Performance in the Brazilian market boosted results
Marcopolo S.A. has maintained its expected performance and pace in 2013, posting 10.4% growth in bus body production worldwide. The company produced 15,858 units from January to September, as opposed to 14,367 for the same period in 2012, with consolidated net revenue of R$ 2.737 billion.
According to the General Director of Marcopolo, José Rubens de la Rosa, the company's performance during the year was boosted by the production volume attained from July to September, the best quarter of the year for the bus sector in Brazil. "Brazilian production for the domestic market grew 22.6% in relation to the third quarter of 2012. The charter and tourism segments continue to be strong, as does the demand for mini buses, spurred on by the Federal Government's "Road to School" program and the large influx of tourists expected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup," notes the executive.
In contrast, the demand for medium and long distance intercity buses has shrunk since the beginning of October. "The momentary drop in intercity bus demand is basically due to the bidding for interstate lines, scheduled for the end of May 2014. The current concessions expired in 2008 and have been regularly extended since then. Although the official bidding notice has already been issued by the National Ground Transportation Agency (ANTT), operators are initially holding back on renewing their fleets as a result of the uncertainties related to the continuity of their operations," explained de la Rosa.
As far as city buses, the downturn in demand stems from the freezes or cuts in municipal bus fares in some of Brazil's main cities. The Federal Government has taken steps to minimize the impact on the profitability of transport companies through a payroll tax exemption for operators and PIS and COFINS exemptions in bus fares. Nevertheless, these are uncertain times and the renewal of city buses is moving at a slower pace than normal.
In foreign markets, the volume of units exported by Marcopolo from Brazil in the third quarter grew 11.5 % compared to the second quarter of 2013. In addition to higher revenues, margins also benefited from the devaluation of the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar. In terms of the subsidiaries and affiliated companies abroad, production fell 6.9% during the first nine months of the year, totaling 1,437 units against 1,543 posted in the same period of 2012. The performance of Volgren, in Australia, was particularly noteworthy, with a 9.4% increase in production compared with the first nine months of 2012, and 43.8% in relation to the third quarter of last year.
Regarding the company's strategic investment in New Flyer, Canada, volume was higher in the first nine months of this year, totaling 1,556 units, 22.6 % higher than the volume for the same period last year. There has also been an increase in back orders (firm and options) over the first nine months of 2013, going from 6,325 orders at December 31, 2012, to 9,890 orders at September 30 of this year.