Enka 1H 2025 Net Income Plummets 93% Year-on-Year
Medellin-based textiles and plastics-recycling giant Enka announced August 12 that its first-half (1H) 2025 net income fell 93% year-on-year, to just COP$635 million (US$158,000), from COP$8.9 billion (US$2.2 million) in 1H 21024.
Revenues for 1H 2025 fell 14.5% year-on-year, to COP$206 billion (US$51 million), while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declined 32% year-on-year, to COP$13 billion (US$3.2 million).
“Sales volumes have been pressured by lower demand due to the reduction in sustainability goals of major global brands, the slow adoption of the PUSU [single-use-plastics prohibition] law in Colombia, the reduction in beverage consumption, and the low price of virgin PET resin imported from China, which contrasts with the high prices of recycled bottles,” Enka explained.
Enka also cited “illegal export of bottles from Colombia to Ecuador to claim the subsidy that country offers through its deposit law and the export of Colombian [illegal plastics] by local players engaging in irregular practices.”
In efforts to counteract these negative impacts, Enka cited its “diversification strategy, [which] has led us to increase exports by 21% in volume, partially offsetting the weaker local [Colombian] dynamics . . .
“Additionally, the company’s continued efficiency efforts, with the savings plan implemented last year, represent a 17.3% savings in costs and fixed expenses so far in 2025, even with impacts from inflation (+5.2%) and minimum wage hikes (+9.5%).
“Similarly, the strategy to capitalize on the company’s assets that remained available after the capacity release due to the closure of the Filaments line, has allowed us to generate complementary income, such as the sale of surplus energy, utilities, and leases, for COP$4.7 billion [US$1.16 million].
“Additionally, the company has managed to increase its presence in Europe with highly engineered technical threads, competing with major local brands.
“The increased focus on technical threads has offset the weaker momentum of the tire sector in the region (the United States, Brazil, and Mexico), which is facing difficulties and has led to the announcement of the closure of one of Bridgestone’s factories in the United States,” the company added.
Also during 1H, “production focused on Technical Yarn products with high technical specifications to mitigate the less dynamic Tire Cover industry,” according to Enka.
“The 25% increase in sales volume to Europe and Brazil offset the 32% decrease in sales in North America and Peru,” the company added.
