Grupo Mexico Aktie

Good day, and thank you for holding, and welcome to Grupo Mexico's Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call. With us this morning are Grupo Mexico's top executives, who will discuss the financial performance of the company during the fourth quarter 2025 results, giving you a summary of the latest news and addressing any questions you may have at the end of the call.

Before we begin, I would like to remind you that information discussed on today's call may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's results and prospects, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially, and the company cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Grupo Mexico undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All results are expressed in full U.S. GAAP. The presentation may be followed through our webcast. [Operator Instructions] A copy of the slides and the company will be reviewing today is available on the website at grupomexico.com. [Operator Instructions]

Now we will begin with Ms. Marlene Finny.

Thank you so much, Carmen. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for Grupo Mexico's Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call and 2025 full year as well. Sitting with me today are the top executives from all of our three divisions. During this call, as Carmen mentioned before, we will be following a presentation that can be downloaded from our website or followed by accessing the webcast. So if you want to go and see a presentation, you have a text.

You can find on Slide #3, the program we will be following today. So I'll kick off with Grupo Mexico's ESG highlights. followed by the quarter's scorecard and financial highlights. Then Mr. Leonardo Contreras will provide detailed information regarding our Mining division's main highlights and projects and comment on the industry's economic environment. She will be then followed by Mr. Fernando Lopez-Guerra, who will go through the financial results and main events of our Transportation division. And last but not least, Mr. Francisco Zinser will comment on the Infrastructure division's relevant events and financial highlights. As usual, at the end, the line will be open for questions and answers.

With that being said, let's go to our main ESG highlights in Slide #5. In 2025, we made significant progress in the road safety program for railway crossings, intervening in 33 level crossings across various regions of Mexico, reducing the risk for both communities and transportation operators. The second phase was completed during this last quarter, reaching 110 crossings and additional improvements along Ferromex and Ferrosur lines. This was an annual investment that reached almost $14 million.

The SX-EW plant at La Caridad unit in Sonora in Mexico was awarded the Casco de Plata, silver helmet in English, Casco de Plata, in the category of metallurgical plant with up to 500 workers granted by the Mexican Mining Chamber recognizing the company's commitment to risk prevention and employee safety.

The Infrastructure division obtained its environmental management system as part of its commitment to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. This reduces environmental impact, ensures compliance with the regulatory requirements and establishes continuous improvement processes for the environmental performance of these facilities.

Continuing on Slide #6, our Buenavista del Cobre mine in Mexico, along with the Toquepala and Cuajone mines in Peru received The Copper Mark accreditation for compliance with the global industry standard on tailings management established by the International Council of Mining and Metals. This accreditation confirms commitment to international best practices, providing assurance to authorities, neighboring communities and other stakeholders that operations are conducted safely. And lastly, Southern Peru was recognized by the Peruvian government as the mining company with the largest number of projects awarded under public work for taxes in 2025. Through this mechanism, the company has carried out 40 projects and invested more than $400 million in infrastructure to help bridge to help bridge social gaps. It is currently implementing four additional projects totaling $28 million, which will benefit more than 5,000 people.

Now we will continue on Slide #7. Here, you have the scorecard with the main numbers for this quarter. Our revenues in 2025 reached a record high of more than $18 billion, representing an increase of 12.4% when compared to 2024 and a 34% increase year-over-year on a quarterly basis. Our EBITDA also reached a record high with almost $10 billion in 2025, an increase of almost 19% compared to 2024 and more than 50% when compared to the fourth quarter of last year. Our copper production in 2025 remained stable, showing a slight reduction of around 1% compared to the same period of 2024, totaling almost 1,070,000 tonnes compared to the same quarter of last year. We saw an increase of almost 2%. Our net cash cost amounted $89 per pound -- $0.89 per pound actually. This was a 22% improvement when compared to 2024, reflecting a reduction of $0.26 and a 34.2% improvement when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. So we keep on -- as you know, we are -- we keep on being the mining company with the lowest cash cost worldwide.

As usual, you can find this summary of our financial highlights on Slide #8, which is there for you to have in case you need at any point in the presentation. It is also important to mention that our Board approved a MXN 1.50 per share during this quarter dividend, which translates into a 3.1% dividend yield and an almost 50% payout ratio.

On Slide #9. Thank you. Grupo Mexico continues to have a solid balance sheet with over $581 million generated during the fourth quarter of 2025. As you might already know, our debt is mainly issued in U.S. dollars, representing 79% of the total debt, while the rest is denominated in Mexican pesos and 87% of our total debt was issued at a fixed rate. Our stock had an excellent performance during the year. It increased over 99% in U.S. dollars and just shy of 72% in pesos.

On this slide, you can also see the dividend paid in 2024 and 2025. The payout ratio and the implied dividend yields, including the MXN 1.5 dividend for the quarter approved by the Board, which will be paid on March 22, 2026.

On the next slide, Slide #10, we show that we continue to have a comfortable debt maturity profile with no payments over $1 billion until 2028, while our cash position ended the quarter at $10.2 billion.

Now I'll pass the word to Mr. Leonardo Contreras to comment on the Mining division's performance.

Thank you, Marlene. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you again for joining us today. I will start today with a brief remark on the current copper market on Slide 12. As you can see here, the LME copper price increased over 21% from an average of $4.16 per pound in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $5.03 this past quarter. For the COMEX market, we saw a 22% increase average during the past quarter, the fourth quarter of 2025 to $5.15 per pound. Now based on current supply and demand dynamics, we're currently estimating a copper market deficit of 320,000 tonnes for this year. Copper inventories worldwide at the end of September were around 1,054,000 tonnes. We estimate that this inventory currently covers approximately 14 days of global demand.

Now let's move on with the Mining division's financial highlights on Slide 13. Our accumulated sales reached $14.6 billion, 17.5% higher than last year due to volume increases of molybdenum, zinc and silver, together with an increase in prices of copper, LME was 8.7% more; molybdenum, 3.8% zinc, 3.2% and silver 41.6%. Sales showed a 42.5% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Our EBITDA totaled $8.2 billion for the year, 23.3% higher than 2024, with a margin of 56.2% and a 60.8% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.

Now let's move to production. Our copper production remained relatively stable, totaling almost 1,070,000 tonnes, a slight reduction of 1% compared to the same period of 2024. Production increases were achieved at Asarco, IMMSA and Caridad operations as well as byproduct production showed excellent results. In cumulative terms, zinc, molybdenum and silver production grew 36%, 7.4% and 14.5%, respectively. Our net cash cost amounted $0.89 per pound, a 22.3% improvement compared to 2024, reflecting a reduction of $0.26 and a 30.2% improvement, a $0.02 reduction when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, mainly due to higher byproduct credits. Regarding CapEx, we invested $1.4 billion in 2025.

And I would like to continue talking about our projects and the progress in Slide 14. Let's start with our Peruvian projects on Slide 14. As of December 31, 2025, Tia Maria has reached 24% completion. The company committed almost $800 million to project development, including mobilization of 1.7 million tonnes of material from La Tapada deposit. Completion of access roads, platforms and temporary contractor camp, issuance of purchase orders for metallic structures for the dry area and the selection of state-of-the-art technology for the SX-EW process. Significant progress also being made in energy infrastructure for Tia Maria. Now let's move on to Los Chancas, where environmental and social programs continue to be implemented throughout the year in the communities of Tapayrihua and Tiaparo located within the project's direct area of influence. Despite these efforts, the presence of illegal miners in the project area has hindered progress. In response, the company continues to work with the relevant authorities to restore control within that area. Lastly, in our Michiquillay project, the comprehensive review of geological information used to estimate the project's mineral resources has been duly audited in accordance with applicable SEC mining disclosure standards. Based on this information, the company intends to estimate mineral reserves and develop the corresponding mine plan going forward.

Now let's move on to Slide 15. To continue with our projects in the United States. We are analyzing the following projects with feasibility studies with a view to double our mine production and vertically integrate SX-EW operations with smelting and refining capacity. At our Ray mine, we are considering an expansion. We currently produce around 36,000 tonnes of concentrates, and it has a potential production increase of 58,000 tonnes of additional copper per year to reach a production total shy of 100,000 tonnes at around 95,000 tonnes, which is 161% increase. This requires an investment of $1.8 billion and will likely take approximately three years to be completed. Now let's move on to our Silver Bell mine, where we're looking to maximize lower ore grade sulfides through a concentrator plant that would represent an investment of USD 1.9 billion and resulting in an increase of 65,000 tonnes of copper per year as well as considerable silver and molybdenum byproducts. Currently, the feasibility studies are being completed, and we will have them by the end of the year. And we are proceeding with technical evaluation to reopen, expand and modernize the Hayden smelter and Amarillo refinery. This project could increase to initially smelt around 600,000 tonnes of copper concentrate and refine up to 450,000 tonnes of copper content per year in the United States. And lastly, we are proud to announce almost the completion of the pioneering autonomous haulage system at Asarco mine in Ray, Arizona, which is redirecting the future of the operation with 11 autonomous trucks with a capacity of 300 short tonnes.

Now continuing on Slide 16 with our project Los Frailes in Andalucia, Spain. This deposit is located within the Aznalcollar Mining District in the Iberian Pyritic Belt, a metallurgical zone of worldwide importance. The project consists of an underground mine with a milling plant of over 8,000 tonnes per day capacity that will produce zinc and copper concentrates with a reserve-based mine life of around 20 years and potential for exploration. Silver will also be obtained as a byproduct. The project will implement technology at the service of the circular economy in areas such as water management and waste treatment. In May 2025 last year, we obtained the mining project permit from Junta de Andalucia. And with this permit, the final engineering work started in order to begin construction in 2026 and production by 2029. It is estimated to require an initial investment of around $440 million. In 2026, a water treatment plant will be built to ensure the quality of the water currently in the pit. Additionally, in the first half of 2026, the company will initiate a diamond drilling exploration campaign on a satellite ore body, where 8.5 million tonnes of inferred resources have been identified.

Now going to Slide 17 with our Mexican projects. We have El Arco, where detailed engineering is still underway for the concentrator SX-EW plant, water desal, logistics infrastructure and power delivery. Lastly, El Pilar is a project that is approximately 45 kilometers away from our Buenavista mine and will operate as a conventional open pit mine with an annual capacity of 36,000 tonnes of copper cathodes. This operation will use a highly cost-efficient and environmentally friendly SX-EW technology.

Please, if you happen to have any follow-up questions, we'd be happy to address them during the Q&A session.

Now I will let Fernando comment on the Transportation division.

Thank you, Leo. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Continuing with the Transportation division's results on Slide 19. I would like to talk about our financial highlights for this quarter. Our sales reached $3.4 billion. This is a 1.2% increase versus 2024, slightly impacted by an FX rate as it ended the year with a 6.6% increase in Mexican pesos. Our accumulated EBITDA by the end of the quarter has totaled $1.4 billion, which is basically flat versus 2024 and an 8.5% higher versus fourth quarter of 2024. Our EBITDA margin stood at 41.8%. Accumulated transported volume decreased 1.4% and 2.4% in net ton kilometers and carloads, respectively, ending the year with 1,986,000 railcars hauled. As for our net income, it totaled $487 million for the year, 2% lower than 2024, again, impacted by FX effect as it ended the year with a 5% increase in pesos. Lastly, a dividend of MXN 0.40 per share was approved by our Board.

As we continue with the main variations of our revenue on Slide 20, these variations consider the results in Mexican pesos. So this might vary using different currency. I'll start with the segment that delivered the strongest revenue growth this quarter. The auto segment led with a 15% increase driven by additional volume in longer hauls and production increase. These are automotive automakers shifting from over -- from using boats and vessels to get to the U.S. to return to the rail as efficiencies and time and velocity has improved throughout the network. The Agricultural segment grew by 14% due to the increase of grain border imports and the Minerals segment with an 11% increase driven by increased monthly programs due to higher demand of iron ore. The mid growth range, we have an Energy segment that showed a 7% increase in revenue with an increase in refined product imports from the U.S. into Mexico. Metal segment increased only 2% due to additional copper and pipeline volumes in longer hauls. This is partially offset by the lower demand in construction products, which also impacted cement shipments and partially offset by a lower demand for cement exports.

On the other hand, we saw revenue decline in a few segments. Intermodal decreased 4%. This is mainly due to imports from Asian markets, but basic -- the most significant impact was the systems of the Mexican customs that dropped or went offline on one hand and on the other, more intensive revisions from the Mexican authorities as they did this throughout the year, then cargo becomes hot and it is urgent for it to get to destination. So it shifts into over the road. Also in intermodal, we had at the beginning of the year and throughout the year, a lot of impact from what you call for legal fuels. But as the government has strengthened all their activities against the illegal fuel. This has allowed us to compensate substantially and be very competitive versus over the road. In chemicals, we have a decrease of 9%. This is mainly was chlorine and soda ash.

And talking about operating metrics on Slide 21. In general, metrics showed consistent improvement in performance during the quarter as we saw an increase in average train speed of 11% and an 18% decrease in dwell time that resulted in a considerable improvement of 18% in car velocity.

Moving to Slide 22. As you can see in our expected CapEx for 2026, GMXT's Board approved an investment of roughly $470-plus million for maintenance, special projects and the acquisition of locomotives. This CapEx allows us to maintain strategic and steady improvement. About half of our CapEx will be used in rail infrastructure, equipment, bridges, locomotive and machinery overhauls. 22% of the CapEx will be used in yards and terminals, focusing specifically in siding enlargements and yard reconfiguration so that we can run longer trains and start to move from 120 railcar trains to 150 railcar trains as the rest of North America currently does. In the U.S., we're running 150 railcars, and we need to shorten our trains at the border basically on the intermodal and automotive trains. So that's where we will be adjusting. And lastly, an investment of $70 million is planned for the acquisition of locomotives for our trains Long-haul trains. This is to an improvement in our fleet for long-haul trains, not the yard service locomotives.

On Slide 23, you'll find our 2026 outlook that implies between a 2% to 4% volume growth with a 5% to 7% revenue growth. With this, I conclude the overview for the Transportation division.

I will now let Francisco Zinser comment on the Infra division.

Thank you very much, Fernando, and good afternoon, everyone. I will start by going through the financial highlights of the Infrastructure division shown in Slide #25. Our sales reached $646 million during 2025, a 17.5% decrease when compared to 2024. This was due to the impact of the temporary suspension of four of our jack-up oil rigs and negative exchange rate effects. This was partially offset by the full year operation of the Fenicias wind farm and the integration of the new [ K8+Puebla ] portfolio in the real estate business unit. Our EBITDA totaled $309 million, a decrease of 27% versus 2024, with an EBITDA margin standing at 47.8%. Lastly, net income totaled $44 million, 57% lower when compared to last year.

To close the Infrastructure division highlights, I would like to go through some of our most relevant events on Slide #26 and 27. The energy business delivered another year of solid growth, reporting cumulative revenues of $303.5 million and a record EBITDA of $163.5 million, representing increases of 16.4% and 8.6% year-over-year, respectively. The results were supported mainly by the continued ramp-up of the Fenicias wind farm, which added 324 gigawatt hours of incremental generation, which is 10% higher than what we originally anticipated and produced $32.4 million in EBITDA during the year. In parallel, our energy platform continues to actively pursue growth and investment opportunities. The real estate business sustained its growth momentum in 2025, generating revenues of $95.6 million and an EBITDA of $59.3 million, an increase of 19.3% and 14.6% year-over-year, respectively. Performance was driven by the incorporation of the K8+Puebla portfolio, which added nine power centers to the platform, along with higher rental rates while maintaining an occupancy rate of 94.5%. On a peso basis, revenue and EBITDA increased 25% and 20%, respectively.

Going to Slide #27, our Construction and Engineering businesses reported cumulative revenues of $116 million and an EBITDA of $16 million in 2025. Results declined year-over-year due to the project completions and FX impact. In Mexican pesos, revenue contraction was limited to 3%, reflecting stable underlying activity. Although EBITDA margins were temporarily affected by the project mix and backlog, the business now maintains a strong technical capability, a healthy backlog and a proven record of execution. Our toll roads business continued to provide stable and strong performance, reporting cumulative revenues of $73 million and EBITDA of $50 million, representing year-over-year increases of 3%, respectively. Average daily traffic increased 3% to 23,000 equivalent vehicles, supported by tariff adjustments and sustained demand across the network. In peso terms, revenue and EBITDA grew 8% and 9%, highlighting strong operating leverage and effective cost management.

With this, I conclude our review of the main highlights of the Infrastructure division. We are happy to answer your follow-up questions. Thank you.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Gabriel Barra with Citi.

We have two questions here from my end. So, the first one, when I take a look on the company balance sheet and the cash position that the company has today, it seems quite comfortable, right? So the question here is that it is more towards the capital allocation strategy going forward. How should we think about the company's strategy for the mid to long term in terms of M&As or even return this amount of money to the shareholders towards buybacks or dividends. So I want to hear your thoughts about that.

The second one, one thing that caught our attention here is the level of the holding discount that we are seeing for the stock today. And I don't know how much you guys are discussing about that, but it's something that I want also to hear from your thoughts about maybe have a med run or something like that in order to decrease this level of discount when you compare with some of the parts that the company has today. So those are the two questions that I have today.

Thank you. I didn't -- we didn't quite get the second question, but I think the first one was -- regarding the cash that we have, I think we're one of the companies that has the most, if not the only company with such a strong pipeline of projects to develop. As we recently commented, we are developing and we are Tia Maria, and we have a very strong pipeline in all of our three divisions to continue to grow. So the main -- we keep on -- we have a strong track record of dividend with the payout ratio that we normally have around 50%, which you saw this quarter as well. And then the strong pipeline of growth that is coming from all of the projects and investments that we're going to do.

And the second question, can you repeat that for me is regarding the discount to sum of the parts or something about the balance sheet. Can you repeat that for me?

Yes, sure, sure. It's more regarding the hold discount that you see for GMXT today when you compare with some of the parts of the company, right? So I don't know how much you guys are studying about maybe trying to decrease this level of hold discount, maybe listing the company in U.S. or something like that. I want to hear your thoughts about that.

And if I may, one follow-up on the first question. I understand and completely agree that you guys have today in terms of organic growth. But in terms of inorganic growth, should we expect something for the medium term? Or it's more towards the organic growth at this point?

Yes. We have -- we have always had a discount, a holding discount and sum of the parts. We have tried to do a lot of different strategies over the past many years to like decrease that discount. But I think this is something that we have always had. Even if we pay a very good dividend, the stock performance was very good during this year for Grupo Mexico. We keep on growing our transportation, the Asarco and the Infrastructure division.

So I think if we are trying to communicate it better. We will continue to give dividends if the Board decides that way. And I think it will be the case even with the strong projects that we have. And we will continue to analyze the possibility of doing buybacks. But as we have discussed before, it has tax implications. So we are trying to look around that to see if there's something that could work for us and the tax authorities as well.

One moment for our next question, please. It comes from the line of Regina Carrillo Villasana.

Congrats on the set of results. Maybe as a follow-up, you, Marlene, just mentioned the strong project pipeline that you have for the year, Tia Maria and Asarco and Spain. Is there -- are there any other relevant commitments or projects that you are looking at that we should be keeping in mind when thinking about CapEx and cash -- use of cash for the year?

Thank you, Regina. Thank you for your question. No, I think the main projects, as we mentioned, are right now, Tia Maria, we have Asarco, Minera Los Rales, the CapEx for the Transportation division for improving our operations and also to keep on growing in the Infrastructure division, but nothing else in particular to mention.

One moment for our next question, please. It comes from the line of Emerson Vieira with Goldman Sachs.

All right. So I want to focus here guys on the U.S. investments, chiefly the Hayden and Amarillo assets. So first question, I'd like to understand where will come from the rest of the anode capacity because in terms of concentrate, you guys have like 600 kt and then you have like 45 kt for cathodes, right? So just trying to understand where will the remaining portion come from? And if you guys are going to use scrap to fill up the refining capacity. So that's the first question.

And second one, what is exactly the time line for both Hayden and Amarillo to reopen? I mean, if you could tell us a specific time line in terms of when the studies will be concluded and when you should start constructing if that's the case?

And lastly, if there's any plan to add downstream capacity? I mean, are you guys going to sell the refined copper or maybe produce any other final product with the outcome from the refinery?

Emerson, let me address the first question in terms of Amarillo and the anode capacity, basically, what we are envisioning, we have to finalize our studies, but it is -- as you indeed mentioned, we will smelt around 150,000 tonnes of anodes that will go to the refinery, and we are evaluating if it's possible to complement with scrap so that we can reach the capacity that was outlined in the report. It will be a phased approach, and we need to conclude our studies. We are expecting to conclude it probably by the first half of this year.

And what was your last -- in terms of refined copper, I mean, yes, we will evaluate if the market for rod is as strong as it has been as we also have a rod plant in Amarillo. But for now, we're considering smelting and refining and rod will eventually come or not.

All right. And just a follow-up here. What would be the CapEx to modernize and reopen those assets?

Right now, we have rough estimates of around $220 million. But again, we need to finalize our studies for both the refinery and smelter.

So $220 million, correct? I'm sorry, can you confirm the amount? It could a little bit for me here.

Yes, it's $230 million.

$230 million. Okay. In terms of timing?

Timing, I mean, we will finalize the studies by the first half of this year, and then we will take it to the Board, and we will evaluate.

And what's the average construction time?

12 months.

12 months, okay.

One moment for our next question. And it comes from the line of Alfonso Salazar with Scotiabank.

I have three questions. The first one is again regarding Asarco. And this is regarding the expansions at the Ray concentrator and the Silver Bell mine. Just wondering about the timing, same thing about when can we expect to know all the details.

One question regarding also reserves to support these expansions. It would be good to have the information and all the details, especially with -- in terms of reserves to support such expansions.

The second one is regarding the infrastructure unit. How is management thinking about this division evolving in the next five years? So in other words, we see $10 billion in cash. Marlene just mentioned that this is going to support the pipeline of projects, Tia Maria and all the -- so projects. But what about expansion in the infrastructure unit? How do you see it? Do you want to expand and have more energy? Are you thinking about more real estate? Just is there any target on how EBITDA will be generated in this division?

And the final one I have is for the transportation division. Given that we have Mexico imposed tariffs to Chinese imports, is there any impact expected for transported volumes for GMXT.

Thank you, Alfonso. Let me address first the Asarco question in terms of the expansion at Ray. And at Silver Bell, at Ray, we would be expecting to have more information by the next quarter that we could share with everyone. Currently, the reserves at Ray are around 65 years. And at Silver Bell, basically, what we have is we're almost done with all the exploration. We're compiling it and doing all the QA/QCs to have a new life of mine plan for the sulfides. And we would have that probably by the third, but more towards the fourth quarter of this year. I don't know if you have any follow-up questions. If not, I will pass it.

Our next question comes from the line of Matheus Moreira with Bradesco BBI.

Two questions here on my side. The first one on Asarco, which delivered a very strong quarter in Q4, right, with production reaching multiyear highs. I wanted to understand what drove this strong performance? And is this a new normalized level of production going forward? Also, if you could share what you expect in terms of costs for the division in 2026?

Then my second question on the Infra division. I mean, 2025 was, of course, a challenging year, right, with -- given especially the curtailment of the PEMEX rigs. I was wondering what are your expectations for the division in 2026 in terms of volumes? Should we maybe anticipate higher contributions from other segments such as real estate or toll roads that could maybe help offset the continued weakness in oil rigs? Those are my two questions.

Let me address the first question for Asarco. What happened in the fourth quarter was that we were stable. We were able to run our plants with no issues in maintenance. I think we're getting there. We're just not there with that stability, but that's something that we're striving for this year. Hopefully, we can maintain that rhythm. And the cash cost for Asarco should be around $0.15 lower from the previous year. And I don't know if you wanted AMC's cash cost as well.

And sorry, Matheus, regarding your infrastructure question, yes, as you said, 2025 was a challenging year. For 2026, we are expecting -- I mean, all of our business lines are generally healthy and growing. So real estate, highways, power. And as you know, the challenge was with our oil rigs division. We've been having conversations with PEMEX throughout the past few weeks. And our expectation is that we can put our platforms to work at some point this year. They obviously help PEMEX with their own objectives of increasing oil production, and we've been having a good collaboration and communication with them. So we are very hopeful, and we are expecting them to get back to work as soon as we can. That's our expectation for this year. Hopefully, we will make it happen working with PEMEX as a team.

One moment for our next question. That comes from the line of John Tumazos with John Tumazos Very Independent opinions.

When you travel the output of Ray and roughly double the output of Asarco mining, smelting, refining, how much might the cost per pound reduction be? My first instinct was 10%, but maybe it's much more.

John, I just couldn't hear the last part on.

How much will you reduce the cost per pound of the Ray mine and the entire Asarco system with the large production increases and modernization expansion?

Look, with the expansion at Ray, currently, we're in the 95 percentile, and we would expect to be in the 50th percentile. That along with autonomous implementation hauls that we have implemented during the second half of last year. In terms of smelting and refining, we're still doing the numbers, but we should be around between $0.25 and $0.30 per pound in smelting and refining, we're still analyzing the numbers. But we will send you a note when we have a detailed number. I'm happy to share it.

Do you think the returns will be more than twice your cost of capital?

I have to revisit that and get back to you.

I'm just trying to give you a cream puff, way easy question.

One moment for our next question, please. We have a follow-up from Emerson Vieira with Goldman Sachs.

Just a follow-up on Hayden and Amarillo. Just trying to understand here if you guys would eventually begin the reopening and construction in partnership with U.S. government, for instance, as we have seen in other minerals? And also what types of incentives could happen so the asset could become economically viable given that TC/RCs are -- have been just, I mean, revised to zero this year in some contracts. So just trying to understand here what are the incentives to put the asset back into operations and if there's any potential partnership with the government?

Emerson, again, I think we're still undergoing studies. All of the items that you put on the table, they are still being analyzed. And not until we have further details, we're still studying. So probably by the second half of this year, we will have something more to talk about.

[Operator Instructions] Our next question is from Marcio Farid with Goldman Sachs.

Just a quick follow-up. I think, obviously, it's good to see Grupo Mexico having a series of projects lined up on the core corporate operations, right, including Mexico, the U.S. and also Spain as well. Just wondering if all of those CapEx would be done on a GM basis or in Southern corporate and eventually be a part of developing some of those projects from a CapEx, from an operational expertise perspective as well. Just to understand how the use of cash and use of balance sheet can look like.

I think your line is a little bit -- we couldn't hear very clear your question, but it is related to the use of cash and the CapEx that we were going to spend.

I think the projects we already mentioned in the Mining division in Southern Copper, we have Tia Maria and all the pipeline that we mentioned during the call. We can go through any specific projects if you want. We have also Los Frailes in Spain and the CapEx in Asarco that was just mentioned before by Leo. But I don't know if that was your question.

Yes. No, just the CapEx that is now exclusive on Asarco, right, I mean in the U.S. and outside of Southern Copper. If eventually, there could be a partnership between Asarco and NMAC or Southern Copper to develop those projects together or the idea, those $6.5 billion in the U.S. plus the Spanish CapEx, are those going to be done solely by Grupo Mexico or by Asarco itself and not in partnership with Southern Copper?

I mean, not at all. Right now, how they are -- it Asarco is independent of Southern Copper, and that's how it's been studied. So there are no discussions in that sense.

And this will conclude our Q&A session for today. I will pass it back to Marlene for closing comments.

Thank you so much, everyone, for being here today. Hope to see you next quarter. And if you have any follow-up questions, we'll keep in touch. Natalia will be here. Thank you, and thank you, everyone. Have a good day. Bye.

Thank you, Marlene. This concludes our conference, and thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect.

Good afternoon, and thank you for holding. Welcome to Grupo Mexico's Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. With us this afternoon are all of Grupo Mexico's top executives who will discuss the financial performance of the company during the second quarter 2025 results, giving you a summary of the latest news and addressing any questions you may have at the end of the call.

Before we begin, I would like to remind you that information discussed on today's call may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's results and prospects, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially, and the company cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Grupo Mexico undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

All results are expressed in full U.S. GAAP. [Operator Instructions] A copy of the slides that the company will be reviewing today is available on the website at grupomexico.com. [Operator Instructions] Now it's my pleasure to turn the call to Ms. Marlene Finny.

Thank you so much, Carmen, and good afternoon. And thank you, everybody, for joining us today for Grupo Mexico's Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call in a very, let's say, interesting day to be having this call with the recent news just published like an hour ago. So it's an interesting day. With me today are the top executives from our three divisions. So we can comment about this. During our call, as usual, we will be following a presentation that can be downloaded from our website or followed by accessing the webcast. But as Carmen was mentioning before, if you want to make a question, you have to do it through the phone.

So today's detailed program can be found on Slide #3. And I'll pick up with Grupo Mexico's ESG highlights, followed by the quarter scorecard and financial highlights. Then Leonardo Contreras will provide detailed information regarding our Mining division's main highlights, project updates and comments on the industry economic environment that's going to be interesting, Leonardo. He will then be followed by [indiscernible], who will go through the financial results and main events of our Transportation division. Lastly, Francisco Zinser Sine will comment on the Infrastructure division's relevant events and financial results.

As usual, at the end, the line will be open for questions and answers. With that being said, let's go through our main ESG highlights on Slide #5. Grupo Mexico was recognized for its inclusion in one of the most relevant evaluation in ESG performance. This was very important for us, the 2025 S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook. This recognition places us within the top 15% of companies in the metals and mining -- the best company within the metals and mining sector. So it was like very relevant for the company.

In line with our commitment to responsible management, in 2024, we recorded a 30% reduction in lost-time injury rate over the past 7 years. We also reached 35% of our electricity consumption from renewable sources and a 7% increase in the participation of women across the organization. Another highlight, which is also very important to us and significant both within the ESG and in the operations of the Mining division as the construction of Tia Maria progresses in Arequipa in Peru, we continue to promote the development of neighboring communities through job creation and engagement of local supplier. The new jobs generated so far represents 11% of the economically active population of the Tambo Valley, near the project site. Additionally, 50 local suppliers have been contracted for transportation, general services, and equipment rental, improving life quality for more than 300 families.

Now let's go to Slide #6 to continue with the ESG highlights. And here, we can see that in addition to the master classes offered to all students and teachers participating in our Youth Orchestra and Choirs program, scholarships have been awarded to outstanding students to pursue higher education in Orchestral Conducting and Pedagogy at the Instituto Superior de Música in Puebla, Mexico, reaffirming the company’'s commitment to cultural and educational development.

And lastly, for the ESG highlights, Dr. Vagón served almost 6,000 patients, of which 58% were women and were provided with eyeglasses, free medications, hearing aid, mammogram among other services. Additionally, Cine Vagón, which is part of Dr. Vagón, welcomed more than almost 3,000 attendees in across 14 screenings.

Now let's continue with our scorecard on Slide #7. Our revenues for the first half of the year totaled $8.4 billion, almost 3% higher than 2024. Our cumulative EBITDA totaled just short of $4.6 billion. This is 6.5% above 2024. Our copper production reached almost 533,000 tons of copper during the first half of the year. This is a 1% decrease when compared to the first -- last year's first half. Our net cash cost totaled [indiscernible] per pound during the first half of the year. This is 15% lower than the first half of 2024. And this is reaffirming that we continue to have the best cash cost in the copper industry worldwide.

Lastly, our Board approved a dividend of $1.30 per share during this quarter, which translates into a 4.4% dividend yield. As usual, you can find a summary of our financial highlights on Slide #8, which is there for you to have in case you need any point during the presentation. Let me continue with Slide #9. Grupo Mexico continues to have a solid balance sheet with low leverage and net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.1x. As you might already know, our debt is mainly issued in U.S. dollars, representing 79% of the total debt, while the rest is denominated in Mexican peso. And 91% of our total debt was issued with a fixed rate. On this slide, you can also see the dividends paid from 2023 to 2025 and the implied dividend yield, including the MXN 1.30 dividend approved for the quarter, which will be paid on September 5, 2025.

On the next slide, #10, we show that we continue to have a comfortable debt maturity profile with no payments of over $1 billion until 2032, while our cash position ended the quarter at $9 billion. Now I will let Leonardo comment on our Mining division performance.

Thank you, Marlene. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you again for joining us today. I will start today with a brief remark on the copper current market on Slide 12. The LME copper price decreased 2% from an average of $4.42 per pound to $4.32 this past quarter. Based on the current supply and demand dynamics, we estimate that the deficit at the year-end will stand at around 65,000 metric tons. Copper inventories worldwide have dropped 28%, going from 627,000 tons at the end of March to 450,000 tons at the end of June 2025. We estimate that this inventory currently covers approximately 5 days of global demand.

And as was the case in the first quarter of the year, the copper market registered a significant arbitrage difference between COMEX and LME prices. At its peak on, I think I believe July 11, the COMEX price was 27% above the LME price, around $1.20 per pound above the LME. This reflected the strong possibility that a 50% tariff would be imposed on U.S. copper imports. But as we have seen in the previous -- in the last hour, there have been recent developments and apparently, that arbitrage is almost back to 0. We will continue to monitor it and adapt to the ongoing circumstances as we have been doing it for the rest of the year. Then although we maintain a very positive long-term outlook for copper with growth in Asia, new energy technologies and artificial intelligence.

We believe, once again, this intentional commercial war between the U.S. and China could affect economic growth worldwide and consequently, it could impact the copper demand. Now let's dive into the Mining division's financial highlights on Slide 13. Our accumulated sales reached USD 6.7 billion, 7.3% increase versus the first half of 2024, mainly due to an increase in metal prices and byproducts. Our EBITDA totaled close to $3.7 billion for the first half of the year, 9.4% higher than the first half of 2024 with a margin of 55%.

Now moving on to production. Our production totaled just shy of 533,000 tons, a decrease of 1.1% versus the first half of 2024, mainly due to a production decrease in Mexico of 1.7% related to the decision of benefiting zinc and silver production at our Buenavista Zinc plant, thus impacting the copper production that we produced the last semester of last year. Our net cash cost showed a 15% improvement compared to the first half of 2024, standing at $0.98, mainly due to higher by-product credits.

Now regarding CapEx, we invested $618 million during the first half of this year. And then I would like to continue about our projects and their progress in Slides 14 and 15. Starting with our Peruvian projects, Tia Maria, as of June 30, the company has generated more than 1,376 new jobs, of which 800 positions were filled by local candidates as we try to fill the 3,500 jobs needed during the construction of Tia Maria with workers from the Islay province. Once operations begin in 2027, the project will generate 764 direct jobs and 5,900 indirect jobs. We're currently in the early construction phase with 90% progress on access roads and platform stands. To date, we have installed 60 kilometers of light fence to the limited property.

Now moving to Los Chancas in Apurimac, Peru. On June 6, 2025, the Framework Agreement for the Development of the Tiaparo Peasant Community and the Los Chancas Mining Project was signed with the community of Tiaparo. This agreement will be in effect throughout the construction and operation phase of the project. Now lastly, in Michiquillay, located in Cajamarca, Peru as of June 30, 2025, the exploration projects progress was 45%. We have drilled almost 146,000 meters and obtained 59,000 drill core samples for chemical analysis. Diamond drilling has provided information necessary to interpret the distribution of mineralization in geological sections and for geological modeling. The geometallurgical studies have been successfully completed and the hydrological, hydrogeological, and geotechnical studies for the project are about to begin.

Now moving on to Mexico. We have El Arco located in Baja California, Mexico. The environmental baseline study for the mine has been completed and detailed engineering is still underway for the concentrator SX-EW plant, water desalination plant, logistics infrastructure, and power delivery. And with our project El Pilar located in Sonora, approximately 45 kilometers from our Buenavista mine, it will operate as a conventional open pit mine with an annual production capacity of 36,000 tons of copper cathodes. This operation will use highly cost-efficient and environmentally friendly SX-EW technology.

Now if you happen to have any follow-up questions, I'd be pleased to address them during the Q&A session. Now I will let Alberto comment on the Transportation division.

Thank you, Leonardo, and good afternoon, everyone. Continuing with the Transportation division results on Slide 17, I would like to talk about our financial highlights for this quarter. Our sales reached $5.6 billion, a 7.8% decrease versus the first half of 2024, mainly driven by a 6.6% decrease in car loads. Our accumulated EBITDA by the end of the quarter totaled $712 million, 6.8% lower than the first half of 2024. The EBITDA margin stood at 43.7% at the end of the first half of 2025. As for our net income, it totaled $255 million during the first half of the year, 8.4% lower than 2024. Lastly, as you might already know, a dividend of MXN 0.50 per share was approved by our Board.

Continuing with the main variation of our revenue on Slide 18. As a reminder, these variations are considering results in Mexican peso, so this might vary using a different currency. I will start with the segment that delivered the strongest revenue growth. The Automotive segment led with a 24% increase, driven by improved network fluidity that allowed us to gain market share in export to the U.S., outperforming maritime routes and other railroad [indiscernible].

Following that, the Mineral segment grew by 19%, supported by higher import volumes and more consistent longer haul shipments. Agriculture also performed well with a 12% increase in revenue, mainly due to higher imports of grain carousel trains have [indiscernible] offset the impact of weaker local drops and the low volumes we experienced in the first quarter due to adverse weather conditions.

[indiscernible] posted an 11% increase, reflecting strong cross-border and domestic volumes in both Mexico and Florida. In the mid range, the Chemicals segment grew by 4%, supported by increased ethanol shipments in the U.S. and a higher imports into Mexico. This was partially offset by maintenance related shutdowns at chlorine plants in Mexico. The Energy segment saw a 2% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year.

On the other hand, we saw revenue declines in a few segments. The Industrial segment decreased by 3%, mainly due to the lower volume resulting from a reducing man ] in the new railcar market and a softer [ per ship ] into the U.S. Cement and metal experienced declines of 6% and 9%, respectively, primarily to a slowdown in effect projects in Mexico compared to the previous year.

Now let's take a look to our operating metrics shown on Slide 19. In general, metrics show consistent improvement in performance during the quarter, as we saw an 11% decrease in [ oil time ] that results in an improvement of over 5.5% in car velocity, settling at 311 kilometers per day and a improvement in the average [ in Chinese ] period. As for the rest of the metrics, a 2% increase in a train line reaching 1.8 kilometers and a few to start with a 1% reduction.

On Slide 21, we can see an expected CapEx for the 2025. GMXT's Board approved and to increase the CapEx for the year to over $580 million for maintenance, growth, efficiency, and special projects. The additional CapEx will be spending new locomotives, allowing GMXT to continue growing and improving to sustained investment in infrastructure and increase efficiency. Approximately 70% of our annual CapEx will be dedicated to rail infrastructure, covering investment in tracks, tie, bridge, acquisition of 60 locomotives, as well as overhauls and other critical equipment. $82 million will be deployed for cards on reconfiguration, signing enlargement and intermodal terminal. An investment of $84 million is planned for special projects, targeted key infrastructure and safety initiatives, including safety program, the [indiscernible] path and the rehabilitation of the [ Mexican Toni ].

This concludes the overview of the Transportation division. I will now let Francisco Zinser comment on the Infrastructure division.

Thank you very much, Alberto, and good afternoon, everyone. I will start by going through the financial highlights of the Infrastructure division shown in Slide #22. Our sales reached $342 million for the first half of this year, a 12% decrease when compared to the first half of 2024. This was due to the impact of four oil rig suspension and the negative exchange rate effects. This was partially offset by the operation of the Fenicias Wind Farm and the integration of the new K8+Puebla portfolio. As it is well known, PEMEX is currently going through a restructuring period with significant financial debt and debt to suppliers.

Given the suspension of our 4 jack-ups, we have mobilized them in short to reduce costs and keep them on the temporary shutdown. Our EBITDA totaled $161 million, a decrease of 30% versus the first half of 2024 with the EBITDA margin standing at 47%. It is important to mention that aside from Perforadora Mexico, all of our business units are growing in sales and EBITDA in their functional currency. Lastly, net income totaled $30 million, a decrease of 55% when compared to the first half of 2024.

To close the Infrastructure division highlights, I would like to go through some of our most relevant events depicted on Slide #23 and 24. Our Energy segment posted solid growth in the quarter with cumulative net sales of $157 million, an increase of 17.3% versus 2024 and EBITDA of $81 million, 12% higher year-over-year. This was largely driven by higher revenues at the La Caridad combined cycle power plant and strong performance at the Fenicias wind farm, which generated 390 gigawatt hours of clean energy. Since August 2024, Fenicias has been supplying power to IMMSA's mining and metallurgical operations further advancing our commitment to energy diversification and sustainable industrial development.

Our Real Estate division continued to post strong results, ending the quarter with net sales of $46 million and EBITDA of $30 million, which translated into increases of 22% and 26% year-over-year, respectively, primarily driven by the incorporation of the new K8+Puebla portfolio, which added 9 power centers to our operations as well as stronger lease performance. This reinforces the effectiveness of our acquisition-led growth strategy and our ability to generate long-term value across our real estate platform. Revenues and EBITDA in Mexican pesos grew 42% versus last year.

Our Construction and Engineering division maintained stable operations throughout the second quarter, showcasing disciplined execution and operational continuity across multiple infrastructure fronts. Accumulative revenues reached $64 million and EBITDA stood at $13 million, a decrease of 0.7% and 5.3%, respectively, year-over-year. These variations reflect the natural cycle of project completions and the phase start of new contracts. Revenues and EBITDA in Mexican pesos grew 14% and 2.7%, respectively, versus last year.

Our toll road business continued to show operational strength with average daily traffic increasing by 3% year-over-year to 22,623 equivalent vehicles, reflecting same demand and consistent network usage. However, results were impacted by adverse exchange rate movements, leading to net sales of $34 million and EBITDA of $23 million, a 7.6% and 5.7% lower versus the same period of 2024. While these F/X fluctuations affected reported figures, the sustained growth in traffic underlines the segment's resilient fundamentals and long-term value potential. Revenues and EBITDA in Mexican pesos grew 8.4% and 11% versus the same period of last year.

With this, I conclude the review of the main highlights of the Infrastructure division. Now I will let Marlene give her closing remarks. Thank you.

Thank you, Francisco, and thank you, Leonardo and Alberto, for your comments, and thank you, everyone, again, for your time and attention. Now we will open the line for the Q&A session.

[Operator Instructions] And it comes from Alejandro Demichelis with Jefferies.

Couple of questions from me, please. First one, Leonardo, maybe you can comment on how you see the situation for the smelters in the U.S., particularly given the news that's happened over the past hour or so, meaning what kind of spread do you need for these projects to be attractive enough on economic terms? That's the first question. And then on the group in general, maybe you can comment on how you see opportunities for inorganic investment and the uses of your cash balance, if you may.

Alejandro, I will probably answer the first question in regards to the smelters in the U.S. I do believe that -- where we were before the announcement today, the amount of arbitrage that was out there, it was worth taking a look and seeing any alternatives to push for additional smelting capacity in the U.S. Obviously, the -- our main concern there was the time horizon.

But now with the recent developments, I mean, we're continuously evaluating if we should or we should not restart our Hayden operation. I think we will continue to monitor on how these global changes happen on a daily basis. But for now, we're just keeping our options open.

And for the second question regarding our cash, I couldn't hear you well, but I think it was regarding how we're going to use the cash that we have in general as a group. So regarding that, as we can see, we increased our dividend this quarter. So we now have MXN 1.30 per share. And you could also see that as Leonardo was mentioning, and we also mentioned in our press release, we're analyzing different investments that we could do in our three divisions. So the one that -- ones that we are going to do definitely such as Tia Maria and other investments that are a lot of moving parts. So it's a difficult time to answer everything because it's just a lot of recent events. But we are analyzing different opportunities of investment to grow within our three divisions, our Mining, Transportation, and Infrastructure division.

Okay. As a small follow-up, just to be very clear. So you are not looking for opportunities outside of those three divisions?

We are not actively looking for opportunities outside our three divisions. We want to maintain the focus on what we know how it does.

One moment for our next question. It comes from [ Emerson Vera ] with Goldman Sachs.

I have two questions. The first one is on the mismatch that we have been perceiving in the past quarters regarding the dividends GMEX has received from its subsidiaries and the amount the holding is paying. So can you guys elaborate on the reason for this mismatch and if you can expect dividends received by subsidiaries to be fully paid to GMEX shareholders. So this is question number one. And question number two is on the infrastructure business. So in this quarter, you guys mentioned the operation was impacted by a temporary suspicion of the rigs. So I wanted to understand better when this should normalize and if this is expected for this year already or it's more longer term? That's it.

With the first question -- I don't know if it's us, but I couldn't hear everything very, very clearly. But if it's regarding the dividends, we increased our dividend. And as you can see, we have that in our presentation. We have kept our dividends -- or we have been very consistent with our dividend for many years now at the Grupo Mexico level. And Southern Copper decided -- the Board of Southern Copper decided to give the dividend that was part in cash and part in shares. So I don't know if you were referring to that.

We as the Board of Grupo Mexico decided to give a cash dividend of MXN 1.30, which is 4.4% dividend yield, in line with what we have had through the past years. I don't know if that answers your question, sorry.

So if there's no follow-up question on the dividend. Regarding the second question of oil rig suspension. I mean, it's hard to say when they will be back operating. As you know, PEMEX has had significant budget reductions in its exploration and production division from $25 million a couple of years ago to $9 million now. So this is not a problem that is only of us. There have been many suspensions to different oil rig owners here in Mexico, more than half of the total oil rigs that there are in the country.

We have been having conversations with PEMEX, obviously, trying to let them know that our oil rigs operating mean an increase in production, which, of course, is one of the main goals of PEMEX, and they are aware of that. But unfortunately, they have these constraints on budget. So it's hard to say exactly when.

What we have done, as I mentioned in my participation during the call, is that we have moved the four oil rigs from the open waters into -- not land, but it's one of a point in Campeche. And we have been connecting them and reducing costs significantly more than 85% of the cost of operating so that we can be at least cash neutral and not having an impact on our cash flows, which we were having before also because, as you know, PEMEX has not been consistently paying suppliers.

So we think that the position where we are at right now allows us to wait in terms of cash. And hopefully, PEMEX with all this restructuring will have either more budget or do some changes so that our oil rigs will continue to operate. But again, this is an industry-wide problem, its not something that is only affecting us.

One moment for our next question, please. It comes from the line of Alfonso Salazar with Scotiabank.

Quick question, Marlene. From Grupo Mexico, the holding company perspective, what are the rationale behind the decision to release Grupo Mexico Transportes? So if you can give us some color on that. And then for the platform for the oil rigs, is there any plan B? I mean, can you elaborate on what other options you have, whether to sell the assets to operate them elsewhere? Any comment on that will be very appreciated. Thank you.

Yes, Alfonso. I will let Francisco answer because it's the same thing he was mentioning before.

Yes, sorry. Yes. So of course, this situation obliges us to look at all the different alternatives. Right now, worldwide, there are approximately 430 oil rigs, and about 100 of those are not being utilized. So it's not a market right now perhaps to sell them, although we have contacted over 90 different potential buyers. But again, the market is perhaps not there, and that's why we think we're in a good position to wait even for PEMEX to reactivate platforms or the market in general worldwide to improve. We have also been looking at potentially having them working in other countries. But again, it's related to how the market is right now.

The platform market worldwide is very cyclical. And as you know, the consumption of oil worldwide has been actually increasing rather than decreasing some experts thought a couple of years ago. So what this tells us is that this will come around. And perhaps at that time, we find an interesting place to sell the assets. We will, of course, evaluate it. It is not the time right now, again, but we are constantly looking for options given the circumstances where we're at.

And answering your first question, Alfonso, I think this is something we have discussed previously, and this is a question we always get. We don't think right now, the value of our Transportation division is reflected. So we did like a very thorough strategic review, and we decided that in order to gain flexibility and to think -- and because of this reason, it was better to make this decision of delisting from the Mexican Stock Exchange.

While we recognize the value of public markets, we believe that operating as a private entity right is now better aligned with our current business objectives and growth strategies for GMXT and we remain fully committed to transparency and to delivering value to our stakeholders. So that is a commitment that we have. I think that is mainly valuation and giving more value to our shareholders -- our Grupo Mexico shareholders was part of the reasoning behind this decision.

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from the line of Rafael Barcellos with Bradesco BBI.

I just have like a follow-up on the tariffs. So in your release, you detailed some opportunities to invest in the U.S. So could you please elaborate on the timing of these investments? And I understand that the situation is very fluid, but I mean, which of these initiatives that you pointed out in the release still makes sense after the recent update on...

[Technical Difficulty]

And we lost our analyst.

But I mean, I don't know if he's still on the call, but I can answer the question in regards to U.S. investment opportunities that were released on the press release, basically, I think that we have been talking about before. But what we've been doing is we've been accelerating the expansion at Ray Mine and the transition to sulfur at Silver Bell mine. And then we already talked about the smelter and the refineries, but we're looking at a time frame within the next 3 to 5 years.

And as I am not showing any further questions in the queue, I will turn the call back to Marlene Finny for any final comments.

Thank you so much, everybody, and we'll keep in touch. If you have any further questions, let us know, and we'll try to answer everything, and thank you. See you next quarter.

All right. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes our program for today. Thank you all for participating, and you may now disconnect.