Operator
Good morning everyone, thank you for waiting. Welcome to Raízen's third quarter 2025-2026 crop year earnings presentation.
This presentation is being recorded and will be available at the company's IR website at ri.raizen.com.br/en and Raízen's official YouTube channel. To choose your preferred language, click on the interpretation button with the globe icon at the bottom of the screen, and select English or Portuguese.
Once you have done that, you can also choose to mute the original audio. The presentation video will be in Portuguese with simultaneous interpretation into English.
We would like to inform you that attendees will be on a listen-only mode during the presentation, after which we'll begin the Q&A session when further instructions will be provided. Before proceeding, we'd like to clarify that any statements that may be made during this conference call regarding the company's business prospects, operational and financial projections, and goals are the beliefs and assumptions of Raízen's executive board based on information currently available, and these statements may involve risks and uncertainties as they relate to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not materialize.
Investors, analysts, and journalists should be aware of events related to the macroeconomic scenario, the industry, and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the respective forward-looking statements. Joining us today are the following company executives: Nelson Gomes, CEO; Lorival Luz, CFO; and Felipe Casali, Head of IR.
I'll now turn the conference over to Mr. Casali for the presentation.
Please, you may proceed, Mr. Casali.
Felipe Casali
Good morning everyone, and thank you for joining us on our third quarter results conference call for the 2025-2026 crop year. Let's turn to the results.
I'd like to begin by once again highlighting the performance of our fuel distribution business. In Brazil, we have delivered improved results for the third consecutive quarter, while in Argentina, we posted the year's best performance.
In EAB, ethanol, sugar, and biofuel, results were impacted by circumstantial factors that affected productivity and pricing, as anticipated and as we had been seeing throughout the year. Another important point is that we continue to make structural progress in reducing our costs and investment base, in line with the operational plan for the crop year.
In the first nine months of the year, we achieved R$600 million in efficiency gains. This clearly reflects our disciplined expense and cost management approach, as well as ongoing efforts to optimize both our corporate and operating structures.
Before moving to each segment's performance, let me note that in yesterday's earnings release, we reported a net loss above market expectations. This was largely driven by a non-cash provision of R$11 billion, which I will address in more detail later in the presentation.
Turning to EAB results, this has been another year marked by situational challenges for the industry, as we have been discussing throughout the crop year. Agricultural yield was impacted by adverse climate conditions, sugarcane fields have been affected by the dry weather in recent years, and a frost impacted some areas in the first quarter of this crop year, which ultimately pressured yields this season.
Crushing after these nine months, which is the main production period for sugarcane, was 70.3 million tons, and agricultural yield, which is measured by tons per hectare, was 9.7. In terms of mix, we maximized sugar production, taking advantage of favorable prices that had already been locked in for the crop year.
Nevertheless, lower yields reduced overall sugar availability, which explains the 5% decline in cumulative crop year sugar sales. Sugar prices are in line with our contracted hedges, with virtually all volumes fixed for the year.
For the 2026-2027 crop year, we have already fixed 60% of expected volumes at approximately 11 BRL cents per pound weight, which is well above current market levels and which helps to mitigate short-term pressure. In ethanol, pricing dynamics remains healthy, supported by a favorable inventory-to-consumption ratio, despite lower production and sales volumes.
Average selling prices increased 10% year-on-year on a crop year-to-date basis. As a result, EAB's EBITDA for the first nine months of the crop year was primarily impacted by less volume sold and weaker sugar prices, as well as cost pressure driven by reduced dilution effect, given that a significant portion of the segment's cost base is fixed.
Also, there was a significant variation in bioenergy results, mainly due to mark-to-market adjustments on certain energy contracts. On the other hand, I'd like to highlight efficiency gains that did make a positive contribution during the year, supported by progress in optimizing operating structures, fleet management, agricultural machinery, and other key initiatives that are being addressed in the ethanol, sugar, and bioenergy sector at Raízen.
I'll now move on to our fuel distribution in Brazil. We've delivered another quarter of consistent operational improvement.
This performance reflects not only a healthier market environment, including continued progress in tackling illegal market activity, but also increasingly solid execution of our commercial strategy. This is made evident in volumes; we posted growth across all products, both year-on-year and sequentially.
I would particularly like to highlight the increase in diesel and lubricant sales, which made a significant contribution to both quarterly and year-to-date results. We have continued to strengthen our retail presence by consistently enhancing the quality of our reseller network and increasing adherence to the Shell value proposition.
Notably, we saw further progress in Shell Box adoption, expanded penetration of Shell lubricants in more profitable sales channels, as well as the recovery in premium products, such as Shell V-Power. We also continue to generate structural efficiency gains through disciplined cost management and optimization of our operating footprint.
Higher volumes sold have improved asset turnover, further enhancing efficiency and profitability. As a result, adjusted EBITDA increased 50% year-on-year, supported by solid volume growth and margin expansion.
Year-to-date, margin reached R$183 per cubic meter, which is above the assumptions set out in our operational plan for the crop year. Let's now move on to fuel distribution in Argentina.
Before we begin, let me clarify that the figures presented on this slide exclude our Paraguay operations for the period and for comparison purposes and to make for a better analysis of Argentina results. The key highlight of the quarter was the completion of the efficiency maximization project at the Buenos Aires refinery in December.
The resumption of operations was accompanied by a recovery in margins, which had been pressured during the first half of the year by situational factors such as oil price volatility and current FX depreciation in the country. In addition to higher sales volumes, results also benefited from a more assertive commercial strategy and continued optimization of the operating structure in Argentina.
As for financial results, as disclosed in our earnings release and financial statements, the company recognized provisions for impairment totaling R$11.1 billion this quarter related to the impairment, with an impact on net income and shareholders' equity. This provision reflects the company's current context, which remains pressured by leverage levels and financial expenses, as well as a deterioration in credit conditions made evident in recent rating downgrades.
In this scenario, accounting standards point to a revision of the assumptions used in impairment testing. I'd like to make a couple of things very clear.
First, we do not have an operational issue; our challenge lies in the current context. Second, this provision has no cash impact and may be reversed in the future, whether through an improvement in the sector's macroeconomic environment or progress in optimizing our capital structure.
Moving on to the next slide, we present an updated view of Raízen's consolidated operating cash flow. We continue to make progress in replacing short-term working capital instruments with longer-term debt, with the objective of extending our debt maturity profile.
When we isolate the non-recurring atypical movements related to these substitutions, and we're primarily talking about reverse factoring arrangements and customer prepayment transactions here, year-to-date operating cash flow shows improvement compared to the same period last year, which reflects more efficient management of recurring working capital, even taking into account the seasonal buildup of sugar and ethanol inventories. Turning to net debt and leverage, net debt at the end of December 2025 reflects several factors: lower LTM EBITDA, the replacement of working capital lines with longer-term debt as previously mentioned, capital expenditures during the period already considering proceeds from asset sales, and higher financial expenses driven by both increased debt balances and the rise in CDI in the period.
We closed the quarter with R$17.3 billion in cash, more than 90% of which have immediate available liquidity held with top-tier financial institutions. With that, I'll now hand it over to Nelson Gomes, our CEO, for his opening remarks before we move on to the Q&A session.
Thank you very much.
Nelson Gomes
Thank you, Felipe. Good morning everyone.
Welcome to our earnings release call for the third quarter of 2025-2026 crop year. I'd like to start my opening remarks by touching on what we've talked about and splitting into two parts: operational and capital structure.
I'll also turn it over to Lorival for his opening remarks, and then we can move on to the Q&A session. On the operational side, starting with the progress we made in implementing our Raízen transformation plan, over the last 12 months since I joined the company, we have been making significant progress in both simplifying the way we operate as well as our business portfolio and operating efficiency.
A few comments on this simplification process: we are once again focusing on the company's core business, which is to produce sugar and ethanol and to distribute fuel and lubricants. By doing that, we have a new organizational cultural dynamics where everything is simpler in the company's day-to-day operation.
Now to speak about our portfolio optimization, in the last 12 months, we've sold assets worth approximately R$5 billion. Six plants have been sold, reducing the recurring capex.
We have also sold power assets involving sales companies, as well as some mobility assets that we had invested in in the past. Outside the quarter we're talking about, recently we concluded our JV with FEMSA, the Nors group, turning our focus back again to our convenience stores in Shell service stations.
We have revised our entire trading operation scope, focusing on everything that will bring us return, reduce risk, and reduce business volatility. That's the simplification side.
Now let's talk a bit about operating efficiency. We have been optimizing our entire management structure, whether it be in the business itself, but also especially our administrative infrastructure.
These efforts have already brought in R$600 million worth of reductions in the first nine months of this crop year, which is more than the 500 million we had estimated at the beginning of the crop year when we shared the guidance with the market. We've optimized all of our operational and corporate structures.
We've gained a lot of efficiency in our ethanol, sugar, and biofuels structure, EAB. The main efficiency gain in EAB came from CCT, cutting, loading, and transportation of sugarcane, as well as a massive productivity increase in our heavy and light fleet.
In fuel, that happened through reducing SG&A costs as well as commercial and logistic efficiency, which are bringing the company's costs down to 20 reais per cubic meter this year compared to the previous year. Finally, in Argentina, we are also optimizing our structure, reducing SG&A costs, and also as Felipe said, we have completed all the construction works and investments to upgrade the refinery.
Now turning to capex and efficiency, this year, we should reduce R$3 billion compared to last year's capex. Our market guidance was between 9 and 9.8, and we should be between the average and the low point of the guidance by the end of the crop year.
That comes through a lot of capital allocation discipline, using that capex to bring in the necessary efficiency not only in planting and tilling, where we see levels closer to the market, as well as quality when planting and also taking care of the sugarcane crops. We are concluding many of our projects that started in previous years that ended up being delayed, at the end of this crop year, we should start concluding them.
Now to conclude the operational side and moving on to our capital structure, I'd like to start by saying that even though we have a robust liquidity at the company, in terms of capital structure, we got to an inflection point where clearly all of our operational transformation plan per se has not been enough to mitigate the imbalance we have in the company's capital structure. Obviously, resolving the company's capital structure by reducing debt is the absolute priority, both for us here at the management and our shareholders.
In light of that, the company has selected advisors, financial and legal advisors, to look into alternatives that will continue to make the company viable and competitive in the long run and to interact with market agents. That whole process is being conducted by the company jointly with the controlling shareholders, who have committed to contributing with capital to a consensual solution that will strengthen the structure and that is definitive so that the company can operate in the long term.
It's also important to point out during this earnings release call that the way this process has been progressing, it started a few months ago and should take another few months, we will be communicating to the market all the facts that take place and need to be communicated. We have been experiencing in the last few weeks a lot of speculation, and it is our duty and responsibility not to speculate about potential structures, potential initiatives until the company, together with controlling shareholders, have concluded the work they're doing.
Lastly, before I turn it over to Lorival, my last comment would be that this company continues to implement its transformation plan by simplifying its portfolio, increasing efficiency across all operations. We continue to operate on the usual track across all of our businesses.
We reiterate the commitment of all of our operations. We will continue to have a relationship with all of our business partners, clients, resellers, suppliers, who are even more key right now that the company is going through this moment.
Now I'll turn it over to Lorival.
Lorival Luz
Thank you, Nelson. Good morning everyone.
I'd like to start by providing more details about the impact on the balance this quarter, referring to the impairments. Where does that come from?
We have revisited December's balance sheet, and there's some very relevant assumptions that are applicable to the impairment test of a few assets. What does that take into account?
That takes into account the assumptions, the company's current level of debt—you saw in the balance sheet the leverage is 5.3 times right now—the company's current capital structure, the cost of the debt service, which will be demanding this period, and more recently, the impact of the credit rating downgrades and its effect on the company's access to credit lines. After revisiting these assumptions, we are classifying the company's financial statements within a context of significant uncertainty.
That's an accounting term, that's the term we have to use, and it is included in the explanation notes. It's very clear in the administration's report; there's a whole page talking about that.
We have done that and are doing that very transparently. That in and of itself meant an impact of R$11.1 billion, which was accounted for now.
That is recoverable taxes, surplus, some fixed assets, some intangible assets; it's all explained there. The main thing is that is this a surprise?
No, it's not. All of this information, all of these figures were already in the balance sheet.
It was all very transparent. What we have done was in this scenario and in revisiting these assumptions, we have changed the classification to this impairment scenario.
It was all there, there is no news, nothing new has been discovered, everything was already in the balance sheet. We've just reclassified it in light of this new scenario and revisiting these assumptions, which we have done and are doing with great responsibility and transparency.
Does that mean it's being removed from the balance sheet and not going back to it? It will go back to it as the company adjusts its capital structure, and as Nelson just said, we continue to improve our operational efficiency and results.
Then we will go back to having the ability and access to recover the impaired assets. I just want to make that very, very clear.
That's why I'm taking some time to talk about it, just so that there is no doubt regarding that. The other thing is all of these effects, the reported loss, in other words, are impairments and non-cash provisions.
Those 11 billion are non-cash. They will not have an impact on the cash or the company's liquidity.
Moreover, in the financial statements, there's another 3 billion related to provisions and accounting adjustments, which are the same thing; they are non-cash provisions. They do not have a cash effect.
Just to clarify those accounting classifications. Another important point is the company's cash situation.
We've reported 17 billion in cash, over 90% of which has immediate liquidity, all of which are, according to the company's conservative policy, are held in non-risk assets and top-tier financial institutions. That, coupled with longer average debt maturity at around eight years, provides us with robust liquidity for the moment.
These adjustments that have been made are non-recurring. They are all one-offs that are taking place for the time being.
They are not recurring, and nothing like it in this magnitude will take place again. I just wanted to make that clear.
Another thing I'd like to reiterate that Nelson touched on is that it is our duty and responsibility, and whenever we have any material facts or information that is relevant to the company, to the shareholders, or to the market, we will be communicating them to the market directly. I know there's always rumors going around in the market and that kind of conversation, but official information and facts will be promptly communicated to all of you very clearly through an announcement to the market, through a material fact announcement, always taking the company's best interest into account to preserve the company and as a consequence all of its stakeholders.
I'd like to ask you to please pay attention to all the official announcements, all the material fact announcements so that we can have a clear, direct communication channel with you. With that, I will now turn it over to the Q&A session.
Operator
We will now begin the Q&A session for investors and analysts. This quarter, the Q&A session will be conducted in Portuguese with simultaneous translation into English.
To pose a question, please press raise hand, and we kindly request that analysts keep their questions to one. If your question has been answered, you can leave the queue by clicking on put hand down.
You can also ask a question through the Q&A icon at the bottom of the screen; just click on the button and type in your question. The first question is from Ms.
Isabella Simonato from Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Isabella Simonato
Good morning, Nelson. Felipe, can you hear me?
Nelson Gomes
Hi, Lorival. We can hear you.
Isabella Simonato
Good morning. Thank you.
Nelson, you touched on the controlling shareholders' commitment to provide the company with more capital and that it is a process that might still take a few months, after six months since you announced that you were going to be increasing capital. Given the bond performance and the rating agencies' downgrades, Lorival, could you comment on the company's liquidity right now in terms of access to supplier credit?
Because the rating agencies' downgrade affect a lot of stakeholders you do business with. What kind of an impact did that have on your need for short-term working capital?
Ultimately, my question is do we see a deterioration in using working capital, or not, or will things continue to be as they have been in the last quarters? That's my first question.
Along the same lines, but considering the time and the solution that you will eventually reach, is there a significant change to your plan to sell assets? Does it make sense to sell Argentina, and is there an accelerated plan to sell other plants or any other assets along the same lines?
Thank you.
Nelson Gomes
Hi, Isabella. This is Nelson.
Thank you for the questions. I'll take your last question first, and then Lorival can comment on the liquidity scenario.
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, the company's transformation plan will continue to be implemented exactly as it was conceived at the beginning of this journey a year ago, because it's the right thing to do for the company. All of our portfolio simplification plans, asset sales, decommissioning businesses that are not bringing in the expected returns, all of these initiatives will continue.
Now specifically about the sale in Argentina, as I said, in December, we concluded the refinery upgrade. That was done on time, within the expected costs, and without any complications at all.
We needed to conclude that process, resume operations in Argentina, get to business as usual to understand whether we would have got the expected results. Results were very positive.
Lorival Luz
In December, we saw profits coming back to our business in Argentina. Now as for the sale itself, it is on track according to the schedule that we had set.
There are no delays. We need to remember that Raízen's assets in Argentina is one of the most relevant in the country, and that entails a lot of complexity.
As I said, everything is on track and as expected for this kind of operation. We are working on the selected offer that we believe to be the most suitable.
Negotiations are progressing speedily and constructively, and we expect that to be concluded this year. Our asset sales, not only in Argentina, but more broadly speaking, is following the exact plan we conceived at the beginning of Raízen's transformation journey.
Isabella, as for the impact on working capital and liquidity, first, we reported 17 billion in cash and immediate liquidity, we're starting off with quite a robust cash. We have no major maturities in the short term, and added to that, there are a few other factors.
First, we're very comfortable because we are addressing a definitive solution, and the company and the shareholders' commitment to that solution, things are moving forward in a very positive fashion. Also, as we saw in our balance sheet, we're not using certain working capital operations or instruments that we could be using, and we're not doing so because we believe the company's funding should happen in the long run and not short term or using short-term structure to fund long-term capex.
It's a matter of the right capital structure and how to use the balance sheet and funds to fund things properly. What I can say is that we have a plan, and I am completely comfortable with our working capital and how things are moving forward,
Isabella Simonato
okay? That was very clear.
Nelson, can I just check something? You talked about selling Argentina before the end of the year.
Is that the fiscal year or the calendar year?
Nelson Gomes
Sorry, Isa. I meant the end of the calendar year, not the crop year.
Isabella Simonato
Great.
Nelson Gomes
As I said, it's a complex process and it needs to go through all the legal and regulatory procedures both in Brazil and in Argentina.
Isabella Simonato
That's very clear. Thank you.
Operator
We kindly request that analysts keep their questions to one at a time. The next question is from Mr.
Matheus Enfeldt from UBS. Please go ahead.
Matheus Enfeldt
Hi, good morning, Nelson, Lorival, Casali. Thanks for taking my question.
I know that there's a lot of uncertainty, but if I could hear from you about a potential definitive solution, I think you talked about 20 to 25 billion. Now thinking of an ideal capital structure and a company that has cash generation and leverage, which was 2 to 2.5 times, what would be the ideal target in terms of capital structure looking forward and boundary conditions?
As a follow-up to Isa's question, have downgrades led to any margin calls in the company's derivatives?
Nelson Gomes
Hi, Matheus. Thanks for the question.
With regards to the capital structure, I think I'm in line with you and the market in general in terms of the company's leverage and that level, not just our company, any company. When interest rates are high, which is what we have right now, there's no question that in order to have a healthy capital structure, you need to be between 2 and 2.5 times so that the math works.
That is the objective. It will happen in time, and it will be the result of, one, improving operations, everything we've been doing in our business, which has been progressing, and those gains do make a contribution; and a solution for the capital structure and reduction of indebtedness.
Lorival Luz
When we talk about a definitive solution, we're talking about a solution that will drive the company towards that, towards getting to that level of leverage. That is an encompassing solution because it involves, as Nelson said, selling some assets, it also involves shareholders.
Broadly speaking, we're talking about a context that allows us to get to that level not immediately, but to move towards that as we conclude the different stages of the structuring process. As to your other question, no, let's not forget, this was an investment grade company, the documents we have across all contracts don't include any margin calls or financial covenants that would make that happen.
The answer is no, we don't have that.
Matheus Enfeldt
That's great, thank you.
Operator
The next question is from Mr. Gabriel Barra from Citibank.
Please go ahead.
Gabriel Barra
Hi Nelson, Lorival, Casali. Thanks for your time.
I have a follow-up question to the two previous questions. I think the main topic right now is the company's capital structure.
A Brazilian portal today talked about the company's capital structure restructuring process, and it mentioned some facts and figures, and a couple of points drew my attention and I'd like to hear from you on those. First, a potential ownership restructuring process, including fuel redistribution, sugar, and ethanol.
How do you see that separation? Would it be purely financial, or would it be a separation based on the different business characteristics?
I'd like to hear from you on that, especially considering the company's history where there was a great deal of synergy between the businesses, which is something that didn't materialize over time. The second point is liquidity.
Lorival and Nelson put it very well. We've been talking to investors about the company's liquidity position and even considering a complex capital structure, the company's liquidity is somewhat comfortable.
Considering the company's restructuring process, how serious will be that process given the company's cash position and the uncertainties we'll have in Brazil this year considering elections, top-down discussions? If you could talk about how swiftly that's going to happen and maybe why the need to do that now and not wait a few months.
Thank you.
Lorival Luz
Hi, Gabriel. Thanks for the question.
First question's easy: myself and the company do not comment on market speculation and rumors, full stop. Communications will be made through material fact announcements or announcements to the market.
Any facts that need to be communicated will be communicated through official channels. As for liquidity, we believe the sooner, the better.
The sooner we get to a solution and the sooner that cash comes in, the better. Now life, structures, negotiations aren't as simple as that.
Things don't happen in the blink of an eye. We're working in the best interest of the company to do it as swiftly as possible.
Gabriel Barra
Thank you. Thanks, Lorival.
Operator
Next question is from Mr. Guilherme Palhares from Santander.
Please go ahead.
Guilherme Palhares
Good morning, Nelson, Lorival, and Casali. Can you hear me okay?
Nelson Gomes
Yes.
Guilherme Palhares
Good morning. If I could get some clarification about the non-financial covenants and future ethanol deliveries and the possibility of a waiver that's in the explanatory notes, what will be the size of the delivery that's not included in this financial covenant, and what are the next steps?
Are we talking about something financial or physical? What would be the timing?
What are the sizes of the contracts involved in this non-financial covenant?
Lorival Luz
Hi, thanks. Excellent question.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to clarify. That's not a financial operation in the fund.
It's a long-term contract until 2034 to deliver ethanol. It says that under given circumstances, you could bring forward ethanol deliveries.
The fact is deliveries have been taking place, deliveries will continue to take place, will continue to produce and ship. I think this is a contract for $600 million, but it's for deliveries throughout that period.
We are already in contact with the other party, obviously clarifying things and making our production capacity clear and making recurrent shipments. It's important to separate those things.
This is not like a financial covenant of a loan agreement or a bond or anything like that.
Guilherme Palhares
Thank you. Can I ask a follow-up question, Lorival?
You can settle that with first-generation ethanol, right? Because we saw that second-generation ethanol sale agreement.
Can you deliver on that with first-generation ethanol?
Lorival Luz
Yes. Yes, absolutely we can.
Guilherme Palhares
Great. Thanks.
Operator
The next question is from Mr. Leonardo Alencar from XP.
Please go ahead, Mr. Alencar.
Leonardo Alencar
Can you hear me okay?
Nelson Gomes
Yeah.
Leonardo Alencar
Good morning, Nelson, Lorival, and Felipe. You've touched on this during the presentation, but could you provide us more color on potential impacts of this operational decision in the current scenario, considering the usual seasonality of this point in time, with the carryover inventory, price fluctuations?
This year, there's a significant difference. Have you been able to get to the ideal inventory level you were pursuing for the quarter, and are you going to continue on the same strategy?
Considering the next few strategies, what can we expect in terms of strategies for the current scenario?
Felipe Casali
Hi, Leo. Good morning.
This is Felipe. I'll take your question.
We are always monitoring the sugar and ethanol markets and how prices change, we can make a decision on our production mix along the crop year. Our hedge position for sugar for this year and next year is well advanced.
We're practically 100% hedged for this year. For next year, we gave you the figure: we've hedged 60% of the crop at very similar prices to this year's.
That mitigates the effect of the decrease in recent sugar prices. We are monitoring prices and markets weekly to decide on the best production strategy and the best trading strategy, to decide what we're going to ship and inventory carryover strategies, considering carryover costs, and assessing strategy consistently.
It's a living process, and the idea is to optimize and maximize returns for the business.
Leonardo Alencar
Now considering capex dynamics, the whole industry is discussing optimization or reducing capex as much as possible, especially on the agricultural side. Now looking at Raízen's sugarcane crops right now, there's a lot of noise in the market, no question about it, but can we expect a crushing upside being affected next year?
Felipe Casali
In the last few years, Leo, we have been maximizing and recovering part of our sugarcane crops. We've had two hard years, two years of droughts, some frost impacts in some areas, but the two main points is, first, we are preserving our capex for planting and to ensure our operations.
All other non-priority investments that can be delayed, we look into and we assess them considering our capital discipline. The reduction Nelson mentioned, the planting and crop efficiencies, we're not reducing any inputs, we're not reducing the quality of the process to save money.
Quite the opposite. It's very clear to us that investing in sugarcane crops is key because agricultural yield will lead to cost reduction and better efficiencies in our business.
We will be preserving investments to conclude the sugarcane crop renewal, but always looking at market opportunities to capture even more process efficiencies.
Leonardo Alencar
That's very clear. Thank you, Felipe.
Operator
We kindly request that analysts please keep their questions to one. The next question is from Ms.
Monique Greco from Itaú. Please go ahead, Ms.
Greco.
Monique Greco
Hi everyone, good morning. Hi Nelson, Lorival, Casali.
Thanks for taking my question. I have a question about mobility.
You've had solid performance in the mobility sector. How are you thinking about market positioning?
In December, the company imported quite a lot, especially gasoline. How does that relate with the company's positioning in that segment and considering the balance between capturing market share and prioritizing profitability?
Felipe Casali
Hi, Monique. I'll start answering your question, and Nelson and Lorival can jump in.
Obviously, considering the benefits from these improving results over the years, this is the third consecutive quarter that we've captured market share with profitability. A part of that strategy comes from our supply strategy.
We don't talk about imports because that's a recurring part of our business. It's part of supply to ensure we can supply our network.
We keep an eye out for market opportunities, we prioritize our main supplier, and our growth strategy is based on that. As you've been seeing, our volumes have been increasing with profitability, and that is key to ensure our business's sustainability and profitability.
Nelson Gomes
I would add, and this is Nelson, Monique, that what we can expect in terms of what the company controls is efficient cost management and management of the company's operations. We will always pursue as much efficiency in unit costs as possible, which is what we have been trying to do over the last few quarters, and maximizing value.
That is the company's priority: to maximize value. We'll always look for the best balance between efficient costs and a margin that can pay for shareholders' investments.
Monique Greco
Thank you, Casali and Nelson.
Operator
The next question is from Mr. Gustavo Sadka from Bradesco.
Please go ahead.
Gustavo Sadka
Hi, good morning, and thank you for taking my questions. Actually, I only have one about capex.
Your capex to date is R$5.4 billion. Doesn't it seem a bit conservative the way to expect the capex to go to the average point of your guidance between 9 and 9.8?
Felipe Casali
Hi, this is Felipe. In the last quarter of the year is where most ethanol, sugar, and biofuel investments are concentrated.
That's when we plant, that's when we take care of the crops. Obviously, they're higher this quarter.
We will continue to monitor efficiencies, reassessing projects and investments to make sure that we can continue to invest in the asset's integrity, safety, security, investing and growing our service station network in our sugarcane crop, as well as looking at other non-priority projects that may bring one of benefit, or we may also delay other investments. That figure, as Nelson said, looking to the average to the lower points of the guidance still makes sense.
Operator
This concludes the Q&A session. Any questions in writing that have not been addressed during the earnings call will be answered by the investor relations team.
We will now hand the floor back to the company for the closing remarks.
Nelson Gomes
Once again, I'd like to thank you all for joining us on this earnings release call for the third quarter, and make a few closing remarks. First, I'd like to reiterate our commitment to continuing all of our operation activities, recognizing our relationship with our business partners, clients, suppliers, resellers as absolutely essential to the company at this time.
As I've said at the beginning and in some of my answers to you, we will continue to focus on our transformation plan. Everything we have set out to do operationally a year ago, we will continue to deliver on, and we will continue to communicate facts to you.
As I've already said to you, it is also important to understand that there is only one single formal and official source of information of what goes on in the company: it is investor relations. It is our duty and responsibility not to speculate on non-official news coming from non-official sources.
Once again, I'd like to thank you and ask you for your understanding. We will not comment on speculation.
Thanks again for joining us, and we'll see you next quarter. Thanks.
Operator
Raízen S.A.' s third quarter for 2025-2026 crop year conference call is now concluded.
The Investor Relations department is available to answer any further questions. Thank you, and have a great day.
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