ISA 3Q 2019 Net Income Dips 1.7% Year-on-Year
Medellin-based electric power transmission, highways concessions and telecom services giant ISA announced November 6 that its third quarter (3Q) net income dipped 1.7% year-on-year, to COP$406 billion (US$122 million).
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for 3Q 2019 also declined 10.7% year-on-year, to COP$1.24 trillion (US$371 million), according to the company.
On the other hand, nine-months 2019 net income is up 27%, to COP$1.2 trillion (US$360 million) versus nine-months 2018, while nine-months EBITDA is up 14% year-on-year, to COP$3.9 trillion (US$1.17 billion), according to the company.
“ISA Group formally entered the Colombian road business by signing a contract agreement for the purchase of 100% of the shares of Concesión Costera Cartagena Barranquilla, thereby reaching an important milestone of the ‘ISA 2030’ strategy and contributing to the company’s business diversification as well as the development of the country,” according to ISA.
“This fourth-generation (4G) concession spans 146 kilometers, connecting two important cities on the northern coast, and is part of the most important international trade and tourism corridor in northern Colombia,” the company added.
“With the completion of this transaction, ISA incorporates assets of approximately COP$2.2 trillion (US$660 million), financial debt of COP$1.4 trillion (US$420 million), and [projected] EBITDA of COP$231 billion (US$69 million) into its 2020 financial statements.”
Better financial results for nine-months 2019 “are mainly explained by the energy projects that have started operations, by the greater returns of [road] concessions, and by the good management of costs and expenses,” according to ISA.
“The company will keep moving towards the consolidation of its diversification strategy, seeking alternatives in new businesses that generate profit growth and working our way into the road business in Colombia, Peru, and Chile,” added ISA CEO Bernardo Vargas Gibsone.
First nine-months 2019 operating revenues closed at COP$5.9 trillion (US$1.77 billion), 15.4% higher than the first nine months of 2018. As for 3Q 2019, revenues reached COP$2 trillion (US$600 million), up 1.4% year-on-year, according to the company.
As of September 2019, consolidated financial debt reached COP$18.6 trillion (US$5.58 billion), up 5.9%. The corporate net debt-to-EBITDA ratio stood at 2.72 times, while the EBITDA/financial indicator ratio closed at 6.17 times, according to the company.
