Enka Full-Year 2021 Profits More-Than-Triple Year-on-Year
Medellin-based textiles and plastics recycling giant Enka de Colombia announced March 4 that its full-year-2021 net income jumped 3.8-times over 2020, hitting COP$57.4 billion (US$15 million).
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) doubled, to COP$76.4 billion (US$19.9 million), even though gross revenues were almost flat year-on-year, at COP$536 billion (US$140 million).
The profits boost came “mainly due to the recovery of the affected markets by Covid-19, increase in the TRM [dollar-to-peso exchange rate, favoring exports] and proper management of the situation,” according to Enka.
“Our solid financial situation reflected a low level of net indebtedness, at 0.15-times EBITDA, after making capital investments of more than COP$38 billion [US$9.9 million] in the new ‘EKO-PET’ plant and guaranteeing working capital as resulting from the recovery of sales and increase in international sales prices,” the company added.
Construction of the new EKO-PET plant “progresses according to schedule and budget. In the coming months, assembly of equipment will begin, to start operations at the end of 2022,” according to the company.
While global supply chains have been snagged as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, “the supply diversification strategy implemented by the company in recent years has made it possible to manage this situation, fulfilling commitments to clients without affecting business continuity,” the company added.
Sales in the local Colombian market increased by 57%, to COP$319 billion (US$83 million), while exports increased by 40%, to COP$216 billion (US$56.4 million), representing 40% of total sales, according to the company. North America accounted for 19% of sales while Brazil took another 16%.
In Enka’s plastics-recycling “green business” lines, “cumulative sales at the end of the year amounted to COP$152.6 billion [US$39.9 million], or 28% of total revenue. The growth is 25% year-on-year, mainly due to higher international prices and the recovery of sales of ‘EKO-Fibras,’” according to Enka.
As for the “EKO-PET” line (17,280 tons), “high demand worldwide was driven by advances in environmental and sustainability regulations,” according to Enka.
As for the ‘EKO-Polyolefins’ line (1,744 tons), “we continue with the strategy of developing high-quality products, awaiting the results of the homologations in large brands of products made from the ‘Revoloop’ resin developed with Dow,” according to Enka.
As for its plastic bottle recycling in Colombia, “bottle collection grew by 24% in 2021, supplying 100% of current needs and preparing for the entry into operation of the new B2B plant,” according to Enka.
As for its textile and industrial business lines, “excluding non-recurring sales of virgin PET (COP$36.7 billion/US$9.6 million), revenue from the textile and industrial businesses amounted to COP$345.8 billion [US$90 million], an increase of 49% compared to the previous year, due to the recovery in demand after the strong restrictions generated by the pandemic and by the increase in international prices in the petrochemical chain,” according to Enka.
Industrial yarns (12,542 tons) volume increased 9% year-on-year, “mainly in canvas for the Mexican market. Technical yarn sales remain stable, with increasing sales to the United States and Colombia,” the company added.
Textile filaments (9,100 tons) grew 26% year-on-year, “due to recovery in demand affected by Covid-19 and lower supply of Asian products. Sales of nylon filaments in 2021, one of the development focuses of recent years, exceeded those of polyester for the first time,” according to Enka.
Resins (11,883 tons) sales of nylon likewise grew “driven by the recovery in demand and by new developments for sausage-coating applications,” while virgin PET sales also grew to 7,566 tons, “supporting the reactivation of the industry,” according to Enka.
