The leverage of the sugar-energy sector in the center-south of Brazil reached the lowest level in nine years in the 2021/22 harvest, according to a report by the agro consultancy of Itaú BBA, based on a sample of 58 groups in the center-south of Brazil.
According to the financial diagnosis released today (09), the sector’s net debt/Ebitda ratio is currently 1.4, showing successive drops since the 2018/2019 harvest, when this ratio was 3.4.
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The bank claims that the good and more homogeneous cash generation, provided mainly by the appreciation of sugar in the international market, allowed the sector’s net debt to return to the levels of the 2016/2017 harvest. In the current harvest, the debt is R$35.88 billion (US$6.74 billion).
The report also highlights the good cash generation even with the increase in investments, which totaled R$15.7 billion (US$2.95 billion) in the 2021/22 harvest.
On the other hand, Itaú BBA also points to what it calls “different realities” within the sector in relation to the financial and operational health of companies, with the group that account for most of the national crushing, however, presenting better conditions.
With information from Forbes