Companies

Medellin’s Grupo Nutresa EBITDA Jumps 16.7% Year-on-Year

Medellin Herald March 1, 2016

Medellin-based multinational food producer Grupo Nutresa announced February 26 that its full-year 2015 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 16.7% year-on-year, to COP975.5 billion (US$293 million) on sales of COP7.9 trillion (US$2.9 billion), up 22.6%.

Companies

Medellin’s Cementos Argos EBITDA jumps 123%; Debuts Low-CO2 Cement Plant

Medellin Herald February 25, 2016

Medellin-based multinational cement producer Cementos Argos announced February 24 that its fourth-quarter (4Q) 2015 corporate-wide earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBIDTA) jumped 123% year-on-year (y-o-y), to COP409 billion (US$123.6 million). Gross income also rose 54% y-o-y, to COP2.2 trillion (US$665 million), while 4Q 2015 gross

Economy & Finance

Antioquia Economy to Grow 3.3% in 2016: Medellin Chamber of Commerce

Medellin Herald February 24, 2016

The Chamber of Commerce of Medellin for Antioquia (CCMA in Spanish initials) announced February 23 that it expects the Antioquia departmental economy to grow by about 3.3% this year, down from 3.6% in 2015. The latest economic outlook indicates that 2016 “won’t be easy for the country nor for the [Antioquia] region,” CCMA calculates. Among the global […]

Companies

Medellin’s Grupo Sura Wins Fitch Debt Upgrade; Full-Year 2015 Gross Income Jumps 17%

Medellin Herald February 24, 2016

Medellin-based insurance, pension-fund and banking-investor giant Grupo Sura announced February 24 that its full-year 2015 gross income rose 17% year-on-year, to COP8.47 trillion (US$2.6 billion), while net income came-in at COP533 billion (US$165 million). Despite positive net income in 2015, the company took hits from Colombia’s recently adopted “wealth tax” as well as

Colombian economy

Colombian Industry Growing Despite Oil-Price Crash

Medellin Herald February 18, 2016

The latest annual “joint industrial opinion survey” (JIOS) organized by Medellin-based Andi (Colombia’s national industrial trade association) shows that Colombia’s industrial sector continued to grow in 2015 despite the global oil-price crash that has crippled its oil-dependent neighbors. The JIOS for full-year 2015 “reflects a slight increase in both production and

Companies

Colombia Court Ban on Mining in ‘Paramos’ Won’t Affect Antioquia Project

Medellin Herald February 15, 2016

Toronto-based Continental Gold announced February 10 that a new Colombia Constitutional Court ruling that bans mining in the high-elevation “paramo” wetlands won’t affect its big gold-mining development project in Buritica, Antioquia. According to the company, “the main thrust of the ruling will be to eliminate the exceptions in the law which allowed certain mining

Professional services

Endeavor: Medellin’s Emerging Tech Sector Needs More Angel Investors

Medellin Herald February 5, 2016

A new report  on Medellin’s emerging information technology (IT) sector from global entrepreneur-development organization Endeavor finds that Medellin needs more “angel investors” to spur more IT start-ups. The report — developed in collaboration with Medellin’s government-funded “Ruta N” IT business development promoter — finds that just half of

Colombian economy

Colombia Successfully Confronts ‘El Niño’ Thanks to Power Diversification

Medellin Herald February 3, 2016

Medellin-based XM — Colombia’s free-market electric-power trading organization – announced February 2 that despite the “El Niño” drought phenomenon that has cut hydropower capacity, thermoelectric generators have more-than taken-up the slack. As a result, Colombia isn’t experiencing the power blackouts suffered during the 1992 drought – which is great news for

Colombian economy

Antioquia’s Flower Producers Gear-up for Valentine’s Day Exports

Medellin Herald January 29, 2016

Some 500 million Colombian flowers are expected to be exported in the run-up to February 14 (Valentine’s Day) – most of which will go to the United States, according to Asocolflores, the Colombia trade association of flower producers. Antioquia is second only to Bogota in cut-flower production and export, with Valentine’s Day accounting for about […]

Colombian economy

Colombia’s GDP Slows, but Antioquia New-Businesses Growth Comparatively Robust

Medellin Herald January 22, 2016

A new report from Colombia’s national federation of local Chambers of Commerce (Confecamaras) shows that while the growth of Colombia’s gross domestic product (“PIB” in Spanish initials) slipped in 2015 versus 2014, Antioquia continued to support a relatively robust growth of new businesses. The total number of start-up businesses registered with Colombia’s various local