Cementos Pacasmayo S.A.A.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Pacas Mayo's fourth quarter 2020 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode, and please note this call is being recorded. At the conclusion of the prepared remarks, we will conduct a question and answer session. I would now like to introduce the host for today's call, Ms. Claudia Bustamante, Investor Relations Manager. Ms. Bustamante, you may begin.

Thank you, Catherine. Good morning, everyone. Joining me on the call today is Mr. Humberto Nadal, our Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Manuel Ferreiro, our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Nadal will begin our call with an overview of the quarter, focusing primarily on our strategic outlook for the short and medium term. Mr. Ferreiro will then follow with additional commentary on our financial results. We'll then turn the call over to your questions. Please note that this call will include certain forward-looking statements. These statements relate to expectations, needs, projections, trends, and other matters that are not historical facts, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties that might affect future events or results. Descriptions of these risks are set forth in the company's regulatory filings. With that, I'd now like to turn the call over to Mr. Humberto Navarrete.

Thank you, Claudia. Welcome, everyone, to today's conference call. We hope all of you and your families continue to stay safe during these difficult times. This quarter's cement shipments reached unprecedented levels once again. The 37.2% year-over-year growth in cement sales volume is absolutely remarkable, especially considering last year's volumes were already very strong. This significant increase in sales also resulted in an all-time high quarterly EBITDA levels of 128.1 million soles. The strong second half of the year allowed for yearly cement sales volumes to decrease only 1.2% compared to 2019, despite over two months of virtually no sales, and definitely much better than we could have expected when the pandemic started. This trend has been sustained since June 2020, and we strongly believe we will continue to see strong growth in 2021. One of the reasons to be confident in 2021 is the execution of infrastructure related to the reconstruction plan in Northern Peru after El Niño had a devastating impact in 2017. As we already have mentioned in previous quarters, last June, the Peruvian government signed a government-to-government agreement with the United Kingdom to execute 7 billion solids of this reconstruction plan during the next two years. Last week, the Authority for Reconstruction announced a public bid for a group of projects that adds up to around 2 billion solids added to the $1.6 billion already in execution represent a significant amount of spending, mainly in schools, hospitals, and riverbank defenses, all of which, as you know, are cement intensive. This project will also have boost concrete shares, which have already started picking up this quarter. Even though the fastest peak in demand during 2020 came from the self-construction segment, which consumes mostly back demand, we never lost sight of our vision of becoming a building solutions company with a client as our main focus. Therefore, this year, we focus on strengthening our already existing strategy of selling our concrete to small and medium-sized construction companies, as we realize our largest construction projects, especially those related to private investment, would have a slower recovery. Moreover, diversifying our customer base strengthens our position as we become less reliant on a small number of large projects. Pre-cut sales also had a very strong year, achieving 36.4% year-over-year growth in 2020 despite the two-month halt in operations, mainly from infrastructure projects. We are confident that if we continue to focus on our clients' needs and provide them with innovative, tailor-made solutions, we will continue to grow and advance forward towards our 2030 vision. The world has had to adapt fast in this year, and we are definitely no exception. Many strategies that were in the making were accelerated this year, As you have already mentioned before, we dedicated a great effort and time this year to develop Mundo Experto, an ecosystem made up of digital solutions targeted and customized for different users, such as foremen, hardware stores, and the self-builder. This year, the Good Employers Association of Peru had a special addition to the pandemic called Leading the Change in Adversity. We're proud to say that Pacas Mario, because of Mundo Experto, was an outstanding company in the leadership category in business reinvention. which highlights immediate response capacity to ensure business continuity through reinvention of processes, skills, and digital solutions in order to protect the operation and safety of its staff and customers during the pandemic. It gives us great satisfaction that our initiatives are recognized and drives us to continue innovating and developing tools and channels to improve our customer experience. Finally, I would like to mention that we are humbled and greatly honored to be one of the 2,000 companies to be included for the first time in S&P Sustainability Yearbook in 2021. This report is based on the assessment of the most important companies around the world, grounded on the annual corporate sustainability assessment by SAM. This year, 7,032 companies belonging to a total of 61 industries around the world were evaluated in economic, environmental, and social fields. To appear in the yearbook, To appear in the yearbook, companies must score within the top 15% of the industry and must achieve an S&P Global ESG score within 30% of the industry's top performing companies. Furthermore, we have been awarded with the industry mover status as we recorded the strongest year-on-year score improvement in our industry. A few years ago, we started focusing even more on sustainability, understanding that a company has to transform to incorporate sustainability practices systematically in all areas of it in its core. This recognition, especially in these difficult times, motivates us and affirms our commitment to continue our improvement in this path. 2020 has been indeed a very challenging year, one that has tested our resilience, our capacity to adapt, to innovate, and to constantly and permanently think outside the box to find solutions in an ever-changing and unpredictable world. I firmly, strongly believe that our ability to surpass these difficult times stems from our focus on our people and understanding their wants, needs, and motivations to help them transcend. As a result of this, we have motivated people that are committed to our company's purpose and have high levels of engagement. Our true character is often revealed in times of crisis, and I can humbly but very proudly say that the best of us has flourished in this pandemic. I will now turn the call over to Manuel for a more detailed analysis of the financial results. Manuel.