Companies

Sura 2017 Net Income Falls 13% Year-on-Year on Unfavorable COP/Dollar Rates

Medellin Herald February 27, 2018

Medellin-based multinational insurance and asset-management giant Grupo Sura announced February 27 that its full-year 2017 net profits fell 13% year-on-year – to COP$1.45 trillion (US$493 million) — mainly because of changes in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Colombian

Companies

Grupo Argos 2017 Net Income Jumps 29% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald February 27, 2018

Medellin-based multinational cement, power and highway/airport-concession giant Grupo Argos announced this month that its full-year 2017 net income rose 29% year-on-year, to COP$453 billion (US$158 million). Argos also reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 7% year-on-year, to COP$630 billion (US$220 million), with EBITDA

Companies

Exito Full-Year 2017 Net Profits Rise 500% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald February 26, 2018

Medellin-based multinational retail giant Grupo Exito announced February 21 that its full-year 2017 net profits rose five-fold year-on-year, to COP$217 billion (US$76 million). Exito credited the improvement “mainly to solid operating results in Brazil,” lower interest rates in Brazil and Colombia, and productivity improvements corporate-wide. Gross revenues rose 9.4%

Companies

Bancolombia 4Q 2017 Net Income Falls 20% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald February 26, 2018

Medellin-based international banking giant Bancolombia announced February 21 that its fourth quarter (4Q) 2017 net income fell 20.25% year-on-year, to COP$902 billion (US$318 million), from COP$1.13 trillion (US$398 million) in 4Q 2016. Net loans grew 4.9% in 4Q 2017 versus 4Q 2016 – an indicator of “moderation in credit demand in Colombia,” according to the […]

Companies

Creytex ‘Intelligent Factory’ Shows How Medellin Can Compete in ‘Fast Fashion’

Medellin Herald February 10, 2018

Starting humbly from a garage workshop in 1971, Medellin-based clothing manufacturer Creytex has since become an especially successful innovator in the fiercely competitive global textile/clothing business. It’s an exceptional story, as most local textile and clothing manufacturers here experienced sharp declines last year in the Colombian domestic market — due

Companies

Cemex Colombia 4Q 2017 Earnings Decline Year-on-Year; Maceo Plant in Limbo

Medellin Herald February 9, 2018

Cemex Colombia fourth quarter (4Q) 2017 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 20% year-on-year, to US$30 million, Cemex Latam Holdings (CLH) announced February 8. Net sales for the CLH-Colombia division also fell 12% year-on-year, to US$134 million, according to the company. For CLH’s regional operations, “during the fourth

Colombian economy

Colombian Full-year 2017 Exports Jump 19% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald February 5, 2018

Colombia’s national economic statistics agency (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica, DANE) revealed February 5 that full-year 2017 exports jumped 19% year-on-year, to US$37.8 billion, up from US$31.7 billion in 2016 — a year that saw exports drop 11.8% year-on-year. By dollar value, petroleum and mining exports led the field, up 32.4% year-on-year,

Real Estate

Colombia Supreme Court Ruling: Fiduciaries Hardly Protect Real-Estate Investors

Medellin Herald February 2, 2018

The Supreme Court of Colombia on January 17 notified a group of investors suing a fiduciary over a failed medical-office-building project near Medellin that a fiduciary has extremely limited legal obligations to oversee performance of shaky real-estate development projects or verify crucial financial assertions made by the developer. The group of investors had sued

Companies

Exito’s ‘Didetexco’ Alliance Helps Colombia Compete in Tough Clothing Markets

Medellin Herald January 28, 2018

Medellin-based multinational retail giant Exito is enjoying ever-greater success with its “Didetexco” clothing manufacture/export subsidiary – even in the face of Colombia’s  competitive problems with illegal, below-cost, and unethical clothing vendors (mainly exporting from Asia). In a presentation to the Colombiatex 2018 annual show here January 23, Didetexco general

Companies

Celsia Full-Year 2017 Profits Rise 47% Despite Lower Power Prices

Medellin Herald January 27, 2018

Medellin-based Celsia – the electric-power division of corporate giant Grupo Argos – on January 26 reported full-year 2017 net profits of COP$251 billion (US$89 million), up 47% from COP$171 billion (US$61 million) in 2016. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) hit COP$1.12 trillion (US$399 million) for full-year 2017, up 9% year-on-year