Central Puerto S.A.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Central Porto's second quarter of 2026 earnings conference call. A slide presentation is a Companies Today webcast and will be also available on the Investors section of the company's website, www.centralporto.com.an.investors. All participants will be in a 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 will be available in upcoming days by accessing the website link at the same section of the Centro Puerto's website. Our hosts today will be Mr. Fernando Bonnet, Centro Puerto's CEO, Mr. Enrique Terraneo, the company's CFO, Mrs. Maria Laura Feller, Head of Investor Relations, and Mr. Alejandro Díaz López, Head of Corporate Finance. Maria Laura, please go ahead.

Thank you very much. Good morning and welcome everyone. We are joining you today from Buenos Aires with our management team to walk you through the results of the second quarter of 2026 and afterward we'll take your questions. Before we start, a couple of quick notes, both covered on slide 2. First, today's presentation includes forward-looking statements and non-IFRS measures, including adjusted EVTA, so please keep our full disclaimer in mind as we go through the numbers. Also, to remind the audience, since January 1 of this year, our functional currency is the US dollar rather than the Argentine peso, and we've also refined how we convert historical peso figures into dollars. You'll find the full detail in note 2.2 to our financial statements. All figures are in US dollars unless otherwise stated. Let's turn to slide 3 for the highlights of the quarter. Second quarter adjusted EVTA came in at $145.0 million. That's up 20.1% versus the $120.7 million we posted in the first quarter and up 136.2% versus the $61.4 million posted in the second quarter of 2025. Revenues total $453.3 million, up 82.3% quarter-on-quarter from $248.6 million and up 165.8% year-on-year from $170.5 million. This figure includes $176.4 million of spot CVP related to self-procured fuel. Total generation reached 5250 GWh, representing approximately 15% of total generation on Argentina's grid. This was a 3.1% decrease from the first quarter's 5420 GWh, but a 20.1% increase versus the 4372 GWh generated in the second quarter of last year. On the investment side, capital expenditures for the first half of 2026 totaled $421.9 million. This included $245.0 million for the Piedra del Águila concession, $50.0 million for the acquisition of the oil and gas blocks, $106.0 million for our battery storage projects, and $20.9 million in maintenance and other capital expenditures. Net financial leverage stood at 1.2 times adjusted EBTA, with net financial debt of $493.4 million and last 12-month adjusted EBTA of $403.8 million. FONI collections from Gamesa were $16.0 million in the quarter and outstanding credit was $104.8 mm. On the financing front, in April we issued our Class D notes for $133.1 million at a 6% rate. In July, after quarter end, we issued our Class E notes for $94.3 million at a 5.5% rate. We also continued strengthening our commercial position. Our average market share in the Resolution 400 term market, or MAT, reached more than 35% in the second quarter. We now serve more than 120 large industrial customers plus 16 distribution and sub-distribution companies. Altogether, contracted sales, combining PPAs, mat and mater, represented 55% of our total sales volumes and 48% of our total revenues, including hydro sales under the terms of the concession. On our growth projects, our battery storage system projects are on schedule. Construction is 69% complete at Nuevo Puerto and 54% complete at Central Costanera. With major equipment delivered or in transit and installation progressing on schedule, we expect the projects to be energized between October and November, with commercial operation in the fourth quarter of this year. Once operational, we expect these projects to contribute between 25 and 27 million dollars to the adjusted EVTA in 2027. In April, we closed the acquisition of the oil and gas blocks. For now, we are maintaining technical due diligence previous to the CENCH. Let's move to slide 4 for more detail on generation and our commercial development. In the second quarter, total energy offered into the Argentine grid was 36,724 GWh, made up of 34,954 GWh of local generation plus approximately 1,770 GWh of imports. Central Puerto held more than 35% of the Resolution 400 term market share in the second quarter. Looking at the monthly trend, our share increased significantly through the quarter, reaching 35% in June, reflecting the continued progress of our commercial contracting efforts. Turning to slide 5, let's look at revenues in more detail. Revenues were $453.3 million, up 82.3% quarter-on-quarter and 165.8% year-on-year. Two things drove that growth. First, contracted sales increased, primarily due to a full quarter of revenues from the Briarier López plant under its power purchase agreement. Higher contracted energy and capacity sales in the term market from Central Puerto, Central Costanera, Piedra del Águila and Luján de Cuyo, and the reclassification of Piedra del Águila's hydro sales as contracted sales beginning in 2026, reflecting the pricing mechanism established under Article 9 of the concession terms. Second, spot sales increased due to higher capacity revenues resulting from seasonal capacity remuneration parameters applicable during the winter months, as well as the fuel cost component that is reflected in revenues when we self-procure fuel for spot generation. In the second quarter, this included approximately $174 million of NG, LNG and liquid fuels purchased directly. When CAMESA supplies the fuel under the gas acuerdo program, that cost is managed by CAMESA and therefore is not recognized as revenue by the company. Now to slide 6 for the adjusted EBTA of the quarter. Adjusted EBTA was $145.0 million, up 20.1% quarter on quarter and 136.2% year on year. The improvement was mainly driven by the margin captured on self-procured liquid fuels and seasonal spot prices, together with new contracted thermal energy in the mat. Let's move to slide 7, core generation and availability. Total generation was 5,250 GWh this quarter. Compared to the first quarter, a few things moved in different directions. Generation from our legacy steam turbines was down 17%, while Piedra del Águila more than doubled its output, up 112.9%, reflecting stronger hydrology. Renewable generation was down 17.0% quarter on quarter, and the Luján de Cuyo gas turbine unit was still out of service following the generator failure that occurred in the first quarter of last year. Our thermal fleet remained reliable. Total thermal availability of combined cycles was 87.0% and steam production total 781,742 tons, up 45.4% quarter on quarter, but down 16.0% year on year. Central Puerto represented approximately 15% of total generation on Argentina's grid, or 15.9%, including our FONI plants at our working interest. Turning to slide 8, total capital expenditures for the first half of the year were $421.9 million. This includes $245.0 million for the Piedra de la Isla concession, $50.0 million for the oil and gas block acquisition, $106.0 million for our battery storage projects, and $20.9 million for maintenance and other items. The battery energy storage system projects have already executed 81% of the project's total capital budget. Construction is 69% complete at Nuevo Puerto and 54% at Central Costanera. Major equipment has either been delivered or is in transit. An installation is progressing on schedule. We expect commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2026. Once running, we expect these projects to add between 25 and 27 million dollars EVTA in 2027. Now to slide 9 on our balance sheet and financial flexibility. As of June 30, our total outstanding financial debt was 671.9 million dollars. against cash, cash equivalents, and financial current assets of $178.4 million that leaves us with net debt of $493.4 million. Measured against our last 12 months adjusted EBITDA of $403.8 million, our net leverage ratio was 1.2 times, a healthy level that gives us financial flexibility. On our debt maturity profile, we hold $178.4 million in cash and financial current assets today, and our maturities are well spread out over time, with $176.4 million coming due later this year, followed by moderate amounts in 2027 and 2028 and larger maturities in 2029 and 2030. On financing activity, in April we issued our Class D notes for $130.1 million at a 6.0% rate, with a 48-month bullet maturity. In July, after the quarter closed, we issued our Class E notes for $94.3 million at 5.5% with a 36-month bullet maturity, mainly to fund working capital and fuel procurement needs. Thank you very much for your time and for your continued confidence in Central Puerto. Operator, please open the line for questions.

Thank you very much for the presentation. We will now begin the Q&A session for the investors and analysts. If you wish to ask a question, please press the button Reaction and then click on Raise Hand. If your question has already been answered, you can leave the queue by clicking on Put Hand Down. Our first question comes from Matias Cataruzzi with AdCap. Your microphone is open.