Good afternoon, this is the Chorus Call Conference Operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the Cementir Holding first quarter 2024 results conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, they may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on their telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Marco Maria Bianconi, Head of M&A and Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. This is Marco Bianconi speaking. I'm here with our Chairman and Chief Executive, Francesco Caltagirone. Good afternoon. We're here to take your question at the end of my short presentation. If you turn the presentation deck to page 2, the key takeaways for this Q1 results are that, results are in line with management expectations. Volumes of cement, ready-mix, and aggregates are in positive territory year-on-year. Some important infrastructure projects have been delayed and are expected to kick in later in the year. Nordic and Baltic and Belgium performance was impacted by fewer working days, severe weather conditions, and still weak residential market. The strong results in Turkey, impacted by currency devaluation, and the same for the Egyptian results, where the Egyptian pound devalued by over 53% in March 2024. Turning the page to page 3, in terms of first quarter results highlights, revenues reached EUR 368 million, -11.2% year-over-year. Non-GAAP revenues were EUR 367.1 million, -11.3%. As mentioned before, cement volumes were up 2.3% due to the increase recorded in Turkey, which offset the reduction in volumes in other regions. Ready-mix volumes were up 3.7%, and aggregate volumes were up 8.9%. Unfavorable weather conditions, fewer working days due to Easter holidays, and the negative exchange rate effect reduced revenues by around EUR 50 million. EBITDA reached EUR 66.5 million, -18% year-over-year. Non-GAAP EBITDA was EUR 69.3 million, -19% year-over-year. The lower EBITDA was recorded in Denmark and Norway, and to a lesser extent, in the U.S. and Asia Pacific, with a negative Forex impact of EUR 9.7 million. Non-GAAP EBITDA margin decreased from 20.7% to 18.9% due to adverse geographical mix, meaning lower volumes in Europe, only partially offset by higher sales in Turkey. EBIT reached EUR 34.2 million, -30% year-over-year. Non-GAAP EBIT was EUR 39.6 million, -29.6% year-over-year. Pre-tax was down 8.2%. Non-GAAP pre-tax was down 6.2% to EUR 64.1 million. Net cash position reached EUR 76.6 million, an improvement of EUR 108.7 million year-on-year, including a dividend distribution of EUR 34.2 million and including the IFRS 16 impact of EUR 83.4 million. Turning the page to the largest region, Nordic and Baltic, accounting for around 39% of group EBITDA in Q1. In Denmark, domestic cement declined due to harsh weather conditions and fewer working days due to Easter falling in Q1, and the residential market that is still not recovering. Ready-mix volumes were down 4%, while aggregate volumes increased slightly. EBITDA contracted due to lower volumes, despite savings on main input costs. In Norway, ready-mix sales volumes declined by 29% due to demand slowdown and adverse weather conditions and delays in some infrastructure projects. EBITDA contracted due to lower volumes, and the Norwegian krone depreciated by around 4% versus the euro. In Sweden, ready-mix sales volumes increased by 13%, whereas aggregate volumes were down around 12%, but EBITDA improved versus last year. The Swedish krona was broadly in line with the euro average. Moving to page 5, Belgium and France. Here, domestic cement volumes declined by around 3%, with exports to France and the Netherlands down double digits due to adverse weather and a general market weakness. Ready-mix volumes were down 20%, with a more significant drop in France, while aggregate volumes were broadly flat versus Q1 of last year. EBITDA increased, thanks to careful energy cost and selling price management. Moving the page to number 6, Turkey. Here, you know that from April 2022, Turkey is considered hyperinflationary, and therefore, reported figures are non-GAAP, and therefore, exclude the application of IAS 29 and the evaluation of non-industrial property. In the country, domestic cement volumes increased by 22%, thanks to significantly higher sales in Eastern Anatolia and in the Aegean region, supported by post-earthquake reconstruction. Cement exports were up by 8%, with ready-mix volumes up by 31%, and aggregate volumes strongly up due to the opening of a new quarry in Eastern Anatolia. Despite this, very strong volume growth, revenue declined by around 2.6% because of the Turkish lira devaluation. EBITDA reached EUR 9.2 million, driven by higher sales volumes and average cement prices, despite a 65.8% Turkish lira devaluation versus the euro. Moving to page 7, North America. Here, in the United States, white cement volumes declined by around 4%, as delivery to Texas and New York, and in New York, were impacted by both harsh weather conditions and fewer working days, with the backdrop of a residential market still suffering from high interest rates. In California, deliveries grew in all market segments. EBITDA was down due to lower cement volumes and selling prices, due to strong competition and higher cement purchasing cost. There was also a minor 1.2% U.S. dollar devaluation versus the euro average. Moving to the next business unit, Egypt, on page eight, accounting for 5% of our EBITDA here. The domestic white cement volumes decreased by around 16% due to weak construction market and fewer working days, whereas export volumes increased. Revenue in local currency was up 17.4%, but revenue in euro declined by 1.7% because of a 53% devaluation of the Egyptian pound only in the month of March. EBITDA was down due to lower sales volumes, higher operating costs, and the EGP devaluation, not offset by higher sales prices. Moving to the last business unit, Asia Pacific, page nine. In China, revenues declined by around 17%, with volumes down by around 10%, moderate price reduction, and 6% renminbi devaluation. Volumes were affected by low temperature, early closure for Chinese New Year, and a weak real estate demand. EBITDA was down due to lower sales volumes and prices. We recorded also a 6.3% currency devaluation versus the euro. In Malaysia, on the other hand, cement volumes increased by 6%, with domestic volumes down by 9 due to very strong comparable figures than the previous year. Exports were up, driven by higher shipments to the Philippines and Vietnam. Revenue and EBITDA were down due to a less favorable sales mix and Malaysian ringgit devaluation. Also, in Malaysia, there was a devaluation versus the euro of around 8.9%. This brings me to slide number 10, the last one, where we confirm our 2024 guidance of revenues around EUR 1.8 billion, and EBITDA around EUR 385 million, net cash position of EUR 300 million, and a CapEx of around EUR 135 million. This guidance refers to like-for-like ongoing operations, non-GAAP, and excluding any extraordinary items. With this, I would like to hand over the floor to Francesco, who's happy to take your questions. Thank you. Excuse me, this is the Chorus Call conference operator. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. To remove yourself from the question queue, please press star and two. Please pick up the receiver when asking questions. The first question comes from Matteo Bonizzoni of Kepler Cheuvreux. Thank you. Good afternoon. I have some questions. The first one relates the trading condition which we are observing after the end of the quarter. So after the Easter period, and maybe now that the adverse weather situation is exhausted, did you see sort of pent-up demand, or in any case, some recovery in April, beginning of May, particularly, I would say, in in Denmark, in Northern Europe, or maybe in Belgium? That's the first question. The second question relates the trading condition in Turkey, which have remained strong in the first quarter. Now that you are in May - we are in May, do you have more better visibility on the evolution of the market for the remaining part of the year or maybe for the next few months? Third and last question: as regards your Asian operation, so China and Malaysia, there was a drop. It's not a big area for you, but, I mean, just to understand, I don't think it's related to weather in this case. Should we expect a continuation of a weak trend, particularly in China, also for the remaining part of the year? Thanks. Good afternoon. Yes, regarding your first question, I mean, what we are seeing in April and the first week of May, I can say that. In the first quarter, we were more or less in line, a little bit behind, less than EUR 1 million. So in our budget, I can say that in April, we are a little bit ahead. So, we are seeing a pickup of the condition spread, I mean, among the various region. It just, I think at the beginning, we were already forecasting for, let me say, the first half, a slow start. We have so far the delay in the big infrastructure project in Denmark. I hope that in the second half of the year, this will begin and pick up the consumption of cement, especially in Denmark. But let's say, as you have seen, besides the decline in EBITDA compared to last year, the quantities for cement, ready mix, and aggregates are positive. So it seems that the market, as we said also before, it start to bottoming. And also Sweden, among those that was probably the most complicated, let me say, market condition, it seems to stabilize. Then in January, we had in Denmark, in Scandinavia, generally temperature around -30 degrees Celsius, and so it was exceptional cold. So let's say, it seems that we are normalizing, and also for this reason, we are confirming the view and the guidance for the year. In Turkey, Turkey continues to outperform despite the huge inflation and also the election. We think that we might see a pickup, I mean, as I said, in Europe in the second half, and as a slowdown, a more slowdown in Turkey in the second half, so they might compensate each other. Regarding China, yes, it's not linked to the weather, but you know, first quarter is small and volatile, so even the quantity can affect positively or negatively the balance sheet. So I think that is a temporary, let me say, issue, and we expect that also for the Far East region, the things should normalize or start to normalize. Thank you. The next question is from Emanuele Gallazzi of Equita. Yes, good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for taking my questions. I have two questions. The first one is more on pricing. I just would like to understand what you are experiencing now in terms of pricing, if you see some price pressure in some of your regions, just let's say, an overview of the pricing dynamics. And maybe a second one on the CO2, right? We have seen some volatility on the price of the CO2, right? Can you update us on your strategy for 2024? And just let's say, a technical question: is the lower price of CO2 also impacting your top line with lower prices, it is included, or it should be included in your pricing strategy? Thank you. Regarding, I mean, the price, I think that they are more or less in line with our expectation. We don't see, so far, any specific pressure in any market. The only slight pressure that we see is in the United States, but also take, let me say, in consideration that we have a production in the United States that covers probably near 1/3 or less than one third of our sales. So we have to import, and so we are exposed also to the, let me say, general environment, especially in the shipment cost and the other. So this might affect a bit the profitability plus or minus. Regarding the CO2 strategy, as we already said a few times, we are transparent in terms of CO2, in terms that we charge in the invoice the price at the average price of the month. So, it's added, and so if the price is high or low, I mean, it's not affecting the profitability. What might affect is that if we have hedged before and the price increase, like it's what is happening, in fact, you have seen also a very good result in the financial items that is nearly the double of last year. Partly, the exchange rate, let me say this, but partly is hedged. And, I'm, I can say that part of the, I mean, few millions of what we don't see in the EBITDA is because, we hedged, and we see in the financial items instead of the EBITDA. So if we, wouldn't have hedged, we would have, let me say, seen a higher EBITDA. In terms of strategy, we are, let me say, more or less fully hedged, till 2026, and partly for 2027. And we, let me say, hedged in the first quarter of this year, I think at, let me see, at good price compared to now. So, just to summarize, we are not exposed to the daily fluctuation of CO2 in terms of profitability, because we invoice separately. In terms of hedging of how, let me say, we charge, let me say, our internal portfolio of CO2 and how we use the CO2 might affect, and now it's positively affecting the balance sheet, especially in the financial items, because we hedge around 55-58, and today is at 70. Thank you very much. As a reminder, if you wish to register for a question, please press star and one on your touchtone telephone. Once again, for any questions, please press star and one on your telephone. The next question comes from Tobias Woerner of Stifel. Yes, good afternoon, gentlemen. Thanks for taking my question. You mentioned pricing pressure in the U.S. Can you just remind us of the dynamics of the import trade into the U.S. and the seaborne white cement market at the moment, how that works in terms of attracting more imports into the larger markets? That would be my first question. And then, when I look at the Nordics, how should we think about the Nordics on the back of this first quarter? I mean, you can sort of look at history, when you delivered Q1 EBITDA in line with that, and where that took you for the full year, probably somewhere, anywhere between EUR 150 million and EUR 180 million. Is that how we should be thinking about this? Thank you very much. Okay. Thank you for the questions. Regarding the import into the U.S.A., for sure, I mean, the import activity affects especially the Florida and Texas market. As you can see in page seven of our slide, we have a very, let me say, wide network of terminals. And so, let's say, we suffer the import of other players in, especially those two states, but, in the remaining part, it's quite stable, and we are in most of, let me say, other parts of the United States, the only player for white cement. We have also to add, I want to add also another thing, that, in Egypt, in the second half of the year, is planned the restart of the second line. So we will go from 500,000 tons to 1 million tons of availability, capacity. And also, we think that by the last quarter, we should start to ship cement from Egypt to the United States. And this also should let me say, increase a little bit the profitability, because, let's say, the cost that we today, we have, as you can imagine, in Denmark, are higher than the cost that we have in Egypt. But I think this year will be small impacted by this, but it's an opportunity for the next let me say, and the next few years. Regarding the Nordics, let's say, we expect a result that is a bit, let me say, lower compared to last year, but not so much, let's say. That even if it seems that the start is quite slow. Let's say, that the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link, that is a huge tunnel project of EUR 8 billion value, is sta- it has started, but let's say that in the first quarter, the consumption is nearly seventy-five, 75% lower than what we estimated, due to a slow start, as it happens, especially in the difficult projects. So if this will normalize and pick up, especially in the second part of the year, I think that we should see a nice recover compared to the first quarter result, especially in Denmark. Okay. Thank you. As I have the microphone, so to speak, could I ask one sort of question, which is sort of intriguing me. When I look at your two Turkish subsidiaries, I mean, Çimentaş İzmir Çimento Fabrikası Türk A.Ş. is valued at EUR 1.3 billion or almost, which, you know, if you take your capacity there, would make it quite nicely valued in that context. What, how do you think about this? Is there anything, is this just an oddity of the limited free float or because, you know, a lot of Turkish cement companies have seen significant share price performance recently. I think that, I mean, we have seen in the last three years, a good recovery, good market condition, but also the recovery of the profitability, has been, let me say, higher than the competitor. Turkey, let's say, if Turkey will converge to the ETS system after 2026 because of the border tax adjustment, I think that, the issue that affected Turkey, like most of the emerging markets, that is, the increase of capacity, the continued increase of capacity, like what we are seeing in Europe, especially in the last five years, should stop, the increase of capacity. So we have a very good positioning because we are at the, more or less, at the forefront of Turkey, and, let's say, for sure, we have a limited flow, but also, I think besides the macro, the macro of economy, because today, Turkey, we still see inflation around 60%. The rate that went from 15% to more than 50%, and this should, let me say, curb, let me say, the demand. But, let's say demography is two percent positive. That means 1.5 million people each year. And we have, at the border of Turkey, I mean, Ukraine can be reached only by the Black Sea. So when, you know, we start the reconstruction in Ukraine, Syria, then also we have, all the, I mean, the Gaza issue that can be supplied mostly by Turkey or by Egypt. So, I think that, the opportunity that as the Turkish market and also our two main plants, three main plants, because we have one at the border with Armenia, one at the border on the Black Sea, with Europe, and the other on the sea, in Izmir, with a capacity that is around 5 million tons, might give, let me say... So the market, I think, is priced more or less. Let's say today, just the our Turkish assets, are the value or the 80% or 90% of the value of the old, chain here. If we deduct the cash that we have, is exactly the value of the remaining part of the asset is zero, if you just carve out Turkey. I don't know what to say, but let's say that this is our view on Turkey, and probably the market is pricing that we might have more opportunity than other players to expand the footprint. Because also, as we said, or as I said in the past, is that I don't want, because anyway, Turkey is a risky country, but having the 97%, we can dilute without, let me say, increasing the net investment in the country, and so diluting means absorbing other small players. So to do this, for sure, it's an opportunity, and also we are looking at some opportunity with local, let me say, player. And also, 90% of the Turkish market is in the hands of domestic players, so it's a market that has to be consolidated for sure. So we see that the implementation of the ETS system, especially starting from 2026, the earthquake that is still, let me say, absorbing and will absorb for the next five years. And the world situation all around Turkey gives the opportunity, let me say, to expand the activity and also the revenue in that country. It's a possibility and probability, so Turkey anyway has the question mark of every emerging market. I hope that answers your question. Yeah. No, very interesting. I mean, if you, if you spin that thought a little bit further, I mean, there are probably family businesses with cement plants which fit with your business. You have an expensive currency which you could share with these buyers. You know, would you say that some parties could be interested in that, i.e., you know, exchanging their assets for this currency? Let's say, I cannot add more. Let's say that it's a way that we see. And, as you can imagine, today, for a local player to finance in Turkey at 50%-60% rate, it's nearly impossible. And so most of the import, especially in energy, are in euros and dollars, so there are some players that might face a liquidity shrink. So I think that, let's say, we are ready to consider option that, let's say, on paper-based value, we can, let me say, increase or absorb other, let me say, entities in our perimeter. So this is. So if other are, let's say, interested, today is premature to say, but we are, let me say, keen to consider this opportunity. Great. Thank you very much. The next question comes from Bruno Permutti of Intesa Sanpaolo. Mr. Permutti, your line is open, sir. Yes, sorry. I had a problem with the microphone. So thanks for taking my question, and good afternoon, everyone. A question related to the pricing in Turkey. It seems from the results of the first quarter that probably you weren't able to increase prices in relation to the Turkish lira depreciation. I would like to understand if there would be an opportunity, probably, to push up prices in Turkey in the remaining part of the year. How do you see this possibility? And then on the, if you could give us an update. In the past few months, you talk about possible investments in subsidized energy projects, so for solar or for wind projects. I wanted to ask if there is any update you can give us on this? And lastly, on the recovery you are starting to see in the month of April, which are the areas in which you experimented the rebounds? So where do you see the first signs of rebound compared to the weak first quarter? Okay, starting from the last question, as I said, we're starting to see in Scandinavia, I mean, in Sweden, and also we think that the first quarter in Norway have been affected mainly by the weather than the economic environment. In Denmark, we might see the pickup in our delivery because of this big project. Regarding the Turkish pricing, I can say that in the... We are not expecting to have an increase of the price that has been, let me say, what we have seen last year, mainly because the price, especially in Europe, increased a lot in the last couple of years, and there is, let's say, a very deep attention because of the very high inflationary environment of the government regarding all the raw materials, from cement to aluminum, iron, also steel. So, I don't see, so that, that it will be easy as has been last year. So I cannot give forecast if we will recover in full or part the devaluation of the Turkish lira. Also, the Turkish lira, despite, let me say, the inflation in the first quarter, the devaluation, probably due to the very high rate, the Turkish lira seems to stabilize. So, let's say that I see the prices that are more linked to the exchange rate than to the internal inflation. I don't know if there is other, Yes. Ah, yes. The last one was, yeah, the projects. Regarding the other project, let's say, I say that we might invest, and we are, let me say, analyzing a few projects to combine or to add to our decarbonizing strategy. I think that probably we might give a more, let me say, deep update when we will approve the first half, but we are continuing actively to let me say, follow these opportunities. Let's say that one thing are the economics behind a project or an opportunity. The other things, as you know, that is more or less spread all over Europe, this issue is about the permitting. So I don't want just to sell to the market an opportunity, and then we have to face 3-4 years of permitting process, and so that might delay. So I want to have certain time, and so for this reason, I want to take one or two quarter more, so just to give, let me say, more visibility, because we, let me say, are focusing on a couple of projects, but we have no idea of the permitting process in detail. So broadly, yes, but I don't... So if it's something that can be realized in one or two years, it's something, let me say, that we would like to announce. If we see that the process is complicated and will take 5 years, okay, yeah, I can say, but I don't want to give, to say, like, let me say, other players did in the past, like a greenwashing or other things. So I don't want to declare something that then the feasibility is 10% or 20% likely. So for this reason, we want to be prudent, because especially in this environmental project, the permitting and also the technology availability is not immediate. Thank you. Gentlemen, at this time, there are no questions registered. Okay. So thank you very much for your interest in Cementir Holding, and we wish you a good rest of your day and afternoon. Thank you. Bye-bye. Thank you.