Grupo Argos 1H 2024 Profits Jump 566% Year-on-Year
Medellin-based Grupo Argos – parent company of Cementos Argos, Celsia and Odinsa – announced August 14 that first half (1H) 2024 net income soared 566% year-on-year, to COP$6.8 trillion (US$1.7 billion) — once including a one-time COP$2.6 trillion (US$648 million) gain from sale of its former shareholdings in Grupo Nutresa.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also soared by 41% year-on-year, to COP$3.36 trillion (US$838 million), while revenues ticked-up 0.5%, to COP$8.2 trillion (US$2.04 billion), according to the company.
“Cementos Argos operations in Latin America continue to improve their profitability, reaching an EBITDA margin of 21%, an increase of 150 basis points,” Grupo Argos noted.
“The integration of Summit Materials and Argos USA is progressing satisfactorily and is estimated to materialize US$40 million in synergies during 2024.”
Meanwhile, “Celsia showed its recovery after the El Niño phenomenon, with a controlling net profit that grew 19% compared to the first half of 2023. Thanks to the normalization of weather conditions, Celsia showed a recovery in its results.
“The hydroelectric energy generated grew by 19% compared to the second quarter of 2023, while the energy generated by investment platforms, where solar energy stands out, increased by 47%,” the company added.
On another front, “Odinsa’s airport traffic continues to show remarkable growth and reached 50 million passengers mobilized in the last 12 months, accumulating 10 consecutive quarters of double-digit increases,” the company added.
“With the closing of all the operations of the Framework Agreement [in which Argos sold all its Grupo Nutresa shareholdings] and the liquidation of the ´sociedad portafolio,´ Grupo Argos grew from having 22% before, to now 46% of the economic rights in Grupo Sura — one of the main financial conglomerates in Latin America, which recorded a net profit of COP$2.6 trillion (US$648 million),” noted Grupo Argos President Jorge Mario Velásquez.
“This, added to the solid operating dynamics of all our assets, leaves the company strengthened to continue its strategic path as a manager of infrastructure assets,” Velásquez concluded.
