Companies

EPM First Half 2022 Net Income rose 10% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald July 31, 2022

Medellin-based multinational utilities giant EPM announced July 29 that its first half (1H) net income rose 10% year-on-year, to COP$2.1 trillion (US$491 million), versus COP$1.9 trillion (US$483 million) in 1H 2021, even while the net margin actually dipped two percentage points. Revenues rose

Companies

Grupo Exito 2Q 2022 Net Income Rises 22.7% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald July 28, 2022

Medellin-based multinational supermarket and dry-goods retailer Grupo Exito announced July 27 that its second quarter (2Q) 2022 net income rose 22.7% year-on-year, to COP$62.2 billion (US$14.2 million). Operating income likewise rose 27.6%, to COP$4.7 trillion (US$1.07 billion), while recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose

Companies

Cemex LatAm Reports Zero Profit for 2Q 2022

Medellin Herald July 28, 2022

Colombia-based Cemex LatAm announced July 28 that its second-quarter (2Q) 2022 operations produced zero profits, down from a modest US$16,000 net profit in 2Q 2021. Consolidated net sales rose 11% year-on-year on a comparable basis for the ongoing operations once including foreign exchange fluctuations, according to the company. “Higher cement prices and ready-mix volumes

Companies

Antioquia’s Biggest Gold Miner Becomes ‘Aris Gold’ in All-Stock Deal

Medellin Herald July 25, 2022

Toronto-based GCM Mining (formerly Gran Colombia Gold) – Antioquia’s biggest gold miner — announced July 25 that it has just completed a 100% all-stock merger deal and as a result will now be renamed Aris Gold, with headquarters moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. The GCM/Aris combination boasts of combined gold reserves of 3.8 million ounces […]

Economy & Finance

President Duque Highlights Huge Growth Opportunities in Creative-Industries Sectors at Medellin Business Forum

Medellin Herald July 22, 2022

In contrast to some wildly unsustainable economic schemes proposed by incoming Colombia President Gustavo Petro – like giving dead-end government jobs to 3 million unemployed people — outgoing President Ivan Duque on July 21 here in Medellin outlined huge potential for sustainable jobs growth and wealth creation in the creative-industries sectors, also known as the

Editorial

Outgoing President Duque: Decency, Moderation, Democracy Crucial to Continue Colombia’s Progress

Medellin Herald July 21, 2022

Politically centrist Colombian President Ivan Duque delivered a kind and honest farewell speech to the incoming Colombian Congress on July 20, as a nervous nation prepares for an erratic, demagogic incoming President Gustavo Petro on August 7. Duque, who beat Petro in a landslide election four years ago, offered only kind words to Petro: “To […]

Editorial

Petro’s ‘Magical Surrealism’ Wins Colombia Presidency

Medellin Herald June 20, 2022

With 100% of votes now counted, socialist-populist Gustavo Petro won Colombia’s presidency last night with 11.28 million votes (50.4%) versus 10.58 million votes (47.3%) for a similarly unbelievable populist, former Bucaramanga Mayor Rodolfo Hernandez. Out of Colombia’s 39 million eligible voters, Petro won 28.9% of that total — meaning 71% of Colombia’s voters

Companies

Éxito’s Main Shareholder Unveils Huge Stock-Spinoff Plan to U.S., Brazil, Colombia Investors

Medellin Herald June 9, 2022

Medellin-based multinational supermarket and dry-goods retailer Éxito and its principal Brazilian shareholder GPA simultaneously announced September 5 that GPA soon will offer 83% of its shares in Éxito to more than 50,000 current GPA shareholders. The deal ultimately means that tens of thousands of investors in the U.S., Brazil and Colombia collectively would become

Economy & Finance

Colombians Working Abroad Sent US$1.5 Billion to Families in Antioquia in 2021

Medellin Herald June 3, 2022

A new report just issued by Medellin-based retail trade group Fenalco Antioquia finds that Colombians working abroad — mainly in the U.S. and Europe — sent a record US$1.52 billion back to their families here during 2021, boosting the post-Covid-pandemic economic recovery. Citing statistics from Colombia’s Banco de la Republica, Fenalco found that Antioquians

Editorial

Rodolfo Hernandez Stuns Pollsters; Simple Math Indicates He’s Likely to Win Presidency

Medellin Herald May 30, 2022

Defying pollsters and traditional punsters, former Bucaramanga Mayor Rodolfo Hernandez soundly beat favored contender and former Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez in the first-round Colombian national elections May 29 — hence pitting Hernandez against stagnating socialist Gustavo Petro in the final round June 19. With 100% of the votes now counted, Petro yesterday