National Steel Co Q1 FY2021 Earnings Call

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for holding. At this time, we would like to welcome everyone to CSN's conference call to present results for the first quarter 2021. Today, we have with us the company's executive officers. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded. We have simultaneous webcast that may be accessed through CSN's Investor Relations website, ri.csn.com.br, where the presentation is also available. The replay of this event will be available after the closing for 1 week. The slide presentation may be downloaded, and you can flip through the slides at your convenience.

Good afternoon to all of you, and thank you for participating in another call for CSN. Today, we have the Chairman of the Board, Benjamin Steinbruch; Luis Martinez, who works with Steel; Mr. Rabelo; and Helena Guerra, our Sustainability Director. For the initial address, I would like to give the floor to Benjamin Steinbruch.

A good day to all of you. It is with pleasure that we present to you the results for the first quarter for CSN. Exceptional results from the viewpoint of EBITDA and net revenue, and the margins that we have been able to attain in each of our businesses. As mentioned previously, this is the expectation that we had, to have a growth in margins in Steel, in Cement and in other areas. We were confident that we would have a very good quarter, and it has now materialized in all of our businesses. We have received excellent figures working in a market where we have a continuous price increase for everything, not only for the raw materials that compose our products but also in the final cost of our products. Demand domestically as well as internationally for the steel mill is considerable, and I believe that the market is fully supplied. The regulatory stocks still have not been recomposed. But whatever goes out to third parties is what comes in, which means to say that the production chain has been supplied. So far, we have not been able to recompose the intermediate and regulatory stocks. In the case of Cement, the production is sold out completely. And so far as we can produce, we are able to sell our production. And I believe that steel, as well as cement, are essential products for the economic recovery of any country, which means to say that, basically, everything will go through infrastructure. And in Brazil, the infrastructure works so far have not begun. Once they begin, without a doubt, there will be demand for these products, and in the domestic market, generally, demand for other products, more specifically in our sector that have a growing demand.

Thank you, Benjamin, for your initial address. We will now go on to the presentation to the period highlights on Page 2. As Benjamin said, this is a semester with superlatives. The EBITDA was BRL5.8 billion, another record; a margin of 48%. And a true merit when it comes to cost control, production, but we also had very good prices and profitability in each of these segments. Secondly, this was also mentioned by Benjamin, delivering the deleveraging. We have been working on this in 3 fronts: operational improvement, financial actions, working with our liabilities. And I think this quarter, we were able to deliver this 1.29x net debt/EBITDA, aided and abetted by CSN Mining, and we're very close to attaining our goal of a 1.0x net debt/EBITDA ratio. With this, of course, we have had a reward when it comes to credit, the increase of our CSN ratings, and we're at an intermediate stage. We would like to get to an investment rating. We go on to Page 4. Speaking about the adjusted EBITDA, this is not an isolated measure. We have had 5 quarters of strong growth. And if we look at this, we have 5 years of growth with a compound growth of almost 40% a year. This time, we delivered an EBITDA that is double what it was a quarter before, BRL5.8 billion, with a record EBITDA already last year, which was BRL4.7 billion and 23% with an exceptional performance for the Mining that grew more than other businesses, a growth of BRL48 million, contributing with BRL600 million only this quarter. But of course, all companies contributed for us to reach this BRL5.8 billion. On Page 5, we speak about cash generation. We begin with financial indicators and begin with CapEx. There is a natural seasonality because of the maturity of projects and the approval of budget. Some investments do not reflect our expectation for the year. It is BRL3 billion as set forth in the guidance. We're going to speed up especially in the second semester and deliver the disbursement that will take us to the guidance figures. In terms of net working capital, quite comfortable in this quarter. Nominally, a slight drop because of the dividends of BRL900 million that we're going to pay out after the general assembly at the beginning of May. That is why we observed a drop. But in terms of operation, we have a recomposition of inventory offset by new terms for suppliers. So this does not show your full cash generation. It was very strong, BRL3.5 billion. It was not a record because of seasonality, the income tax, social contribution based on the annual regime of Mining. And this is what normally happens at the end of the first quarter.

A good day to all of you. It is a pleasure to address you. We're going to speak about ESG, speak about safety. It's a semester of so many operational and financial results. And when we speak about safety, a very important delivery, a historical result in 2021. Since we have incorporated this data in the first quarter of 2021, we had a 19% reduction in the accident frequency rate based on our historical averages. This is, of course, an expressive reduction. And we had 2 accidents per man-hour work only and a 34% reduction vis-à-vis 2020. So we not only have positive financial and operational results but also very positive results in safety. We would like to speak about CSN Mining. In March, we concluded the decharacterization of the Vigia Auxiliary Dam, and we underwent a new audit cycle, and we have all of these statements. We remain at 0 emergency level. The next dam that will be decharacterized is in work already, and we will end up with only 2 more dams that will need to be decharacterized in the coming year, another very important point for the quarter. When it comes to our social and diversity agenda, we created a new diversity management, and this will enable us to comply with the goal that we set forth for 2025. We're going to - in 5 years, we have anticipated our schedule, but we want to double the percentage of women in the CSN Group by 2025. In February, we approved our new integrated policy, diversity policy. That is a very streamlined modern policy. It is fully aligned with regulatory issues and global practices, and it will be deployed throughout all of our operations to speak about responsibility and other issues. The Board also approved the creation of this committee based on 5 main pillars: social practices, sustainable practices, governance, diversity, and inclusion. And all of this is made up by the high levels of management of the company. In terms of environmental protection and climate action, this quarter, we began the matrix of risks and climatic opportunities based on TCFD. It is important to incorporate the risks, the risks that relate to climate. We began this task in the company this quarter. And of course, this is extremely important. We have to think about the risks we have in the company due to climate impacts. We have also contracted an artificial intelligence software that will help us. It is called CO2 Road Map, and it will help us in our research, allowing us to create that curve of the marginal cost in terms of the new technologies that we're going to use to set CSN aside and begin establishing long-term goals that will be very aggressive and perhaps review the goals that we had set forth initially in terms of reduction of CO2. Finally, in May, CSN as a group with a new matrix, we have reviewed the matrix we came up with last year. We have this with more than 1,000 people and stakeholders, both inside and outside the company. We're going to verify this by third parties, and of course, this enables us to comply with Resolution 14 of the CVM. And I would now like to return the floor to Marcelo.

Thank you, Helena. With this, we would like to end the presentation and go on to the question-and-answer session. Thank you.

We have a question from Leonardo Correa from BTG Pactual.

My first question is for Benjamin. Looking at CSN's strategic direction over the past few years, the emphasis has been on deleveraging, which has been effectively addressed through the CMIN IPO and substantial cash generation, both past and projected. Considering the company's performance, it might be able to achieve a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 0.5x. This would position CSN similarly to its peers not just in Latin America, but also on a global scale, aligning it with companies that maintain a conservative balance sheet. This target has already been reached. Reflecting on CSN’s operations during the 2005 to 2010 period, the company was focused on strong growth and exploring new ventures. Recently, CSN approved developments related to the IPO for Cement, completing the CMIN IPO. All business units of CSN are now fully funded with promising growth prospects. My question, Benjamin, moving forward, is about potential opportunities in infrastructure as the world recovers from COVID and begins to reopen. You mentioned the resurgence of business in the U.S. and Europe. I am curious about the new business areas you are exploring. What fields do you see as viable opportunities? I assume this is part of your strategic plan, given the company's history. The second question is for Martinez. I won’t go into specifics since you articulate them so well, especially regarding pricing scenarios and demand forecasts. However, I have a broader question about the substantial price increases that we have witnessed—unprecedented levels, to be sure. It's rare to see prices rise over 100% in a year. We understand the underlying reasons such as exchange rates and international market prices. It’s clear that CSN isn't charging excessive prices; this is a trend seen across the globe. My question is, how have these price increases been received downstream? Are you experiencing margin pressures? Have there been any pushbacks on these implementations? Or have they been largely accepted, allowing you to pass on these significant price hikes?

Martinez, if you could respond first.

You raised a very relevant question, and I’ll step away from my usual talking points to address prices. From a strategic perspective, having been with the company for nearly 20 years, I've witnessed various market cycles. Over the past 7 to 8 months, the movements in supply, demand, imports, and costs have been exceptionally strong. It’s interesting to observe that China is being serviced by the world instead of the other way around, which is a departure from the traditional exporter role. Our focus remains on adding value and increasing capacity. As we progress deeper into the value chain and reach the end consumer, we face challenges when it comes to price hikes. While that may not directly affect us, working with end consumers makes it legitimate. For example, agricultural implements utilize a significant amount of steel, but surprisingly, cars use less steel in relation to their price. Benjamin also mentioned our trade policy, and I can share that the distribution prices are aligning closely with industry prices. Currently, about 70% of my sales are linked to sectors like distribution and civil construction, which are influenced by spot prices rather than contracts. As a result, we anticipate that in the upcoming quarters, sales will mostly be through spot pricing rather than contracts. We've also recently adjusted our pricing strategies with some OEMs. Although this might seem unfavorable for clients, it's essential for maintaining a healthy partnership since they rely on our steel to produce their products. We've shifted our contracts with two key OEMs in the home appliances and automotive sectors to quarterly agreements, which allows for more frequent price adjustments. We raised prices for assembly plants in January and are planning another adjustment in June. Despite the challenges, our long-term relationships with clients remain important. We acknowledge that both sides rely on one another—clients need our steel, and we need to sell. There are challenges, but we have the right to operate differently from global benchmarks. For instance, the price of steel is significantly different between the U.S. and China. Contrary to claims about scarcity or capacity, our industry is well-prepared with ample capacity. However, inventories are currently low, and they'll be replenished. Prices are set to rise due to underlying costs, and while discussions about speculation in the distribution sector exist, we see it as one of Brazil's most promising sectors. All operations are influenced by global cost movements, along with the increased imports we've been experiencing. Our revamped trade policy at CSN is significant because it establishes a consistent market price regardless of whether the client is a distributor or part of the industry and includes scale discounts similar to practices worldwide. I appreciate your patience in hearing my detailed response, and I'm open to discussing premiums and any additional insights if needed.

Very well, Leonardo. What we are presenting now in terms of materializing good results is something we have been building since way back. We have always aimed for the leadership in the sector, which we have opened and will continue to seek. Perhaps a great novelty beginning last year or, I would say, perhaps in 2019 is our understanding of the need to present ourselves, deleverage to the market to be able to have a recognition of the qualities that CSN has always had and that were perhaps darkened by the high indebtedness, an indebtedness that was higher than the market wished for. This was in 2019 when we began to capture growth and quality in our assets. We superimposed this on deleveraging. This deleveraging has been obtained by the strong cash generation of the business. We were under pressure from the market to sell our assets. We held back on this because it would be the easier and faster thing to do in terms of deleveraging. But we were confident in our assets. We were aware of their quality. We did this gradually, progressively. I can say that at present, we have come to 0.3. We're going to end the quarter with less than 1x net debt/EBITDA in the CSN businesses. Our target is less than that. Of course, we're going to work in a deleveraged way below 0.5x or 0.5x net debt/EBITDA while maintaining this commitment as a basic premise assumption with the market. Of course, one point or another, this may go up in one of our businesses. But the goal, of course, is a 1.0 net debt/EBITDA ratio according to the opportunities that appear. We have separated the CSN products. We have valued them in such a way that the part is more important than the whole. This was done with Mining. It will be done with Cement, and it will be done with the steel plant. The Board has already authorized that we seek out an IPO yesterday. The idea is to do this along with an M&A. We will have our own currency per business, and the issue of deleveraging will be a secondary one because we can offer the mining currency, the cement currency, the steel currency and capitalize on other opportunities in the market. Our most important commitment, and I would like the market to understand this, is with the deleveraging that is already in progress and will be faster than the market expects. The main priority that we have is investment grade, and we would like to attain this by the end of the year. I believe that CSN will fully deserve that investment grade, and we're doing whatever is possible and impossible to obtain this investment grade until the end of the year. It will open up all of the markets and for our bonds and equity, for all of the large investors worldwide. And along with the investment grade, we have the deleveraging and technology as another aid through the new CSN, where we're working very hard to begin to deliver results. We're working in pairs, and we truly believe this will be a differential for CSN in terms of novelties. It's not something mad or crazy. Don't expect any changes from CSN in terms of priorities and investors. We're simply going to continue to do better, more of the same and in the fields where we are active, of course, respecting the deleveraging technology through Inova and the ESG part, which is the third pillar we have in terms of priority and support to have very rapid development. We're going to concentrate on the business, of course. We do foresee a huge potential for organic growth and M&As for mining. Similarly, we observe this for the Cement business and for the Steel business as well. We will be larger and better in each of the sectors, always respecting the 3 assumptions we mentioned formerly. I foresee very quick growth for CSN. Our challenge and the challenge for our team and all of the personnel at CSN, and my own challenge is to double the CSN profit. We're going to do this with greater profitability, better profitability comparatively in each of the businesses. We are, in a deleveraged way, going to make the most of some opportunities, opportunities that will make sense for us from a strategic viewpoint in the short, medium and long term to truly become a benchmark in each of the sectors where we have a foothold, with more of the same, elaborated way and whenever we can gear towards new things in our way of doing things through technology or communication with the market. This is what Martinez is proposing to do, to have a new trade policy, a revolutionary trade policy. We will adapt very quickly to that. I believe that this expansion is present in all of our businesses and internationally as well. To give you an idea, the plant in Germany as well as our plant in Portugal can double their production immediately. They have been conceived, projected to do that. They will be able to double their production. Outside of Brazil, the funding lines, the local funding lines offered by the countries themselves where we are working will enable us to do this very expeditiously, very calmly in terms of deleveraging. In Brazil, we intend to have organic growth. When I say that we will be doubling from 2020 going forward, this is in terms of operational adjustments that we have with our present day assets. I'm not considering new assets, acquisitions, or new M&As. I do see big opportunities that, if we are strongly deleveraged, this is what we will do, 0.5x net debt/EBITDA. With technology and prioritizing ESG, we will transform CSN into a leading company, recovering the value that was perhaps hidden by the high indebtedness we had in the past. We expect to have a significant valuation of our assets. I think the penalty we were paying was the leveraging. Now if you analyze the basis we're working on now, they're fantastic: Mining at 70%; Steel at 30%; Cement, 45%, which means these are concrete facts that are underway, and I'm fully convinced that the second semester will be much better than the first semester for us. This is a given, and we have this certainty as part of our strategic priority regarding this company. What was supposed to be done in 2 years will be done in 6 months, in my opinion. Beginning in July, CSN will set itself apart in this market, and we'll be ready for organic growth, making the most of market opportunities, always based on our 3 basic premises: deleveraging, ESG, and technology.

The next question is from Daniel Sasson from Itaú BBA.

My question refers specifically to Cement and is geared to Martinez. We know that IPO is very close. If you could recall the outlook in terms of volume, price results for the year. And if you allow me, Martinez, with the news that you're leaving this in Brazil, do you think you will have any problem with CADE? I would be very thankful if you could share your outlook on this. A second question also for you, Martinez, about the steel mill. You mentioned that your second quarter has already been sold out. What is happening in terms of the margins, the margins that were above 27% in the first quarter? What is it that you expect in terms of realized prices in the second quarter because of the increases in distribution? And refer to the costs, the increase of costs in raw materials, which will be the margin evolution in the steel mill?

Daniel, this is Edvaldo. I'm going to respond to this before Martinez and respond to the questions on Cement. First, about the M&A, the exit of Lafarge from the Brazilian market. Now in terms of M&A and market consolidation, we're following up on this closely. Of course, there will be a market consolidation in Brazil. In the last 5 or 6 years, the players in cement suffered a great deal, always working with margins that were close to 0 or even negative. Therefore, it's natural to have a market reconsolidation. Obviously, CSN is an important player, and we are in the process of consolidation. Now faced with that, we are thinking of the opportunities that we're going to go deeper into and if they make sense for the company. So this movement of Lafarge leaving Brazil, I think this was something that was expected. Now when it comes to the expansion plan, as was said by Benjamin, we have 2 different avenues for the growth of the Cement business. One is through M&As that we just remarked on. We're looking for opportunities. The other avenue is organic growth. In the last few years, while there was a drop in the market, we surveyed Brazil. We carried out a deep analysis, looking for the most relevant regions, relevant markets in Brazil. We also tried to acquire rights in those areas. So our organic expansion plan will go through diversifying CSN Cement geographically but in a very orderly way, and it will be one of the best markets here in our viewpoint. We have 5 projects that we're working strongly on. They're very robust projects. One is a downfield project, specific growth in our steel unit with a growth of 30% in volume in that unit, and four greenfield projects: the Paraná project, the Sergipe project, and others in Sera and one in Para that will depend on the market growth and the resources that we may obtain from the IPO. Therefore, we're moving forward on these projects. We also have equipment that was acquired some years ago. A large part of this equipment was manufactured and is now stored at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, but we will be bringing them to Brazil. They should be here by July, and we will gear them to these different locations, so very quickly. This is the plan and what we're thinking of doing in the coming years. Thank you for your question.

Thank you, Daniel, for the question. I want to add to Edvaldo's comments regarding all the projects. I've often pointed out that analysts discuss the potential growth of this market in Brazil, whether it hinges on infrastructure or the regulatory environment. In the first quarter, we saw an 18.8% market growth, which is an encouraging sign that fosters optimism for the future. If we analyze the market's historical performance since 1980, despite fluctuations in cement demand, we've typically seen a growth rate of 7% to 8%. For 2021, projections indicate the Brazilian market could experience around 10% growth, diverging from some forecasts of only 5% or 6%. The overall industry is expected to grow by 6% to 8%, while the automotive sector is anticipated to see modest growth of 15% and distribution between 8% to 10%. We are also witnessing replenishment in inventory levels, particularly in home appliances, where the white line segment is expected to grow by 8%, and packaging, a sector where we have significant representation, is projected at 9%. By considering all these factors within our portfolio, I believe our sales will reflect a high double-digit growth for the year. I wanted to highlight this key information about the market. It's important to note Brazil's competitive position in agriculture, which includes intensive steel usage in silos, agricultural machinery, and storage drums. These sectors will continue to thrive regardless of global conditions, particularly in the upcoming quarters. CSN currently has a strong order book of 1,200,000 tons. Additionally, I'm pleasantly surprised by the performance of our units outside Brazil, including a projected BRL 15 million EBITDA in Portugal for the quarter. I anticipate no significant changes in this trend, as sales there are performing exceptionally well. Understanding market dynamics is crucial. As for pricing, I previously mentioned that carryover prices for the first quarter would be around 25%, and that prediction was accurate. I expect the carryover for the second quarter to be between 22% and 28%, which is substantial in the current Brazilian market. Notably, our costs increased significantly in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. However, we managed to maintain a high EBITDA margin despite these costs. Looking ahead, we experienced some cost fluctuations due to raw materials in the first quarter. Currently, we're negotiating the price of coke, which has dropped from about $500 to $409 and has even reached $380. Although I don't expect that low price to hold, we should see a slight increase in the second quarter. The situation with iron ore remains uncertain, and we are fully stocked on coal, which has decreased in price from $140 to $110. Regarding margins, we anticipate volume growth in the second quarter, with domestic market margins around $300, and potentially increasing further as we optimize our operations. We're focused on resolving bottleneck issues to maximize our capacity effectively. It's also essential to discuss market premiums, which are currently underestimated. The BQ price in China has significantly surged to $920 and $940, but the current premium is around negative 6% or 7%. Starting May 1, we plan to implement a price increase of 16% to 18%, which I believe will be absorbed by the value chain, particularly impacting more steel-intensive products. This challenge is not exclusive to CSN; it reflects a broader market trend. Looking forward to the second quarter, I am confident in our profitability and order placements, and I foresee a strong performance overall as we approach the third quarter. Thank you again for your question.

The next question in English comes from Carlos De Alba from Morgan Stanley.

The question is just with a very strong performance across the CSN businesses and the already strong balance sheet, what can we expect in terms of either more dividends, perhaps a more defined dividend policy linking those payments to shareholders to free cash flow or cash flow operations and sustaining CapEx or share buybacks? What are your thoughts there?

Thank you for your question, Carlos. We have previously discussed that capital allocation is managed through the center of the company. In the past, our focus was on reducing debt, and now we are assessing cash allocation. We have the option to invest in business growth, enhance our operations, or provide returns to shareholders in the short term via dividends and share buybacks. This is relatively new for us, which is why we have not yet achieved our deleveraging targets. However, we aim to achieve a net debt/EBITDA ratio below 1 and keep our debt under BRL15 billion by the second quarter. Until we reach these targets, our dividend policy will remain unchanged. We have fulfilled the minimum mandatory dividend requirement of 25% of profit, and dividends are set to increase significantly as we have reported over BRL5 billion in profit just in the first quarter. Consequently, this will lead to higher dividends compared to 2020, and we expect to make larger payouts to shareholders. In CSN Mining, the dividend payout will be more generous, as indicated during the IPO, with a target payout of 80% to 100% for the short to medium-term. We will pursue growth opportunities in mergers and acquisitions as well as organic investments. If suitable opportunities do not arise in the near term, it is reasonable to utilize this capital to enhance shareholder returns through our dividend policy. At this stage, it is still too early to make definitive statements.

The next question is from Caio Ribeiro from Crédit Suisse.

Most of the questions I had have been responded to. I would like to speak about the risks that you foresee today. We see a very favorable movement for Mining, for Steel. But what comes to mind is a possible reduction in the import of steel or the steel cuts in China that have been mentioned by the Ministry and perhaps the taxation for the mining sector in Brazil. If you could speak about this, see if it is feasible that we will have changes this year. And what will happen with the dynamics that we see for this year?

Caio, this is Martinez. Regarding the reduction of the import tariffs, a very important thing is that the steel industry and specifically CSN have no problem competing, none whatsoever. The level of operating excellence that a company such as CSN has is outstanding. Now the problem is that the worldwide business arena is not the same. What we're looking for is competitive isonomy. I don't think it would be intelligent for the government to scrap the industry by increasing import tariffs. I do believe that this is a movement that has a trend as the government has said. But I think that CSN, particularly, will be able to be competitive. We also have a competitive industry, and this will enable us to reduce taxes and reduce tariffs. Another important thing the government is saying is taking 10% of the 12% we have at present, which would be 1.2% for the first year, which means this is correct from people who are looking at the equation, a competitive isonomy. It's not something that is of concern at present. We are obviously concerned with the Brazilian industrial policy and the opportunities for exporting. Regarding the rebates in China, they're unbelievable. Throughout the last years, China was a net importer, became a net exporter. With this new rule in the government, what happened? In the last call, I said that the capacity of the Chinese industry was 94; they continue to work with a high level of capacity, a very high level. It's not only obsolete capacity. In truth, they're modulating everything vis-à-vis what happens with the climate. We no longer see those images of complete pollution. There are people in Hong Kong who are witnesses to what is happening. The fact that they changed the tariff is due to survival. China had a GDP growth of close to 20% in the first quarter. There is no country that can grow without cement or steel. It's very simple. They're going to leave the steel in the domestic market. What was also not perceived is that there was a tariff for China to import semifinished products from other countries. This is over. In the next meeting, we're going to see a movement of steel plates coming from Brazil and from Russia going to China. This world balance of plates, the transoceanic plate market, it's transferred from one plant to the other. It's 12 million or 13 million; it's not that considerable. This is another important point that could improve. I particularly believe the prices in China are low. They will be appreciated because of the restriction for exports. The scenario, therefore, is very positive in China. The scenario is highly positive in Europe. For a long time, we had not seen such a thriving automotive industry in Europe. In the United States, no need to mention that the United States is undergoing a spectacular virtuous cycle. For the first time in history, the stock is at 0 practically. I will then ask Pedro to share with you an analysis of the inventories in the United States. It's hard to go back. There's a natural industry inertia to recompose this and have accelerated growth. So very generally, this is the worldwide scenario. What could go wrong? Difficult to say. I think there is an excess of liquidity worldwide. It's not happening only in the world; it's also happening in Brazil. The President has said several times, those that produce will be privileged. Brazil is a country that has to produce. We have a great deal to do here, not only in the agricultural sector, industry, and infrastructure. We're still at an incipient stage. Infrastructure hasn't even begun. Imagine when we have the resumption of this sector in Brazil. Caio, the environment is very positive. It's the realist optimist speaking here. I'm being more optimistic than realistic at present. Thank you for your question.

The next question is in English from Alejandra Andrade from JPMorgan.

I just had a quick question on possible liability management. When we look at your pro forma debt profile, clearly, we can see there that the idea would be to refinance the '23 with a smaller bond, but I was wondering if you're possibly looking into other types of liability management across your entire debt structure.

Thank you, Alejandra, for the question. You're right. I'm going to confirm your interpretation. One of our initiatives would be to use our short-term bonds in 2023, lengthen it. The bond matured in 2018. It has a coupon of almost 8%. Refinancing today would bring us a great deal of savings and possibly also a reduction of our gross debt. We could reduce this and reduce our gross debt. Now in this phase of rating improvement, another liability management is the possibility of an issuance in the local market. Our rating begins to get to AA and goes beyond the local market. It would be interesting for issuance to finance investment and to finance our bank debt with longer terms and lower rates. This is a front that we're going to seek out. And third, with a group of banks that are a minority in our balance at present, they're no longer interested in leaving. They want to remain, and they're interested in lengthening the debt under interesting conditions. These are the 3 fronts that we will tackle, therefore, Alejandra.

The next question is from Isabella Vasconcelos from Bradesco BBI.

I think that all of the topics have been approached here. Martinez, if we could have estimates on the restocking cycle in Brazil for steel and the finished products. I think that this will move forward perhaps. Or will it not move forward until the end of the year?

Thanks for the question. I could state today that the situation of the Brazilian market is full supply. What we have is a lag in some value chains linked to the sudden growth that we had in a very short interval. Simply to give you an idea, in distribution at present, we had inventories of 1.5, 1.6 months of inventory. At present, it is at 2.3. In another 2 or 3 months, we will get back to the level of 3 months, which is what is acceptable for the market in the automotive sector, a very important sector. The car inventory at present is of 13 days. In truth, the market would like to have 30 or 40 days. Steel is not the villain here. There are other products that are missing such as semiconductors and other primary products. A very important fact, and I'd like to speak about facts, PSP presents a very well-drafted report every month of all sectors of the economy, and steel is the sector with the best supply in the market compared to paper, glass, and other sectors linked to commodities. I can say very calmly that Brazil and CSN are prepared to once again capture this growth that should be even stronger in the second quarter.

As we have no further questions, we will return the floor to Marcelo Ribeiro, the Executive Investor Officer, for the closing remarks.

I would simply like to thank all of you. It's been 1.5 hours that we have been conversing. We hope to see you in the next call. Thank you very much.

The conference call for the CSN results, and here, we would like to thank all of you for your participation. Have a good afternoon.