Our work in 2015 reiterated the commitment we maintain to the development of the country and of Brazilians. This was a challenging period due to stagnation in the economy and early signs of a recession. Nevertheless, with the guidance of the members of the Board of Directors, we preserved cash and diversified sources of financing, in Brazil and abroad, in order to steer our trajectory towards growth aimed at universalizing access to water and collection and treatment of sewage. This direction prevented us from being affected by energy costs, for example, which rose above our projections.
Planning based on a scenario of critical situations is part of our essence and allows us to be less vulnerable to obstacles and hardships. As a result, we grew our operations to 43 municipalities, with new concessions in São Francisco do Sul (SC), Timon (MA), São João de Meriti (RJ), Pimenta Bueno (RO) and Holambra (SP). I believe that our work will be transformative for the residents of these cities, who will now have more quality and, consequently, more health.
Our potential in this sense is expressed in the Águas de Matão (Matão – SP) unit, which we have managed for just one year, and the Águas do Mirante (Piracicaba – SP) unit, which achieved 100% treated sewage in 2015. Moreover, we maintained a sewage treatment coverage rate of over 62%; when compared to the national average of 48.6%, this places us at the forefront and motivates us to continue investing.
As a result of our competitive edges, year-over-year net revenue was 32.6% higher, ending 2015 at BRL795.1 million. Cash generated as measured by earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also grew 36.5% year-over-year, to BRL402.6 million.
Results like these are the fruit of the work done by our 2,415 employees, who believe in our Mission and Vision and put them into practice. With the belief that talent development is fundamental to the success of operations, we rely on the Aegea Academy, a project created in 2014 as the result of studies and the involvement of several areas. Our employees are trained through the Academy. We hope that as of 2016 we will have the capacity to educate up to 400 professionals annually.
Driven by the national political context, we are also striving to enhance compliance practices; this has made our relations with municipal, state and federal governments even more transparent and has kept our reporting website, created in 2012, free of any reports related to unethical behavior on the part of any manager or employee.
Environmental conservation is another concern we have, which is why we planted trees during the year which will help to protect our springs, and tons of sludge from sewage treatment stations were used as fertilizer for reforestation.
The market recognized this work in search of excellence. We were listed as the best water and sanitation company in Brazil in the Época Negócios 360º annual publication, which looked at six dimensions of our management; internationally, Prolagos was a first-place winner in the Be Inspired Awards, which gather the best infrastructure projects from around the world.
Achievements such as these are cause for confidence. We ended 2015 with many lessons learned and we will be even stronger in 2016, when we expect to continue relying on the support of our stakeholders, to whom we extend our thanks for their contribution to our performance.
The Management