Ultrapar Participacoes Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
November 12, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Recurring EBITDA rose 74% year over year to BRL 3.1 billion, driven mainly by Ipiranga. Net income reached BRL 2.7 billion, but was also boosted by BRL 1.5 billion in extraordinary tax credits.
  • Positive Sentiment: Ipiranga’s sales volume increased 9%, outpacing the market, and it gained 1.2 percentage points of market share as enforcement against illegal practices improved competition. Management expects fourth-quarter margins to exceed the third quarter’s, though remain dependent on market conditions.
  • Negative Sentiment: Reported operating cash generation was just BRL 140 million, as working capital absorbed cash, including the settlement of about BRL 2 billion in supplier draft discounts and BRL 661 million in imported-diesel subsidy receivables. Excluding those effects, generation was BRL 2.8 billion.
  • Positive Sentiment: Ultrapar ended the quarter with leverage of 1.0x and approved an additional BRL 1.085 billion in dividends for December, following BRL 1.086 billion paid in September. Management said its investment approach is unchanged, while emphasizing that higher long-term interest rates raise the return hurdle.
  • Negative Sentiment: Hidrovias’ continuing-operations volume fell 8% year over year and recurring EBITDA declined 8%, reflecting lower activity in several corridors and weaker joint-venture results. Management expects fourth-quarter results similar to last year but noted uncertainty about El Niño’s effects.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Ultrapar Participacoes Q3 2026
00:00 / 00:00

There are 9 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good morning. Thank you for holding. Welcome to the conference call of Ultrapar to discuss the earnings release of the third quarter 2026. The presentation will be provided by Mr. Rodrigo Pizzinatto, CEO of Ultrapar, and by Mr. Alexandre Palhares, CFO of Ultrapar. The question-and-answer session will also have the executives, Mr. Leonardo Linden, CEO of Ipiranga, Mr. Tabajara Bertelli, CEO of Ultragaz, and Mr. Fulvius Tomelin, CEO of Ultracargo. This call is being recorded and will be accessed through the website ri.ultra.com.br. After the presentation, we are going to start our Q&A session when further instructions will be provided to you. We would also like to let you know that this call will be provided in Portuguese, and the option of simultaneous translation is available by clicking on interpretation. For those listening to it in English, there is also the option of muting original audio.

Operator

The presentation will be shown in Portuguese, and the version in English is available for download through the website of the company and through the chat. Before moving on, we would like to clarify that forward-looking statements that may be made during this conference call with respect to business prospects, forecast, operational, and financial goals of the company are all based on beliefs and assumptions of the executive board of Ultrapar, as well as currently available information. Forward-looking statements are no guarantee of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as they relate to future events, and therefore depend on circumstances which may or may not occur. Investors should understand that general economic conditions, the market, and other operational factors may affect the future performance of the company and lead to results which may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements.

Operator

I would like now to hand it over to Mr. Rodrigo Pizzinatto. He is going to start the presentation. Mr. Pizzinatto, you have the floor.

Speaker 1

Everyone, it is a pleasure to be here with you for another earnings conference call. We once again had a quarter of good operating results at Ultrapar. Strong growth in EBITDA, driven mainly by Ipiranga. Combined with that, we recognized BRL 1.5 billion in extraordinary tax credits, which led to a net income of BRL 2 billion 697 million in the quarter. We also had strong cash generation of BRL 2 billion 784 million, excluding the settlement of draft discount for suppliers' operations, which we use in specific situations, and the balance related to the imported diesel subsidy program. We continue to maintain a very solid capital structure. We ended the quarter with leverage of one time, even after the payment of BRL 1 billion 86 million in dividends in September and the repurchase of shares in the period.

Speaker 1

We also approved the distribution of an additional BRL 1 billion and 85 million in dividends to be paid in December and related to 2026 results, equivalent to a dividend yield of 3.3%. We remain committed to combining capital allocation with return of the value created to shareholders. We advanced in the growth, productivity, and value creation agenda. At Ultracargo, we started operations of the new capacities in Suape and Itaqui. At Ultragaz, we opened a new biomethane refueling station in Paulínia. We also made progress in managing our liabilities with the early settlement of Hidrovias debentures, which were the higher cost repayable debt. In the institutional agenda, we had relevant advances in combating irregularities in the fuel sector, with the beginning of classification of taxpayers as persistent debtors.

Speaker 1

I also highlight Ipiranga's participation in the imported diesel subsidy program, reinforcing our commitment to supply and helping to mitigate the impact of the international scenario on fuel prices in Brazil. Well, with that, I will now hand over to Alexandre to detail the results of the businesses.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Rodrigo. Good morning. As usual, before we begin, I'd like to remind you of the criteria and standards used in the analysis in this presentation. Moving to the next slide, we recorded recurring EBITDA of BRL 3 billion and 103 million in the quarter, a 74% increase compared to the third quarter of last year, with highlight at Ipiranga. Net income totaled BRL 2 billion and 697 million, a significant increase compared to the third quarter of last year, reflecting higher operating results, the recognition of extraordinary tax credits at Ipiranga, and lower financial expenses. Investments totaled BRL 680 million in the quarter, a 18% decrease compared to the third quarter of last year, with reduction in investments at Ultracargo, Ipiranga, and Hidrovias, partially offset by an increase at Ultragaz, mainly related to the implementation of the new ERP.

Speaker 2

Operating cash generation was BRL 140 million in the quarter. The higher operating result was offset by working capital investment concentrated at Ipiranga, mainly due to the settlement of approximately BRL 2 billion in draft discount for suppliers and the recognition of BRL 661 million in trade receivables related to imported diesel subsidy. Disregarding these two effects, the operating cash generation would have been BRL 2 billion and 784 million, compared to BRL 2 billion and 129 million in the same period last year. On slide five, we can see that we ended the quarter with net debt of BRL 11 billion and leverage of one time, compared to 0.9 times in the previous quarter. The increase in net debt mainly reflected the settlement of draft discount for suppliers, the payment of dividends, and the working capital investment at Ipiranga. Moving to the next slide, we present Ipiranga's results.

Speaker 2

Before discussing the business figures, starting with Ipiranga, I would like to recall the environment in which we have been operating in recent quarters, with volatility in global refined products markets due to the conflict in the Middle East, which required rapid adaptation of the entire supply and logistics chain, further reinforcing the relevance of structural distributors. As shown in the chart on the left, Ipiranga more than doubled its imports in the quarter, increasing its share of the total volume imported into Brazil. In a context of reduction in total imports compared to the same period last year, Brazil recorded one of the lowest pass-through rates of fuel price increases to consumers in the world, reflecting government efforts through subsidies and Petrobras' pricing policy. We maintained our commitment to supply and grew almost 10% in fuel volume this quarter, while the market grew 2%.

Speaker 2

Moving to the next slide, we see the effect of the continuous evolution of the structural context, with a reduction of illegal practices that contributed to a fairer competitive market. In the chart on the left, we can see a significant reduction in the share of distributors classified by ICL as illegal, with their market share declining from 22.5% to 18.8%. This loss was absorbed by tax-compliant distributors, and Ipiranga once again stood out, gaining 1.2 percentage points of market share. It is worth noting that reducing these distortions and illegal practices benefits society as a whole through higher tax collection and, consequently, greater public resources. The governments of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro alone are expected to increase their tax collection by BRL 6 billion per year as a result of this ongoing initiative.

Speaker 2

In the last chart on the right, we can see Brazil's average pump price during the quarter of BRL 6.13 per liter. Taxes accounted for BRL 1.41 per liter of this amount. Ipiranga's EBITDA margin for the quarter was BRL 0.34, not including financial expenses, depreciation, amortization, and income taxes. While distributors' profitability represents only a small portion of the average pump price, it is what enables the sector to continue investing in infrastructure and ensuring fuel supply throughout the country. In this context, moving to the next slide, we see that the total volume sold by Ipiranga was 6,735,000 cubic meters, a 9% growth compared to the third quarter of 2025, above the market during the period, with an increase of 9% in diesel and 10% in the auto cycle.

Speaker 2

Ipiranga's recurring EBITDA totaled BRL 2.28 billion in the quarter, compared to BRL 892 million in the third quarter of 2025. The result reflects the volume growth above the market and the consequent scale gains, the structural effects of the improvement of a competitive environment associated with the advances in combating irregularities, the conjunctural effects of the conflict in the Middle East, partially offset by the increase in operating expenses. For the fourth quarter, we continue to observe the structural effects related to the progress in combating irregularities while continuing to face the consequences of the conflict. We expect margins to be above the level reported in the third quarter of 2026 and closer to those observed in the second quarter, which was the peak of the year. Moving now to the next slide, with Ultragaz's results.

Speaker 2

LPG volume sold was 458,000 tons in the quarter, a 3% increase compared to the same period last year, reflecting and consolidating Ultragaz's market recovery actions. The volume remained stable in the bottled segment and increased 7% in the bulk segment, with new customers and a gradual improvement in industrial demand, especially for special gases segment. Ultragaz recurring EBITDA totaled BRL 467 million in the quarter, a 1% increase compared to the third quarter of 2025. The higher sales volume, a more favorable sales mix in LPG, and the higher contribution from the new energies were partially offset by lower margins in LPG, pressured by market dynamics and higher logistics costs. For the fourth quarter, although volumes are seasonally lower, we expect recurring EBITDA to be in line with the previous quarter. Moving on to Ultracargo.

Speaker 2

Average installed capacity reached 1,228,000 cubic meters, a 12% increase in the annual comparison, reflecting capacity additions in Suape, Santos, Itaqui, Rondonópolis, and Opla. Operations in Itaqui and Suape began between July and August, concluding Ultracargo's current expansion cycle. The cubic meters sold increased by 16% compared to the third quarter of 2025, mainly due to the ramp-up of expansions, highlighting Santos, Rondonópolis, and Opla, in addition to the gradual recovery in demand for fuel import storage, even in a less favorable context of import parity and high market volatility. Net revenue totaled BRL 275 million, a 13% year-over-year increase, mainly driven by higher cubic meters sold in Santos, Aratu, Opla, and Suape, partially offset by a less favorable sales mix, with a greater share of inland bases.

Speaker 2

Adjusted EBITDA totaled BRL 142 million in the quarter, a 6% increase compared to the third quarter of last year. The increase in cubic meters sold was partially offset by a less favorable sales mix and higher costs and expenses associated with the expansion of operations and the ramp-up of new capacities. For the fourth quarter, we expect a scenario of results growth compared to the previous year, similar to those reported in the third quarter. Finally, on the next slide, we present Hidrovias' results. Total volume handled was 3,933,000 tons in the quarter, a 24% decrease compared to the third quarter of 2025, mainly due to the sale of coastal navigation. In continuing operations, the volume was 8% lower, with lower demand for corn exports, less fertilizer handled in the north corridor, and lower volume in Paraguay, partially offset by increase in Santos. Net revenue totaled BRL 653 million.

Speaker 2

In continuing operations, revenue remained stable compared to the third quarter of 2025, with lower volume and the negative exchange rate effect on the conversion of Paraguayan results offset by the pass-through of higher navigation fuel costs. Recurring EBITDA was BRL 303 million in the quarter. In continuing operations, there was a 8% decrease compared to the third quarter of 2025, mainly reflecting the effects on operation related to the lower volume handled and the lower equities accounting, which refers to the joint ventures in the south. For the fourth quarter, navigation conditions are currently similar to those last year, but there are still uncertainties regarding the effects of El Niño. Thus, we expect results similar to those reported last year. Thank you all for joining us today. We remain available, together with our investor relations team, to address any questions.

Speaker 2

We will now open the call for the Q&A session.

Operator

We are going to start now the Q&A session for investors and analysts. If you want to ask a question, please press reaction and then click raise your hand. If your question is answered, you can leave the queue by lowering your hand. To ask a question in writing, send it through Q&A, telling your name and the company you represent. These questions will be answered later by the investor relations team. We would like to ask you to just limit to one question so that we can meet every other demand. First question, Gabriel Barra with Citi. Please unmute your mic. Hello. Thank you for taking my questions. I have two quick questions. First, capital allocation. I think there had been some changes in the macro perspective, especially concerning Brazil, and I would like to hear from you. What is your take on this topic?

Speaker 3

The company has been deleveraging for a while in a current scenario of leverage, which is quite comfortable, which is one-time leverage. Based on the discussions that we have had in investors day and recent conference calls, the company has been positioned as a capital allocator, and now it is somewhat more challenging. You have liquidity and you have this possibility, so you might have an advantage in this kind of situation or landscape. I would like to hear you on that topic. Have you maintained the same discussion about capital allocation? Has there been any changes? What are the internal conversations? Secondly, based on the discussion about fuel and based on our track records here, October was quite good for the area with limitation of product availability. There was this discussion of low supply, but now we have seen a very strong position for November and December.

Speaker 1

The end of this week, there is going to be a discussion about the subsidies for imports. I would like to hear what is your perspective for the remaining portion of the year, November, December, especially now, November, with stronger volumes of import. What have you been thinking about that? Thank you. Good morning, Barra. Thank you for the questions. I am going to go first about capital allocation, and then Linden will talk about fuel distribution. Short answer is, nothing is changing except for risk-adjusted returns. There are three things that we focused on whenever we are looking for investment projects. Good return, a good industry where we can see potential of growth, value generation. We focused on companies that could help us have better results and generate further volume and value. Thirdly, someone who is willing to sell.

Speaker 4

What has recently changed is that the long-term interest rates, which had been going down, has resumed its increase. So our return has to adjust to that. Higher risk, higher volatility. But with these elements, we're still focusing on finding opportunities for investment. Barra, good morning. About the lineup, yes, we've seen some more volume in October and November, but it's given to the nature of the quarter. The fourth quarter tends to be good in terms of volume, and the levels of inventory used to be very low. September, for example, there were 900,000 liters of diesel into the system of imports, which is a very low volume. October, we can see something like 1.5, November, 1.4. It rebuilds the inventory levels, but I don't see major distortions, at least not now, in terms of supply.

Speaker 5

When there was excessive supply in Brazil, there were 2 billion liters coming into the market on a monthly basis into the Brazilian system. I think it's all predictable, but I don't expect major surprises. Thank you. The next question comes from Rodrigo Almeida with BTG Pactual. Please unmute your mic. Hi, good morning. Good morning, Ultra's team. I'd like to hear about Ipiranga's strategy. You've shown the increase in volume, relevant growth in market share. How have you been organizing this increase in margins, in volumes? Maybe you can also allocate some volume and market share throughout time. How do you see the balance between margin and volume, and what kind of segments are you focusing on identifying potential niches to grow and to have permanent volume growth? If you could please tell us more about Ipiranga's strategy.

Speaker 4

I know that it changes throughout the year depending on opportunities, but I would like to hear more about the third quarter and what we can expect in the short term. I know it changes throughout time, but what do you see in terms of opportunities for the short term? Hi, Rodrigo. Let me try to share with you the backdrop of the quarter and what we anticipate for the future and talk about investments in priority areas. This quarter, and I think you've summed it up quite well, we had a higher mix of import, which meant greater gain of volume, but with an increased cost per product because of the recurrent arbitrage that was required throughout the quarter. We've seen an increase in margin from July to August and September, but it was a quarter with very close arbitrage.

Speaker 4

Even if you consider subsidies, it was between 3,500 and 3,600. The inventory levels going down, as we said, especially because of a tighter lineup. Some specific restrictions in the market, like one-off really episodes. There were some specific restrictions that stressed more our logistics, but sales were good. And there was some readjustments of the market in terms of competitiveness as a result of all the actions that have been put in place to fight illegal practices. The quarter, we had to calibrate sales and the impact that it would have on our mix because of the need to have increased imports. At Ipiranga, we understand that we are in a very favorable position because we can provide products because of our infrastructure, because of our brand strength in the market, and we have really increased sales in the third quarter. Palhares showed the numbers.

Speaker 4

The third quarter had a record volume, 9% growth over 25% record sales, 1.3 points gained in share as opposed to the third quarter 2025, 70% of the share that we had lost by the regions. We have captured most of it. It had closed arbitrage with a mix of imports that impact the cost of product. For the fourth quarter, Palhares anticipated that, October has been better than September, and November is developing compatibly to the previous month. There is an inverted effect of imports in the fourth quarter, especially if you consider the subsidies in terms of cost composition. Speaking about investments, the market is favorable to make investments in the past six months. We have closed 220 new businesses at Ipiranga.

Speaker 4

For 2026, it will be close to 400, 450 stations, the highest level of activity, the engagement of new services stations, and that is the highest in the past 10 years. As I have repeated, we maintain our quality. It is not doing it for the sake of doing it. We have really raised the bar. We want to bring the right asset and the right partner. We are being very careful in building a good pipeline, but I think it is a very favorable moment to build good pipelines. I think there is a recognition of our capacity of adding value to the business of our partners, and we have maintained a very good pace of investments, prioritizing long-term investments, really contracted stations, really businesses that are more attractive and long-term. Thank you. Next question comes from Tasso Vasconcellos with UBS. Please unmute your mic. Good morning, President Palhares, executives.

Speaker 6

I would like to change the focus to Ultragaz. I would like to hear about the company's strategies, the outlook for market share. Is the company at the level it would like to be, or do you think there is still room for improvement? What about the regulatory discussions in the LPG market? What can we expect in terms of improvement and worsening of market oscillations from now on? Thank you, Tasso. This is Tabajara speaking. Let me start with your first question, long-term strategy. In addition to market performance, as we have shown you, we have been through a cycle where the market has picked up again. We understood that it made sense to reach a different level from what we used to in the remaining portion of the year, and we are very satisfied with this work with the resellers.

Speaker 6

Resellers are much healthier, and we have been observing the NPS, the highest NPS ever in our last measurement. What we have done was positive. We expect to maintain the same in the upcoming months, sustaining what we have reached and really focusing on the segments that we selected as those that we could extract more value where they see our value proposition, the retailers close to end consumers with deliverables of operational excellence and high performance, something that will really help us. We are very satisfied with what we have acquired in recent months, and we expect to sustain this level in upcoming months. Answering your second question about regulatory affairs, it is a long process.

Speaker 6

This is something that has been in place for a while, and we've been addressing it in our meetings, but this is a year in which we believe that regulation really evolved very positively, reinforcing good market practices and also showing better perspective, better outlook for the future. Recently, there was one last meeting of CNPE discussing the concept of Gás do Povo program with pillars of safety and society, with clear stated labels, really maintaining safety standards to avoid leaks and all that. We see it as very positively. New things may happen in upcoming months, but in a nutshell, we still have got work to do, but we've taken a long path, and we understand that we have had a positive evolution. Thank you. That's clear. Thank you very much. The next question is going to be asked by Regis Cardoso with XP. Please unmute your mic.

Speaker 7

Thank you. Good morning. Good morning, everyone. I have two questions concerning the margins of Ipiranga. The first one was simple. Have you had any evidence that would give us an idea about recurrent normalized margins? I'm talking about long term, once we have a normalization of the effects of the war. Secondly, about Ipiranga's margin, but looking short term, especially fourth quarter, you expect a higher margin than the third quarter, closer to the second quarter. Similarly to what we've been observing, the pump prices have been sustained, but the cost of imported products has dropped. Linden, to understand that kind of dynamics, Ipiranga margin in the third quarter dropped more than other peers in the industry. Has it been a strategy? Partially of your answer will probably be what you've already talked about having more imported product.

Speaker 7

I'm bringing this discussion because on the fourth quarter, that would no longer be an advantage because now the price of the imported product is very close to that of Petrobras. It was even lower. That's my bias in the question. Do you expect that difference in terms of margin against your peers to go away in the fourth quarter? We've seen more volume where the import of 1.40 was active end of October, beginning of November, but no further in the pipeline after that. This is the discussion, the fourth quarter margin. That's what my point is. Well, normalized margin, I have no number to share with you. Of course, we have our estimates, but they are just estimates. But it's something above what we had before the war, but not at the levels that we have had during the war.

Speaker 4

But the industry is moving to a normalized margin, which is much more compatible to our business and to the investments that are required in this business. This is what we have for the third quarter. You said yourself, the greatest impact was the fact that we had import fuel in the mix, in an arbitration which was very closed. For the fourth quarter, can we anticipate that the import product will be more competitive than in the third quarter? Yes, and that's what I said in the previous answer. In the fourth quarter, what we can see at first is an arbitration somewhat more open, which favors import. Do you expect to see it happening also for the second half of November and for the continuation of the period under the subsidy of 140? Well, I don't know. It will depend a little bit on the international market.

Speaker 4

It seems to be stable. Regis, good morning. We are positioned to operate according to the market progression, and that's what we've been doing. We follow along. Yes, there's been a fight against illegal practices, and this effect is really present. It does not affect our structural improvement or anything like that. The effects that cannot be quantified is the remaining effect of the war in current margins. This is what we manage as we go, and it's quite difficult to anticipate that. That's great, Linden, Pizzinatto. Thank you for your answers. The next question comes from Bruno Amorim with Goldman Sachs. Bruno, please unmute your mic. Hello. Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. Great, solid results in the quarter. Kudos to you. I have a follow-up in the discussions that we've been having about the cycle nature of margins. I would like to talk about volume.

Speaker 8

Margins will get normalized from now on, but I would like to hear from you what we can expect in terms of volume. Ipiranga has been growing more than the industry and more than its main players, its main competitors. Do you think that there is also a cyclic nature in this movement, or do you think that the volume is something sustainable? We've seen an expect change. Probably it's going to be sustained even with the global variation in the industry of fuel. Thank you. Hi, Bruno. I'll probably be repetitive, but this is a moment that we think to be favorable to volume. We don't want to buy volume or buy share. No. We want to recover the market that was lost to illegal practice throughout the years, and Ipiranga can recover this market which belongs to us.

Speaker 4

Based on what we are, we have infrastructure, we have service, efficient logistic, we have brand. I think that what we see in terms of volume recovery is a result of operating at a different level. I don't think it's volatile because we have better values because we have a network, a branded network. We have clients. It will never be spot sales. Spots are cyclic, but that means very little in terms of the percentage of our business. What we really want to do is to recover that level of scale that we used to have in the past that was lost to illegal practices that shouldn't have been in the market. Great. Thank you. Our question and answer session is closed now. I'd like to hand it back to Mr. Alexandre Palhares for his closing remarks. Well, thank you all very much for your participation, your interest.

Speaker 2

Our team is always at your disposition. See you next time. Thank you.

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