Peter Vanneste (CFO)
On AIP and the divestment project.
So if I first talk about AIP, there is an opportunity clearly in the business combination with Attindas.
But there's no progress to report on that currently.
On Brazil and the other divestment projects, as we discussed before, we've engaged with advisers and we're making progress on all these files, including Brazil. And there's again at this point not more to report. We will inform you when there's more.
Given your production skew in the Belgium market and as such, your vulnerability to Belgian wage indexation, does this raise a discussion about moving some production to other countries?
I mean we have multiple factories only 2 in Belgium. So that's one part to your element. So it's not that extreme.
Next to that, we have a very high ambition and cost program, both on operational costs and on SG&A.
We have brought SG&A down below 10% already this year. We come from more than 2 points higher.
We've done it different ways. We've done a significant restructuring in last year.
This year it was more about containing and managing the cost against the growing inflation.
We will continue to deliver on the objectives that we have set for SG&A via the recipes that we will meet, but it's not that there's anything on the table like you've been hinting at.
Within the emerging markets, it was initially more Mexico, but then in Q3, there's actually more traction coming from the other markets who have been suffering a bit more before from things like hyperinflation or an unstable economic environment.
Now U.S. is clearly our strategic growth platform. We are making structural investments in the region to support the group.
We have been and we are and we will be growing double digits in that region.
But it's important to see that in Q4, we will be significantly better on EBITDA and on the leverage.
So with the €250 million that we expect early next year, we'll be paying back our term loan, which is the area where we have the governance and then there's a bit more impact on the level of our leverage.
We have agreed with our banking partners that paying back the term loan is the first priority.
What we will do, which again will help a lot also in making sure that our financial debt position is going to be strong.
Now after that, we will be essentially with a debt that consists of the bonds, which is €580 million, and that's a 3.5% fixed rate and the maturity in 2026 and carrying no governance. So I think we have a strong financial position with that.
As you've seen, we have turned the corner, Q3 has been an important moment.
I mean we can finally see the efforts on cost on pricing on volume sales turnaround affecting into an EBITDA and a margin that goes into the right direction.
And that's the start of the turning around and going to the right direction, thanks to the different efforts that we put in place.