Grupo Clarín S.A. (GCLA) Earnings Call Transcript

Good morning, and welcome to Grupo Clarín's conference call. Today, the team will discuss results for the second quarter of 2026 as detailed in the earnings release distributed yesterday, August 11. My name is Nick, and I will be your conference operator today. [Operator Instructions] Comments made during today's call may contain forward-looking statements regarding Grupo Clarín's future performance, plans, strategies and targets. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or operations to differ materially. These uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact of industry and economic regulations, changes in demand for Grupo Clarín's products and services and broader market, economic or regulatory conditions. Please refer to the disclaimer in the earnings report or presentation for additional information regarding forward-looking statements. If you have not received the report or require assistance during today's call, please contact Fig Corporate Communications in New York at 1 (917) 691-4047 or Grupo Clarín in Buenos Aires at +54-11-4309-7104. The webcast presentation is available at ir.grupoclarin.com under the Financial Information section. I would now like to introduce today's speaker, Mrs. Samantha Olivieri, Head of Investor Relations. For the Q&A session, she will be joined by Mr. Iván Acevedo, Controller; and Mr. Marcelo Boncagni, Audit Manager. It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Mrs. Olivieri. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Nick. Good morning, everyone. Let me quickly outline the agenda for today's call. We will start with a brief macro overview, followed by the discussion of the company results and financial position. Later, we will review the current ownership structure of the company. Let's move on to Slide 4. The economic program has continued to make significant progress on several fronts. The shift in economic policy built around fiscal discipline and a range of incentives for key foreign currency-generating sectors has helped address some of Argentina's long-standing macroeconomic imbalances, stabilize the peso and bring inflation down substantially from the high levels inherited in previous years. At the same time, sustained foreign currency purchases by the Central Bank totaling just over USD 13.4 billion to date have helped improve its balance sheet and reduce some of its underlying vulnerabilities. Despite this progress, the program continues to face a degree of uncertainty regarding the potential adverse side effects of the proposed shift in both the economic model and the country's productive structure as well as the extent to which these challenges will gain widespread public support. During the first half of 2026, Argentina's economy remained resilient despite rising global uncertainty linked to the escalation of tensions in the Middle East. This disinflation process resumed during the second quarter, external accounts remained robust and sovereign financing conditions improved, although activity growth became increasingly concentrated in a limited number of sectors. After accelerating during the first quarter, inflation returned to a downward path in the second quarter, reaching 1.9% in June, its lowest monthly reading in 10 months. The temporary surge observed at the beginning of the year, driven by regulated tariff adjustments, seasonal factors and high energy prices gradually faded. As a result, the disinflation process regained traction despite a still challenging international environment and lingering pressures from relative price adjustments. Economic activity continued to display a highly uneven performance. While aggregate indicators remained near historical high levels, the Monthly Economic Activity Estimator, EMAE, followed a volatile pattern and recorded contractions in the last 2 months of the series. Growth remained largely concentrated in agriculture, energy and mining, sectors supported by favorable external conditions and strong investment dynamics. Energy and mining are becoming increasingly important drivers of economic growth and export performance. This trend reflects a broader transformation in Argentina's production structure led by the rapid development of Vaca Muerta and the expansion of the mining sector. At the same time, private consumption reached record levels, although an increasing share of demand came from imported goods and spending abroad, reflecting both the appreciation of the Argentine peso and the necessary opening of the economy. As a result, despite strong aggregate consumption indicators, many local goods and services sectors continue to face a challenging demand environment. Households have also been affected by a decline in purchasing power relative to pre-adjustment levels. Despite the recovery observed in certain sectors of the economy, real disposable income remains below 2023 levels, reflecting the combined impact of lower real wages and a higher share of income devoted to utilities and other regulated services following the correction of relative prices. One key development was the return of the twin surpluses on both the fiscal and external fronts, something Argentina had not achieved since 2008. During the first half of the year, the government preserved its commitment to fiscal discipline as the primary balance posted a surplus of approximately 0.6% of GDP and the financial balance, a surplus of around 0.1% of GDP. On the external front, cash-based current accounts posted USD 2.9 billion surplus, largely driven by strong export growth, and slight decline in imports compared to 2025, reversing the deficit recorded during the same period of the previous year. The high level of foreign currency purchases by individuals remains an important factor to watch closely in a bimonetary economy such as Argentina's. Gross dollar purchases by households reached ARS 42 billion in 2025 and amounted to ARS 19.2 billion during the first 5 months of 2026. Financial conditions also improved during the second quarter. The presentation of the government's financing program for 2026 and 2027, combined with sovereign rating upgrades to B- contributed to a further decline in country risk towards the 400 basis point range. Nevertheless, gains in market sentiment were partially offset by the escalation of the conflict between the United States and Iran, which increased global risk aversion. Looking ahead, the outlook for the second half of 2026 remains broadly constructive, although significant challenges persist. Maintaining balanced public accounts amid a year-on-year decline in tax revenues remains an important challenge for the months ahead. At the same time, the concentration of growth in a few sectors and the weakness of real household income highlights the need for a broader-based recovery. Maintaining social support while advancing the stabilization program will depend increasingly on the ability of the economic growth to generate tangible improvements in employment, incomes and living standards across a wider range of sectors and regions. Having gone through the macro overview, please turn to Slide 6 for a quick review of some of the highlights for the first half of 2026. We divested our holdings in Tele Red Imagen, TRISA, producer of the sports pay TV signal, TyC Sports, and Carburando for total proceeds of USD 25 million. Advertising revenues continued to grow in real terms despite a weak consumer spending environment. We have a strong financial position and lower debt year-over-year. Having gone through the highlights overview, please turn to Slide 7 for a brief analysis of Grupo Clarín's financial performance for the first half of 2026. The company has reflected the effects of the inflation adjustment adopted by Resolution 777/18 of the Argentine Securities Commission, CNV, which establishes that the re-expression of figures must be applied to the annual financial statements for intermediate and special periods ended as of and including December 31, 2018. Accordingly, the reported figures corresponding to the first half and second quarter 2026 include the effects of the adoption of inflationary accounting in accordance with International Accounting Standard 29. For comparative purposes, the results restated by inflation corresponding to June 2025 contain the effect of year-over-year inflation as of June 2026, which amounted to 33.5%. In this presentation, we included some figures in historical values for the sake of clarity. Revenues for the first half of 2026 increased by 22.1% to ARS 270.3 billion nominal, below average interannual inflation. Considering IAS adjustment, revenues decreased by 8% from ARS 309.9 billion to ARS 285.1 billion, mainly circulation, printing and other sales revenues in real terms in the Digital and Printed Publications segment, and lower programming revenues following the deconsolidation of Carburando. Advertising revenues are the main source of revenue of the Broadcasting and Programming segment, representing approximately 70% on a yearly basis. EBITDA in nominal terms reached ARS 43.6 billion from ARS 47.8 billion and ARS 46 billion from ARS 66.1 billion in real terms, driven by lower EBITDA in the Digital Printed Publications segment given the smaller size of the school textbook bidding, the decline in traditional circulation and higher severance payments within the segment as well as the lower EBITDA in the Broadcasting and Programming segment, mainly as a result of lower advertising sales at the Radio Mitre in real terms and the deconsolidation of the subsidiary Carburando. Revenues from broadcasting and programming and for Digital and Printed Publications represented 46% each of the total revenues while revenues for the other segment represented 7%. Net income for the period attributable to equity shareholders in real pesos amounted to ARS 17.6 billion from the 2025 positive figure of ARS 40.4 billion. The decrease in net income was mainly the result of lower EBITDA and higher income tax arising from the taxable gain on the sale of the subsidiaries, TRISA and Carburando, partially offset by higher other income and expenses net due to the accounting gains generated by the sale of the mentioned subsidiaries. Moving on to Slide 8. Revenues for the second quarter '26 increased by 19.3% to ARS 154.8 billion in nominal pesos and EBITDA decreased to ARS 25.1 billion in nominal pesos. If we consider inflation adjustment, revenues decreased by 10.3%, while EBITDA decreased by 47.3%, driven by lower EBITDA in Digital and Printed Publications segment, given the smaller size of the school textbook printings, the decline in traditional circulation, higher severance payments within the segment and higher costs from optional products as well as lower EBITDA in the Broadcasting and Programming segment, mainly as a result of the deconsolidation of the subsidiary Carburando, lower advertising sales of Radio Mitre in real terms and a more appealing and costly TV lineup. Net income for the period attributable to equity shareholders in real pesos was ARS 10.5 billion. The decrease in net income was mainly attributable to the lower EBITDA, higher income tax, mainly arising from the taxable gain on the sale of the subsidiaries TRISA and Carburando as mentioned before, partially offset by higher other income and expenses net due to the accounting gain generated by the sale of these subsidiaries and lower negative net financial results. The variation in financial results is mostly explained by the positive net financial results versus negative results in 2025, lower interest expenses as a result of the lower debt and higher interest gains, partially offset by higher negative inflation adjustment results as a result of an increase in the active monetary position. Slide 9, please. As the graph shows, revenues decreased by 10.3% in real terms, while costs increased by 3.7%, resulting in a reduction of EBITDA margin in second quarter '26 although it should be noted that margin for the second quarter 2025 had been exceptionally high. The decrease in EBITDA is mainly driven by the lower EBITDA in Printed and Digital Publications segment, the deconsolidation of Carburando and higher programming costs in ARTEAR. Next slide, please. In Slide 10, we review the revenue breakdown and performance. Our main sources of revenue are Advertising, Circulation and Paywall and Programming. Advertising is typically tied to the performance of Argentina's economy and especially consumption. Advertisers' ad spend budget is normally approved at the beginning of the year. As macroeconomic conditions began normalizing, inflation descending and consumption activity improving, advertising revenues followed a positive trend, increasing above inflation from fourth quarter '24 although with the uncertainty generated by the past midterm elections in 2025 and some pressure on inflation related to the global uncertainty, the positive trend plateaued in fourth quarter ' 25 and advertising revenues for the first half of 2026 remained relatively stable in real terms, while ad spend tied to the FIFA World Cup has contributed to an expansion of private advertising during June and July this year. It's worth mentioning that as advertising in the Printed and Digital Publications is increasingly digital, and advertising in the Broadcasting and Programming segment does not have variable costs, increases in advertising revenue are reflected directly in EBITDA. Circulation and payroll revenues include traditional newspaper and magazine sales, optional products and book sales and digital subscription and payroll, among others. The shift in readers' behavior and corporate subs translated in paying digital subs increasing steadily since the Paywall was launched. The pricing policy for traditional circulation has been to increase newspaper prices along and even above inflation, while copies sold have decreased 15% year-over-year in second quarter '26. In addition, second quarter 2025 includes higher revenues from school textbook government bidding as the volume in the year 2026 was quite smaller. Programming sales include the sale of our TV signals to cable TV operators and OTT platforms and content production for third parties, which are cyclical. The revenue for TV signals are generally tied to the number of subscribers of the pay TV operators and their ability to increase the price for their service. Thanks to the higher price increases for cable TV services during 2024 and 2025 and the renegotiation of some agreements during 2024, programming revenues increased above inflation in this quarter, year-over-year basis in ARTEAR, although total programming revenues decreased as a result of the deconsolidation of Carburando. Please move to Slide 11, where we will discuss a breakdown of costs and expenses. Our main costs are salaries, social security and benefits to personnel, printing and other editorial products costs, including paper and other raw materials, fee for services, programming, co-production and other costs related to production aired by RTR, maintenance costs and distribution costs of editorial products. Labor costs decreased in real terms year-over-year as a result of the lingering inflation, which was not fully translated into average salaries, lowered headcount related to the ongoing rightsizing of the legacy media areas, even with higher severance payments in this quarter. Printing and other variable costs, distribution costs and taxes, duties and contributions decreased as a result of the decrease in circulation and printing revenues. Fees for services increased due to a more appealing and expensive TV lineup and mobility expenses increased related to travel expenses to cover the FIFA World Cup, while advertising and promotion expenses increased due to the expenses related to the promotion of editorial products related to the World Cup. However, total costs decreased below the decrease in revenue, resulting in a reduction of EBITDA margin. We will discuss the breakdown by segment shortly, but first, let's review the debt, financial position as per Slide 12. The total debt as of June 2026 decreased 32% to ARS 15.5 billion. The decrease in total debt is explained by lower debt at Radio Mitre and CIMECO, the deconsolidation of the debt at Carburando and the effect of the exchange rate increasing at a slower pace than inflation on foreign currency-denominated debt. Approximately 94% of our total debt or $9.9 million and 50.4% of cash and cash equivalents or $28.9 million are in foreign currency. Overall, we continue to show a manageable debt profile with low leverage. Moving on to the segment breakdown. We begin with Broadcasting and Programming division on Slide 14. Revenues decreased by 4% to ARS 74.9 billion in constant pesos in second quarter '26 compared to ARS 78 billion in second quarter '25. This was mainly due to lower programming revenues as a result of the before mentioned deconsolidation of Carburando and lower advertising revenues at Radio Mitre, which had an extraordinarily good performance in second quarter '25, partially offset by higher advertising revenues in ARTEAR, particularly in the news pay TV segment. Cost of sales increased by 5.8% to ARS 42 billion. The increase was mainly due to higher cost of programming and fee for services related to a more appealing TV lineup and costs related with the news coverage of the FIFA World Cup, mainly travel expenses. Selling and administrative expenses increased by 6.8%, mainly fee for services, which are eliminated in consolidation. As a result, during this period, adjusted EBITDA decreased 27.4%, reaching ARS 17 billion and margin reached 22.7% from the second quarter '25 figure of 30.1%. Prime time for Channel 13 audience share increased 18.7%, while total time audience share increased by 14%, mainly the result of a better performance of the ARTEAR lineup. Our audience performance has allowed us to reach 32.9% of advertising market share. Now let's move on to the Digital and Printed Publications on the next slide. Total revenues decreased by 15.1% in real terms to ARS 77.8 billion in second quarter '26, mainly as a result of the lower size of the school tech bidding this year, lower traditional newspaper circulation revenues and lower printing revenues as some contracts have been discontinued. Advertising revenues increased 2.4%, mainly driven by higher ad spend related to the World Cup. This segment has been transformed radically as traditional paper gives way to new digital formats. Digital advertising has gained share as a percentage of total advertising revenues and payroll revenues are gaining share as a percentage of newspaper circulation revenues. Traditional paper copy circulation showed a decrease from levels for the same period of 2025 to 30,000 average day copies, while Paywall subs reached 637,300 as of second quarter '26, lower than second quarter '25, driven by corporate subs. Cost of sales increased by 5.4% to ARS 44.2 billion in second quarter 2026 compared to ARS 41.9 billion in second quarter '25, mainly higher printing and other costs of editorial products related to optional products, the higher cost of school textbooks related to a better quality paper used and higher severance payments, partially offset by the raw material cost decrease related to the lower traditional circulation. Selling and administrative expenses decreased by 3.1% to ARS 24.2 billion in second quarter '26, mainly due to lower distribution costs, contingencies and bad debt charges, partially offset by higher advertising and promotion expenses related to the promotion of optional products related to the World Cup. Regarding other segments, turn to Slide 16. During second quarter '26, net sales in real terms remained stable and amounted to ARS 10.4 billion. EBITDA resulted in negative ARS 846.9 million. Gestión Compartida is a shared services company and derives its revenues from administrative and corporate services rendered to Grupo Clarín and its subsidiaries, which are eliminated in consolidation. In addition, revenues for the segment include management fees from Grupo Clarín to its subsidiaries, which are also eliminated in consolidation. During the last years, it has been increasing -- Gestión Compartida has been increasing the participation of third-party revenues in its total revenues, generating new sources of income. It is also worth mentioning that Gestión Compartida has been expanding its services, finding growth opportunities through joint ventures. Having gone through the segment breakdown, please refer to Slide 18 for a review of our ownership structure. As of today, 80% is owned by the controlling shareholders and total float is approximately 20%. Regarding the current composition of our float, as shown on the slide, approximately 19% is represented by GDSs and 81% is local float. That concludes our comments. We will now take your questions. Nick, we are ready for questions, please.

[Operator Instructions] Showing no questions, I would like to return the program to Mrs. Olivieri for closing remarks.

Thank you, Nick. Thank you for attending our conference call today. We look forward to speaking again with you for the third quarter '26 results. Have a great day.

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.