Imsa Full-Year 2022 Profits Rise 176% Year-on-Year
Medellin-based chemicals, personal-products and industrial-piping giant Grupo Imsa – a spinoff from Medellin-based Grupo Orbis, the latter now part of global chemicals giant AkzoNobel – announced March 31 that its full-year 2022 profits jumped 176% year-on-year, to COP$39.9 billion (US$8.6 million).
That compares to COP$1.7 billion (US$366,000) net profit in 2021, when Imsa operated as an entity separate from Grupo Orbis for about three months.
Comparable-period sales jumped 41% year-on-year, to COP$817 billion (US$176 million), according to the company.
It total, 34% of 2022 sales came from Brazil, 25% from Colombia, 23% from Mexico and 18% from Argentina, indicating “adequate territorial diversification in Latin America,” according to Imsa.
Consolidated gross margin in 2022 rose to 27%, from 21% in 2021, while gross profit rose 80%, to COP$221 billion (US$47 million), according to the company.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 51% year-on-year, by COP$90 billion (US$19 million), with an EBITDA margin at 11.1% of sales, up from a previous goal of 10%, according to the company.
Despite rising costs for freight and feedstocks during 2022, “the economic environment in the region contributed to obtaining significant growth in the business units,” according to Imsa.
“The volatility of the U.S. dollar impacted the prices of raw materials in pesos, demanding greater controls over the costs of the companies, but in turn granted opportunities for exports that could be capitalized.
“Faced with this situation, alternative procurement strategies for raw materials, renegotiation with suppliers, search for substitute products, price increases and efficient capacity management were developed for production plants and optimization of portfolios,” the company added.
The improved EBITDA results “allowed leveraging business growth, additional funding in terms of working capital, and making investments of approximately COP$11 billion [US$2.3 million], mainly in the purchase of assets for the improvement of plants and safety in all businesses,” according to Imsa.
As for 2023, Imsa aims to invest about COP$25 billion (US$5.4 million) in assets, including “updating of a production line of pipeline products and purchase of a new machine for the production of poles in O-tek Argentina,” according to the company.
Meanwhile, the O-tek Colombia subsidiary plans to “update the layout and some adaptations in the Cartagena plant, in order to streamline processes with a different configuration and process flow,” according to the company.
As for financial debt, Imsa reported that total liabilities represented 31% of total assets, compared to 30% at the end of 2022. Meanwhile, Imsa’s current ratio of debt to assets stood at 2.2 times, up from 2.1 times in 2021
“The main variations in the balance sheet at the consolidated level correspond to the increase in cash and temporary investments, attributable to the better generation of operating cash from the businesses and to advances received, mainly for the execution of projects in manufacturing at O-tek,” according to the company.
“Additionally, there is a 24% increase in equity attributable to shareholders due to the increase in profits for the year and the revaluation of investments abroad,” the company added.
Imsa now operates in six Latin American countries including Colombia, Panama, Argentina, Brasil, Mexico and Chile.
Subsidiaries include MCM Colombia (personal-care products and industrial cleaning products); Andermex and Andercol México (basic chemicals); Andercol International (Colombia, basic chemicals); Anderpol Brasil (finance and investments); Novaforma Fiberglas Brasil (distributor of basic chemicals); Novapol Plásticos Brasil; Inversiones ADS Panama (finance and investments); O-Tek Internacional (industrial plastic tubing) and five more O-Tek subsidiaries in Brasil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
