces are over, think on our investment side, we have all intends -- we intend to be very competitive, and we have recovered quite a lot in terms of competitiveness. So I think on all 3 factors, we're stronger in the second half than the first, but it is one of those markets where if you have a big share and you're not absolutely on top of it, the competitors come after you and we've got some very good competitors in that market. Piers Brown: Okay. Perfect. And just maybe a last one on capital. So 245% capital coverage ratio. I think you've sort of indicated 200% in the past is where you'd like to be. It doesn't feel like there's an awful lot of need for seed capital for some of the new initiatives. So the obvious question is, would you look to move closer to the [ 200% ]? Kim McFarland: We will -- I mean, as you noted, we've continued with buybacks in the actual period. We will continue to look for opportunities to use additional seed capital for buybacks when we're comfortable with the price, and obviously in agreement with the Board. Hendrik du Toit: If pricing is reasonable, we think reducing the denominator is always better than just paying out the cash. But we must look at where the market goes. And who knows, there may be opportunities. Any other questions? Investing definitely add value for money, you'll get your dividend. Varuni, are there any of online questions. Varuni Dharma: Yes. There are a few. First one is from Brian Thomas at Laurium Capital. Are you able to comment on the buyback program that was suspended during the half? Are there any metrics that you take into account in determining when you buy back stock that we should be mindful of? Hendrik du Toit: Before we answer that, there's -- Kim just reminds me, there is one thing in the Africa side. There was a 1 single client sort of -- and many clients pay out and eventually but reallocated away from us as well. So you should sort of have the impact of that number. And that's why I'm quite confident that it can turn around. Sorry, on the buyback, yes, we carefully -- we carefully look at value and value in the context of the industry and the context of what we see ahead because the one downside with buying back is if you overpay for your own stock. And therefore, it's always a consideration and a discussion with the Board. It's not an automatic buyback process. And -- but our industry has been so extremely -- I actually had benefit of last week in Paris when I went to watch the Rugby and I have to remind, I know the French listeners, it was a wonderful moment for South Africa and Paris. But in spite of referee against us, we're still -- but I actually went to watch the Rugby with someone who used to be one of the top financial analysts in the market about 25 years ago -- 20 years ago. And he's gone to private equity. He hadn't looked at valuations of asset managers. He was -- it's a bit like talking to someone who fell asleep 25 years ago because he was completely mind boggled by the relative valuation of asset managers against other financial firms particularly wealth today because in his time, it was exactly the opposite. We were the 20 multiple shops and the others were single digit. So I think broad -- and that reminded me again, that these cash flows, quality cash flows are still, in my opinion, or at least in our opinion, fairly cheap, which is why we have also been acquiring stock slowly and as a management team because we think the market is not appreciating the quality of the cash flows we generate. And so even though they don't -- may not grow as much organically there could be -- and there has been a re-rating of late. Now if the re-rating is too much, we will obviously step away. But our industry is still structurally very cheap compared to other cash flows of similar quality. I mean just close your eyes, 30%-plus operating margins is that's tech. Okay, what do you pay for tech? Palantir last when I looked at 185 PE multiple. So it's very different. And it's in that context that we think rather than in short 1 month, 1 week, 1 quarter valuation cycles. But there is a proper process, which Kim can talk to you about when she reports it again. Do you want to add something, Kim? Kim McFarland: Yes, that's fine. Hendrik du Toit: Any other questions? Varuni Dharma: Yes. Next question, Murray Winckler from Laurium again. Congratulations on returning to net inflows for the business. Headcount increased by 8%, which seems high. What should we expect going forward? Hendrik du Toit: Murray, well to done to you, by the way. You're one of those guys stealing business. We will have to come take it back. Just I mean that is one of the big questions. Can we get to a bigger -- a real efficiency for our business? That's about the digitization and the technology investment. But we should also remember that there was some preparation for -- although we're not taking on many people from Sanlam, there's a significant preparation for taking on a book of that size that -- and then there's also the improvement of our communication with end clients, which we had to invest in to make sure it's there. And again, technology over time will make that a lot easier but it was really important, and we've had challenges on -- with South Africa being on the gray list. We've had real challenges on dealing with our international funds into South Africa and our service capability had to just be much sharper, much better equipped to deal with it. And then we've also been building the private markets business, which is much more -- actually much more human intensive than certain public markets investment businesses. And that's about the reasons. I don't know Kim, are there any other ones that you pick up and you want to... Kim McFarland: I think that's right. I think the pickup in a lot of op staff on the IP platform in South Africa. Likewise, on the Sanlam. A lot of them are actually long-term contractors at this stage because I see it as a temporary thing. So I think the sort of more permanent headcount growth has been in private markets and within the actual business. So I think the question is what are we thinking about it looking forward? I'm not seeing an 8%. I wouldn't be looking at an 8% increase in headcount going forward, I think, would be my answer. Hendrik du Toit: And I think with a better use of technology, we could run the same quality service, leaner, that includes client acquisition, client service, investment processes, but it's very important to do these things very slowly over time. I'm not as bold as the big banks that say that they will run -- I mean, 2 of the big bank CEOs in Global Bank CEOs confirmed to me that they'll double their business over the next 5 years with the same staff levels. That has to be seen whether that's going to realize, but those are ambitious goals. I think we should have similar goals, but it's early stage saying it because the promise and the layer of technology is always there and then the delivery is slightly behind. And we've -- those of us who have worked in the markets a long time have realized that. But definitely don't budget for a 8% staff increase, Murray. That's not going to happen. Varuni Dharma: Next question from Jaime Gomes, Laurium Capital. Can you please explain the expected total onboarded AUM from Sanlam remaining the same as what it was this time last year, circa GBP 17 billion. Has the book experienced some outflows given the strong market performance over the last 12 months? Hendrik du Toit: The book is roughly -- it's the same number. There might be a little benefit rand to sterling exchange. So it might be a little more in sterling. But remember, it's a very fixed income, heavy book. There are also -- there could be a few wins associated as well, but we first got to deliver them. So we're very comfortable that the numbers will reflect what we told the market at least. Varuni Dharma: Next question from Hubert Lam. Can you give us an update on the alternatives business and new initiatives, including private credit? And he has a second question, which is, how should we think about further investments you need to make in AI and tech and what that means for your cost base? Hendrik du Toit: Hubert, nice to get a question from you. I know you have another meeting, so you're not here in person. I would say that my simple answer is private markets are hard. And I'm so glad we didn't buy an overpriced boutique to grow, which then doesn't grow, okay? Because the top guys dominate they've got such a strangle hold. And so that's my one point. I think we found niches which we can live in and defend and grow. And what we have actually done is put some of our -- to make sure they get the full support of the firm, put some of our top leadership very close to the private markets guys and they support them to get through and we build it around and particularly around our emerging markets positioning. Now what we know is the emerging markets haven't had huge flows as such. We think there will be appetite and there will be appetite coming. We modest net inflow have been consistently in that space. But we are building through our cost line, and it's fully reflected in our cost line, we are building capability to be actually -- to be fully competitive in our various areas. And I think our focus is private credit. And private credit and transition credit, and that is very clear, and we have built a market name and position there. So we would expect accelerating flows to follow. But those businesses take -- will take a while to impact -- to truly impact on the bigger Ninety One bottom line. If you model us, model us largely as a long-only business, long-only active business because that's still very dominant in terms of revenues and flows. Kim McFarland: Cost. Hendrik du Toit: And yes, but private market is costly to build. It's high fee, but costly, whereas public markets could be done very efficiently with slightly lower fee, and that's the sort of trade-off between the businesses. But we do see the merger. And so the partnership we announced in the joint venture we announced with in -- with the Singapore based, which we are about to announce because we'll probably -- will probably sign in the next few days, and that's why we haven't been long on detail because anything still -- things have to be -- until they're fully signed, you don't want to talk too much. But there, we have -- we're talking to a business which does long short and crossover between public and private. Now I think these universes are getting closer, and one just has to make sure you understand what happens to the other side of the liquidity fence rather than just staying in the curated even if you want to be a very good long-only business staying in the highly curated screen-based long-only part of life. You've actually got to get -- understand what entrepreneurs are doing and what's happening in the ever longer pre-IPO pipeline because we do know a lot more happens on that side of the fence now from venture right through to growth. And I think that's important for us. But as these things emerge, who knows what product constructs will look like, who knows what client appetite will look like. Clients today are still very organized in boxes between the so-called alternatives units, which is now quite frankly, mainstream and active long only, which is becoming increasingly alternative and passive. So they've got their different boxes. But as they start looking at the total portfolio approach, who knows how they are going to buy and that's what we need to be prepared for. Kim McFarland: And I think the question on uptick in technology spend or AI spend, which was the other one, I think Hendrik mentioned the fact that our big technology replatforming exercise did complete early this year. So those costs are now -- and the ongoing cost of that are actually largely built into our figures. AI has largely been a part of our operating cost line. So the gain, how you should think about it is really a continuation of what our cost base is right now. Hendrik du Toit: Yes. And we absorb in what is available or what can be bought. We don't go to bleeding edge development. The big thing is getting your data organized. And I mean it's been with -- that data story has been with me ever since I've been in this firm. Everyone said we have to organize our data better. But you can get so much more value if you are properly digitized as digital middle business models are showing, it is not trivial and that easy. But as a midsized business, if we can't get it right, nobody can get it right. So -- but we're spending resource and effort on it to make sure we can extract maximum value given the enhancements of the available tools. And they are genuinely moving very fast. And I think 5 years from now, we will be in an entirely different world, and we need to be ready for it. Any other questions, Varuni? Varuni Dharma: Yes, a couple. We have a couple of questions on buybacks. The first one from James Slabbert from Standard Bank. There was a slide on the existing capital stack in the business, would it be aggressive to model for annual buybacks far in excess of earnings remaining after the payout of dividends. I think you've touched on that. But -- so by modeling for buybacks in excess of earnings. And then whilst we're on buybacks, a question from Keenon Choonoo from Investec. Is there a preference between Ninety One Limited or PLCs when considering buybacks? Kim McFarland: So we look at both the plc and the limited lines as far as buybacks are concerned. In fact, we look at even PLCs on the JSE line when we look at buybacks. So we look at all three because there sometimes is a variation in price. So we look at all 3 -- effectively 3 lines, although there's obviously 2 shares to answer that question. As far as buybacks to ceding earnings, we look at buybacks from a capital position. So we -- it comes back to the question asked earlier by peers, you aim for a 200% capital position. We're in excess of that. So I'm rather looking at my capital position, understanding, yes, is there any seed? Is there any regulatory requirements. As you mentioned, there's not an awful lot of that at the moment, but we take that into consideration and at the same time, then look at opportunities for buyback based on surplus capital that we're holding on the balance sheet. Hendrik du Toit: Yes. But we -- what we don't do is this is a highly operationally leveraged business. It will only be an extreme that we will leverage the business. You remember, this is what sticks out asset managers. They go on leverage and then they get the fall in assets under management. They get outflows and the debt stays the same and the equity gets wiped out. So we will be very, very careful to ever go beyond what we can do out of our ongoing earnings or surplus capital. Some other industries, people get very brave. I think, yes, this is probably one of the reasons why we haven't bought the firm from the market yet, okay, because you don't leverage these businesses. . Varuni Dharma: Another question from James Slabbert for clarity on the 1 basis point fee margin compression. Would you apply that to the current fee rates that H1 2026 or the FY '25, so the year-end? Hendrik du Toit: I think we've already done this year, we've already done it. I mean we doubled it. So we think we could have a -- we're not 100% sure, but we could have a far lower decline in the second half, just given what's happened in flow dynamics, excluding the Sanlam. But -- and it's really a gut feel here. But that 100 basis points feels like the underlying trend in the market, not necessarily ours. And James, I wish we can't even forecast it to our Board where we're going to be -- it's very -- you've got a very hard job at doing that. I don't know whether Kim can give you any more wisdom except to say the trend is not up. Kim McFarland: Well, I think you're right. I think you're going to look at the most recent fee rate. And if it's in the half year, so you're taking half or 0.5 based on the most recent fee rate, but then you have to take into consideration, as we mentioned, the Sanlam assets coming on board, which will have a further impact and should we take on any large new mandates in the period. If we see those flows, there's likely to be further fee erosion, hopefully not, but there's likelihood. Hendrik du Toit: You see -- especially when you do the relationship deals, with a large insurance company or something like that. And they are genuinely sensitive because it hits their profit, but they can give you assurance about commitment, timing, i.e., embedded value or present value of the deal, that's different from when you get in the normal distributed pension market OCIOs most -- many of them are in -- or multi managers are different because you're not going to compete on price there at all. So it depends where the flow comes from. What we haven't seen, and I think that's the bit you should understand. We haven't seen the sort of -- I've hinted that there are opportunities to grow. But the good times aren't back yet. When you get into the good times and clients want to deploy fast and -- they just want to get the money out there. Then price sensitivity tends to take a backseat. At the moment, they have lots of time to deploy. They're thinking multiyear. They're not chasing markets. I think if you get up severe underperformance or you get -- and I don't think we're going to see it immediately, but if you get a big correction in the dollar, then that changes life. And that's the positive for us. But I don't want you to model that. Varuni Dharma: Last question from Herman [ Van Veltsa]. Do new clients favor fixed fees? Or do they tend to opt for performance fees? Hendrik du Toit: Herman, nice to hear from you again. Another old campaign. I wish clients wanted to give more performance fees because the way you could resolve this constant fee bickering and say, come on, pay us afterwards, pay us properly. But Interestingly, clients have typically been burned by performance fees because they end up paying more. And so they're reluctant to do that. They're also reluctant to go to the -- I mean, in mutual funds, where it's quite prevalent in South Africa, it's not actually encouraged in the rest of the world. ETFs are very difficult. You can't really do -- it's difficult to do, whereas institutional owners don't want to go and pay the big check and ask their Board to pay a large check to a manager unless it's in the alternative bucket. Now again, if those buckets fade and different kind of people contract with us, we could possibly push more performance fees. We think it's a way to align well, although buy-side analysts or sell-side analysts would say it's lower quality of earnings. But I think we could make more profit. They're very happy to do that when they buy Millennium or Citadel. But for some reason, there is a reluctance in our space because that's just what it is. So we would be quite open because we know, over time, 80% of our offerings beat the benchmark. So it's in our favor. But -- it's not the reality today. So I wouldn't model for much bigger performance fee component in our business. I'd roughly keep it similar, noting that a period of good performance, we will own more performance fees. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, and I'll see you after second half, and I hope the positive -- the positive hence, have realized, but it's up to the market. Thank you. Kim McFarland: Thank you. Hendrik du Toit: Thank you very much, guys.