Santos Brasil closed Q417 with a recurring EBITDA of R$ 30.1 million and net income of R$ 20.4 million

In a scenario of resumption of economic growth, Santos Brasil closed the last quarter of 2017 with indicators that underline the recovery of the Company´s financial results and the effectiveness of the organizational restructuring process. In Q417, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was R$ 26.8 million, with a 12.7% margin. Recurrent EBITDA was R$ 30.2 million, with a 14.3% margin. Year-to-date EBITDA totaled R$ 83.8 million.

The Company went back to recording accumulated net profit in the year, which reached the R$ 2.5 million level. In Q417, the financial result was R$ 20.4 million. Cash flow from operations and investments remained positive. The Company closed 2017 with a cash balance of R$ 270.7 million, net cash of R$ 37.7 million and a 0.45 negative leverage ratio, as measured by the net debt/EBITDA ratio for the last 12 months, and also amortized R$ 180.9 million (principal + interest) in the year. Consolidated net revenue totaled R$ 210.9 million in Q417, in a 0.1% increase over Q416.

The organizational restructuring program conducted throughout the year reduced about R$ 45 million from the company´s fixed cost base. "In 2017, the Company underwent a challenging cycle and, in 2018, it begins a new stage of development and investment in its operations", says the Santos Brasil Investor Relations Director Daniel Pedreira Dorea. "Efforts to reduce costs will continue, as well as the strategy of improving internal processes focused on efficiency and productivity gains", he says.

For 2018, the economic recovery scenario is expected to intensify and continue to drive volumes. Earlier this year, the company celebrated the closing of a new long-haul contract with the PIL shipping company¿s route to Asia, which expects to move 40,000 TEUs per year at Tecon Santos.

Operational Performance

Tecon Imbituba (Santa Catarina State), Logistics, Tecon Vila do Conde (Pará State) and the Vehicle Terminal (TEV) continued to show upward operational performance in recent months, in Q417, and throughout the year. Tecon Santos (São Paulo State) recorded a drop in volume, still reflecting the loss of the ESA navigation service operating on the route to Asia. In the consolidated period, total volume in the three terminals operated by the Company was 1,486,933 TEU, 3.2% lower than in 2016. In all, 968,694 containers were handled, 248,903 of which were in the last quarter of 2017.

The long-haul ASAS service, which began calling in September on a weekly basis, was the main factor for the change in the volume level at Imbituba. The terminal in Santa Catarina increased the volume handled in Q417 by 97.8%, totaling 12,494 containers, about twice as many as in Q416. Handling of long-haul containers accounted for 36.2% of the total volume in Q417, compared to 7.1% in Q416. In the 2017 accumulated volume, operations grew 64.7%, totaling 40,197 units. The terminal showed an 80% growth compared to 2016, totaling 50,231 TEU.

At Vila do Conde, growth indicators were equally significant. In comparison with 2016, 116,801 TEU were handled in the year, in a 12.7% increase. The increase in Q417 over the same period in 2016 was 15.6% in volume of containers handled, totaling 21,980 units. In cash, the Pará State terminal grew 18.3% over the previous year, totaling 77,823 units. Long-haul operations accounted for 74.7% of the total volume (60.6% in Q416) and grew 42.6% in Q417 compared to the same period of last year.

Benefiting from the warming of the Brazilian automotive industry, TEV - the country´s largest terminal specialized in vehicles - handled 69,674 units in Q417, a 27.8% increase over Q416. Light vehicles accounted for 90.2% of the total volume in the period. In 2017, TEV operated with 96% of its capacity, handling 289,173 vehicles, which represents a historical high and represents a 60.8% growth over 2016. Exports accounted for 95.