Medellin’s Grupo Nutresa EBITDA Jumps 16.7% Year-on-Year

Medellin-based multinational food producer Grupo Nutresa announced February 26 that its full-year 2015 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 16.7% year-on-year, to COP975.5 billion (US$293 million) on sales of COP7.9 trillion (US$2.9 billion), up 22.6%.

Full-year 2015 sales in Colombia (not including the recently purchased El Corral restaurant chain) jumped 17.4% year-on-year, to COP4.9 trillion (US$1.4 billion), according to the company.

Sales outside of Colombia rose 32% year-on-year, to COP3 trillion (US$901 million,) representing 38% of corporate-wide sales, according to Nutresa.

“While the higher costs of [imported] raw materials exposed to devaluation affected the margins, factors such as knowledge of markets and consumers, the 2.3% increase in productivity, product innovation (which reached 16.9% of sales), and proper administration of prices let us present a balanced result in growth and profitability,” according to Nutresa.

Full-year 2015 corporate-wide operating profit was COP782.6 billion (US$235 million), with an operating margin of 9.9%, according to the company.

Nutresa also benefited from dividend income for its investments in Medellin-based insurance giant Grupo Sura and Medellin-based multinational cement producer Grupo Argos, according to the company.