Volunteering

New Jersey Institute of Technology Teams-up with Medellin IT-Student Aspirants

Medellin Herald April 13, 2016

The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) announced April 12 the debut of a “Capstone” project to link its information technology (IT) students with Medellin and Envigado middle-school and high-school students interested in pursuing IT careers. Three students at NJIT’s College of

Companies

EPM 2015 Earnings Rise 14% Year-on-Year; Revenues Up 18%

Medellin Herald April 6, 2016

Medellin-based public utility EPM – now a multinational operating 48 different companies in seven Central American and South American countries – on April 5 presented its full-year 2015 results, showing a 14% hike year-on-year in profits and an 18% jump in revenues. The city of Medellin – the sole owner of EPM — netted COP […]

Colombian economy

Power Rationing Unlikely as Consumers Save, Rains Return, Guatape Mends

Medellin Herald April 5, 2016

Colombia’s Consejo Nacional de Operacion (CNO) – the national advisory body on electric power supply – on April 4 announced that voluntary power reductions by consumers and industry apparently have diminished the threat of power rationing. Following an analysis of encouraging data provided by Medellin-based XM – operator of the national power grid – as […]

Companies

Medellin-Based Grupo Familia 2015 Net Profits Rise 25% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald April 1, 2016

The board of directors of Medellin-based Grupo Familia – producers and marketers of mainly paper-based personal hygiene products in 20 countries throughout South America and the Caribbean – on March 31 approved the company’s full-year 2015 financial report showing net profits rising nearly 25% year-on-year, to COP$202 billion (US$67 million). Sales volume also rose,

Companies

UNE 2015 EBITDA Rises 11%, but IFRS Accounting Triggers Net Loss

Medellin Herald April 1, 2016

Medellin-based telecom giant UNE – formerly owned by public utility EPM but now owned by Sweden-based Millicom – reported a 11% year-on-year rise in 2015 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to COP$1.4 trillion (US$460 million). Revenue also grew by 7.3% year-on-year for the company – second-biggest in Colombia. UNE (and subsidiaries

General News

Cormagdalena Sets May 11 Deadline for Magdalena River Navigation Financing Data

Medellin Herald March 31, 2016

Cormagdalena – the Colombian government agency overseeing a proposed scheme that would restore commercial navigation on the Magdalena River between the Atlantic Ocean and key inland ports – announced March 29 that it has set a May 11 deadline by which dredging-project proponent Navelena SAS must provide crucial documentation required for project finance. The Magdalena […]

General News

Medellin Airports Getting Aircraft Navigation Surveillance Upgrade

Medellin Herald March 31, 2016

Sweden-based high-tech systems provider Saab announced March 30 that downtown Medellin’s Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport (national flights) and the nearby José María Córdova International Airport (international flights originating at Rionegro) will get aircraft navigational upgrades. According to Saab, the company won a contract from Aeronáutica Civil de Colombia (Aerocivil)

General News

Antioquian Inventors Tapped for ‘Colombia Great Inventor’ Prize Competition

Medellin Herald March 31, 2016

Two young inventors from Antioquia — Rafael Vides Mesa and Daniel Cuartas Quiceno — are among 10 national candidates for the “Colombia Great Inventor” prize competition this year. According to cell-phone telecom giant Claro – the “Great Inventor” prize sponsor – the winner of this year’s competition would obtain new funding to help move their […]

Companies

Gran Colombia Gold 2015 EBITDA Improves; Gold-Price Drop Causes Net Loss

Medellin Herald March 31, 2016

Canada-based Gran Colombia Gold (GCG) announced March 30 that its full-year 2015 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to US$38.4 million, from US$10.8 million in 2014. However, the company posted an adjusted net loss of $1.1 million in 2015, compared to an adjusted net loss of $17.9 million in 2014. GCG […]

General News

EPM’s Giant ‘Guatape’ Hydroelectric Plant Repairs Underway; Rationing Threat Lessens

Medellin Herald March 28, 2016

Medellin-based power giant EPM announced March 25 the successful delivery of the last of eight groups of replacement cables and related equipment for repairing its 560-megawatt (MW) “Guatape” hydroelectric plant in Antioquia. The plant went off-line February 15 because of a fire in an access tunnel, which officials suspect could be traced to some defect […]