Companies

Cementos Argos 1Q 2020 Net Income Drops 73% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald May 6, 2020

The Coronavirus crisis continues to slam companies as Medellin-based cement/concrete multinational Cementos Argos reported May 6 that its first quarter (1Q) 2020 net income dropped 73% year-on-year, to COP$18 billion (US$4.6million). Corporate-wide cement sales dropped 6% year-on-year, while

Companies

Celsia 1Q 2020 Net Income Rises 38% Year-on-Year; Covid-19 Subsidies Expand

Medellin Herald May 6, 2020

Medellin-based electric power giant Celsia announced May 4 that first quarter (1Q) 2020 net income rose 38% year-on-year, to COP$86.7 billion (US$21.8 million). Consolidated revenues for the quarter rose 1% versus fourth-quarter 2020, to COP$928 billion (US$234 million). Colombia revenues represented 84% of the total, with Central America operations accounting for the

Colombian economy

Treasury Ministry Advisory Committee: Coronavirus Could Cause 5.5% Decline in Colombia Economy This Year

Medellin Herald May 5, 2020

Colombia’s Treasury Ministry revealed May 4 that its own “Fiscal Rule Advisory Committee” of economic analysts now fears that the Colombian economy could shrink by 5.5% this year because of the Coronavirus crisis. The “CCRF” Committee (“Comité Consultivo de la Regla Fiscal”) just undertook a new sensitivity analysis of the behavior of fiscal variables under […]

Economy & Finance

More than 64,000 Companies, 785,000 Workers Registered for ‘Medellin Me Cuida’ Economic Restart

Medellin Herald May 4, 2020

The Medellin Mayor’s Office revealed May 4 that to date, 64,366 companies have registered under the pioneering “Medellin Me Cuida” economic restart program for manufacturing and construction sectors here. According to the Mayor, of those 64,366 companies, 54,810 have presented evidence of compliance with new biosafety protocols to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. So far,

Companies

Fabricato 1Q 2020 Net Loss Declines Year-on-Year; Coronavirus Slams Sales

Medellin Herald May 1, 2020

Medellin-based textile giant Fabricato revealed in a May 1 filing with Colombia’s Superfinanciera oversight agency that its first quarter (1Q) 2020 net loss totaled COP$8.97 billion (US$2.26 million) — a 33% improvement over the COP$13.3 billion (US$3.35 million) net loss in 1Q 2019. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) soared by

Companies

Coronavirus Crisis Temporarily Hurts Cemex LatAm; Colombia Rebound Starts on Highway Demand

Medellin Herald April 30, 2020

Colombia-based Cemex LatAm Holdings (CLH) on April 30 posted a corporate-wide US$30 million net loss for first quarter (1Q) 2020 — down from a 1Q 2019 net profit of US$16 million as the Coronavirus crisis slashed demand for cement and concrete. In Colombia, cement demand looked relatively strong in January and February — but then […]

Companies

Hidroituango Hydroelectric Project Repairs 65% Complete at 2-Year Anniversary of Tunnel Collapse

Medellin Herald April 26, 2020

Medellin-based electric power giant EPM announced April 25 that the US$5 billion, 2.4-gigawatt “Hidroituango” hydroelectric power project in Antioquia – one of the world’s biggest — continues to make progress following a destructive bypass tunnel collapse two years ago. That collapse and subsequent damage to the machine room and related facilities caused a three-year

Companies

Hidroituango Hydroelectric Project Repairs 65% Complete at 2-Year Anniversary of Tunnel Collapse

Medellin Herald April 26, 2020

Medellin-based electric power giant EPM announced April 25 that the US$5 billion, 2.4-gigawatt “Hidroituango” hydroelectric power project in Antioquia – one of the world’s biggest — continues to make progress following a destructive bypass tunnel collapse two years ago. That collapse and subsequent damage to the machine room and related facilities caused a three-year

Companies

Nutresa 1Q 2020 Profits Rise 9% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald April 25, 2020

While most Colombia-based companies are getting clobbered by the Coronavirus crisis, companies making and selling groceries and prepared foods through stores to date are doing relatively well. Example: Medellin-based multinational foods giant Grupo Nutresa on April 24 reported a COP$190 billion (US$47 million) consolidated net profit for first quarter (1Q) 2020, up 9.1%

Economy & Finance

Medellin & Antioquia Sales Crashing; Business Liquidity Vanishing; 130,000 Jobs Lost Here in Coronavirus Crisis

Medellin Herald April 24, 2020

The Medellin Chamber of Commerce for Antioquia (CCMA) just revealed a new study indicating that the Coronavirus quarantine costs the local economy here at least COP$170 billion (US$42 million) every day — and 95% of businesses have seen sales drop anywhere from 80% 100% during the crisis. As a result, Antioquia regional gross domestic product (“PIB” in […]