Copasa (CSMG3) reported adjusted net income of R$275.5 million for the second quarter of 2026, a 4.8% decline from the same period last year. The miss against market expectations sent shares down 4.55% to R$55.77 in Thursday trading.
The sanitation company's first earnings release since its June privatization showed a mixed operational picture. Net revenue rose 8.9% to R$2 billion, driven by a 6.56% tariff increase from the third Arsae-MG tariff review that took effect in January and a 2.1% rise in measured water and sewage volumes. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 11.7% to R$762 million, lifting the adjusted margin to 39% from 38% a year earlier.
Beneath the top-line growth, the financial result deteriorated sharply. Net financial expenses widened to a negative R$168.1 million from negative R$102.4 million in Q2 2025. The company attributed the swing to higher interest on financing, increased judicial provisions linked to contracted volumes and IPCA inflation, and waiver payments to creditors for prior consent to the destatization. Those effects were only partially offset by higher financial investment income and asset capitalization.
Leverage followed the financial result higher. Consolidated net debt jumped to R$8.18 billion in June 2026 from R$5.85 billion a year earlier, pushing the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to 2.8 times from 2.0 times. The increase reflects both the waiver outflows and the capital structure changes around the privatization.