B3 SA Brasil Bolsa Balcao

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Earnings Call Transcript 2023-Q2

[Operator]

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the audio conference call of B3's Earnings Results for the second quarter of 2023. [Operator Instructions]. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session and instructions to participate will be given at that time. [Operator Instructions]. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded and broadcasted via live via webcast. The replay will be available after the event is concluded. I would like now to turn the conference over to Andre Vegemilanes, B3's Chief CFO and Investor Relations Officer, who will be joined by Fernando Campos, Investor Relations Associate Director.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you, and good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining our call for the results of the second quarter. I'll start briefly just with some general comments about the environment during the quarter. We did see -- we saw a more favorable environment, especially more towards the end of the quarter. The market started ready to anticipate the beginning of interest rate cuts in Brazil, which have recently materialized last week, a more constructive view or a more favorable view in terms of economic growth as well. And that has benefited volumes in our core business, especially in the equities market. So as a result of that, Fernando will provide more details regarding the performance of our revenues by segment. But in general terms, we saw revenues pretty much in line with the last quarter of last year and then a small advance in relation to the fourth quarter this year. Equities have shown volume recovery compared to the first quarter, but are still below the levels that we saw during the second quarter of last year, primarily because of the lower market capitalization of companies, although we saw a very healthy turnover velocity during the quarter. The performance of the listed derivatives were driven primarily by the performance of interest rate contracts that are also associated with this beginning of an easing cycle here in Brazil. One thing that I think it is worth highlighting is that we had 2 business days less than in the first quarter of this year, and that makes a material difference in terms of revenues. On the listed segments, this represents around BRL 25 million, BRL 30 million a day. OTC remained with the performance very robust, reflecting that steel environment of 2 high interest rates with both new issuances and inventory growing quite well in relation to the last year. In data is more, again, highlighting that this already incorporates the results of Neurotech, roughly speaking a month and half amounting to BRL 12.5 million. In the expenses side, as we have been discussing the project that we carried out last year, consisting in initiatives aimed to seek for efficiencies not only at that point, but in a more permanent way have -- we have been able to reap the benefits of that project and those initiatives. Expenses for the quarter reflect this to a large extent, excluding the impacts of the consolidation of Neurotech, which was not in our numbers in the prior year, expenses would have been not only on the primary but were not also included in the prior quarter. Expenses would have been 0.4% higher to last year and 0.7% lower than the first quarter, well below the inflation measured by the IPCA during the quarter. On that end, I just wanted to again reemphasize our commitment to cost discipline and that our target remains to be closer to the lower end of our expenses guidance for this year. I will now bring Fernando over to talk about the operational performance of each segment.

[Fernando Tavares Campos, executive]

Thank you, Andre. Starting with the Equities segment. So we saw ADTV of EUR 26.9 billion in the cash decrease market during the quarter, a 7% growth compared to the first quarter. When compared to the same quarter last year, it was 7% lower, mainly due to the smaller market cap companies, while the turnover remained at high levels at 106%. Regarding fees, the recovery from the -- from 1Q reflects mostly the customer mix, where we saw lower activity from players that use our location, which usually is related to customers that pay smaller fees. [Indiscernible], I think there are 2 things very important to mention here that offset the growth in the trading revenue of cash acres first, index derivatives, which showed a volume decrease, both compared to 2Q '22 and 1Q '23, mainly reflecting the decrease in individual investors activity and stock lending. We saw the reduction of the negative market sentiment led to a lower transaction rate resulting in lower revenues for B3. Moving on to listed derivatives. We saw a second cost quarter of historical record with 6.4 million contracts of ADP, 50% growth year-on-year and 7% growth quarter-on-quarter, which mainly reflects the increase in the Brazilian IR interest rate futures contract, which increased 83% year-on-year and 9% quarter-on-quarter. On the other hand, we saw a decrease in the average revenue per contract, mainly to the concentration of volume in the short-term part of the curve, which is cheaper to trade than the [indiscernible]. So in the OTC market, it performed well, mainly due to the high interest rates, though we saw, like Andre mentioned, the volume of issuances and the average inventory of bank fund instruments grew by 10%, and 40% was effectively compared to the second quarter of '22. Here, it is also worth highlighting the strong growth in the Treasury Direct product, which saw an increase of 30% compared to the second quarter of 22% and 11% compared to the first quarter of in the inventory of the product. Lastly, in technology, data and access, or mentioned, the growth in the OTC utilization line grew 10% year-on-year, 2% for quarter, mainly driven by the growth of different industry. And also, it's just reinforced that here, we have a BRL 212.5 million in revenues from rote now give the call over to Andre to talk a little bit about the all the financial results and strategic advancements.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you, Fernando. So just some other few points here before we go to Q&A. First, brief comments here on the financial results. We had a positive financial result during the quarter, around BRL 103 million, which was pretty much in line with the first quarter when we exclude the nonrecurring revenue that we -- that was registered during the first quarter related to the partial repurchase of some of the outstanding bonds that we had issued as we had already highlighted during the first quarter, those were -- that was a nonrecurring result which did not occur, again, this quarter. Our EBITDA -- recurring EBITDA amounted to EUR 1.6 billion during the quarter, a margin of almost 74%, and the net income during that period [indiscernible] BRL 1.4 billion. During the quarter, we have also distributed around BRL 1.2 billion, including nearly EUR 550 million in share buybacks and the remainder distributed through interest on capital. Just one technical point. As you probably noticed, we have made a small revision to our guidance for depreciation and amortization. This is exclusively linked to the acquisition of Neurotech. The result of the acquisition, we have to recognize as part of the purchase price allocation process, some intangible assets and whatever the remainder that is not recognized is recorded as goodwill. The intangibles are amortized. So we are basically revising our guidance to include debt amortization from these intangibles that were recognized in our financial statements. I think it is also worth mentioning some announcements that were made during the period. We -- in June, we announced the launch of a new platform for issuance registration in trade of tokenized assets. This is in line with our strategy of testing new technologies and bring innovation to our core business. In July, we have also announced the launch of a new platform for fixed income assets, which is already operating at this stage only for federal government bonds, but that will be also used for corporate bonds and other fixed income securities. The main objective here is to increase the currency, make the reduced cost for our customers, make the process more straightforward and also enable -- this would enable higher volumes and automation in trading, which we believe is important for the continuous development of this market. And finally, I just wanted to make a few comments regarding the partnership that was announced with NASDAQ. This is a new partnership that is to an existing agreement with a company that was acquired by NASDAQ in the past, with that brand renegotiation of terms, we ensure more investments in technology to keep evolving our solutions to better provide services to our customers, also to facilitate the increase in capacity and expansions in the future. As a result of that partnership, of course, NASDAQ also benefits from having B3 as a customer and its experience in operating a very unique markets such as ours, which is also important for them to keep evolving their solution that is offered to other markets and other customers. So I think it is just worth that does not change our guidance for investments, expenses. As I said, it was a renegotiation of terms of an existing partnership, nonetheless, an important advance with an important partner for us. With that said, I leave the floor open for questions and answers now.

[Operator]

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now begin the question-and-answer session from investors and analysts. [Operator Instructions]. The first question comes from Tito Labarta with Goldman Sachs

[Daer Labarta, analyst]

A couple of questions. I guess, first on your revenue growth. It was kind of flattish in the quarter. I mean I think there's been a lot of interest in the name, particularly as rates come down and you mentioned should be an optimistic outlook with lower rates, particularly for equities and other revenue lines as well. But just to think about when we can see that inflection because if we look, volumes recently have actually been a bit weaker July and August running around $24 billion. Also even derivatives, you had good volume growth in the quarter, but revenue per contract was down. So how do you think about revenue growth? I mean do you think you need to see the lower rates first? And then when do you think you could get the pickup in revenues from there? Just to get a sense of the sensitivity potential movements in rates? And then I'll have a second question afterwards.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you for your question and for joining the call. Look, that's a very difficult question. I mean, as we said, I think June was an example where we started to see some recovery in anticipation of that movement. July and beginning of August are typically periods that have some level are seasonal. So if you look historically, it tends to present a weaker performance in our that's associated with the holiday period in the Northern Hemisphere and other things. There was also not a lot of, let's say, volatility during that period. So, I mean, we remain more optimistic in terms of potential recovery of volumes as interest rates cuts progresses, but it's difficult to give you exactly the timing for that, in our view, as we have more clarity in terms of the interest rates. The interest rate curve pointed onwards that should be enough to restart that movement. Retail investor will probably come later than the rest of the investors. But we definitely are more optimistic now in resuming again a more favorable cycle for the equities market in Brazil.

[Daer Labarta, analyst]

Okay. Great. And maybe just one follow-up on that point. I mean, we would expect volumes to go up as well, the more rates come down. But how do we think about, I guess, the pricing with the volumes because typically, there tends to be an inverse relationship. We've seen that a little bit on the derivative side as well. But is that fair to assume that revenue should probably lag volumes a bit because of potential inverse relationship on the pricing side.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Sorry, I didn't understand exactly your question on apologies.

[Daer Labarta, analyst]

No problem. Just -- I mean, typically, as volumes go up, pricing comes down, or you give more discounts for more volumes, right? So is that pretty much the expectation that we should have or just to think about a little bit kind of the difference between volumes and revenues?

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Yes. I think given that we are not envisaging any significant -- the need for any significant changes in our pricing schedule. The behavior of the margins will be led to the behavior in volume but also to the mix of customers. So as you saw in this quarter, margins were impacted primarily by that factor, by the mix. But in theory, you're right, the higher the volume, the higher the discount in our pricing schedule, but that -- there is also a mix impact. So we have more retail investors that could have a more favorable mix in terms of margins. On the other hand, if you have a higher mix of high-frequency traders and the sort of clients, they pay lower fees and therefore, you also have an impact on margins. So I think those were -- those are the 2, let's say, factors to take into consideration when looking at margin behavior going forward.

[Daer Labarta, analyst]

Okay. No, that's helpful. And the second question I had was on the regulatory with pending tax reform, a lot of talks about IOC, what happens with dividends. And I mean, I think you typically pay the maximum you can on the IOC front. But if you can just give us your latest thoughts on potential changes in tax reform and anything you can do ahead of tax reform to maybe maximize your tax benefits aside from paying the maximum in IOC that you can.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

That's a tough one. I mean, I honestly, based on what we have been hearing, I think they are still concerned, there are still some doubts if we're going to see changes to the IOC were not -- what we heard is that taxation of dividends and IOC changes in corporate income tax would not be tackled at least not this year, right? But again, we have to follow them very closely -- based on prior questions that we had a potential reduction on property income tax, together with the extinction of the IOC would not have a meaningful impact to us. Of course, that depends a lot on the level of reduction for -- to the income tax -- but I think now -- so far, what we have been doing is monitoring very closely those discussions, ensuring that we are also taking to the authorities, our concerns through the associations that we -- they are needing to discussions and where we are part of those. So I think it is too early to tell what could be done, but there are things that we could consider to -- going forward to, let's say, to partially mitigate those effects, revising our capital structure strategy could be one of them. But again, I think it is still too early to say exactly what could be done without knowing all the details of a potential change.

[Operator]

Thank you. The next question comes with Yuri Fernandes with JPMorgan.

[Yuri Fernandes, analyst]

I have a first one regarding Pismo sale. I guess this was an option late in June, I guess, in 28. So just confirming there was no benefit on your P&L this quarter. That's the first one. And also, if you can discuss the game here because when you bought this, I guess, back in 2021, you paid some [indiscernible] for your stake and valuations were higher. We are getting here to BRL 150 million, BRL 200 million gains on these investments you have. So just checking the numbers. So basically, it is in the P&L this quarter, it's going to be in the third Q only and also a little bit on the financial impact on this. And I have a second question regarding expenses. I guess, you have been very committed to cost lately. So just checking the box, what is your speech for 2024 if we should expect the same commitment on cost for the next year? And also, if you can share how much is fixed and how much is variable cost for B3. Thank you very much.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you, Yuri, for the questions. So Pismo is not the game with the -- Pismo is not recognized in this quarter figures. Fernando will give more details on that

[Fernando Tavares Campos, executive]

Yes. So we did -- the transaction is still on -- still other analysis by the antitrust entity here in Brazil page. So the deal is not closed yet. So it's a deal that we are mostly passengers of. So it's not something that we can -- we don't have any say on it, but we are on a way to mode the gains will only be recognized when the deal is actually closed, which hasn't happened yet. So -- but probably will happen during the third quarter, and we'll have only financial impact on the financial results. I think that's pretty much it -- sorry, it's not something that is really material, it's not really -- it's not going to change much for the results, but [indiscernible].

[Andre Milanez, executive]

So interesting to investment, but since it was a small investment it's not going to move the needle in terms of our overall earnings yet, but it was very positive with investment. And the second one, sorry.

[Yuri Fernandes, analyst]

The second one is regarding costs. If you can provide some kind of message for 2024 on expenses. And how much is fixed and how much is variable expenses for B3?

[Andre Milanez, executive]

So our -- this is not a 1-year effort, this -- we have, as I said, taking the measures to ensure that we are incorporating some of the learnings that we had from that project into our ongoing management -- daily management activities here. Our long-term objective, medium to long term, is to ensure that our expenses, especially in the core business are growing much more close to the inflation. And I would say, in general terms, most of our revenues are almost fixed -- the nature of our cost structure is pretty much the -- I think the more variable part of the expenses, we actually tried to give you visibility on that, providing that disclosure of revenue-linked expenses. So those were potentially the expenses that have a more variable characteristics, the higher the revenue, the higher the expenses. But if you exclude those, remainder is primarily composed of personnel expenses and technology expenses. Of course, we believe there is still room to keep seeking for efficiencies there as we evolve, but they are, let's say, they are less sensitive to the performance of the top line, right? So if volumes increase, they do not increase on the same token -- sorry, they do not have to increase in the same proportion. On the other hand, if revenues decrease, there is not a lot of room to reduce that. So I think that's very much it. So we will remain with that objective for 2014 -- '24 and the following years.

[Yuri Fernandes, analyst]

Super clear. Thank you.

[Operator]

The next question comes with Antonio Reti with Bank of America.

[Antonio Reti, analyst]

Andre, thank you for your time. So basically, 2 questions here, one on revenues and one on expenses. On revenues, I was just thinking about pricing and a follow-up on a previous question. If pricing sizes dependent on mix and potential discounts, how prepared are you to share operating leverage with our clients. So we saw improving margins. And now we could have also stronger competition. So I'm just trying to understand the pricing on your side. And also, on expenses, if you could explore a little bit more, Yuri's question, on what are the efforts that you can do from now on? So you had a big consultancy program that provided some savings by the end of the year last year. So from now on, is there anything else that -- what are the projects that you can do on personnel, it's in data, it's in real estate, if you could provide some detail on this. Thank you very much.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you, Antonio. Answering the first one, on sharing operational leverage. I mean the way our pricing schedule has been set up, it is structured in a way where automatically, we are sharing some of that operational leverage with our customers. As I mentioned, the higher volume, the higher the discounts that they are getting. So I think we already have some mechanisms in place to do that. If volumes increase substantially and we remain at a different level, as it was the case during the last, last cycle. And we feel that the level of sharing is not sufficient, we could potentially revisit that. But I think it is too early to to be, let's say, concerned with that. I think we already have a mechanism that -- in place that will allow for that. If we feel, in the future, that we are in a sustainable level that is significantly higher than the current one and the level of operational leverage that is being shared is not sufficient, we could revisit that, but I don't think that's a concern for now. In terms of expenses, I mean, as I said, we did that project. And as you know, most of our expenses are represented by personnel expenses and technology. So there is still things that can be done on those areas, so areas that we could be examining in terms of seeking more efficiency routines. There were areas that were not part of that project in last year because really, we did, let's say, a partial analysis here and targeted the more representative better, but there are still places where that efficiency could be sought. I mean, we have incorporated some of those practices. So every time now there is a proposition to revisit an organizational structure. We will be looking at some indicators and metrics to see whether that makes sense, ensuring there is a, let's say, well designed, then of draw and other metrics that we will be looking at. There are things that can also bring efficiency, I mean, the continued application of technology, potentially in some areas, the use of artificial intelligence could also improve our efficiency in certain processes and certain activities. So there are 2 things that can be done, and we will be focusing on those as well to ensure that, that long-term objective is achieved.

[Operator]

Thank you. The next question comes from Pedro Leduc with Itau.

[Pedro Leduc, analyst]

Two quick ones, please. First, on average trading margins. We saw a sequential increase slightly, 0.3 bps Q-on-Q. I'm wondering if we could get your thoughts on how this line could evolve in the second half of the year. I understand there's a lot of mix in here involved, right, types of investors, incentives. Just if you could share us some color for modeling purposes, how we should think about this average trading margins, at least in the second half of this year.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you, Pedro, for joining the call -- for posing questions. I mean, that's a difficult one, Pedro, because as I said, there are 2 main components that will dictate the behavior of those margins going forward. The first one will be deploying those sales. So, as I said, typically the higher volume, the higher discounts. So that could put some, let's say, downward pressure to our margins. On the other hand, a more favorable mix in terms of clients that they are trading could have a positive impact on margin. So it is really difficult to try to project the behavior of these 2 things and give you a more precise, let's say, estimate of what the behavior margin could be going forward. I mean -- I think perhaps the best way to try to do with that is make some of these assumptions in terms of mix and volumes to simulate what the margin could be going forward. Sorry, Pedro, I cannot be of any more help.

[Pedro Leduc, analyst]

No. This was helpful, actually. You say it's a lot to do with mix and volumes, obviously. But in terms of mix, today, where we stand, is it perhaps the worst or the low in terms of average, the lower bit contributor are wearing heavily on your total mix or the heaviest it's ever been.

[Fernando Tavares Campos, executive]

Yes. That -- also [indiscernible] Pedro, it's because we have customers that say the most -- the highest fee we are individual investors that all really low levels -- at really low levels. So I don't think it's the worst mix to say that, but I think it's only natural that with see return from individual investors and they gain more importance of the mix. We can see a higher margin. But I think the big question mark is when this will happen. Because your first question about the second half, we do not know if it's going to be on the natural to be there. We had retail investors as high as about 20%, 21% during the pandemic. Now, they are around 13% of the volumes. So if they go a little bit higher, we can see an improvement in margins because of that mix. It decreased because of the mix, and it can increase because of the mix on the shorter-term like Andre mentioned

[Andre Milanez, executive]

I think -- just to add here, I don't know if it is -- if you can as Fernando mentioned, to say that this is the worst moment in terms of mix. But on the other hand, I mean, during the scenario that we were discussing, I think we see, let's say, more room for -- in the future in the next months, second half or beginning of next year for the return of the retail investor to equities than a movement that would reduce even further their participation. So it is definitely an optimistic scenario in terms of the return of these investors to the exchange and to be more representative in terms of the of the overall trading activities in the market.

[Pedro Leduc, analyst]

Very good. So very useful. Thank you so much. Congrats on the quarter and talk to you on the next one.

[Operator]

The next question comes with Ian White with Autonomous Research.

[Ian White, analyst]

Thanks I had a few questions, please. First up on data and analytics. Can you just sort of unpack for me a bit what kind of happened there in the second quarter, please? I was just surprised to see organic growth negative year-over-year. Maybe you could explain a bit about the changes you made on on pricing or whether there's anything else planned there? And also, what was the contribution from Neoway, please, in the quarter? That would be interesting. Question two, I was just interested in maybe hearing a bit more about the development of the tokenized issuance platform that you mentioned. How many firms are using that? Are there any savings we might expect to see for B3 possibly into next year? And is this something we could see rolled out to equities in due course. Again, a bit more detail around that would be really interesting, please. And just finally, are there any areas of the business where you think we might see actually some headwinds from lower rates. Obviously, million that most of the business is likely to benefit here. But like OTC fixed income perhaps might be sort of geared the other way. Are there any other businesses that maybe you've been getting some support from the higher interest rate environment that might reverse a little bit?

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you very much, Ian. I'll try to answer here, all of them, but let me know if I missed something here. So first question regarding analytics, I think the main impact that we saw here was on market data revenues. I think here there are perhaps 3 main things to highlight. First, I think we started to see why it's reducing the, let's say, the number of distribution packages that they were paying for because of reduction in their customer base activity. So there is -- there are here, some of the fees that are variable according to the number of users on typically talking about here, brokers and intermediaries, they are paying to distribute that data to their client base or if they have less clients using, they ended up paying less in terms of new usage. So there is a usage component here that explains that reduction. There has also been, let's say, clients revisiting the packages that they are, let's say, paying for. So also, as we have been doing, trying to, let's say, optimize or reduce costs, they -- some of them are opting for lower cost packages then, of course, have, let's say, less information some time. So we're not -- you're not seeing all the trades on the book. You're only seeing the offers on the top of the book. This is one example. So because you're not getting access to the whole book, you ended up paying slightly less. So there are those factors explaining the performance of that revenue and to a smaller extent, there is also some impact from the exchange rate during that period because some of that -- those market data contracts are charged in U.S. dollars. So that's primarily what we have seen in that. Again, now looking forward with a more optimistic environment as we have been stressing with the retail investor at some point, returning more intensively to the exchange, potentially those -- especially the ones that are late to usage could increase again. The second question regarding the tokenized platform. I think it is too early to say, this was more, let's say, almost like an MVP, an experimentation. So far, we haven't seen, let's say, significant or material gains with that, but we are -- we need to test better that. But so let's say, an initial attempt to better assess and explore potential efficiencies and gains that could be achieved with the use of that technology. But as I said, again, I think it is too early to predict any more -- any of that and a more let's say, meaningful intense use of that technology in other parts of the business. But I think we need to try and test those new technologies to see what can be -- can bring better results either for the company or for its customers. And the last question you made regarding some potential headwinds with a lower interest rate environment, I think your initial assessment is correct. Potentially, the business that will be, let's say, more impacted will be the OTC business, although, as it tends to be a business with much more resilient. So differently from what we see on the equities market, which is very sensitive to the volumes, there is a significant portion of our revenues that come from the outstanding inventory. So when volumes are growing, -- revenue growth, but does not grow at the same proportion that we are seeing volumes growing because a lot of that revenue growth is going to be deffered because you're charging a portion -- a significant portion of your revenues on the outstanding inventory of assets. On the other hand, when you have a reduction in volume, so if there is more allocation towards equities and other instruments and lower volumes of corporate income securities or fixed income securities. You do not tend to see the same impact on the revenues because of that different behavior in terms of fees that are charged. So should be the business potentially that could be affected, but it tends to be much more resilient in terms of general revenue generation because of the nature of our -- of the way the revenues are produced there.

[Pedro Leduc, analyst]

Great stuff. Just the only other detail I hope you might share with the revenue contribution from Neoway in 2Q. Could you possibly provide us with that number, please?

[Andre Milanez, executive]

It's around BRL 150 million in the quarter, but I think that is somewhere in our financials, but if it's not, we can just confirm that to you later on, but it's around BRL 50 million in the quarter.

[Fernando Tavares Campos, executive]

Yeah, and you can go to the spreadsheet that we put the public data there, and there is one sheet there is -- it's only EUR 49 million, but it's on the spreadsheet that we provide or require data various income statement for Neoway here.

[Operator]

The next question comes from Carlos Gomez with HSBC.

[Carlos Gomez-Lopez, analyst]

I have 2 questions. The first one is if you could give us any update, if there is one on the judicial cases that you're involved in the education about the central bank actions and about goodwill amortization? And second, can you tell us your current approach to further investments in data analytics companies? Are you done? Or do you think you might still explore opportunities in this field?

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you, Carlos. In relation to the first point, unfortunately, there are no updates. So again, we remain very optimistic in the outcome of those discussions, but there hasn't been any significant developments during the last the last period. Regarding your second question, as we have been discussing, I think the 2 targets that we have identified and that we believe were important to deliver our strategy on data have been acquired. Those were Neoway and Neurotech. We don't have any other significant targets on the pipeline. We are now, I think, the main focus now it's to -- is in executing the strategy with the 2 assets now together, seeking for the revenue synergies that we believe we are able to capture. So we have a lot of our plate now, and I think the main objective and challenges now is to execute the strategy now that we have the pieces that we needed. We might have a small add on here and there, but definitely nothing of the size of those 2 companies. As I said, main focus now is to execute that strategy and extracting and seeking for -- to extract the synergies mainly on the revenue side that we believe we can capture it now with those 2 business, together with the truth.

[Operator]

Thank you. The next question comes with Kaio Prato with Banco UBS. Excuse Mr. -- you may proceed. Your line is open.

[Kaio Penso Da Prato, analyst]

Quick follow-up on expenses, please. When we look to your adjusted expense and analyse what was already reported, it is tiny below the guidance for the full year. So my question is, this has come indeed better than expected? And could we view the guidance at some point? Or you should expecting an acceleration in the second half of this year? And if so, in which line we should see this acceleration.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you, Kaio, for your question. We -- if you look, typically, we tend to have a second quarter of the year. We have some seasonality here in the behavior of expenses. You have to remember that one of the main items on our expenses, which are the personnel expenses have an annual buying adjustment, which takes place in August. It is true though, that we are looking at a more, let's say, lower level of inflation for this year. If you recall, the adjustment for last year was around 10%. So we tend to see some acceleration on our expenses during the second half. One of the reasons is what I just described, the annual margin adjustment. There are other things that also typically take place during the second half of the year, some events and these sort of things. So that could be potentially some acceleration during the year. But again, we will definitely be much closer to the lower right hand of our guidance than to the upper end. So that remains our target and our focus.

[Operator]

Thank you. That does conclude today's question-and-answer session. I would like to invite Andre Milanez to proceed with his closing statements. Please go ahead, sir.

[Andre Milanez, executive]

Thank you very much for joining our call, for your continued support. My thanks to all the team here to B3 team for this quarter results, for the finance team that has helped to prepare all these materials and deliver that to you. And I think that's it. Thank you very much. Have a nice Friday and weekend ahead of you. Bye-bye.

[Operator]

Thank you. That does conclude the B3's audio conference for today. Thank you very much for your participation. Have a good afternoon, and thank you for using Chorus Call for [indiscernible].