Kimberly-Clark de México

Excuse me, everyone. We now have all of our speakers in conference. Please be aware that each of your lines is in a listen-only mode. At the conclusion of today's presentation, we will open up the floor for questions. At that time, instructions will be given as to the procedure to follow if you would like to ask a question. I would now like to turn the conference over to Paulo Gonzalez. You may begin.

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for your participation on the call, and we hope you and your families are all safe and healthy. Let me start by making a few brief comments about the quarter. Our results reflect strong growth and improved profitability, both sequentially as well as year on year. Notwithstanding a difficult top-line comparison given last year's aggressive pricing by some market participants, our sales grew for the 22nd quarter in a row mostly through volume, reflecting the strength of our brands. The volume growth together with an improved cost environment and our increased productivity and cost savings initiatives allowed us to continue to deliver good bottom line results. A positive quarter, but we face a very challenging rest of the year. Javier will provide additional details on the results before we discuss the current situation and possible implications for Kimberly-Clark to Mexico.

Hello, everyone. I also wish everyone is healthy and your families are doing well through this period. During the quarter, our sales were 11.7 billion pesos, a new record and a 6% increase versus the first quarter of 2019. Volume grew while price and mix were slightly down versus last year. Consumer product sales were 6% higher, also as a result of higher volumes. Away-from-home products grew to 4%, and export sales grew 55%. We exported more converted products as well as more tissue parent groups. Cost of goods sold were down 1%. Against last year, virgin pulp, recycled fiber, and fluff prices compared positively as did oil derivatives, including superabsorbent materials and resins. Energy prices also compared positively. FX averaged 1% less during the quarter. Having said that, let me remind you that by the end of the quarter, the peso had depreciated 22.6% versus the previous year, which will impact costs going forward. The cost reduction program yielded close to 350 million pesos of savings during the quarter. Growth profit increased 19% and margin was 39.6% for the quarter, 10 basis points better sequentially. SG&A grew 6%, slightly below sales, as we maintain a lean operation while efficiently investing in advertising and point of sales to strengthen our brand and support our recent innovations. Operating profit increased 31%, and the margin was 23.1%, a 10 basis point sequential improvement. During the quarter, we generated 3.2 billion pesos of EBITDA, a 26% increase, and EBITDA margin was 27.5%, a sequential improvement of 20 basis points. Cost of financing was 412 million pesos in the first quarter, compared to 368 million in the same period of last year. Interest expense was higher as we recognized an increase in the value of the put of foreign minority owners in line with improved results of this business. The foreign exchange gain in the period was 42 million pesos compared to 25 million in the previous year. As a consequence, net income for the quarter was 1.5 billion pesos, a 32% increase. Finally, earnings per share were 50 cents. With that, I'll turn it back to Paulo.