Natura &Co Holding S.A. (NYSE:NTCO) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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On top of that, right, which again, it’s important to mention as Fábio has said, we are working on our capital structure, right, and we are working on the actions to take to improve our capital structure. And of course, as soon as we have concrete news on that, we will communicate the market, but it is a big focus for us. As of course, you can see the impact of net interest expense in our results and how interest rates is impacting of course not only the cash but the P&L profile of Natura &Co.

Operator: Next question comes from Thiago Macruz of Itaú Unibanco.

Thiago Macruz: Guys, my question is regarding a potential divestment of the Aesop operation. I mean, I want to understand how you guys would be back on a potential transaction like that in terms of capital gains? Is there any sort of tax shields that you guys could eventually use to diminish that amount? Is my question. Thank you.

Guilherme Castellan: Hey, Macruz, thanks for the question. So let me revert to public information to what we can say. As you can see, in the material facts that we issue to the market, we are evaluating and studying, structural and alternatives for Aesop going forward, right? Of course, that process, that project is ongoing and we cannot communicate anything to the market, right? So several alternatives were on the table; and of course, as we continue to evaluate and as we continue to study, we continue to funnel those alternatives to what we believe is the right thing for Natura &Co at this moment, but I know that Macruz, you appreciate that we cannot say anything that it’s again, not yet communicated. And of course, we’re not going to comment on tax or anything like that at this point. And as soon as we have news on the Aesop process, we will communicate the market in a more comprehensive way.

Operator: Next question comes from Bob Ford of Bank of America.

Robert Ford: JP, Natura Brazil growth was very impressive in the quarter. Can you comment a little bit on pricing, competitive dynamics, gross margin and operating profitability for Natura Brazil as well as the momentum for the brand in early 2023? And then Guil, how are you thinking about market exits and Fábio as well, right? How are you thinking about market exits for Avon International this year, the fixed cost structure of The Body Shop and for the restructuring and impairment charges for 2023? Thank you.

João Paulo Ferreira: Hi, Bob. JP here. Indeed, we are passing prices across the entire region. You can probably appreciate that when you see that we are catching up in terms of gross margin, and there’s still room to continue to price in a couple of countries, right? So a significant portion of our growth across the region came from prices, but not sacrificing volumes in any significant way. So we are pretty glad with that. Notably with Natura in Brazil, Natura in Brazil is living through a very, very good moment. We see an acceleration of the digitalization, personalization features through all our business model, which is definitely helping us to navigate through the changes in the markets. So very glad with that. I also want to say that behind the aggregate numbers even when you look at Avon, when you see increased profitability for CFT, that is showing that we are able to price up across the region.

We are facing other difficulties related to the shrinkage of the Fashion and Home category as previously announced. But even there, with Avon and CFT, I’m pretty glad with the fact that we are being able to price up. Okay? Thank you. Let me hand over to Guil.

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