BOMXF Q1 2026 Earnings Call

Operator: Greetings, and welcome to the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V. First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Mr. Ramon Guemez, Chief Financial Officer. Thank you, sir. You may begin. Ramón Sarre: Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Bolsa Mexicana de Valores First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Before proceeding, I'd like to provide a brief safe harbor statement. This presentation contains forward-looking statements and information related to Bolsa that are based on the analysis and expectations of its management as well as assumptions made and information currently available at Bolsa. Such statements reflect the current views of Bolsa related to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the current results, performance or achievements to be somewhat different from any future results or performance that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, changes in general economic, political, governmental and business conditions, both in a global scale and in the individual countries in which Bolsa does business, such as changes in monetary policies, inflation rates, prices, business strategy and various other factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary considerably from those described herein as anticipated, estimated, expected or targeted. Bolsa does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. I'd like to remind participants that today's call is being recorded with a replay available online on April 23 at Bolsa's corporate website, www.bmv.com.mx. The press release and slide deck can also be accessed in the Investor Relations section in the same site. This call is intended for the financial community only, and the floor will be open at the end to address any questions you may have. Joining us for today's call are Jorge Alegria, our CEO; Claudio Vivian, Chief Information Officer; Roberto Gonzalez, Chief Post Trade Officer; Gabriel Rodriguez, ICAP CEO; Alfredo Guillen, Managing Director of Equity Markets; Jose Miguel De Dios, Managing Director, Derivatives Markets; Luis Rene Ramon, Managing Director of Sales and Marketing; Hanna Rivas, FP&A and IR Director; and myself, Ramon Guemez. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Jorge Alegria.

Jorge Formoso: Thank you. Thank you, Ramon. Good morning, everyone. As you are likely aware yesterday, besides the financial results, we also announced that after 18 years in the exchange and 13 years as a CFO, Ramon has decided to seek early retirement from BMV and focus on new personal and professional endeavors. I want to thank him for his many contributions during his tenure as both as IRO and CFO. On a personal note, I started collaborating with Ramon during the IPO roadshow back in 2008. So I wish him well, and I am very proud and happy to see him leave as a good friend of the Mexican Stock Exchange. Also yesterday, as mentioned, we released our earnings results, including a detailed review of our performance in these first 3 months of 2026. To begin with, I would like to highlight strong operating results achieved this quarter. These were driven by market volatility also from international geopolitical events as well as a market that continues to show increased dynamism generating favorable effects across the entire value chain from financing to settlement and custody. Financing activity rose by 84% in the first quarter of 2026 when compared to the same period of 2025, representing an additional MXN 105 billion of financing and reaching a total of MXN 230 billion. This is led by a 270% increase in long-term debt financing, which reached MXN 146 billion, while the number of new listings increased 200% from 11 to 33. Additionally, we had 2 FIBRAS or REIT deals for MXN 9 billion, the new Fibra Park Life and a follow-on on Fibra Monterrey. Short-term debt listing remained constant even though the amount financed was lower than last year. The financial impact of these operations and this activity is partly reflected in a 53% or MXN 8 million growth in our listing revenues. However, we will see the largest impact next year reflected in maintenance revenues for 2027 onwards. We now have 580 long-term programs totaling MXN 1.8 trillion, both are record numbers. And as you know, I mentioned, the revenue impact for this year is limited due to the cap we have on listing fees. This strong performance reflects issuers growing trust and highlights the role of the Mexican Stock Exchange in efficiently channeling capital towards productive investments. In the equity market, we saw both local and global momentum with average daily trading volume and value approaching MXN 21 billion. This is over 20% when compared to 2025 and one of the highest levels in recent years. Along these same lines, activity in our CCP, CCV for equities, also grew by over 20%, both in amounts and operations cleared. Growth was also evident in futures trading, particularly in the dollar peso contract, where the activity doubled when compared to Q1 2025. This is supported by peso appreciation and other market and volatility factors already explained. We have continued with our efforts to list new equity contracts, joining the ranks of previously listed names such as Apple, Meta, Netflix, NVIDIA and Tesla from our SIC, cash equity trading division. But in derivatives clearing growth, this was impacted by our reduced margin deposits. So in spite of the increased trading volumes, we had a small net negative impact in Asigna because of the reduction of the margins managed. Indeval reaffirmed its strength during the quarter, excelling in 3 key areas: assets under custody, settlements and cross-border transactions through the SIC. Assets under custody rose 14%, driven mainly by funds, pension managers and equities, reaching MXN 47 trillion. Settlement averaged MXN 11 trillion per day, and this is a 25% increase in market instruments -- in equity market instruments, reflecting the segment's dynamism. Volatility during the period provided additional momentum to cross-border transactions of UCITS and ETF via the SIC, which grew 29% in traded value and 47% in the number of operations, consolidating Indeval's role as a key player in international market integration. Overall, Q1 2026 was particularly solid for Grupo BMV with outstanding operating performance across multiple business lines. This confirms the resilience of our business model, which remains robust and consistent across diverse scenarios. And this performance is reflected also in our financial results as follows: Our revenues grew 7% or MXN 83 million, driven mostly by the volatility mentioned before. Growth was concentrated in Indeval, which saw a strong growth in assets under custody as explained, settlement activity and cross-border transactions. Cash equity trading and clearing, which combined grew 19%, as explained. This is due to the daily average trading volume increased. And we are maintaining our market share of around 80% in equity trading. Listing revenues are 53% above Q1 '25 due to the strong listing activity I mentioned. And as I said, the most important impact for this will be next year reflected as maintenance revenues. In derivatives, we saw strong performance in MexDer with the peso-dollar contract driving revenue growth of 24%. However, reduced margin deposits are affecting a little bit revenues in Asigna. SIF ICAP's good results are worth mentioning. In Mexico, revenues grew 12%, and we had very good results in our bond and on our D2C desks. While in Chile, even though the revenues are down, we had a very, very strong activity in March. Expenses are growing by 10%, led by personnel and technology costs, both of which reflect investments in our strategic projects made last year. This expense level is in line with our plans for this quarter, and the growth rate is also in line with our expectations, which we have shared with you in the past, along with the investments in our strategic projects where we continue and will continue with our cost control efforts across the company. CapEx for this quarter was MXN 41 million and not because we are slowing down in any way, but because of the timing of the payments to be made in our CapEx plans for this year. With this, we have an EBITDA of MXN 685 million, 6% above last year, while the margin is 56.5%, 1 percentage point below. To properly analyze this number, we have to take into account the appreciation of the currency, almost MXN 3 versus Q1 of 2025. This is an impact of around MXN 40 million in our EBITDA. Our net income was MXN 437 million, same as last year. And the difference between the EBITDA growth and the flat net income is explained by the lower interest rate income. Interest rates, as you may recall, for the quarter fell from 10% last year to 7% this year. Looking ahead, our priority for 2026 is the execution of our strategic projects that will strengthen our infrastructure, broaden our product portfolio and deepen our integration into global markets. Building on this priority, I would like to share progress on the 2 main initiatives scheduled to release -- to be released by year-end, the new derivatives market platform and the new repo clearing segment. The derivatives platform is a transformative project for our group. It integrates MexDer operations, Asigna clearing, market surveillance and a new data offering, all supported in the cloud. Execution follows a defined plan. Technical testings begin in June and will be followed by functional testing with market participants in September. This will progress from isolated trials to comprehensive system-wide validations. The project is set to conclude on Q4 2026 and go live on Q1 2027. Currently, we have working groups with trading firms and clearing members, which are addressing anticipated changes, the challenges, the implications and market alignment. The repo clearing segment will be incorporated into our CCV service portfolio. End-to-end industry testing is scheduled for Q3 2026 as well with design completion targeted for December this year. This initiative, the repo clearing follows the same agile methodology applied to other projects. So we expect to have a much faster adoption in this segment because of the reduced capital requirements and benefits it will bring to market participants. Both of these projects are supported by a dedicated project management office and multidisciplinary teams, including experts in operations, products, technology and data, alongside representatives from compliance, internal audit, finance and legal. So this structure ensures orderly execution, comprehensive risk and opportunity assessment and a strict adherence to corporate governance standards. So beyond these initiatives, we are also advancing on our broader portfolio of projects within the digital evolution program. Altogether, they represent a comprehensive transformation for BMV Group, modernizing our infrastructure, expanding our reach and reinforcing our role as the backbone for Mexico's financial system. With discipline, innovation and a clear vision, we are shaping the future of market infrastructure and creating lasting value for all participants. With that, I'll conclude our remarks for the quarter. We remain focused on executing our priorities with discipline, advancing our key initiatives and adapting to evolving market conditions. Thank you again to all of you for joining. And together with my colleagues, we are more than glad to address any questions you may have. Thank you very much again.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Ernesto Gabilondo with Bank of America. Ernesto María Gabilondo Márquez: Ramon, we will miss you and good luck in your next chapter. So I have 3 questions from my side. I will do the first one, and then I can elaborate the other 2. My first question will be on your revenues. You mentioned in the press release that revenues benefited because of the volatility experienced during the quarter. And you do not discard this to moderate in the next quarters. So having said that, how do you see revenues evolving this year? Should we expect around mid-single-digit growth? And what will be the drivers behind your revenues?

Jorge Formoso: This is Jorge Alegria. Yes, you're right. I mean I think it's fair to say that this quarter, we have seen quite a lot of volatility and changes, I mean, globally and locally as well, interest rate movements, FX. So that has impacted positively our volumes. Also, we saw very strong issuance activity due to interest rate movements as well as FX helping domestic participants to be more active in the peso market than in the U.S. market. So this is something is good for us. We cannot assume that will continue. We never know. So I guess here is Ramon, but I think, yes, you're right in mid-single digits is a fair assumption. Ramón Sarre: Yes, that's correct, Ernesto. We had a very good month of March. Last year, revenues were relatively stable, around the MXN 1.1 billion. So around mid-single, I think, is good. It also depends on the volatility we get. If we get more help from volatility, you could see that increase to high single. Ernesto María Gabilondo Márquez: Perfect. Perfect. And then my other 2 questions. The second one is also related. So how should we expect the evolution of revenue growth versus expenses growth given your investment plan, how are you seeing both of them? Should we expect OpEx to be a little bit higher versus revenue growth? Any trend that you can guide us could be very helpful. And then my last question is in terms of regulation. I don't know if there's any update on discussions related to a potential market still related to hedge funds? And also if there is any other type of regulation in the pipeline? Ramón Sarre: Expenses, we are projecting them to grow at high single digits, Ernesto. So depending on how revenues perform this year, as we have said before, we would be expecting a slight decrease in margins, just like we saw this Q1.

Jorge Formoso: We are working very close to authorities because mainly -- because of our project, Ernesto, and we have heard again quite often that the authorities, mainly the treasury and the Mexican Securities Commission are moving now faster to the hedge fund regulation. So hopefully, we will see something this same year. As you know, the law is there. The law was approved. So it's the secondary market ruling. We are working together also with the Mexican Brokers Association on this. And yes, we agree this will be great news on the hedge funds to increase the market participants. I'm not aware of any other rules coming on the market from the regulators.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Daniela Miranda with Santander.

Daniela Miranda: Congrats on the results. Just a very quick one from my side. Just wondering if you could help us better understand the sensitivities affecting performance. On one hand, for financial income, how should we think about the impact of further rate cuts and lower cash balances? And how much additional downside could we expect on that line? And on the other hand, FX appreciation had negative impact across your P&L. So how should we think about FX sensitivity going forward? And do you hedge any of these exposures? Ramón Sarre: Thank you, Daniela. Interest income, it's going to be impacted by the reduced interest rates on a year-on-year comparison. So the best way is just straight off the cash balance. It's not all in Mexico, but I think that's the best approximation you can have, just the interest rates to the cash balance. On FX, we have 2 impacts on the -- first of all, on the P&L, we have for each peso, the currency appreciates we get around MXN 50 million or MXN 60 million less in EBITDA. That means our operation is long U.S. dollars. So for us, in the short term, a peso depreciation helps our P&L. Roughly, as I said, MXN 1 is equivalent to MXN 50 million, MXN 60 million on a full year basis. On the balance sheet, we started hedging this quarter. We had a bit of an effect still, but we'll continue with our efforts to reduce the impact on the balance sheet, on the difference between assets and liabilities in the balance sheet.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Edson Murguia with SummaCap.

Edson Murguia: Specifically about the expenses and the investment projects. Just trying to figure out and join the dots about CapEx. Those projects that Alegria mentioned it in the call are the main one or related to this increase in expenses and the CapEx? And my second question is, could you give us more detail about the deferred income? It seems odd to try to understand why this quarter increased MXN 525 million. Ramón Sarre: Edson, yes. Our main projects are the ones Jorge mentioned, this technological evolution, upgrading basically all of our technology in derivatives, trading and clearing, in post-trade, the cash equity CCV, the Indeval, having the new technology for the bond and the repo CCV, new data and moving to the cloud. Those are our main projects. That's where our expense is concentrated on those efforts, and that is the majority of the CapEx. On your second question, I didn't quite get it. Could you repeat it, please?

Edson Murguia: Yes. This quarter, there is a MXN 525 million in deferred income in the balance sheet. But historically, the deferred income, it's a low single digit between 8, 11. Ramón Sarre: No, what you have seasonality, Edson. The maintenance fees from issuers is collected in advance. We have seasonality in the cash balance. You usually have an increase in cash balance in Q1 because we collect all these annual fees on a onetime basis in Q1. What you collect, we recognize the income on a linear basis throughout the year. The net of the balance is in deferred income. So if you look at historical, you're going to see this deferred income and it goes down every quarter to get very close to 0 for -- towards Q4.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from the line of Carlos Gomez-Lopez with HSBC.

Carlos Gomez-Lopez: First of all, thank you for your service of many, many years, Ramon. You have been the face of continuity and good humor from Bolsa. So we will all miss you enormously, and I'm very sad to hear that we will no longer be talking to you. Ramón Sarre: Thank you, Carlos.

Carlos Gomez-Lopez: I have -- in the spirit of an analyst, I have 3 questions. The first one is to Jorge, what are you going to do without Ramon because that's a difficult decision to make. On the numbers thing, last year, you had a margin of 56.2%. And I want to understand correctly, you expect that margin to go up or down this year because even with single-digit -- high single-digit revenue growth, I mean, given your expenditure plans, it would seem that the margin should go down rather than up. So we would like to understand that. And finally, we understand that you have started to hedge the foreign position on the balance sheet. We understand that. Does that also impact the income statement and that is why perhaps the impact of the appreciation of the peso has not been as extreme in this quarter? Ramón Sarre: Thank you, Carlos. On a full year basis, EBITDA margin was 57% last year. And as I said, yes, it could go down. We need to have volatility to maintain the margins. If we don't have volatility, margins could be coming down. On the hedging efforts, what we're doing is managing our long position. It means trying to sell the dollars that we have at the end of the month. We're not, as of now, doing any derivatives or any derivative or efforts on that side. It's just trying to net the balance to 0.

Carlos Gomez-Lopez: Okay. So that shouldn't have an impact on the P&L? Ramón Sarre: No, it should not.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Yuri Fernandes with JPMorgan.

Yuri Fernandes: Thank you, Ramon, for all the help those years. Good luck. I have a question regarding -- just a follow-up on CapEx. If anything has changed for your previous guidance of MXN 500 million, given this quarter started a little bit soft. I think you are doing less than 10% of the budget for the year. So just checking if -- I know the investments are still there and the modernizations are still there, like the big scheme of things, but if maybe stronger peso, I don't know if maybe the CapEx budget will be less than the MXN 500 million you mentioned in the previous call. And then a second question regarding competition on equities. I think like this was a quarter that -- I know this is volatile, it change all the time, but you gained some market share. So just on competition dynamics and if anything has changed between you and the competitor? Ramón Sarre: Thank you, Yuri. No, CapEx is still expected to be around MXN 500 million. We had a slow start. As Jorge said, it's basically the payment -- the timing of payments. But we're still expecting to finish the year close to MXN 500 million in CapEx. And for competition dynamics, I'll let Alfredo Guillen take that one.

Alfredo R. Lara: Yuri, yes, we have been experiencing improvement in market share, explained by some initiatives that were requested to us by our brokerages, mainly 2 initiatives. First, the improvement in block trading dissemination in real time, which is very important for traders to make decisions, and we were lacking detailed information on that. And then we also were requested an improvement in trading reports that are now released by our central counterpart. And this information now includes block trading. So this gives brokers accurate information regarding their place in the equity markets and therefore, driving more trades to the Mexican Stock Exchange. So basically, we experienced better information to the market and better decision-making regarding the depth of the books and trading activity at the Mexican Stock Exchange.

Operator: Our next question is a follow-up from the line of Carlos Gomez-Lopez with HSBC.

Carlos Gomez-Lopez: Just a follow-up on the dividend. Have you decided what dividend level you will recommend? And what should we expect in terms of buyback for the year? Ramón Sarre: The dividend is what we had said, Carlos, MXN 2.50 per share. That's going to be proposed for the general assembly, which is going to be next Monday.

Alfredo R. Lara: Next week. Ramón Sarre: Next week. And for the buybacks, we don't have a fixed amount. As we said, our purpose was to give back 80% of net income. The dividend amounts to 70%. If the buyback does not cover the remaining 10%, we will be proposing an extraordinary dividend for Q3. So more than a specific amount for buybacks, we have a specific amount for overall capital return, which is 80% of net income from last year.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our question-and-answer session. I'll turn the floor back to Mr. Alegria for any final comments.

Jorge Formoso: Well, thank you very much to all for joining. We had a pretty interesting quarter. We will continue to strengthen the -- our initiatives on the technology side, keeping a very strong control on costs and expenses. I want to reiterate my appreciation to Ramon Guemez for all those years working with us. In the meantime, while we made a definitive appointment, you all will be dealing with Luis Rene Ramon, that I'm sure pretty much all of you know. He has been working for the company more than 10 years, specifically in the finance area. He was in charge of Investor Relations for many years, and he led our marketing and sales and commercial efforts for almost 2 years now for the exchange with extraordinary positive results. So he will be, in the meantime, taking over the CFO role. So I'm sure that he will have plenty of things to deal with and happy to answer your questions moving forward. So thank you, Ramon, again. We certainly are going to miss you on a lot of things, not on your humor, definitely, but we wish you well. And above all, thank you all for your time and listening to our remarks and see you and talk to you soon, if not in the next quarter.

Operator: Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.