Medellin-based multinational electric-power transmission, highways concessions and telecom-services operator ISA announced May 12 that its first quarter (1Q) 2020 net income rose 7.2% year-on-year, to COP$378 billion (US$97 million). The profitability improvement “was mainly due to higher
Medellin-based supermarket giant Grupo Éxito announced May 12 that its first-quarter (1Q) 2020 operating income jumped 12% year-on-year to COP$4.05 trillion (US$1.04 billion), not including peso/dollar exchange rate effects. Recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 4% year-on-year, to COP$262.8 billion (US$67.7 million) with an
Colombia-born Avianca — Latin America’s oldest airline – on May 10 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. federal court because of the Coronavirus shutdown. Its majority shareholders today are U.S.-based United Airlines and Kingsland Holdings. For the filing, the company cited US$10 billion in liabilities along with inability to generate income to cover continuing
Medellin-based banking giant Bancolombia announced May 11 that 634 of its 684 branches nationwide are now open — all with Covid-19-avoidance biosafety protocols, with many locations operating from 9:00 am at 4:00 pm daily, but closed Saturdays. “The curfew decrees and other measures adopted in municipalities and localities of the country will be respected,” according
The Viva Malls subsidiary of Medellin-based Grupo Exito announced May 7 the launch of “Viva Online” (see: https://www.exito.com/viva-online) so that quarantine-bound customers can order dozens of commercial products — and then either pick them up at designated, virus-free mall sites or else have them safely home-delivered. “Viva Online will offer shopping experiences
EPM general manager Álvaro Guillermo Rendón López confirmed in a televised May 7 address that the company continues to aim for a December 2021 startup of its US$5 billion, 2.4-gigawatt Hidroituango hydroelectric plant in Antioquia. In his address, Rendón revealed that the Hidroituango project is now 77.8% complete, with COP$11 trillion (US$2.8 billion) already invested
In yet another effort to shore-up Coronavirus-crisis business liquidity, President Ivan Duque and Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla unveiled May 6 two new programs for payroll subsidies as well as income-tax-payment deadline delays. Under the latest “declaration of economic emergency,” all employees of micro, small, medium and large companies here that have suffered
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 ready-mixed concrete sales declined 16% as a result of the crisis. Earnings before
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
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 […]























