Grupo Argos 2016 Net Profit Jumps 75%; Chief Wins ‘Empresario of the Year’
Medellin-based industrial conglomerate Grupo Argos announced February 28 that its full-year 2016 net profit jumped 75% year-on-year, to COP$1.1 trillion (US$377 million), while company president Jorge Mario Velásquez just nabbed the prestigious “empresario of the year” award from Colombian business newspaper La Republica.
Revenues in 2016 likewise grew by15% year-on-year, to COP$14.6 trillion (US$5 billion), while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) jumped 27%, to COP$3.6 trillion (US$1.2 billion), according to the company.
While Argos has numerous indirect subsidiaries and holdings, its five main holdings are Cementos Argos (cement and concrete), Celsia (electric power production), Odinsa (highway and airport infrastructure concessionaire), Compas (ocean freight ports) and Sator (coal production).
“With the moves we made in 2016, we are moving forward with consistency and discipline in the consolidation of a portfolio with more than COP$45 trillion [US$15.4 billion] in assets under management, and strategic focus on cement, concessions and energy,” said Grupo Argos president Velasquez.
In the last quarter of 2016, Grupo Argos and its subsidiary Cementos Argos were confirme for the fourth consecutive year in the Dow Jones Global Sustainability Index (DJSI), with Argos recognized as “the most sustainable cement company in the world,” according to the company.
“In addition, both Argos Group and Cementos Argos and the energy subsidiary Celsia were included in the RobecoSam Sustainability Yearbook 2017, which recognizes the best economic, environmental and social practices at the global level,” according to the company.
The company noted that subsidiary Cementos Argos posted a 9% year-on-year gain in 2016 EBITDA, to COP$1.7 trillion (US$579 million), while its Celsia subsidiary saw its 2016 EBITDA jump to COP$1 trillion (US$340 million), up sharply from COP$684 billion (US$233 million) in 2015.
Its Odinsa subsidiary saw 2016 EBITDA rocket-up by 246% year-on-year, to COP$1.1 trillion (US$374 million), while the Compas subsidiary posted a 2016 EBITDA of COP$44 billion (US$14.9 million) and an EBITDA margin of 34%.
