Nutresa Full-Year 2019 Profits Rise 5.2% Year-on-Year

Medellin-based multinational foods manufacturer Grupo Nutresa on February 21 reported a 5.2% year-on-year net income boost for full-year 2019, to COP$513 billion (US$152 million).

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 13.5% year-on-year, to COP$1.3 trillion (US$385 million), while sales jumped 10.5% to COP$9.9 trillion (US$2.9 billion).

For fourth-quarter (4Q) 2019, profits inched-up by 0.9% year-on-year, to COP$508 billion (US$150 million), while EBITDA rose 19.6%, to COP$1.1 trillion (US$325 million).

Full-year 2019 sales in Colombia grew 8.1% year-on-year, hitting COP$6.2 trillion (US$1.8 billion). Colombia sales were 62.3% of total global sales.

International sales increased by 14.5% in Colombian-peso terms, hitting COP$ 3.76 trillion (US$1.1 billion), or 3% higher year-on-year in U.S.-dollar terms.

“More than 80% of this [corporate-wide] growth is driven by higher volumes registered in all the business units of the group,” according to Nutresa.

“Gross profit for the period amounts to COP$4.4 trillion [US$1.3 billion], with a decrease in the gross margin of 0.8% compared to that of 2018, because of an increase in the cost of some raw materials and the [COP-to-U.S. dollar] exchange rate associated with several [operating units] during the year,” the company added.

As for non-operating revenue-and-costs impacts, Nutresa recorded a 22.2% increase in financial expenses “due to the recording of the liability obligation derived from the IFRS 16 accounting standard. The expenses corresponding to the group’s interest-on-debt decreased as a result of lower rates of financing,” the company added.