01:45 PM
Celsia, the energy company of Grupo Argos, delivered its financial results for the first quarter of the year, impacted by a strong El Niño phenomenon, and compares them with what was experienced in 2015 – 2016.
At that time The company went through great challenges and rethought the competitive strategy of the generation business, balancing its predominantly hydrological matrix, with greater non-conventional energy from the sun and the reconfiguration of the thermal portfolio with the sale of Zona Franca Celsia and the start-up of the gas-fired thermoelectric plant, El Tesorito.
You can read: Shares of Grupo Argos and its subsidiaries double their value on the stock market
“The accumulated experience allowed us to anticipate and prepare so that in this dry period that we are ending, we could operate efficiently and with stable financial results. At the end of the first quarter, the aggregate volume of Celsia’s reservoirs was 33% and we are starting the month of May with a volume of 44%. Regarding thermal generation, we had an important contribution to the system, although we expected a greater contribution, but market conditions did not allow it,” he explained. Ricardo Sierra, leader of Celsia it’s a statement.
Also read: In the last takeover bid for Nutresa, sellers preferred cash
The Revenues totaled $1.37 trillion, decreasing 8.7% compared to the same period in 2023. The The decrease in income was mainly due to lower water generation due to the El Niño phenomenon. In the distribution of total income by business, 86% is contributed by the energy services business (generation, transmission, distribution and marketing) with $1.18 trillion and the asset management business (investment platforms) contributes 14%. with $190,474 million.
The net profit was $29,688 million with a decrease of 75.7% compared to the same period of the previous year due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.
“The financial results for the quarter are the reality of this period of El Niño phenomenon that has been demanding, but in which we have shown the strength of our assets and the diversification of our businesses to face these moments of system stress. The strategy that we implemented in recent years allowed us to have a better performance in revenue, ebitda and net profit when comparing them with the same period in 2016 when we faced the same phenomenon. In the coming months we hope that with the return of a more normalized climate period we will return to an EBITDA margin between 32% and 35% and we will be able to finish reaping the benefits of the negotiations we have made to improve the financial cost of the debt.” Sierra added.
You may also be interested in: Council of State orders the Government to appoint Creg commissioners as property
For the Davivienda Corredores analysts consider Celsia’s results neutral, in line with expert projections. “Operational income was $1.3 billion, decreasing compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 (-17%), mainly explained by the generation segment in Colombia, affected by the El Niño phenomenon and the lower contribution from Central America.
On the other hand, On May 2, the acceptance period for the share repurchase program ended and the special commission decided to award 100% of the amount offered at a cut-off price of $4,300. With the award of this offer by the Colombian Stock Exchange today, May 7, the share repurchase program would reach $37.4 billion, which is equivalent to 12.47% of the $300 billion approved. Once the repurchase operations are completed through an independent mechanism, the transactional mechanism will be resumed, which, to date, allows for the purchase of approximately $460 million per day.
“We are very satisfied with the way the program has been developed and the market has recognized its results.. Since the announcement of the start of the buyback, the average daily traded volume, so far in 2024, has grown 3.9 times compared to 2023,” indicated Esteban Piedrahita, the company’s financial leader.
