This quarter was marked by the resumption of demand for short-cycle equipment, both in Brazil, where we observed a significant improvement in all business units, and abroad, where the recovery, although slower, has remained constant since April/May, worst months of the pandemic's impact on our business. This recovery, combined with the maintenance of the good performance of the long-cycle businesses and our efforts to control costs and operational efficiency, were determining factors for the good results presented in this quarter.

Demand improvement for short-cycle equipment occurred in all business areas, though at different pace between them. The Commercial and Appliance Motors, Paints and Varnishes and Distributed Solar Generation businesses (included in GTD), linked to the Brazilian market, showed rapid recovery, reaching volumes at the end of the quarter similar to pre-pandemic levels. Businesses in the Industrial Electro-Electronic Equipment area showed a good evolution compared to the previous quarter, although slowly in the external market when compared to domestic market.

Another highlight was the performance of our long-cycle businesses, which continue to contribute positively to the result, as a result of the important order book built both in Brazil and abroad. Projects for relevant industries such as mining, pulp & paper, water & wastewater and oil & gas, as well as in the Transmission & Distribution (T&D) area, were mainly responsible for the good performance in the quarter.

Despite the improvement in business dynamics this quarter, we reinforce that the pandemic caused by COVID-19 is yet to be overcome. Uncertainties regarding the global economic recovery still remain, and future impacts in different industry segments can reflect on our business in the medium and long term, especially in projects related to long-cycle equipment.

Highlights

• Net Operating Revenue (NOR) were R$ 4,801.3 million in 3Q20, 43.3% higher than 3Q19 and 18.1% higher than 2Q20; 

• EBITDA⁽¹⁾ reached R$ 935.3 million, 61.5% higher than 3Q19 and 27.7% higher than 2Q20, while EBITDA margin was 19.5%, 2.2 p.p. higher than 3Q19 and 1.5 p.p. higher than the previous quarter;

• Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) reached 23.3% in 3Q20, up 4.1 p.p. from 3Q19 and up 1.7 p.p. from 2Q20.

In this video, our Investor Relations Officer, Paulo Polezi, comments the main highlights of the 3Q20 earnings release.

Read the full earnings release at ir.weg.net