CEPU

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Central Puerto's Fourth Quarter of 2025 Earnings Conference Call. A slide presentation is accompanying today's webcast and will be also available on the Investors section of the company's website, centralpuerto.com/en/investors. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. If you do not have a copy of the press release, please refer to the Investor Relations Support section on the company's corporate website at www.centralpuerto.com. In addition, a replay of today's call will be available in upcoming days by accessing the webcast link at the same section of the Central Puerto's website. Our host today will be Mr. Fernando Bonnet, Central Puerto's CEO; Mr. Enrique Terraneo, the company's CFO; Mrs. Maria Laura Feller, Head of Investor Relations; and Mr. Alejandro Diaz Lopez, Head of Corporate Finance. Maria Laura, please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. We will walk you through Central Puerto's fourth quarter and full year 2025 results, discuss key operational and market developments and then open the line for questions. Before we begin, please note that my remarks may include forward-looking statements and references to non-IFRS measures, such as adjusted EBITDA. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. Definitions and reconciliations are available in our 4Q '25 earnings presentation and financial statements. Revenues for 2025 reached $782.8 million, up 17% year-over-year. 4Q '25 revenues were $172.8 million, decreasing 26% quarter-on-quarter and increasing 3% year-on-year. 2025 adjusted EBITDA was $337.2 million, an increase of 17% year-over-year. And 4Q '25 adjusted EBITDA was $84.7 million, down 16% quarter-on-quarter and up 30% year-on-year. Total generation for the year was 18.6 terawatt hour, down 14% year-over-year, largely reflecting historically low hydrology at Piedra del Aguila. And also in 2025, we undertook nonrecurring maintenance works in Central Costanera combined cycles and Lujan de Cuyo generation asset. Regarding business performance, 2025 marked a pivotal year of consistent growth and market normalization. The company strengthened its strategic positioning and reinforced its power generation asset portfolio for long-term value creation. Throughout 2025, Argentina's wholesale market -- power market advanced toward normalization. Since November 1, Resolution 400 has supported U.S. dollars-denominated spot prices and recognized a margin over variable costs. In December 2025, 97% of our revenues were denominated in U.S. dollars and we also progressed in the new thermal term market, signing around 11% of total volumes in the contracted market with approximately 900 megawatt hour delivered to industrial customers during November and December. Our CapEx plan in 2025 included fully executed projects over the year and additional projects that allow us to look forward and continue delivering growth. In 2025, our total CapEx was $202.4 million, consisting of concluding with 2024 projects such as the closing of the Brigadier Lopez combined cycle that achieved commercial operation during 1Q '26, and we concluded also the San Carlos solar farm project, our first solar greenfield project. The asset reached commercial operation in November 2025, adding 15 megawatts of renewable capacity to our portfolio. Together with Cafayate, our two 2025 solar projects doubled our installed solar capacity and increased our total renewable portfolio by 20%. Also, in 2025, we extended Piedra del Aguila concession. The company was awarded the concession under the Comahue Hydroelectric Complex privatization process, extending the operation -- the operating term of the Piedra del Aguila hydroelectric facility through 2055. Winning bid offer was $245 million paid in January 2026. The company is also focused on the battery energy storage system projects, looking forward to add 205 megawatts of new technology in 2027. Our growth plan is [ backed ] by our financial strength, flexibility and low leverage ratio. In December 2025, net leverage ratio was 0.3x annual adjusted EBITDA, which positions us well to add new financial debt to finance Piedra del Aguila concession extension and the fee payment and the battery energy storage system projects. 2025 revenues stood at $782.6 million, 17% above 2024 revenues despite the 14% decrease in generation volumes. Spot revenues growth in 2025 reflects additional revenues from the realignment of the spot price over the year and the Resolution 400 since November 2025. Also, we see the effect of the self-procured fuel oil with the associated cost pass-through in revenues. Offsets came from lower water inflows from Piedra del Aguila and the maintenance works in Central Costanera combined cycles. PPA sales growth include new MAT contracts in November and December 2025, including also cost of fuels incorporated in the energy component. Renewable revenues increased by 3% as wind farm volumes increased 5% due to higher wind resources and the full contribution from Cafayate solar plant since the end of August 2025. Full year 2025 EBITDA reached $337.2 million, a 17% increase year-on-year, primarily driven by revenue growth and the market normalization and higher margins from self-procured fuels, which added approximately $8 million. In 2025, total generation reached 18.6 terawatt hours, representing 14% decrease compared to 2024. Central Costanera's generation volumes decreased by 15% year-over-year, primarily due to maintenance work in both Mitsubishi and Siemens combined cycle during 2025. Second, Piedra del Aguila generated 38% less than in 2024, mainly due to historically low water inflows affecting hydro production. Finally, Lujan de Cuyo was 24% lower year-on-year, largely explained by maintenance works in the co-generation asset in the fourth quarter. Moving to installed capacity, our portfolio reached 6,938 megawatt hours in 2025, representing an increase of 234 megawatt hours compared to 2024. The increase was driven by several developments. Brigadier Lopez combined cycle was completed and the San Carlos solar project added 15 megawatts of solar capacity. Together with Cafayate solar farm acquired in August 2025, these two solar projects contributed by 20% of the renewal capacity additions during the year. Regarding market position, Central Puerto maintained its market leadership, reaching 14% market share of total SADI generation. Finally, looking at operational performance, our thermal fleet continued to show solid availability levels. In 2025, total thermal availability reached 77%, while combined cycle availability stood at 89%, reflecting strong operational reliability. During 2025, three thermal and renewable projects were completed, combining greenfield developments and M&A transactions, further expanding our generation portfolio. First, the Cafayate solar farm, which was acquired through an M&A transaction is already in operations. Second, we finalized Brigadier Lopez combined cycle project, which is also already in operation since January 2026. Third, the San Carlos solar farm also entering in operations in November 2025. In addition, we were awarded two battery energy storage system projects, which were granted in August 2025. These projects are currently under development and are expected to begin operations during the first half of 2027. Finally, an important milestone regarding the Piedra del Aguila hydroelectric plant was that Central Puerto successfully secured a 30-year concession extension for the plant through the privatization tender process. The concession fee payment was successfully completed in January 2026, marking another key step in strengthening our long-term asset base. In 2025, the Argentine power system reached a new record for the demand with a peak of 30,257 megawatts on February 10, 2025. Renewable generation rose 16.5% year-over-year and supplied about 19% of total demand, including hydro renewables representing roughly 39% of the total annual energy mix. Thermal fuel consumption declined 2.6% year-over-year with gas oil down 53% and fuel oil 60%, partially offset by 1.2% increase in natural gas and 5.2% increase in coal. As of December 31, outstanding financial debt was $337.8 million and net leverage ratio stood at 0.3x adjusted EBITDA. On December 19, we signed a $300 million syndicate A/B loan with IFC with an average life of 5 years to fund Piedra del Aguila concession fee and Central Puerto's BESS project. Also, our outstanding FONINVEMEM receivable credit was $118 million as of year-end. Overall, 2025 was a year of solid growth and continued progress as the market normalized. During the year, the company kept expanding and strengthening its generation portfolio to support long-term development. Looking ahead, we will focus on three priorities: discipline contracting commercialization, operational excellence and advancing our growth agenda.

2025 was a pivotal year for Central Puerto, marked by Piedra del Aguila concession extension by 30 years more, portfolio expansion, market normalization and strategic progress across our assets. We enter 2026 from a position of strength with robust liquidity and resilient business model. Thank you for your continued confidence in Central Puerto. Please let's stay connect. And now we will open the line for questions.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Martin Arancet with Balanz.

I have three. I would like to run them one by one, if that's okay. First, I was wondering if you could give us some color on why the decrease in the quarter-over-quarter EBITDA given that the market liberalization should have been at least positive for thermal exposed to the spot market.

Martin, thank you for your question and your interest in Central Puerto. The main topic affected the 4Q 2025 is that we have a strong maintenance in our combined -- Central Puerto combined cycle and Mendoza combined cycles, the two of our biggest combined cycles. And because of that, we don't catch in those units, the benefits of the new regulation scheme. But it's only regarding to that. The rest of the equipment was okay and the new regulation is in place. So we expect that will be recovered in the first quarter 2025 -- '26, sorry.

Okay. And sorry for this follow-up because probably you already disclosed this, but are those plants already working again?

Yes, yes, yes, they start working at the end of December and the other one early January. So we don't expect additional maintenance for those units until 2027, '28.

Okay. Then regarding one of your main focus for 2026, I was wondering how much of the thermal capacity that was under the legacy scheme do you think can compete for energy PPAs? How much of that do you already have contracted? And how do you see the market for signing the rest of the energy that you have? I don't know if you are seeing much interest. I don't know if you have discussed this with distribution companies. And if you expect probably a stronger interest for industrial consumers as we approach the winter where you have higher seasonal prices?

Well, in terms of our capacity, we are -- we can contract, as you know, 20% of our combined cycles that are the spot legacy scheme. That is around 2 gigawatts, the whole combined cycle. So it's the 20% of that with the private customers, with big industries. And then this -- and we are doing around that 20% yet. During January, February and March, we're going to cover that capacity contracted. For -- to exceed that, we need to go to -- as you mentioned, we need to go to the distribution companies. And that is coming slower. The distribution companies need to discuss with the regulators -- each regulator because it's not only federal, it has local regulators in each provinces. And this is coming slowly because they need to discuss and receive a pass-through possibility in order to make the pass-through to the demand. So by now, we are entering with not a lot -- we are not doing a lot of transaction with distribution companies. Right now, we are, of course, in discussions. We are having advances, but we are not closing big deals yet. We expect that it could happen -- start happening during this year.

Okay. Right. So do you think that to sign contract with distribution companies, you probably will require I don't know, some backup from CAMMESA or something like that, like it happened with the battery project?

No, no, no, no. We -- of course, we're going to make our credit analysis, and we're going to pick the distribution companies that we think that they are suitable to giving credit, but we don't request additional CAMMESA backup. Talking about, as I mentioned, legacy energy selling because this is month on month, and we can cut the provision if they doesn't pay. So -- but talking about other projects like new generation or perhaps, [indiscernible] this is different. This will be different.

Okay. And my last question then regarding the other main focus that you will have for 2026. I was wondering where do you see growth opportunities coming this year and probably also the next year? Because it seems that there is not enough incentives yet to add thermal capacity. Now with the thermal capacity competing also for PPAs with renewables, we have seen lower [ tenures ] in new PPAs and at slightly lower prices. So I don't know if adding more battery is now the best idea. And there has been a lot of comments regarding probably new renewable capacity for mining and oil and gas, but it doesn't appear to have materialized yet. So I was wondering where do you see the growth opportunities coming in the near term?

Okay. Well, first of all, we have right now an auction in place for new battery storage system for the other provinces than Buenos Aires that was -- that we get awarded last year. So we are looking spots over the interior in different province Santa Fe, Mendoza, [ Corrientes ], Cordoba, there are opportunities there. This new auction is in place and will be -- have the due date in May this year. So this is an opportunity of expansion that we're going to look at. As you mentioned, in terms of renewables, right now, it's getting difficult to get new PPAs with existing demand. So we are looking for new demand. Now the existing one, as you mentioned, mining companies are one of them. Oil and gas companies are other possibilities, companies that needs -- perhaps gain efficiency in the product in their processes, like introducing steam, perhaps we can work on co-generations there. And looking forward for perhaps in the middle of this year or perhaps in the third quarter of an auction for new capacity that need to be set for cover some areas, specific areas like specifically Buenos Aires area. And I see there are opportunities, not -- as you mentioned, not trying to catch the existing demand with renewable because, as you mentioned, it's been challenging right now because the thermal are entering in the market and are stressing prices. Also, the hydros are entering the market and put some pressure there also. But I see opportunities, as I mentioned, in storage system capacity, in new demand coming from new players in the market like mining companies and a possibility in capacity -- new thermal capacity coming in some auction during this year.

Okay. Great. So this thermal auction that you mentioned, something similar to the Terconf that got canceled?

Well, it's not completely established by the government yet, but we have talking with them that could be something similar, but with different perhaps approach to the to the demand. So something like receiving a payment for capacity from CAMMESA. But well, it's something that are under discussion right now.

We are going to go now for the question with Lucas Lombardo with BACS.

I want to know the percentage of new term contract that -- the income from -- for the company.

Okay. I think you are referring to how much of the 20% that we can sell to private consumers we reach. That is the question.

Yes.

Yes. We expect during March to cover all those 20%.

Our next question comes from Matias Cattaruzzi with Adcap.

I wanted to ask first about the outlook for 2026 and the -- how do you see volumes coming for next year, especially hydro volumes? And then how do you expect the PPA versus spot mix to be in next year regarding the new regulation? Do you expect PPAs to grow more in generation?

Okay. Thank you. Talking about volumes for Piedra del Aguila specifically, the hydrological year starts on May. So it's difficult today to say that we're going to see better inflows than the previous year. Of course, the previous year was a low year, so in our expectations are to be better than that. But to have a clear view, we need perhaps 2 more months in order to see how the year comes. In terms of the thermal generation, we expect an increase because, as I mentioned before, two of our combined cycles were in maintenance during the whole month of December and the other one was in maintenance the whole month of September. So we don't see those maintenance in 2026. So we expect an increase of our thermal generation also. In terms of new PPAs coming, we -- as I mentioned, we are trying to catch additional demand from the distribution companies. This will unlock the possibility to sell the legacy energy above the 20% that we have already granted -- so we expect to have news on that this year. It's difficult to predict, as I mentioned before, it's difficult to predict the volume that we can reach there because the distribution companies are discussing with the regulators, the feasibility of make that pass-through directly to the demand and the terms of that pass-through. So right now, it's difficult to forecast the potential there, but we see potential. So I think we can catch more than the 20% that we are already selling, and we can go over that going to distribution companies.

Great. And then do you intend to participate in the upcoming tender for national batteries?

Yes, we are looking at, yes. Yes. We are looking at -- of course, it's different from the participation that we have in the last year because we are looking in places different for our facilities in -- the ones that we awarded last year, we established inside our facilities and it's convenient or very convenient for us. And right now, this new auction is all over the country. So we are looking at places. And the new reality in the battery storage system prices because the lithium goes up, the copper, all the materials the batteries used. So -- and the price according to the last auction. So we are looking at returns on that places that are outside from the -- our facilities -- are far from our facilities is not the same. So we are looking at, but we need to do more work in order to understand if something suitable for us or not.

Great. Do you expect to participate in the upcoming privatizations by ENARSA assets?

Yes. Yes, we are looking at. We don't have the mandate yet to move forward, but we are looking at.

Great. And do you have any updates on the OpenAI-Sur Energy project?

No, we have discussion with them. After that we award Piedra del Aguila that was very important for them that we have a huge hydro backup in us to give power to them. That was a great news for them. We discussed with them that, but we don't have a clear timing on any additional news coming from that place.

Great. And last, can you give us like an EBITDA bridge for upcoming years until 2028?

Well, I can give you some perhaps information regarding 2026. 2028 is, of course, need to -- we will expect to maintain that, but talking about increasing will be challenging regarding the expansion, as I mentioned, of new PPAs and how we're going to do in terms of the new coming auctions. But talking about 2026, we have some certainties that can share with you and the rest of the listeners. One important thing or the biggest improvement that we are seeing for 2026 and onwards is that the PPA, the Brigadier Lopez closing combined cycle PPA going to bring additional $60 million for our EBITDA. The other improvement, as we talked in the previous calls, the new regulation for spot market bring another between $70 million and $80 for our EBITDA. Piedra del Aguila also have an improvement compared to the old regime that compared to this new concession will bring additional $15 million. And if you perform the full year of the renewables that we acquired and build last year, this will add additionally $8 million and -- between $8 million and $10 million more. So [indiscernible] terms will be an improvement of $150 million, $160 million.

Great. And I have two more questions. One is if you expect distributing dividends in 2026? Yes. And the second one would be more operational. With the upcoming IP for the Perito Moreno pipeline expansion, do you expect that your plants in the central area would get some more upside with lower costs due to lower gas prices because of the expansion of the [indiscernible] Perito Moreno?

Okay. In terms of dividend, that is something that we'll be discussing by the Board of Directors. Right now, we have no guidance regarding to that, specifically because, as I mentioned, we have different projects under our pipeline, and we are performing some projects right now. So this is something that Board will be -- discuss in the next coming month. Talking about the TGS pipeline, we are -- we don't see a reduction on prices because the gas prices are set right now by the plant gas contracts that CAMMESA and the government signed during the former administration. So we received these prices -- or these prices are fixed until the end of 2028 when those contracts get to the end. So we don't see big reduction on prices until this plant gas goes to the end. In terms of the capacity or the transportation capacity of the TGS, we are analyzing the convenience or not to acquire that capacity. The problem is that going further in a big 10 or -- contract is like 15 -- of course, you can do less, but normally it will be 15 years of contract, is not fully discussed the regulation scheme in which we can recover this additional cost because this additional transportation will have an incremental cost related to what -- one that we are paying now. So it's not clear for us yet the new regulation scheme that will be available or the regulation scheme that will be available to recover that incremental cost. So right now, we are looking at, but we don't have a decision yet.

Great. But wouldn't it be better for gas prices in the winter? Wouldn't you need less liquids or gasoline or fuel oil?

Yes. The problem is to get here to our terminals, you do not only need the TGS expansion, you will need distribution here and the distribution in Buenos Aires area are very constrained. So we don't see a full elimination of diesel and LNG during winters for a while. Of course, will be a reduction because the TGS will inject here and also have some volumes that could go to the north. But we'll see a reduction, but not a full elimination of diesel and LNG.

This concludes our Q&A session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Fernando Bonnet for any closing remarks.

Well, thank you for your interest in Central Puerto. I will encourage you to ask any questions to our team that you may have. Thank you very much, and have a good day.

This concludes today's presentation. You may now disconnect, and have a good day.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Central Puerto's Third Quarter of 2025 Earnings Conference Call. A slide presentation is accompanying today's webcast and will be also available on the Investors section of the company's website, centralpuerto.com/en/investors. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. If you do not have a copy of the press release, please refer to the Investor Relations support section on the company's corporate website at centralpuerto.com. In addition, a replay of today's call will be available in upcoming days by accessing the webcast link at the same section of the Central Puerto's website. Our host today will be Mr. Fernando Bonnet, Central Puerto CEO; Mr. Enrique Terraneo, the company's CFO; Mrs. Maria Laura Feller, Head of Investor Relations; and Mr. Alejandro Diaz Lopez, Head of Corporate Finance. Maria Laura, please go ahead.

Thank you very much. Good morning, and welcome. We are turning you today with our management team from Buenos Aires to report on the results of the third quarter of year 2025 and then answer any questions you may have. During the third quarter, adjusted EBITDA reached $101.1 million, up 64% quarter-on-quarter and 8% increase year-on-year. Revenues totaled $233.9 million, up 30% quarter-on-quarter, mainly reflecting higher contract sales from renewables and thermal. Fuel cost pass-through, up 26% year-on-year mostly reflected additional revenues in this quarter from fuel cost pass-through and also Central Costanera successfully resuming activities after the maintenance works. Total generation was 4,539 gigawatt hours, 4% up from second quarter 2025, but 20% down year-on-year mostly due to the lower hydrology at Piedra del Aguila. From a financial standpoint, our net leverage ratio remains very healthy at 0.5x, adjusted EBITDA underscoring our strong balance sheet and financial flexibility. Also good news for our credit rating. Moody's has initiated the grade assessment with a AA+ Fix SCR upgrading our rating to AA from AA-. Third quarter 2025 capital expenditures amounted to $76.1 million which includes the acquisition of Cafayate solar farm at $48.5 million. Final works for the closing of the Brigadier Lopez combined cycle and San Carlos Solar farm, which are very near COD as well as maintenance CapEx. Moving to a key development for the quarter. In August, our company successfully participated in [ AlmaGBA ] Battery Energy Storage System biding process, BESS. We were awarded, both projects we submitted which collectively represent 205-megawatt hours of new best capacity. The projects are scheduled to be fully operational by mid-2027. A significant fourth quarter outlook. The Energy Secretariat released Resolution 400/25 in October. This resolution marks a pivotal step in liberalization of the power market and creates a strong business outlook for our company. Going now to Page 4 for the earnings summary. Our adjusted EBITDA came in strong at $101.1 million reflecting the effective fuel cost pass-through to revenues and solid operational performance in both our renewable portfolio and at Central Costanera. In this quarter, our revenue mix was 53% spot and 47% contracted with 63% of total revenues denominated in dollars. Renewable generation revenues increased by 24% this quarter, supported by a 21% rise in generation volumes quarter-on-quarter. This strong performance was driven by our wind farms and the contribution from the newly acquired Cafayate solar plant. On the thermal side, contracted revenues benefited from additional fuel cost pass-through at Terminal 6. Thermal revenues also rose in both the spot and contract markets, reflecting the positive impact of Central Costanera, which successfully completed maintenance works in the second quarter as well as fuel cost pass-through effects. Now turning to Page 5. Let's look at our generation and availability performance. Total generation for the quarter was 4,539 gigawatt hours, composed of thermal, hydro and renewable sources. Volumes were up 4% quarter-on-quarter. Thermal generation represented the largest share followed by [ hydro and renewables ]. Thermal and renewal volumes grew, while hydro volumes decreased due to lower [indiscernible]. Availability rates for all our thermal units remained strong at 88%, with combined cycles rate at a very competitive level of 96%. We continue executing our growth strategy. [indiscernible] combined cycle at the [indiscernible] solar farm are very near COD. In OS, we acquired 80-megawatt [ Cafayate ] solar farm and also, we secured 2 best projects totaling 205 megawatts and [ 15-year contracts ]. Central Puerto complex we had 150 megawatts of lithium [ iron phosphate ] and the offtaker would be the institutional company Edenor. Central Costanera complex will have 55 megawatts and the offtaker will be Edesur. Estimated capital expenditure is between $130 million and $140 million for both projects combined. On October 21 and already effective since November 1, the Energy Secretariat issued the new framework to reform the Argentine's wholesale electricity market. The core objective of Resolution 400 is to liberalize such market through a progressive transition. The new spot revenues incorporate a margin on top of variable production costs supporting long-term value creation for generators. Also, there is a significant shift for revenues in the spot, now denominated in dollars, mitigating currency and inflation risk. Thermal generators gained significant flexibility, allowing them to trade capacity and energy in the new Thermal Term Market. We can sell up to 20% of our production to large users and the remaining up to 100% to distribution companies or the spot market. Spot market energy remuneration will capture marginal rent on top of the variable cost of producing the energy, and capacity payment in the spot market is now $12 per megawatt of capacity per [ MAT ] and is weighted by a factor based on fuel requirement and fuel management approach. Also, we decided the reliability reserve. During a fuel management transition period until Plan Gas contracts naturally expire, CAMMESA continues as a supplier of the contracted capacity of Plan Gas which ends December 2028. From 2029, generators will be fully responsible further on fuel management. For renewables, existing renewable contracts will be enforceable until natural expiration, then generators will trade in the matter. Our total financial debt at quarter end stood at $452 million. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $292 million, resulting in net debt of $159.9 million. Net leverage ratio stood very healthy at 0.5x adjusted EBITDA. In October, we issued a new corporate bond facing $89 million in capital and also repaid $90 million of maturing debt, including the repayment of our Class B corporate bond and the legacy debt associated with the [ Guanizuil ] solar farm. Total installed capacity in Argentina as of September 2025 was approximately 43,887 megawatts. Energy generation during the third quarter was 34,342 gigawatt hours, while domestic demand reached 35,255 gigawatt hours. Going now to Page 10 for key takeaways. 3Q '25 adjusted EBITDA of $101.1 million and 3Q '25 last 12-month adjusted EBITDA of $317.5 million reflect solid operations and a starting point in this new market environment. Central Puerto was awarded both projects submitted under the AlmaGBA Battery Energy Storage Systems tender. This means we added 205 megawatts of new capacity. These strategic projects notably boost our growth path and provide additional operational capabilities needed in the future of power generation. Our growth pipeline is delivering results with the acquisition of Cafayate Solar Farm, which added 80 megawatts of installed capacity to our portfolio since August 2025. Additional growth will be provided by ongoing projects. Brigadier Lopez combined cycle closing and the San Carlos Solar Farm very near COD. Central Puerto's business outlook has gained significant growth momentum, driven by the Energy Secretariat Resolution 400. This resolution formalizes the market liberalization roadmap, representing a pivotal step towards strengthening long-term value creation for us. This context reinforces our positive outlook for 2026 in our long-term company vision. Thank you for your time and your confidence in Central Puerto. Operator, please open the line for questions.

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from Mr. Martin Arancet with Balanz Capital.

I have 2 topics that I would like to discuss. I will run them one by one, if that's okay. First, regarding the market liberalization. I was wondering if you could provide any guidance on how much do you expect this to improve your results over the next 2 years? Also, if you are considering any improvement to your loyalty fleet, given this inhales in revenues? And how likely do you think it will be to contract that 20% with large users?

Martin, thank you for your interest and your questions. We are going to the first one. The impact of the new deregulation of the sector. In terms of -- in terms of cash, we are seeing -- that's depending on the dispatch of the used consumer fuels, but we can expect around between 20% and 25% of increase in our EBITDA could be, as I mentioned, would be 20%, 25% depending on the dispatch of the units and the fuel consumption. Talking about the other improvements that the regulation brings that are important also as important as the pricing as Maria has mentioned -- it's very important for us to have the denominations of these new prices in dollars, setting dollars. So we cannot need to wait until the government resolution month by month for price increase, which was the case in the past. So for us, it's very important to keep the remuneration at least attached to dollars updated. And the other big improvement and is related to your question is that we can sell our part of our production to -- in private terms, private offtakers, as you mentioned, it's 20% for big users, the consumers, but we have no limitation to sell it -- in the percentage to sell it to distribution companies. So in terms of this 20%, we are start selling, the situation right now is the big consumers are very, very contract. The biggest ones are very contract with renewables. So we are trying to find the ones that are not contracted and the small -- going down to small ones, the [indiscernible] GUDIs. But for that, it is -- we have been selling since the regulation was issued, but to be completely honest with you, the market right now is trying to understand how the price is going to move with these new regulations. How CAMMESA is going to set the prices and the Secretariat of Energy is going to set the prices for spot basis of market, and for the GUDIs that are still in the distribution companies that right now, the price is still setting by resolutions and the scheme of every quarter setting by Secretariat of Energy and CAMMESA. But we are very confident that we -- whenever these are more or less clear by the demand, the demand is going to start to contract because the prices of the spot during winter times will be much more higher than now. And because of that, they're going to prefer to cap that increase on winter times and set contract we generate. So we are very confident that during this year, we're going to reach that 20%, and we expect more with the distribution company. Distribution companies needs also to set with each regulator -- each province regulator and national regulator in the case of [indiscernible] how they're going to make the pass-through of these contracts or new contract that the distribution companies will establish with the generator. So everything is under -- and is moving, but we are confident that this new market [ MAT ] as the regulation mentioned going to start, and we have a good pace to contract our production during this year.

Just a couple of follow-up questions. First, you mentioned $20 million to $25 million of additional EBITDA per year. I was wondering if that's not considering the 20% that you could sell to big users? And if so...

Sorry, Martin, it's not $20 million it's 20% increase.

20% to 25% okay, right...

This is -- it is more than around $70 million, $80 million.

Great. And that's without the 20%. So if you are successful in selling that 20% to industrials, we could see any where further improvement, right?

Yes.

Okay. Great. And then follow-up question regarding you mentioned distribution companies. Probably it's too soon, but do you foresee new auction for distribution companies next year or in the near future?

You are talking about the capacity auction or batteries?

An option to sell the other 80%, I mean, if I understood correctly...

No, no, but -- yes, this will be by each distribution company process. It's not a centralized like batteries or like a capacity contract. It's any distribution company can do -- go for -- this regulation established that CAMMESA is going to provide around 75% or between 70% and 75% of the distribution company's demand and the rest could be contract by distribution companies itself direct with generators. So we are seeing some distribution companies asking for quotations and start the conversation for provide these 20% or 25% of these -- of their demand. But it's not centralized -- will be each by distribution company and there will be a negotiation directly between generators and distribution companies...

Yes. So we can expect also beyond the 20%, some distribution companies probably in 2026, 2027 contracting additional energy?

Yes.

Well, great. Then my -- the second topic that I would like to discuss was regarding the recent hydro auction. I don't know if you could provide any color on that, probably the targeted assets and expected time line for awarding these assets?

Yes. So as you know, we participate with Central Puerto and Costanera. We expect that have more news in the next coming weeks. The first, the CAMMESA is -- are evaluating CAMMESA and Secretariat of Energy are evaluating the capacity and the documentation that the bidders provide. And then I think between, as I mentioned, next week, on the other one, we will have a clear view of the competition or the ones are available to compete. And then for sure, in previous to middle of December, we will have the results -- the final results.

Our next question comes from Mr. [indiscernible] with Citi.

My question is on -- first on capital allocation. I mean we have been seeing a lot of rerating of Argentinian assets over the last couple of weeks. So in that context, are you evaluating maybe some portfolio recycling with some of your assets in forestry perhaps in mining already? Or would you rather wait for longer cycle to engage on that front, especially considering now there may be some more projects looking interesting as investment opportunities. And yes, my second question would be, conceptually speaking, where do you see the stabilizing for the term market price, right, which today is about $60 per megawatt hour, but you will get an ever growing supply of power there. On the other hand, you may also have increasing demand from distributors for those PPAs. So where do you see that stabilizing over the short term? Those would be my 2 questions.

Okay. Thank you. Going to the first one. We are not evaluating right now a reallocation of our assets or selling. We are not -- we think that they have a lot of room to increase price. And so because of that, we are waiting for a longer period of growth, and we are also evaluating the possibility of -- if we improve the value by some developments around those assets. So it's not -- right now, we are not looking for reallocate that assets or sell. In terms of the second one, talking about prices, we are seeing some -- in the short term, for sure, we are seeing some reduction around $60, perhaps moving between $57, $55, $56 in the short term when this new offer come to the market. But in the long run, we are not seeing a huge reduction on those values because you will have to increase the capacity of Argentina and the prices for new capacity are going up. All the data centers, boom and the demand of Middle East are rocketing the prices of the GTs and the delivery time. So perhaps we see some reduction at the beginning in order to stabilize that market, that new market -- but in the long run, we are seeing prices around $60.

If I may add a quick one. Now that thermal projects should have, I mean, with the new rules should have better rates of return, very likely. What would you say are the key projects in the thermal side of the business that Central Puerto is looking into?

Well, this new regulation is not -- I think it's not enough yet to bring new projects from zero from scratch. It's not easy to set a big combined cycle, I don't know 800 megawatts and sell it to the market. We are not there yet. As I mentioned, the price will be much more than $50 something. So I think the new projects coming will be perhaps at the beginning of the next year, some auctions that the government are planning to set in terms of capacity, small open cycles and machines working as [ pickers ] I think this is what we are seeing coming with centralized auctions but not huge combined cycle selling to private. We think we are new -- I mentioned new ones, we are not there yet.

Our next question comes from text. This is [indiscernible]. In the release, we saw that the installed capacity of San Carlos, Cafayate and Brigadier Lopez is already available. Could you provide some color on how much of the capacity will actually be operating or contributing to generation during 4Q? And what we could expect in terms of revenues or margin uplift, both from the additional capacity and from the recent steps toward electricity market deregulation?

Thank you for your question. In terms of new capacity entrants, San Carlos and Brigadier Lopez, as you mentioned, are right now entering -- San Carlos is entering, I think this week or the next -- the beginning of the next month. So the impact in our revenues for the fourth quarter will be like half of November and full December. In respect of Brigadier Lopez, which is closing of combined cycle, we are expecting the COD. We are right now in the commissioning -- at the end of the commissioning phase, but we need to make a lot of test to be online and to be producing energy and we receiving the payment. So in the case of Brigadier Lopez, we expect the mid of December, perhaps 20 -- 20 something of December. So the impact on our revenues in the fourth quarter will be significant. But talking about full year basis, we expect around -- in terms of Brigadier Lopez around an additional EBITDA of $60 million, $65 million, and San Carlos around $3 million -- between $3 million and $5 million more, fully based -- full year basis. I don't know if I forget a question or one part.

Our next question comes from Ludovic Casrouge with Autonomy Capital.

My question was about the CapEx. Which level of CapEx do you expect for next year?

Okay. Thank you for your question. In terms of CapEx, we are finishing, as I mentioned, Brigadier Lopez and San Carlos. So we are not expecting big CapEx for that part. The CapEx that we are entering on right now and will be continued in the next year is the best projects that we get awarded last quarter. And this will be around $130 million, $140 million for both projects, the Central Puerto and Costanera projects. Sorry?

Just for 2026?

Yes, yes. We expect the completion of those projects in 2026, yes.

Okay. And just thinking could we expect an extra dividend distribution for the end of this year?

Well, that depends on the results of the hydro auction. That will depend on that.

Thank you. This concludes our Q&A session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Fernando Bonnet for any closing remarks.

Hello, everyone, for your interest in Central Puerto. We encourage you to call us for any information that you may need. Have a great day. Bye-bye.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Central Puerto's Second Quarter of 2025 Earnings Conference Call. A slide presentation is accompanying today's webcast and will be also available on the Investors section of the company's website, www.centralpuerto.com/en/investors. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. If you do not have a copy of the press release, please refer to the Investor Relations support section on the company's corporate website at www.centralpuerto.com. In addition, a replay of today's call will be available in upcoming days by accessing the webcast link at the same section of the Central Puerto's website. Our host today will be Mr. Fernando Bonnet, Central Puerto's CEO; Mr. Enrique Terraneo, the company's CFO; Mrs. Maria Laura Feller, Head of Investor Relations; and Mr. Alejandro Diaz Lopez, Head of Corporate Finance. Maria Laura, please go ahead.

Good day. Thank you, operator. Before we begin, please be aware that this presentation contains forward-looking statements based on current outlooks and assumptions. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Also, U.S. dollar figures presented may be impacted at a noncash level as our financial statements are reverting in Argentine pesos and subsequently converted into U.S. dollars solely for comparability and analysis purposes. Investors are advised to review the full disclaimer and financial statements available on Central Puerto's website and public filings. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure and should not be considered separately. So please refer to our financial statements. In the second quarter of 2025, the adjusted EBITDA was $61.4 million, which reflects a 32% decrease compared to $89.9 million in the previous quarter, and above 35% compared to the second quarter of year 2024. Last 12 months adjusted EBITDA was $309.9 million and 8% above the full year 2024. In the second quarter, FONINVEMEM debt collection was of $17.2 million. Total generation volumes in this quarter were 4,372 gigawatt hours, a 24% decrease compared to the first quarter and 12% decline year- on-year. The decrease compared to the previous quarter is primarily due to the onetime schedule upgrade and maintenance of Central Costanera Mitsubishi combined cycle and the steam turbine 6 from Central Puerto complex. Revenues in this quarter were $179.6 million, a decrease of 8% compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. From total revenues in this quarter 89.6% of total revenues came from energy sales. Such revenues in this quarter decreased from the previous quarter due to the seasonality of spot capacity charges and lower volumes as discussed before. These effects were partially offset by additional self-managed fuel procurement from the T6 plant and other fuels procured. On the regulatory front, spot prices in pesos adjusted every month for inflation as set by Energy Secretariat, adding up to a compounded 5.1% for the quarter. And in addition, still on the regulatory front, last Thursday, the National Executive Branch released a Decree 476 with further definitions on hydro concessions, which we will review in the following slide. Capital expenditures in the semester were $102.4 million and were mainly allocated to the 155 megawatts of installed capacity we are building. From this additional capacity, 140 megawatts will come from the closing of the Brigadier Lopez combined cycle, while 15 megawatts from the San Carlos solar project. Both projects were at an approximate 80% completion at the end of the quarter with an expected COD before year-end. Finally, our solid financial position is reflected in the balance statement of the quarter with a resulting net leverage ratio of 0.56x the last 12-month adjusted EBITDA. As discussed before, the Energy Secretariat has allowed monthly adjustments to peso-denominated electricity spot prices to reflect inflation. Regarding the Piedra del Aguila concession extension, last Thursday, the National Executive Branch issued the Decree #476. This decree established a new set of terms and a required payment for an adhesion agreement. It also granted an additional 90-day period for the current concession and opens the possibility for it to be extended until the end of the year. Second quarter adjusted EBITDA decreased 32% quarter-over-quarter, mainly due to the seasonality of capacity charges and the maintenance works in the Costanera and Central Puerto plants. That impacted in lower revenues and additional OpEx related to such maintenance works. The resulting last 12-month adjusted EBITDA is 8% above full year 2024 adjusted EBITDA. Also to account for this quarter's results, FONINVEMEM collections were $17.2 million. Power generation volumes of the quarter were impacted by Central Costanera Mitsubishi combined cycle with 1,200 gigawatt hours below the previous quarter. Also, the Central Puerto steam turbine 6 was below the previous quarter by 186 gigawatt hours. This resulted in a total thermal availability rate of 68%, and average combined cycle availability of 73% and an average steam turbine and gas turbines availability of 60%. The steam production increased 20% in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter. Total revenues were $176 million, while energy generation-related revenues were $160.9 million. In the second quarter, spot revenues were impacted by the seasonal capacity charges established under Resolutions 59 and 294. This led to a quarter-over-quarter revenue reduction of $19.2 million. Additionally, the lower volumes sold impacted in the energy component of spot revenues by $12.5 million. These effects were partially offset by additional $18.4 million from self-managed fuel procurement for our T6 plant and other fuels as authorized under Resolution 21. Spot peso-denominated prices represented 16% of total revenues. And during the quarter, such prices maintained the parity with inflation and the exchange rate variation. Our ongoing pipeline of projects is a cornerstone of our growth strategy. Let's begin with Brigadier Lopez, a thermal power project that is nearing completion. With the closing of the Brigadier Lopez combined cycle, we are adding 140 megawatts hours to its current capacity, bringing the total installed capacity to 421 megawatts hours. Total project investment will be of approximately $185 million, and we are on track for commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2025. Next, we have the San Carlos solar project, which will deliver 15 megawatts of installed capacity with an estimated CapEx of $18 million. Like Brigadier Lopez, San Carlos is expected to be operational before year-end. Finally, we turn to Alamitos, a wind project planned for 130 megawatts with potential expansion to 150 megawatts, depending on final technology offers with an estimated investment of $130 or $50 million. Alamitos is currently in the bidding phase for power generation technology and engineering services. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2026. Also, Central Puerto is participating in the battery storage tender process. We submitted bids for 150 megawatts through Central Puerto and 55 megawatts through Central Costanera. The Alamitos process is ongoing with final definitions expected by the end of August. Let us also briefly touch on the hydro concession extensions. Last Friday, the National Executive Branch released new conditions that are under our analysis at this moment. As discussed earlier, our strong balance sheet and financial flexibility is reflected in these figures. Our outstanding financial debt was $409 million as of June 13. Cash, cash equivalents and current financial assets balance was $235. The resulting net leverage ratio was 0.56x the last 12-month adjusted EBITDA. Outstanding credit under the FONINVEMEM program stood at $166.5 million and is being collected in monthly installments through May 2028. Also, it is good to remark that our capital expenditures of the semester were fully financed by our operating cash flow. On the market overview, variations in the demand reflect the seasonal effect of the second quarter of the year, where the temperatures were milder compared to the previous quarter. On the composition of the offer, hydroelectric power generation is being impacted by low water levels. Total system installed capacity remained quite stable. Now to conclude, we would like to share our takeaways for the second quarter of the year. Starting from our growth plan that is already adding around 300 megawatts of installed capacity, reflecting our active focus on growth opportunities with the Brigadier Lopez combined cycle closing and the San Carlos solar farm that are nearing conclusion and the Alamitos wind farm that is currently in the design phase. We are also looking forward to the developments in the battery storage center process and hydro concession development. On the operational front, we have highlighted our operation efficiency and availability advocacy for high standards. which are reflected in the Central Costanera Mitsubishi combined cycle maintenance works and the upgrade of the steam turbine 6 from Central Puerto's complex. On the regulatory front, we expect additional government disclosure to the ongoing electricity market reform, including economic [indiscernible] to expand our self-managed procurement of fuels as allowed under Resolution 21. Thank you for your attention. Now we can move to the Q&A session.

Our first question comes from Martin Arancet with Balanz.

Can you hear me ?

Yes. We can hear you, sir.

I have four questions. I would like to run them one by one, if that's okay. The first one regarding Central Costanera, even though it was on a scheduled maintenance, it seems that it caused a loss for Costanera since OpEx was higher than the revenues. I was wondering if you could add a little bit of color on that and if you expect to have, I don't know, an additional income from an insurance company or something like that to compensate that loss.

Martin, we were able to hear you. We are having a few technical issues. Just a second, please. We are having a few technical issues. Please hold. [Technical Difficulty]

Martin, can you hear me.

Yes, I can hear you. There is like an echo.

Martin, can you hear me.

Yes. Perfect.

Yes. Thank you. Sorry for the inconvenience. Well, going to your question, talking about Central Costanera Mitsubishi combined cycle maintenance. We have -- in the maintenance, we have we performed two things, two important things. One was planned, which was the big maintenance of our GT, one of our GTs, which was the eighth GT that was planned and was performed by Mitsubishi. But in the other hand, we performed an extraordinary maintenance in the boiler that was not planned, but that was performed in order to put the boiler in the condition in our standards, in Central Puerto standards. In the past, the previous owner was not doing all the maintenance that we understand that they need to do in the boiler. So we performed a big maintenance on the two boilers of the two GTs and that was extraordinary. But as a consequence, that was a degradation during the operation. It's not something that was covered by the insurance company. So we are not expecting recover that money from the insurance company. But as I mentioned, we put those two boilers in a good perspective for the operation in the next 20 years. So it's something that we need to perform in order to have that combined cycle operating in the Central Puerto standards with an availability over 90%, 95% and we expect that this is going to happen after that big maintenance that we performed.

Just a follow-up on that. How much will you say that it was the additional cost for this unplanned maintenance of the boiler.

It's something around $18 million, $20 million.

Okay. Then my second question is about the Alamitos project. The 2 years construction scale seems a little bit longer than similar projects with the same technology. I was wondering if you could add some color on that on why the 2 years. I don't know if there are some issues with the providers of the technology or something like that.

No, no, no, that is not an issue. Perhaps it's something that we are very cautious. We expect that could be less, as you mentioned. But yes, perhaps talking about being cautious, perhaps we are taking 2 or 3 months additionally than we expected, really expected.

Okay. Great. Then a quick one. What's your CapEx expectation for the remainder of the year?

Well, we have some remaining CapEx for Brigadier Lopez around $35 million, $40 million and a small amount for San Carlos project, which is, I don't know, $2 million or $3 million more. And perhaps at the end of the year, we can reach -- we can accelerate as we have been talking with Alamitos something related to, yes, 20% of the total cost.

Okay. Great. And my last question then, well, as you mentioned, there was the extension of the hydro concessions.

Yes.

Yes. And I was wondering there, how much is the current contribution to EBITDA of Piedra del Aguila? Also regarding the auctions, I think that you should -- you're probably also waiting for the new thermal auction. I don't know if there is something planned for that.

In fact, talking about the extension, in fact, our extension is not so relevant because we -- previous extension ends 29 of December. So it's kind of 2 or 3 days, the new extension. So it's not so relevant. It's more relevant for the other concession that ends in August. So it's not so relevant. The current EBITDA of Piedra del Aguila is around $35 million, depending on how they're going to adjust the tariff is something that happens every month, but it's something around that $35 million. And depending on, of course, the [indiscernible], the inflows, water inflows, but it's around between $30 million, $35 million a year.

Okay. And you will wait to see the hydro auction at the end of the year? And also, I don't know if you have any news on the new thermal auction. I heard that there are some issues to get new turbines and that could be a reason for [indiscernible].

New turbines you referred to hydro or you are talking about thermal right now?

Both, actually. I mean when do you expect the new hydro auction to took place, so if you heard something about the possibility of a new thermal auction?

In terms of hydro, I think they are adjusting some things with the provinces, Neuquen and Rio Negro, that is perhaps what we hear about why it's having some delays on launching. But well, I think that perhaps it will be solved at the end of the year, as you mentioned. The new decree that extent that the concession established that is the ending of the concession is in December or when the government finalized the auction, so earlier, so -- or the latest -- sorry, not earlier, the latest. So I don't know if they can make all the process in the month at the end of the year, could be at the end of the year. If not, they don't need a new decree. So they can automatically extend until the timing that they finalize the auction. So I don't know. We hear that they want to do it earlier -- sooner, but I don't know, depending on -- as I mentioned, depending on how they can agree that final points with the provinces and so on. And in terms of thermal, they want to finish first the auction of -- the battery auctions and see how is the output about that. And then perhaps the end of the year or beginning of the next one, start talking about a thermal -- a new thermal auction for capacity installed in the critical points of the grid, yes.

Our next question comes from Julian Casas with Balanz.

Can you hear me fine?

Yes.

Myself from I am from Latin Securities. No worries. I wanted to ask you if you could please walk us through how you arrived at the $409 million in gross debt figure that you mentioned before?

Okay. Do you want to go through it?

Yes, if you don't mind.

Yes. You have the -- just a second, please.

Yes, sure.

We have around $100 million of bonds at Central Puerto level. And then we have another $50 million in Central Costanera regarding to [indiscernible] financing. The rest of the amount are loans at the subsidiary level, project finance loan mainly with IFC and IDB for approximately $150 million.

Sorry for the delay, but we...

No, no worries. It was a tough question, sorry.

[Operator Instructions] This concludes our Q&A session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Fernando Bonnet for any closing remarks.

Thank you to everyone for your interest in Central Puerto. We encourage you to call us for any information that you may need. Have a great day.

This concludes today's presentation. You may now disconnect and have a nice day.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Central Puerto's First Quarter of 2025 Earnings Conference Call. A slide presentation is accompanying today's webcast, and will also be available on the Investors section of the company's website, www.centralpuerto.com/en/investors. All participants will be in a listen-only mode during the presentation. After that there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions. Please note, this event is being recorded. If you do not have a copy of the press release, please refer to the Investor Relations Support section on the company's corporate website at www.centralpuerto.com. In addition, a replay of today's call will be available in upcoming days, by accessing the webcast link at the same section of the Central Puerto's website. Before we proceed, please be aware that all financial figures were prepared in accordance with IFRS and were converted from Argentine pesos to U.S. dollars for comparison purposes only. The exchange rate used to convert Argentine pesos to U.S. dollars was the reference exchange rate reported by the Central Bank for US dollars for the end of each period. The information presented in U.S. dollars is for the convenience of the reader only and you should not consider these translations to be representations that the Argentine pesos amount actually represents this US dollars amount or could be converted into US dollars at the rate indicated. Finally, it is worth noting that the financial statements for the first quarter ended on March 31, 2025, include the effects of the inflation adjustment. Also, please take into consideration that certain statements made by the company during this conference call and answer to your questions may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from the expectations contemplated by industry remarks. Thus, we refer you to the forward-looking statement sections of our earnings release and recent filings with the SEC. Central Puerto assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. To follow the discussion better, please download the webcast presentation available on the company's website. Please be aware that some of the numbers mentioned during the call may be rounded to simplify the discussion. On the call today from Central Puerto is Fernando Bonnet; Chief Executive Officer, Enrique Terraneo, Chief Financial Officer, and Alejandro Diaz Lopez, Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations Officer. And now, I will turn the call over to Alejandro Diaz Lopez. Please Alejandro, you may begin.

Thank you very much, and good morning everybody. Thank you for joining us today on a new session of earnings presentation, where we are going to discuss our financial results for the first quarter of 2025. As usually, I will begin the presentation by addressing shortly the main figures of the quarter, followed by a quick update of the regulatory framework, and relevant news. Then I will show an overview of the Argentine electricity industry, moving afterwards to our operational and financial results. Finally, at the end of the presentation, we will be happy to address any question you may have. Before going into a more exhaustive analysis of our financial and operational results, let me briefly review Central Puerto's main figures for the first quarter of 2025. The Group's installed capacity remains at 6,703 megawatts and energy generation amounted to 5.7 terawatt hour, during the first quarter of 2025, increasing 4% year-over-year. Regarding our financial results, it should be noted that due to Central Puerto's accounting methodology, all items in pesos must be adjusted for inflation to the end of the quarter, local currency. While the company reports it results in dollars by converting them at the end of the period official exchange rate, I mean the so called Central Bank a 3,500 exchange rate. This causes a non-cash impact that affects positively or negatively as appropriate our financial metrics, and affects the comparability. Revenues for the first quarter of 2025, amounted to $196 million increasing 31% year-over-year, compared to the first quarter of 2024, while adjusted EBITDA rose 8% year-over-year for the first quarter of 2025 to $90 million. Net income for the first three months of 2025, was positive in $80 million rising 150% year-over-year. Finally, net debt as of March 31 of 2025, amounted to $132 million, keeping almost constant vis-a-vis December of 2024, showcasing a net debt ratio to adjusted EBITDA of about 0.5 times. Now let's move to the most recent regulatory updates and news. During the first quarter of 2024, spot prices had been adjusted once a month, 4% in January and February and 1.5% in March. As of the date of this conference call for April and May, we have a cumulative increase of 3.5%. Regarding our investment project currently in execution, Brigadier López keeps its status. It is on schedule, moving at a good pace. Important milestones have been accomplished with regards to water intake, electromechanical works and the installation of the heat recovery steam generator. About San Carlos, let me tell you that after solving out some issues the project is back on track. Expected COD for Brigader Lopez is the end of 2025, while for San Carlos is the end of the third quarter of 2025. As you may recall, in our last call, we commented our most recent acquisition in the mining sector. We increased our equity stake in AbraSilver from 4% to 9.9% as a result of a new share subscription agreement. Continuing with news and regulatory updates. As you may know, the Secretariat of Energy aims to deregulate the industry, and normalize the wholesale market. We discussed in our last conference call the well-known Resolution 21 issued last January and the so called Lineamientos CAMMESA. As a result of Resolution 21, we see some interesting and possible opportunities in the management of alternative fuels as well as with natural gas, though more marginal in this later case, given the existence of the Plan Gas. We have been strongly working on this, and of course we will continue doing so. With respect to the Lineamientos CAMMESA, and the potential new regulatory framework, the Secretariat of Energy continues working on this subject. We also anticipated in our last presentation the storage auction. On April 22, CAMMESA issued a note amending some terms and conditions, including the submission and awarding dates. As we mentioned previously, we are carefully analyzing this project, since we are interested in participating in this process. The last concluding remark concerning the industry, the hydro tender process. By means of presidential decree number 263, a new extension for the process was set 15 days. As we publicly commented in several opportunities, we will carefully analyze the terms and conditions of this process, since we are interested in operating hydro assets. Moving now to Central Puerto's corporate news and updates, let me summarize some recent corporate organizations. On January 1, the merger of Vientos La Genoveva II, and Manque Los Olivos and CPR Energy Solutions being Vientos La Genoveva II, the absorbing company. Then on March 31, the Board of Directors approved an organization subject to approval by a shareholders meeting and the Argentine Securities and Exchange Commission whereby Central Puerto will absorb CPR Renovables assets and liabilities and also Central Puerto will spin-off part of its assets to be absorbed by Ecogas Inversiones. Finally, on March 31, the Board of Directors of Empresas Verdes Argentina, Forestal Argentina, Estancia Celina and Las Misiones] approved a corporate organization whereby, subject to approval, by the shareholders meetings of the involved companies, EVASA will absorb the asset and liabilities of all of the above mentioned companies. Now let's skip to the Argentine electricity market picture for this quarter that, will be shown on Slide 8 and 9. By the end of the first quarter of 2025, the country's installed capacity reached 43,554 megawatts, which means a decrease of 1% or 319 megawatts, compared to the 43,873 megawatts recorded as of March 31 of 2024. The variation results from the installation of new power facilities, a reduction in installed capacity and adjustment and repowering, to power plants already in operations. The contraction of 319 megawatts is decomposed as follows: a reduction of 1,195 megawatts in hydraulic sources, a reduction of 224 megawatts in thermal sources being all partially offset by the addition of 637 megawatts of wind farms. Of these, 23 megawatts were installed during the first quarter of 2025. Then the addition of 423 megawatts of solar plants were 205 megawatts, were installed during the first quarter of 2025, the addition of 37 megawatts of biomass facilities all during the first quarter of 2025, and the addition of 4 megawatts of biogas power plants. It is worth to highlight that the decline of 1,195 megawatts in hydro installed capacity, is basically explained by our assessment of Yacyretá power availability between Argentina and Paraguay. Since August of 2024, 50% of Yacyretá's installed capacity is allocated to Argentina, whereas it used to be approximately 88% before then. Electricity generation shrank 1% during the quarter on a year-over-year basis. The contraction was driven by nuclear and hydro generation. Nuclear generation decreased basically by the two-year maintenance shutdown of Atucha I, which started in November of 2024. Hydro generation shrank due to a combination of factors. First, the aforementioned change in the allocation of Yacyretá's install capacity and energy generation upon Paraguay's claim, and a reduction of river flows. Renewable and thermal generation rose 10% and 9% respectively. The growth in thermal generation led to a rise of 9% in natural gas consumption, alternative fuels consumption was significantly lower. Focusing now on the demand. As you can see, electricity demand rose 1% during the first three months of 2025, vis-a-vis at the same period of 2024. There was a slight contraction in residential consumption that was totally offset by commercial and major demand. Big industrial user consumption rose during the whole quarter, reflecting stronger economic activity levels. This was especially remarkable for mining, trade and services, automotive and food and beverage. Finally, the electricity trade balance resulted in a net import situation during the whole quarter with the peak in February. We now go to Slide 10 to our key operating indicators for the quarter. We can see that electricity generated by Central Puerto rose 4% to 5,731 gigawatt hour, compared to 5,520 gigawatt hour during the first quarter of 2024. Hydro energy generation from Piedra del Aguila dropped 2%, reaching 793 gigawatt hour from 807 gigawatt hour in the first quarter of 2024. This decline was primarily due to a reduction in river flows, 27% in the Collón Curá River and 25% in the Limay River. This resulting in lower availability of water for generation. Wind generation rose 3%, reaching 373 gigawatt hour during the first quarter of 2025, compared to 358 gigawatt hour during the same period of 2024. This increment was mainly due to higher generation from Achiras La Castellana I and La Castellana II wind farms, as a consequence of better operation performance. We should recall that during the same period of 2024, these facilities were either out of service, or we reduce operation because of some maintenance works and failures. On the other hand, solar energy generation reached 78 gigawatt hour, during the first quarter of 2025, compared to 82 gigawatt hour in the same period of 2024. Basically as a result of some restriction in the node of injection and also weather conditions. Finally, thermal generation increased 5% during the three months of 2025, compared to the same period of previous year, reaching 4,487 gigawatt hour from 4,272 gigawatt hour. The growth was mainly due to higher dispatch costs some steam turbines in Puerto and Costanera sites, and some steam and gas turbines in Luján de Cuyo as well as higher generation register in the combined cycle of Santa Fe. To a lesser extent, higher availability was recorded in the Buenos Aires combined cycle, and higher dispatch was registered, for the Mitsubishi combined cycle, both located in the Costanera site. Now let's move to our revenues breakdown. As you can see on Slide 11, this amounted to $196 million in the quarter as, compared to $150 million in the same period of 2024. The variation in revenues is a consequence mainly of a $36 million increase in spot market revenues, driven by a cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation, and spot remuneration increases. Higher thermal generation, mainly in some turbines located in Luján de Cuyo, Peurto and Costanera sites, and a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Also a $5 million increase in sales under contract, driven by higher energy sales of San Lorenzo cogeneration plant, and higher wind generation of Achiras La Castellana I and II. Finally, it was also important a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. On Slide 12, we can see the dynamic of our adjusted EBITDA. During the first quarter of 2025, the group's adjusted EBITDA amounted to $90 million, rising 8% or $6 million, when compared to the first quarter of 2024. When analyzing the adjusted EBITDA, we can observe that the variation is mainly explained, by the previously stated higher aggregate sales driven by spot sales, and sales under contract, a $27 million increase in cost of sales, explained basically by higher maintenance expenses and consumption of materials, due to higher dispatch, higher operating costs, mostly related to the real appreciation of the Argentine peso and a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. SG&A rose $5 million, mainly by the real appreciation of the Argentine peso. Similar to production costs, SG&A were also negatively impacted by a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Finally, there was a negative impact of $8 million in other operating results, net basically as a consequence of lower interest from clients due to lower CAMMESA delays and negative non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Moving to the next slide, the consolidated net income. During the first quarter of 2025, Central Puerto's net income amounted to a gain of $80 million. This is basically the result of the previously explained adjusted EBITDA dynamic, and the net financial results, which were driven by lower foreign exchange differences on financial liabilities, lower interest on loans, higher share of the profit of associates, higher holding results on financial assets. These effects were partially offset by a non-cash effect driven by lower FX difference due to lower FX variation, lower variation in biological assets and results driven by the change in the purchasing power of the currency. Lastly on Slide 14, we have the cash flow dynamic during the first three months of 2025. Net cash provided by operating activities was $44 million. This cash flow arises mainly from $106 million of net income for the period before income tax, properly adjusted to reconcile with net cash flows, $4 million in collection of interest from clients, and $3 million in insurance recovery. These cash flows were partially offset by $18 million in working capital variations and $1 million in income tax and other taxes payments. Then the net cash used by investing activities was $60 million. This amount is mainly explained by $44 million in acquisitions of property, plant and equipment and inventory, and $27 million in acquisition of other financial assets, being all partially offset by $11 million in dividends collections. Finally, we have the net cash provided by financing activities that was $6 million. This is basically the result of $8 million in long-term debt repayments, $6 million in interest and other long-term debt costs paid been, or partially offset by $20 million in banks and investment accounts overdraft received net. Consequently, our cash position as of March 31, 2025, amounted to $6 million. If financial assets are included our total current liquidity amounts to $250 million. With this, I conclude the presentation. Now we invite you to ask any questions to our team. Thank you very much for your attention.

Thank you very much for the presentation. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Martin Arancet with Balanz Capital.

Well, thank you for the presentation. As always, I have three questions. I would like to run them one-by-one, if that's okay. My first question is regarding the possible hydro auction that is coming soon. I don't know if did Secretary here or CAMMESA disclosed the possible pricing conditions? Or if you have any guesses on pricing? Because on one hand, we understand that the government wants to be - as free as possible in terms of a free market. But at the same time, hydro, low pricing is what is keeping - is pushing down tariffs for regulated consumers. So I think that there is a trade-off there that I don't know how the government is going to tackle that. And also regarding the same subject, we have seen other companies interested in participating in the auction. I don't know if you expect a lot of competition? Thanks.

Okay. This is the first one. Thank you, Martin for your interest and your questions. Yes. As you mentioned, in terms of pricing, we don't have a confirmation about the pricing yet, because it's not - the auction is being delayed, or the process - process is being delayed, the government want to agree some scheme with the two provinces that - where the hydros are places, and the process is being delayed a few days. I don't know when they are planning to be made public, the conditions of the auction. But, as you mentioned, we hear the same points that you see, which is if they increase the price - the actual price of the remuneration, of course, it will impact on the tariff at the end. And on the other hand, they want to go to a free market sooner or later. So, the thing that we hear about is, they are planning to establish a pricing similar more, or less that we have right now. But in a transition scheme in, which we can sell some portion of the generation to a private - in the private contracts. Starting with the 5% of the generation of the hydros. And then going to, I think, 5% each - or 10% additionally each two years, and then reach 50% and so on. So they are thinking in that mix, between a fixed price similar or in the - perhaps a little bit higher than we have right now. But then a transition to a private contract scheme, increasing percentage every two years, to reach perhaps 100% of the 10 years after. So that is the idea that they are thinking on, but it's not public yet. So it's only things that we hear.

Okay. And just as a follow-up on that. I probably a point to be careful there is the time of the guarantees, right? I don't know if have you been talking about possible guarantees that this 5% is going to increase gradually, and that is going to be respected, or something like that?

Yes. We don't talk about that guarantees. They are thinking to establish that - in the auction, but they will not - they are not talking about any additional guarantee. That is something that we need to consider at the moment of setting prices.

Yes, sure. Sorry, just the last point. Regarding competition, I don't know if you are seeing a lot of interest in the auction?

For sure, the hydros are very efficient equipment. Also, they have - you need to have some experience to operate it. So I think the people with experience, the ones that have the concession, or even kind of know the hydros being operating here, of course, will be possible competition. We hear for another generator big generators in Argentina that they're going to see it. For now, we are not here any external, or foreign companies, but depending on the conditions. As the one point that you mentioned is guarantees, well our international companies need some perhaps additional guarantees or certainties. But for sure, the local - the big locals, we're going to see the auction and perhaps have some interest in participating, yes.

Okay. Thank you. Then my second question, sorry if you already mentioned this, but I was wondering if you could give us some additional color on why, did we see lower availability in Brigadier López in the first quarter. If you expect this to continue this year, or it should be solved, or if it's something related to the construction of the close cycle?

No, no, no. It was not related to the construction. The Brigadier López have a big maintenance we want to - the gas turbine be ready for the combined cycle, and we made a big maintenance there. So we have - I don't remember exactly the date, but more than about 40 days in maintenance, and we have that done. So we don't expect additional perhaps an availability from Brigadier López, and we expect that enter in a combined cycle at the end of the year, with full dispatch and full speed. So we don't see additional maintenance coming in the next years for Brigadier López.

Okay. Thanks. And my last question then regarding the utilization of the market. I was wondering what - do you think or what is your point of view regarding the schedule, if you think that it is possible to have this fully implemented by year-end? Or if you think that is probably too optimistic and since it's a big change, I think that while it could have some - it could present some issues at the time of implementation?

We think that they're going to move forward in the stages, like not everything at the same time. So we are - as Alejandro mentioned, we are seeing some deregulation in terms of fuel, especially in liquid fuels that we can acquire, and we can buy, buy by ourselves and CAMMESA is like giving a space there for us. In terms of natural gas, which is the main fuel that we use. We need to wait and for the full liberalization there. We need to wait until the ending of the Plan Gas, because CAMMESA with the Plan Gas contracts until 2028, are the main buyers. So there is a small room for us to buy, when they have that contract and they require a reduction in that price, to buy if we want to buy, and you only have a spot volumes, so it's not easy for us to start moving forward there. So if you don't have a liberalization of the natural gas, it's difficult to deregulate all the - legacy market. If we cannot buy the gas, it's very difficult to sign a contract for the legacy equipment. But on the other hand, they are willing to move forward, as I mentioned, in liquid fuels, gives us space for perhaps a new capacity that we can sign contracts directly with the demand. We are seeing some additional moving forward - some signals to moving forward to contract with the distribution companies in all related to this new auction of - batteries that they're willing to set contracts between generators and distribution companies. So that is a good sign to move forward, but we are not seeing perhaps a completely turnover in the free market at once. We are seeing some improvements and some deregulation, perhaps schemes, but not in one shot.

Okay. Very clear. Well, I have one additional question, but I don't want to catch all your attention. So I will wait until the end of the call if anyone else wants to make a question.

Okay.

Thanks.

[Operator Instructions].

Okay. If there is no more question, Martin, you can answer your last one.

Sorry yes. Thank you. Just last one question. Regarding your projects, I mean, you are moving forward with Brigadier López, San Carlos. And I understand that you have intention to participate, well, if we have a new formal auction, the battery auction and also the hydro auction. But I guess that all of them are somehow uncertain. We are now the pricing yet and the conditions. And if you're going to get awarded on everything. So I was wondering if you are targeting possibly other projects beyond those probably this year.

As you mentioned, we are - the one that you mentioned are the most important one for us. So that are the most important. But also, we are developing some wind farm in the -- in Bahía Blanca city, perhaps the starting of the construction of that project is the end of the year, or perhaps the beginning of the next one. But for this year, we - the ones that you mentioned are the bigger ones. We're also looking for opportunities in solar and wind, but nothing certainly yet. So the ones that you mentioned are the bigger ones, yes, the most relevant.

Okay, that's all. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Fernando Bonnet for any closing remarks.

Thank you to everyone for your interest in Central Puerto. We encourage you to call us for any information that you may need. Have a great day.

Central Puerto's conference call is now closed.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Central Puerto's Fourth Quarter of 2024 and Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call. A slide presentation is accompanying today's webcast and is also available on the Investors section of the company's website, www.centralpuerto.com/en/investors. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this event is being recorded. If you do not have a copy of the press release, please refer to the Investor Relations Support section on the company's corporate website at www.centralpuerto.com. In addition, a replay of today's call may be accessed by accessing the webcast link at the same section of the Central Puerto's website. Before we proceed, please be aware that all financial figures were prepared in accordance with IFRS and were converted from Argentine pesos to U.S. dollars for comparison purposes only. The exchange rate used to convert Argentine pesos to U.S. dollars was the reference exchange rate reported by the Central Bank for dollars for the end of each period. The information presented in U.S. dollars is for the convenience of the reader only, and you should not consider these translations to be representations that the Argentine peso amount actually represents this U.S. dollars amount or could be converted into U.S. dollars at the rate indicated. Finally, it is worth noting that the financial statements for the fourth quarter ended on December 31, 2024 include the effects of the inflation adjustment. Also, please take into consideration that certain statements made by the company during this conference call and answers to your questions may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from the expectations contemplated by industry remarks. Thus, we refer you to the forward-looking statements section of our earnings release and recent filings with the SEC. Central Puerto assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable securities laws. To follow the discussion better, please download the webcast presentation available on the company's website. Please be aware that some of the numbers mentioned during the call may be rounded to simplify the discussion. On the call today from Central Puerto is Fernando Bonnet; Chief Financial Officer, Enrique Terraneo; and Alejandro Diaz Lopez, Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations Officer. And now, I will turn the call over to Alejandro Diaz Lopez. Please, Alejandro, you may begin.

Thank you very much, and good morning, everybody. Thank you for joining us today on a new session of earnings presentation where we are going to discuss our financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the fiscal year of 2024. As usually, I will begin the presentation by addressing in shortly the main figures of the quarter and the whole fiscal year, followed by a quick update of the regulatory framework and relevant news. Then, I will show an overview of the Argentine electricity industry, moving afterwards to our operational and financial results. Finally, at the end of the presentation, we will be happy to address any question you may have. Before going into a more excessive analysis of our financial and operational results, let me briefly review Central Puerto's main figures for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the whole fiscal year. The group's installed capacity remains at 6,703 megawatts and energy generation amounted to 5.4 terawatt hour during the fourth quarter of 2024, increasing 5% year-over-year. Annual generation rose 4% to 21.6 terawatt hour. Regarding our financial results, it should be noted that due to Central Puerto's accounting methodology of items in pesos must be inflation-adjusted to the end of the quarter local currency, while the company reports its results in dollars by converting them at the end of the period official exchange rate, the so-called Central Bank A 3500 exchange rate. This causes a non-cash impact that affects positively or negatively as appropriate our financial metrics. Also, the sharp devaluation of December of 2023 created a distorted base for comparison. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024 amounted to $168 million, increasing 71% year-over-year compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. While annual figure reached to $671 million, rising 25%. Adjusted EBITDA rose 44% year-over-year for the fourth quarter of 2024 to $65 million, whereas annual metric increased 4% to $288 million. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was negative in $28 million, and the result for the fiscal year of 2024 was positive in $52 million. Finally, net debt as of December 31st of 2024 amounted to $132 million, a reduction of $154 million vis-a-vis December of 2023, showcasing a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of about 0.5 times. Now, let's move to the most recent regulatory updates and news. Spot prices have been adjusting once a month since June of 2024. For the fourth quarter of 2024, we had 3% in October, 6% in November and 5% in December. For the upcoming first quarter of 2025, we will have a compound 10% increase with respect to December of 2024 figures. As we anticipated in our last earnings session by means of Resolution 294 issue last year, it was established a contingency plan for the electricity industry with the aim to mitigate possible critical situation during the period December of 2024 and March of 2026 with action plans for generation, transmission and distribution, as well as for major demand. Central Puerto's eligible units to adhere to this resolution include steam turbines located in Buenos Aires and Luján de Cuyo, gas turbines located in Luján de Cuyo as well as the Brigadier López thermal power plant. For Central Puerto, the additional remuneration for power varies from $2,000 to $2,500, depending on month, hours and units considered. Continuing with news and regulatory updates, as you may know, the Secretary of Energy aims to deregulate the industry and normalize the wholesale market. In this sense, the first step was the issuance of Resolution 21 last January that eliminated some restriction and set path for future administrative decisions. We should highlight that thermal power plant installed after January 1st of 2025 are able to celebrate PPAs with private agents. Since March 1, 2025, thermal generators are allowed to manage the fuel. Finally, an ending is settled for the Energía Plus framework. Current contracts will be in place and continue until their ending day, but new agreements and extension will have a deadline, October 31, 2025. Also in January, the Secretary of Energy through CAMMESA issued a document with new regulatory framework for the industry with the objective to put into operation by November of 2025. The basic idea is to rebuild the spot term markets, reinstating a marginal cost system in the first one with some adjustments. Generators will declare again a variable cost of production, including the cost of fuel. There will be three sources of remuneration, power, energy and fuel being the spot prices determined by the market. The new scheme will put focus on energy remuneration aiming to reinstate the market signal to boost investment and efficiency as well as properly reflect cost and scarcity. The last concluding remark concerning the industry situation is the issuance of Resolution 67, which call for storage capacity tender process. We are carefully analyzing the terms and condition of this process since we are interested in this project. Moving now to Central Puerto's corporate news and updates, we recall the dividend payments of last November with the distribution of $39.47 per share. Moving to Slide 7, we also announced in December our high-voltage transmission line project with the goal of supplying efficient, reliable and competitive energy to mining companies located in the Puna region, which is in Northwestern of Argentina. In December, we signed an agreement with the IFC to finance the feasibility studies and project analysis, and in January of 2025, we set an agreement with YPF Luz to jointly carry on the development of this remarkable project. With regards to our mining activity, we have recently executed two investments. We have acquired a 27.5% stake in Tres Cruces, which is a lithium project, and we have increased our equity participation in AbraSilver to 9.9%. Finally, a concluding remark regarding our investment projects currently in execution. I mean, the San Carlos Solar plant and the Brigadier Lopez combined cycle. Brigadier Lopez is on schedule moving at a good pace, while the contractor of San Carlos has presented some delays in its workflow. We are currently working together to sort out issues and keep the project on track. Now, let's skip to the Argentine electricity market picture of this quarter that will be shown on Slides 8 and 9. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the country's installed capacity reached 43,350 megawatts, which means a decrease of 1% or 423 megawatts, compared to the 43,773 megawatts recorded as of December 31, 2023. The variation results from the installation of new power facilities and reduction installed capacity and adjustment on repowering two power plants already in operations. The contraction of 423 megawatts is composed as follows: the addition of 925 megawatts of renewable sources, of which 614 megawatts correspond to wind farms, 307 megawatts to solar plants, and 4 megawatts to biogas power plants; then, a reduction of 1,195 megawatts in hydraulic sources; and a decrease of 153 megawatts in thermal sources, where a contraction was recorded in gas turbines, steam turbines and diesel engines, being all partially offset by an addition of combined cycles. It is worth to highlight that the decline of 1,195 megawatts in hydro in cell capacity is basically explained by a reassessment of Yacyretá's power available between Argentina and Paraguay. Since August 2024, 50% of Yacyretá's installed capacity is allocated to Argentina, whereas it used to be approximately 88% before then. Generation decreased 2% during the quarter on a year-over-year basis. This decrease was driven by nuclear and hydro generation, 48% and 30%, respectively. Nuclear generation decreased basically by the two-year maintenance shutdown of Atucha I, which started in November and a seasonal maintenance program of Atucha II, carried on between the end of September and the beginning of December. Hydro generation shrunk due to a combination of two factors: the aforementioned change in the allocation of Yacyretá's installed capacity and energy generation upon Paraguay claim; and a reduction of river flows, mostly in the Uruguay and Paraná Rivers. Finally, renewable and thermal generation rose 13% and 24%, respectively. The growth in thermal generation led to higher fuel consumption. 65% rise in gas oil, 9% in natural gas and 3% in fuel oil. Focusing now on the demand, as you can see, electricity demand kept almost flat during the fourth quarter of 2024 vis-a-vis in the fourth quarter of 2023. There was a slight contraction in residential consumption almost offset by commercial and major demand. Higher temperatures recorded during October of 2024, in comparison to the same month of 2023, prompt higher retail consumption, which shrunk then in November and December as a result of milder temperatures compared to equal months of 2023. For the whole 2024, residential demand barely grew 0.4%. And major and commercial demands both ending 2024 with a 1% decrease in their consumption, though some positive interannual growth rate were observed during the second half of the year, especially for food and beverage, oil and gas and mining. Finally, the electricity trade balance resulted in a net import situation during the whole quarter with the peak in November. In line with the demand trend showcase above, net imports were recorded in October and November, being substantially lower in December. We now go to Slide 10 to our key operating indicators for the quarter. We can see that electricity generated by Central Puerto rose 5% to 5,416 gigawatt hour compared to 5,168 gigawatt hour during the fourth quarter of 2023. Hydro energy generation from Piedra del Aguila dropped 31%, reaching 1,164 gigawatt hour from 1,678 gigawatt hour during the fourth quarter of 2023. This decline was primarily due to a 7% reduction in water levels of the Collón Curá River and 22% in the Limay River, which both resulted in lower availability of water for generation. Wind generation decreased 3%, reaching 396 gigawatt hour during the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 410 gigawatt hour during the same period of 2023. This decline was mainly due to lower wind reserves and also some maintenance works. On the other hand, solar energy generation reached 88 gigawatt hour during the period under analysis compared to 73 gigawatt hour during the fourth quarter of 2023, basically as a result of higher results availability. Thermal generation increased 25% during the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, reaching 3,767 gigawatt hour from 3,007 gigawatt hour. The growth was mainly due to higher dispatch of some steam turbines in Puerto site and some steam and gas turbines in Luján de Cuyo as well as higher generation of the Brigadier Lopez open cycle and the combined cycle of Santa Fe. Also, a higher availability and dispatch were recorded for the Mitsubishi combined cycle located in Costanera side. Finally, it is worth to highlight that during the quarter, some important maintenance programs were carried out in steam turbines and combined cycles, especially that executed in the combined cycle located in Nuevo Puerto. That maintenance lasted more than expected due to some findings recorded in the steam turbine and the generator, while performing the overhaul. These findings were partially settled and are expected to be completely sold-out during the next maintenance program to be carried out next September. Notwithstanding this, the combined cycle is 100% operative. Now, let's move to our revenue breakdown. As you can see on Slide 11, this amounted to $168 million in the quarter as compared to $98 million in the same period of 2023. The variation in revenues is a consequence mainly of: A 61% or $29 million increase in spot market revenues, driven by: a cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and spot remuneration increases; higher thermal generation, mainly in steam turbines, the Brigadier Lopez open cycle plant and Costanera Mitsubishi combined cycle; finally, a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation primarily attributed to the one-time devaluation of December of 2023. Then, we have a 62% or $27 million increase in sales under contract, driven by: higher solar generation of Guañizuil farm; higher energy sales of cogeneration units, especially in the San Lorenzo plant; and also, a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Those were all partially offset by lower wind generation, mainly due to lower wind resource and extraordinary maintenance. Then, we have a 109% or $4 million increase in steam sales, driven by higher steam production in both Luján de Cuyo and San Lorenzo facilities, but substantially in the later on as a consequence of higher demand from clients. As we commented in our last earnings session, we expect that steam demand will continue to be higher in the future, showing a new trend due to new economic activity levels in some industries, remarkably in oil and gas. On Slide 12, we can see the dynamic of our adjusted EBITDA. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the group's adjusted EBITDA amounted to $65 million, pricing 44% or $20 million when compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. When analyzing the adjusted EBITDA, we can observe that the variation is mainly explained by: The previously stated higher aggregate sales driven by spot sales and sales under contracts, spot remuneration increases higher than currency devaluation and a positive non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation inflation. Then, we have a $43 million increase in cost of sales, explained basically by a rise in maintenance expenses and a real appreciation of the Argentine peso. On the other hand, production costs were also negatively impacted by a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation inflation. SG&A rose $11 million, mainly by higher fees and compensation for services related to one-time projects and the real appreciation of the Argentine peso. Similar to production costs, SG&A were also negatively impacted by the so-called non-cash effect due to the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Finally, other operating results net were positive and higher than the fourth quarter of 2023 figures by $4 million, basically as a consequence of insurance recovery, which was partially offset by lower interest from clients due to lower CAMMESA delays, the effects of the Resolution 58, and the negative non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Moving to the next slide, the consolidated net income. During the fourth quarter of 2024, Central Puerto's net income amounted to a loss of $28 million. This is basically the result of negative impacts driven by non-cash effects. We should highlight an impairment of almost $100 million, higher D&A and some one-time gains from M&A transaction registered in 2023. These effects were partially offset by better results driven by the change in purchasing power of the currency due to lower inflation and higher variation biological assets. Then, we have lower funding FX difference and interest due to lower FX variation and some positive effects were recorded by the aforementioned adjusted EBITDA dynamic and net financial results, which were driven by lower FX differences on financial liabilities and lower bank commissions. Finally, income tax was higher due to higher income before tax. Lastly, on Slide 14, we have the cash flow dynamic during the 12 months of 2024. Net cash provided by operating activities was $250 million during 2024. This cash flow arises mainly from net income for the period before income tax, collection from interest from clients, insurance recovery, being all partially offset by income tax and other taxes payment. Net cash used by investing activities was $160 million during 2024. This amount is mainly explained by acquisitions of property, plant and equipment and inventory and acquisitions of other financial assets, being all partially offset by dividends collected and the sale of property, plant and equipment. Net cash used by financing activities was $106 million during 2024. This is basically a result of long-term debt repayments, interest and other long-term debt cost paid and dividends paid being all partially offset by long-term loan received and net overdraft received. Consequently, our cash position as of December 31, 2024 amounted to $4 million. If financial assets are included, our total current liquidity amounts to $233 million. With this, I conclude the presentation. Now, we invite you to ask any questions to our team. Thank you very much for your attention.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from [Tomas Francisco] (ph) with Balanz.

Hello? You can hear me correctly?

Yes, Tomas.

Okay. Good morning to all. I'm Tomas from Balanz Capital. I want to ask three questions. So, the first one is what impact do you expect from Central Puerto from the new regulations that aim to legalize the power sector? What is your view on this topic and future interest of generators to invest?

Okay. Thank you for the question, Tomas. We are seeing different phases of the deregulation that the government are trying to establish, and we are talking with them. The first one was the Resolution 21 that we explained in the script, this is a minimum deregulation that allowed us to start buying some fuels and gas, which is very important for us because, as you know, right now, all the fuel and gas is provided by CAMMESA and in the past, we do that, and we can have some efficiency because, as you know, we are the biggest one, and we have a very power purchase quantity of gas and fuel. So, we are expecting to start buying our own fuel since March, since this month, minimal amount because, as you know, it's -- CAMMESA have already set contract with the gas providers, the plant gas. So, the volumes out of that are right now small volumes, but we are start doing that. So, it's the first phase of the regulation, start buying fuel and gas for us. I mean, this is very, very good, because as I mentioned, we can do -- we can have advantages there. In terms of new capacity, the Resolution 21 established that we can -- with new capacity, we're going to start selling power through private PPAs. So, this is a good start. Of course, it's not easy because right now, the demand or you have -- the demand are covered by renewables. So, we are not expecting perhaps too much new power plants building in the Resolution 21. And the other change that the government are talking about is the possibility of having certain conditions of marginality, prices in the future. We are talking about in October, we have a new regulation in place, a full new regulation in place, and there, we can have some advantages of our combined cycle that are selling right now in the spot market. So, we are seeing some improvement there since November, this year, we can have some improvement in our remuneration, which is right now only at the spot market, and we can have some -- or we can receive some additional prices in terms of some kind of not pure marginalism, but some kind of marginalism that the government are willing to establish some benefits to the equipment that are more efficient and have less -- or yes, are more efficient and have better availability. So, we are seeing there some important opportunities for our most efficient combined cycles. And as I mentioned, we have some opportunities in terms of buying our own fuel, which is small right now, but I think in November, December, could be more important when the government establish the full deregulation scheme. So, I am optimistic about that. I think they are in the good path. They are trying to establish more competition in the sector, not only in the energy generation sector, in the gas sector also. And I think we have -- we are in the good path. Of course, this 20 years of regulation, it's not easy to remove in only one year, but I think we have some opportunities in order to start selling new capacity to perhaps a spot or have a niche transactions in terms of the capacity, in terms of new capacity, but also in terms of the existing capacity, have better prices for the efficient equipment that allowed us to keep maintaining those equipment and to improve those equipment, which is already 20 years old. So, we need to improve that. We need to maintain that. So, we are seeing opportunities there having more flexibility not only to go to spot, but have some -- or cut some marginal prices somehow. And in terms of fuel also, we are looking forward to do that to have our own fuel and gas provision. So, we see some -- also some improvement there in our remuneration.

Great. Thank you. The second one is you may have some small investment in mining and you also have the transmission project with YPF Luz, probably some generation products in the portfolio. Will we see more aggressive investment this year?

Well, we -- first, we have the -- we mentioned it, but we have an option for battery supply from CAMMESA we are looking first, we are looking there. Actively, we are looking to participate. Of course, it's a technology that we are entering. It's not a technology that we know, but we are looking forward to participate in that auction first, it's in May. Then, of course, we are working heavily with YPF to develop the transmission line in the Puna, so this is another important project for us. And the cogeneration depends on not only the regulation. The regulation, as I mentioned, established the possibility to establish a private contract with the demand for new capacity. The thing about that is we need to have the demand when you think about the cogeneration, the most important thing for the [outtaker] (ph) is the steam, but we also need to have the demand for the electricity to cover that -- or the complete business. So, we are looking for that. We have one or two projects on -- we are looking at, but it's not easy to set the whole package to set the steam contract and to set the electricity contract. So, it perhaps take more time than the other assets that we are looking, the other project that we are looking. And in the mining case, we already invest in developing projects, and they are fully funded for this phase of developing, and we are not seeing additional CapEx in this year for those projects.

Okay. Thank you. And last one is any news on the hydro auctions?

Well, we are talking with the government, and they are moving forward, not as fast as they plan at the beginning. They think that they could have the auction in place on February, but I think they are taking, I think, a little bit more, but they are confident that they're going to have the auction in place between April, May, and then they can move forward with that. So -- but we are not having a specific input about how they are planning to do it and if they are thinking in a PPA with CAMMESA, with the Secretary of Energy or they are thinking more in contracts with the demand or distribution companies. We are not ready there, we don't have that information yet. But we know that they're willing to move forward April, May this year.

Okay. Thank you.

[Operator Instructions] This concludes our Q&A session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Fernando Bonnet for any closing remarks.

Thank you, everyone, for your interest in Central Puerto. We encourage you to call us for any information that you may need. Have a great day.

This does conclude today's presentation. We wish you a good day.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Central Puerto's Third Quarter of 2024 Earnings Conference Call. A slide presentation is accompanying today's webcast and is also available on the Investors section of the company's website at www.centralpuerto.com/en/investors. All participants will be in listen-only mode during the presentation. After that, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note this event is being recorded. If you do not have a copy of the press release, please refer to the Investor Relations Support section on the company's corporate website at www.centralpuerto.com. In addition, a replay of today's call may be accessed by accessing the webcast link at the same section of Central Puerto's website. Before we proceed, please be aware that all financial figures were prepared in accordance with IFRS and were converted from Argentine pesos to US dollars for comparison purpose only. The exchange rate used to convert Argentine pesos to US dollars was the reference exchange rate reported by the Central Bank for US dollars for the end of each period. The information presented in US dollars is for the comparison of the readers only and you should not consider these translations to be representations that the Argentine pesos amounts actually represent these US dollars amounts or could be converted into US dollars at the rate indicated. Finally, it's worth noting that the financial Statements for the third quarter ended on September 30, 2024, include the effects of the inflation adjustment. Also, please take into consideration that certain statements made by the company during this conference call and answers to your questions may include forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations contemplated by industry remarks. Thus, we refer you to the forward-looking statements section of our earnings release and recent filings with the SEC. Central Puerto assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. To follow the discussion better, please download the webcast presentation available on the company's website. Please be aware that some of the numbers mentioned during the call may be rounded to simplify the discussion. On the call today from Central Puerto is Fernando Bonnet, Chief Executive Officer; Enrique Terraneo, Chief Financial Officer; and Alejandro Diaz Lopez, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations. And now I will turn the call over to Alejandro Diaz Lopez. Please, Alejandro, you may begin.

Thank you very much and good morning everybody. Thank you for joining us today on a new session of earnings presentation where we are going to discuss our financial results of the third quarter of 2024. Before we get started, I would like to take a moment to review today's agenda. I will begin the presentation by addressing shortly the main figures of the third quarter of 2024, followed by a quick update of the regulatory framework and relevant news. Then I will show an overview of the Argentine electricity industry, moving afterwards to our operational and financial results. Finally, at the end of the presentation, we will be happy to address any questions you may have. Before going into a more exhaustive analysis of our financial and operational results, let me briefly review Central Puerto's main figures for the third quarter of 2024. The group's installed capacity is 6,703 megawatts and energy generation amounted to 5,685 gigawatt hours during the third quarter of 2024, decreasing 1% year-over-year. Regarding our financial results, it should be noted that due to Central Puerto's accounting methodology, all items in pesos must be inflation-adjusted to the end of the quarter or local currency. While the company reports its results in dollars by converting them at the end of the period official exchange rate the so called Central Bank A 3500 exchange rate. This causes a non-cash impact that affects positively or negatively as appropriate our financial metrics. Revenues for the third quarter of 2024 amounted to US$185 million increasing 14% year-over-year compared to the third quarter of 2023 results, while adjusted EBITDA reached US$93 million raising almost 1% versus the third quarter of 2023. Net income for the period was positive in US$40 million doubling year-over-year. Finally, after debt consolidation as a result of M&A's operation, loan repayments, and dividend payments, net debt as of September 30 of 2024 amounted to US$149 million, a reduction of US$137 million vis-a-vis December of 2023, showcasing a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.5 times. Now, let's move to the most recent regulatory updates and news. We have anticipated in our last call the cancellation of the thermal generation tender called Terconf by means of Resolution 151 issued by the Secretary of Energy on July 8. After the price adjustment established last June through Resolution 99, we were granted with a 3% increase in August with Resolution 193, a 5% increase in September with Resolution 233, and a 3% increase in October with Resolution 285. Please take into account that this last resolution has no impact for the third quarter of 2024 figures. Resolution 294 deserves a special mention. It was established a contingency plan for the electricity industry with the aim to mitigate possible critical situations during the period December 2024 to March 2026 with action plans for generation, transmission and distribution as well as for major demand. Regarding generation, an additional complementary and exceptional remuneration for power and energy is established with the purpose of ensuring the availability of equipment in critical months and hours. The scheme is for thermal power plants located in critical nodes determined in Annex 1 of the said resolution that do not have PPAs nor have adhered to the Resolution 59. As you remember, this was established for combined cycles. This exceptional compensation will be in place for summer periods December, January, February, and March between 12:00 PM and 10:00 PM and winter periods, June, July, and August between 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM. To get the additional remuneration, a generator must declare a committed power. The remuneration for both energy and power is affected by the node criticality factor, which can vary between 0.75 and 1.25. To determine the power remuneration, it is also considered the real availability of the generation unit, which is measured during the aforementioned month and hour. Central Puerto's eligible units to adhere to this resolution include steam turbines located in Buenos Aires and Lujan de Cuyo, gas turbines located in Lujan de Cuyo, as well as the Brigadier Lopez thermal power plant. For Central Puerto, the additional remuneration for power varies from US$2,000 to US$2,500 depending on month and units considered. Finally, some key points of the contingency plan include a preventive scheme with backup transformers and mobile generating units in critical nodes. Also, a demand management system is implemented for certain time slots, major user with a declared maximum requirement greater than 10 megawatts may propose a reduction in their loads. Continuing with news and regulatory updates, you should take into account that a new adjustment in spot remuneration was determined by means of Resolution 20 establishing a 6% rise since November 1st. As with Resolution 285 recently mentioned, this has also no impact in the third quarter of 2024 figures. Regarding the situation of Piedra del Aguila hydro operation, the concession was extended for one year by means of presidential decree number 718 issued on August 12th. This decree also set forth a national and international public tender for 2025 looking to grant a new 30-year concession for Comahue hydroelectric plants. The last thing to be mentioned, a couple of days ago the Board of Directors decided to pay dividends distributing ARS39.47 per share. Finally, a concluding remark with regards to the investment projects currently in execution, I mean the San Carlos solar farm and the Brigadier Lopez combined cycle. Both projects are on schedule and on budget. Work on both projects is progressing as planned and at a good pace without setbacks. The solar farm is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2025, whereas the combined cycle COD is planned for the fourth quarter of 2025. Now let's skip to the Argentine electricity market picture of this quarter that will be shown on slides 7 and 8. By the end of the third quarter of 2024, the country's installed capacity reached 42,919 megawatts, which means a decrease of 1% or 533 megawatts, compared to the 43,452 megawatts recorded as of September the 30th of 2023. The variation results from the installation of new power facilities and adjustments and repowering of power plants that were already in operation. The contraction of 533 megawatts is composed as follows. First, an addition of 902 megawatts of renewable sources of which 622 megawatts corresponds to wind farms including 271 megawatts of new plants installed during the third quarter of 2024. 273 megawatts to solar plants including 76 megawatts of new capacity installed during the third quarter of 2024 and 8 megawatts to biogas power plants. Then we have a reduction of 1,195 megawatts in hydro sources and finally a net decrease of 240 megawatts in thermal sources where a reduction of 295 megawatts corresponds to gas turbines, a contraction of 470 megawatts corresponds to steam turbines, and a shrink of 99 megawatts to diesel engines being all partially offset by a rise of 624 megawatts in combined cycles. It is worth to highlight that the decline of 1,195 megawatts in hydro installed capacity is basically explained by a reassessment of Yacyreta's power available between Argentina and Paraguay. Since August of 2024, 50% of Yacyreta's installed capacity is allocated to Argentina, whereas it used to be approximately 88% before then. Generation shrank 3% during the third quarter of this year on a year-over-year basis. The decrease was driven mainly by hydro generation that shrank 33% due to a combination of two factors. One, the set change in the allocation of Yacyreta's installed capacity between Argentina and Paraguay and a reduction of river flows. A contraction of 60% was recorded in Neuquen River, a 55% in the Collon Cura River, a 38% in the Limay River, a 26% in the Uruguay River and finally a contraction of 22% in the Parana River. Nuclear generation rose 7% basically as a result of higher availability and generation of Atucha II. As a result of the re-incorporation of this power plant which was in maintenance shutdown during the first half of 2023. This performance was partially offset by Embalse Power Plant, which entered into maintenance shutdown in September of 2024 and resumed operations last October. Given the low hydro generation and the moderate supply of nuclear and renewable sources, a higher thermal dispatch was required to cover the electricity demand. The 13% growth in thermal generation led to higher fuel consumption, a 16% rise in diesel consumption, a 9% rise in natural gas consumption, and a 3% for fuel oil. Focusing now on the demand as you can see, electricity demand increased 1% to 35.6 terawatt hours compared to 35.2 terawatt hours recorded during the third quarter of 2023, which is basically explained by a rise in residential consumption due to weather conditions. Colder temperatures during July and August of 2024 vis-a-vis the same month of 2023 prompted higher retail consumption which then contracted in September as a result of milder temperatures compared to equal months of 2023. For the whole third quarter of 2024, residential consumption rose 3%. With regards to industrial demand, slightly higher consumption was recorded for the first time in many quarters, especially for food and beverage. Remains to be seen if this represents strong trend for upcoming months. The figures are similar to residential pattern, positive year-over-year growth rate during July and August, then decreasing in September. Finally, the electricity trade balance resulted in a net import situation during the whole quarter with a peak in August. We now go to slide 9 to our key operating indicators for the quarter. We can see that electricity generated by Central Puerto diminished 1% to 5,685 gigawatt hours compared to 5,721 gigawatt hours in the third quarter of 2023. Hydro energy generation from Piedra del Aguila dropped 35% reaching 1,405 gigawatt hours from 2,151 gigawatt hours in the third quarter of 2023. This decline was primarily due to a 55% reduction in water levels of the Collon Cura River, which resulted in lower water available for generation. Wind generation decreased 4% reaching 386 gigawatt hours in the third quarter of 2024 compared to 404 gigawatt hours in the same period of 2023. This decline is mostly explained by lower wind resources and also to some extraordinary maintenance works, including those performed in several blades of La Castellana II. On the other hand, solar energy generation reached 61 gigawatt hours in the third quarter of 2024 as a result of the full impact of Guanizuil Solar Farm during the quarter since it was acquired in October of 2023. Thermal generation increased 21% during the third quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2023, reaching 3,832 gigawatt hours from 3,166 gigawatt hours recorded during the third quarter of 2023. The growth was mainly due to higher dispatch of some units at Puerto site and higher availability and dispatch at Costanera site. Cogeneration units in Lujan de Cuyo and Brigadier Lopez open cycle also had higher availability and dispatch. Finally, as you can see, availability figures remain strong for the whole group for the quarter both against the market average and against Central Puerto on metrics when compared to the third quarter of 2023. Special mention deserves the performance of Central Costanera which availability figures have been improving constantly since Central Puerto took over. This is a consequence of several deep maintenance programs, changes in the operations and efficiency gains with the merger. Now let's move to our revenues breakdown. As you can see on slide 10, this amounted to US$185 million in the quarter as compared to US$162 million in the same period of 2023. The variation in revenues is a consequence mainly of an 11% or US$9 million increase in spot market revenues driven mainly by spot remuneration increases that were higher than currency devaluation during the period under analysis. Higher thermal generation, especially in Brigadier Lopez, Puerto and Costanera sites. Higher availability of some thermal units, especially in Costanera and Brigadier Lopez, and a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Remember that as we stated at the beginning of this presentation, this is due to the company's accounting methodology which includes the inflation adjustment mechanism and the conversion of figures into dollars using the end-of-the-period official exchange rate. Also in the revenues variation during the period we should mention a 12% or US$8 million increase in sales under contract, mostly driven by the solar farm acquired on October of last year, higher availability and energy sales of cogeneration units, Lujan de Cuyo and San Lorenzo plants and the so-called non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. This was all partially offset by lower wind generation, mainly due to the extraordinary maintenance in some blades of La Castellana II as we previously mentioned. Finally, we have a 41% or US$3 million increase in steam sales driven by higher steam production in both Lujan de Cuyo and San Lorenzo facilities as a consequence of higher demand from clients in both places. We expect that steam demand will continue to be higher in the future, showing a new trend due to new economic activity levels in some industries, remarkably in oil and gas. On slide 11, we can see the dynamic of our adjusted EBITDA. During the third quarter of 2024, the group's adjusted EBITDA amounted to US$93 million, remaining almost flat when compared to the third quarter of 2023. When analyzing the adjusted EBITDA we can observe that the variation is mainly explained by the previously stated higher aggregate sales driven by spot sales and sales under contract, spot remuneration increases higher than the currency devaluation, and a positive non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Then a 24% or US$17 million increase in cost of sales explained basically by insurance and compensation to employees being both mostly explained by the real appreciation of the Argentine peso. On the other hand, production cost were also negatively impacted by a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. SG&A rose 20% or US$3 million mainly by fees and compensation for services related to one-time projects and compensation to employees being both mostly impacted by the real appreciation of the Argentine peso. Similar to production cost, SG&A were also negatively impacted by a non-cash effect due to the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Finally, other operating results net in the third quarter of 2024 were lower than the third quarter of 2023 figures by 23% or US$3 million basically as a consequence of lower interest from clients due to lower CAMMESA delays and lower positive FX difference. Also other operating results net were negatively impacted by a non-cash effect on the gap between currency devaluation and inflation. Moving to the next slide, the consolidated net income. During the third quarter of 2024, Central Puerto's net income amounted to US$40 million, jumping 100% or US$20 million on a year-over-year basis. The net income was positively impacted by non-cash effects including better results generated by the change in purchasing power of the currency because of lower inflation and lower D&A. These items were partially offset by lower FONI FX difference and interest. Net income was also positively impacted by the adjusted EBITDA and the net financial results which were driven by lower FX difference on financial liabilities, lower bank commissions and higher share of the profit of associates. Finally, income tax was higher due to higher income before tax. Lastly, on slide 13, we have the cash flow dynamic during the nine months of 2024. Net cash provided by operating activities amounted to US$184 million. This amount is mainly explained by higher income before income tax for the period, interest earned from clients, and insurance recovery being all partially offset by tax payments. Net cash used by investment activities amounted to US$119 million. This amount is mainly explained by the CapEx allocated to San Carlos and Brigadier Lopez projects and the acquisition of financial assets being all partially offset by dividends collected and the sale of financial assets. Finally, financing cash flow was negative in US$78 million. This is basically the result of long-term loan repayments and interest payments, dividends payments being all partially offset by bank and investment accounts, overdraft net, and long-term loan disbursements. Consequently, our cash position as of September 30th of 2024 amounted to US$7 million. If financial assets are included, our total current liquidity position amounts to US$245 million. With this, I conclude the presentation and now we invite you to ask any question to our team. Thank you very much for your attention.

Thank you very much for the presentation. We will now begin the Q&A session for investors and analysts. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Martin Arancet from Balanz. Please, Mr. Martin, your microphone is open.

Hi. Can you hear me?

Yes, very well.

Okay, thanks. Thank you. Hi. Thank you for the presentation. I have three questions or topics actually that I want to discuss and if okay, I will run them one by one. The first one is regarding the new auctions for hydro assets that if I'm not mistaken, include Piedra del Aguila and they should happen by first quarter '25. But before that, I think it will be important to settle some things like the pricing, whether CAMMESA will be an intermediary, and probably some guarantees that the terms of the concessions will be fulfilled this time. So, my question there is, do you think that it can all be ready by first quarter '25? How much do you think these assets should get paid compared to the current situation? And finally, if you have any additional color or thoughts on these auctions.

Okay, thank you, Martin, for your interest. As you mentioned, the government established 180 days period to launch this auction to make a new concession. They are working, so we have been talking with them. They are working -- the new -- this new unit occupied by -- sell the assets. The government assets are taking the control of the process in -- with the Secretary of Energy. So they are working hard in order to accomplish that 180 days. The points under discussion right now with how to balance, establish a competitive auction with competitive price to bring new participants, not only the ones that are operating right now. They are discussing this new scheme, as you mentioned, perhaps with the PPA around the CAMMESA or the demand, that is the discussion right now. And of course the conditions of that new PPA, they need to balance how many or the pricing of the new PPA and, of course, how this new price impacting the actual prices of the electricity. As you know, the price right now that they are paying for the hydros are very low, around US$13 per megawatt, which is a very, very low price. And this price not being attracted for a new auction. So they are discussing the scheme and the pricing for this new tender option that they will call next year. But they don't have a definition yet. So we have been talking with them and they don't have the definition. Of course, this not only implies the PPA, it implies the prices for all the electricity that we sell in the market. Not only the hydros, the thermal. So, they need to balance the whole scheme, the FONI plans, also the pricing for that. So, it's not only the hydros, they need to work on the whole tariff scheme for the generation and the system. But they are confident that they will have the new tender ready for the second quarter of this new -- in the next year.

Okay, great. Well, regarding that of the, well, the regulatory change for the coal system, there are some rumors regarding a probably regulatory change that will allow thermal generation to sign private PPAs. So, I was wondering as far as you know, is the government working on a change of that sort and also were you and other thermal generators convent to discuss this change?

Yeah, as we talk with the government and they are working previous to the Daniel Gonzalez arrived, they are working on that sense. They want to allow or they want to promote the contractualization in the market -- in the electricity market. And they thinking in, yes, establish a new private market, of course, there are some contracts that are still in place with CAMMESA. So, they will maintain that, but in talking about the spot market, the actual spot market, they want to allow the contractualization between the generators and the demand, at least the big demand, the big users, and open the market that we have for the renewables right now to a market that the thermal units can enter in. The timing of that, they are analyzing the timing for that, if it could be perhaps a transition, because when you are talking about thermal contract, we need to talk about also the fuel that the thermal unit consumes. So, as you know, right now the fuel are all by CAMMESA and they give us the fuel to generate, the gas, and the diesel and fuel oil also. So they are also analyzing how they can start dismantling that or giving the diesel transmit that to an open possibility for the generator to buy their own fuel. So, they are working on these two sides of the same problem, which is open the market in terms of generation electricity and in terms of fuel, diesel and gas. But they are working on that. And I think it's a transition that need to occur sooner or later, gas.

Yeah. And regarding that, as a follow-up on that, while you mentioned that they are working on this regulatory change, but I'm guessing that probably efficient thermal units will be competitive to sign these new private PPAs, but probably more inefficient ones won't but they are still necessary for the system. I don't know if you share that view and if you think that current legacy prices are enough for those legacy units, inefficient legacy units, or if you think that legacy prices should keep improving in order to have healthy thermal assets.

No, I don't think that we need to separate inefficient or inefficient. The thing that we need to understand here is, you have in the electricity sector you have two components. You have the energy itself and you have the power. And when you talk about energy, of course, you need to talk about efficient. And there we have, as you know, very efficient combined cycles, selling the electricity at the spot market right now with the tariff that is very, very -- if you compare with a new capacity, with the same efficiency, a new combined cycle that you build or an auction that we saw in 2017, 2018 and '19, the prices are very, very low. So, the prices need to go up a little bit to maintain that efficient -- energy and efficient energy for a long period of time. But when you talk about power is that power is something that you need when you have peaks of demand, and then when you talk about that kind of power, electricity for peaks, you talk about less efficient unit like open cycle TGs, steam turbines that we already have. So -- and that is not easy to construct in the private market because it's something that you will have as a backup of the system when the system goes up in terms of demand because the climate change or a specific period of time. So it's not easy to establish a private contract regarding about that. So in that sense this is something that the system operator in this case CAMMESA or any system operator in other countries make some specific allocations to provide power for peaks and to have the backup of the system. This is our unit that have low dispatch perhaps 10% of the time, less than 10%, 5%. So, in that sense, for sure, you need to increase the prices, the prices that are paid already are not sufficient to have new power or maintain the power that we have been operating right now. So, for sure, you need to think in new prices. The prices are the same that you saw in the last tender, the Terconf, that are prices for power, not specifically for energy. So, power prices for not high efficient units. So, you need to consider that I think with electricity and energy we can talk about private contracts. And in terms of power, you will need some aggregator in the system that establish new options for power and with prices, of course, going up from the prices that we are seeing now.

Okay, very clear. And my final question then, while you have a strong cash position and low debt levels, I don't know what can you share regarding investment plans for the next couple of years, and if you are considering an investment under the RIGI scheme.

Oh yes, for sure. In terms of new power and thermal power, we are expecting, we have been talking with the government and we are expecting a new tender for power. Perhaps less than the Terconf that we saw last year, but more focusing specific points in AMBA. So, we are ready to participate there and we want to continue the replacing of our units in AMBA. In terms of renewables, we are seeing opportunities and we have been talking with the customers in terms of providing a solution for mining companies in the north. Not only providing the electricity, providing the transmission line they need for connect to the grid. We are talking with the lithium mining companies in the north. So we expect that if the lithium continue growing in the north and we can find an agreement with the mining companies that we can enter there in construction of transmission line and providing the renewable energy they want for the mining companies in the north. We are looking for that and that are big, big project for us. Then we are looking, as you may see, we are looking opportunities in the mining sector. So we are looking for opportunities in -- as you saw entering in a silver and gold mining company. And we are -- we are trying to look at additional opportunities there. And also we are seeing something in lithium and we are trying to develop our forest business trying to, of course it's not easy, the forest, as you know, the forest business in Argentina is complicated because the logistic cost put our good resources in stress. Because the cost of these logistics are higher, much more higher than anywhere in the world. But we are trying to look at opportunities there to industrialize a portion of our production. And, of course, we are also seeing opportunities in electricity, electricity sector opportunities to acquire or increase our megawatts in renewables also. And of course internal opportunities that we are looking and seeing.

Great. Just one little follow-up. Do you have any timeline expected for the new auction for thermal units?

No, in fact, but we expect if we understand what the government are saying, not specifically days, but they want to move forward previous to the end of the year, but we don't have any specific dates or timing.

Okay, well, pretty soon. Well, that's all on my side. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your interest.

Our next question comes from Ludovic Casrouge from Autonomy. Please, Mr. Ludovic, your microphone is open.

Yes, good morning and congratulations for the results. My question was about the contingency plan from December 2024 to March 2026 and that you would receive higher remuneration for some poor plants. What could be the impact on EBITDA concretely?

Well, we are not expecting a huge impact because it's a small remuneration for the steam turbines and the gas turbine operating in an open cycle. So and also this brings a new -- a new CapEx and new OpEx for these units. So we are not expecting a huge or a big impact in our EBITDA. No basically will be less than, I don't know, if you can remember me, but it is US$10 million or around that more than that because it's very short period of time and impact on only a portion of our -- a small portion of our generation and the increase is not big increase. So, it's only something to prevent for downgrading of our old units that had been downgrading for a lot of years. It seems that their remuneration are freeze since I think 2019 or 2018, but it's not big amount.

Okay, thanks a lot.

Our next question comes from Gustavo Faria from Bank of America. Please, Mr. Faria, your microphone is open.

Hi, guys. Thank you for taking my question. Just a quick thing on our side, do you expect any increase in the thermal power plant dispatch or availability given the ongoing gas pipelines projects in Argentina, so does higher gas availability for your thermal power plants? And do you think it could be enough to replace all the power imports of Argentina?

Okay, in terms of our units, I think could be, but marginally because our units are -- most of our units are dual fuel. So when we don't have gas, they consume diesel oil or fuel oil. So we are not expecting for our units a higher impact on dispatch. Of course, this will imply an impact on cost for sure, because the impact in a cost reduction because as you know, the price of gas are much more cheaper than fuel or diesel oil. But we are not expecting a huge impact on our dispatch. In terms of, I don't remember, sorry, the second question. Okay, yes, imports. Yes, in terms of imports -- in terms of imports of natural gas, yes, we are reducing the importation of natural gas from Bolivia, switching to gas from Vaca Muerta. In terms of importation of electricity, I don't think so, because as you know, we are -- in terms of peak periods, especially in summer, we are seeing as a constraint in terms of demand. So, depending on, of course, on the temperature of summer, but for this year, until we don't have this new Terconf or tender offer for new power in AMBA, we were seeing importation from Brazil of electricity during the peak periods, independent of the gas pipelines. For sure, when you have the Terconf and you have a new capacity entering, could be in a couple of years, could be a reduction. But this also depends on the evolution of the demand in Argentina. If we start growing again and the industry start growing again, we will need both. So, we need to increase our power plants or we need to still need some importation from Brazil during the peak times.

Okay, thank you.

Our next question comes from Matias Cattaruzzi from AdCap Securities. Please. Mr. Matias, your microphone is open.

Hi, everyone. I'm Matias. I got a question about the summer months ahead with the contingency plan that the government wants to implement. How that would affect the company in like operating metrics, costs, and its overall financial performance. And do you have an EBITDA forecast for the following quarter and the next year? And as well I got another question about the dividends policy. You've been giving some dividends over the end of the last year and now you paid dividends again. Are you going to insert a rule of dividends or these are just retained earnings that you're phasing out?

Okay. I am going for the first question. In terms of operation during this summer, of course, as you know, we have a very short backup in terms of capacity in AMBA specifically in AMBA region. So for sure we expect our units operating in higher levels this summer, of course, depending on the climate and the temperature, but in the temperature that we are expecting, that is a high temperature for summer, we expect a higher dispatch of our units during the summer. In terms of remuneration, as I mentioned before, this new scheme is not a driver changing in terms of remuneration is an additional amount to maintain or to perform some additional maintenance to our units. But it's not a game changer. I think it's another step trying to increase or not in terms of, not increase, not keep going down our availabilities of units that are the spot market. But it's not a game changer. So we do not expect a higher impact in our EBITDA.

And then dividends?

And then dividends, yes, in terms of dividends, as you know, we are growing and we expect to grow in terms of capacity and in terms of investments. We're investing in closing our Brigadier Lopez open cycle. We are investing in new solar projects and we are looking for new opportunities. So we are paying dividends, trying to consider that. So as you mentioned, we don't have a strict policy of paying dividends yet because we are in a growing phase of the company and trying to catch opportunities. But, in terms of having said that, every year at the end of the year, when we analyze our cash flows and we see some cash that is available to pay dividends, we want to pay dividends and we go for that. But this is more or less how it works in terms of policy. Of course, when we have a more established path in terms of growth and in terms of opportunities in the market, we paid in more regular or tried to set more regular basis. But this is more or less how we are working right now, seeing the cash flow coming and expenses and opportunities and see how many cash we have available at the end of the year and we paid -- we used to pay dividends that amount.

Great. And one last question. Can you give us more guidance on next quarter and the following year in terms of EBITDA?

Yes. We are not seeing a different or a big change until we can -- the government establish this new scheme of new possibilities of signing PPAs or changes in the regulatory framework. We are seeing more or less the EBITDA that we are having this 2024 will be repeated. But if the government established that possibility to sign private contracts and to deregulate the acquisition of fuel, of course, we are expecting that the EBITDA will be very different from that we have right now. But it's not easy to establish a number because we are not having the regulatory change on the table right now.

Okay, great. Thank you so much.

[Operator Instructions] This does conclude the Q&A session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Fernando Bonnet for any closing remarks. Please go ahead sir.

Thank you to everyone for your interest in Central Puerto. We encourage you to call us for any information that you may need. Have a great day.

This does conclude today's presentation. We thank you for your participation and wish you a very good day.