Grupo Argos presented historic financial results, with revenues reaching COP 21.3 trillion and EBITDA of COP 5.2 trillion, representing a growth of 21%.

• The Assembly approved a 15% increase in dividend per share and a proposal to repurchase shares for up to COP 500 billion within a period of up to three years.
• If the dividends declared and share repurchase programs announced by Grupo Argos and its subsidiaries are considered, the capital returned to investors amounts to COP 2.3 trillion, an unprecedented figure.

This Thursday, Grupo Argos held the ordinary meeting of its Shareholders’ Assembly, in which it presented unprecedented financial results in its almost 90-year history. Revenues amounted to COP 21.3 trillion, with a growth of 31%, and EBITDA reached COP 5.2 trillion, increasing by 21%. In turn, net income closed at COP 1.4 trillion, while the net income of the holding company amounted to COP 881 billion. All of this accompanied by a deleveraging of its net debt by approximately COP 1 trillion.

“The solid performance in the results of our businesses, stemming from a coherent, disciplined and long-term vision strategy, allows us to propose returns, through dividends and share repurchases, of COP 2.3 trillion, considering those declared between Grupo Argos and its subsidiaries.” Jorge Mario Velásquez – Grupo Argos’ CEO

Business performance

• Cementos Argos: Grupo Argos’ construction materials business recorded its highest operating EBITDA in history. Additionally, the company achieved a record of 1.2 million tons of exports, representing a 28% increase compared to 2021.
• Celsia: During 2022, the company commissioned the El Tesorito Thermal Power Plant in Sahagún, Córdoba, with an installed capacity of 200 MW, in addition to 80 MW from solar farms. Currently, Celsia is constructing an additional 172 MW of solar capacity.
• Odinsa: Closed 2022 with a full recovery of road and airport traffic. The traffic of its road concessions ended the year with over 39 million vehicles, an increase of 15% compared to the previous year. Airport traffic closed at 40.7 million passengers, growing by 65%. During the year, the company announced the creation of an airport platform for COP 1.4 trillion, in partnership with Macquarie Asset Management, the largest infrastructure fund manager in the world, with whom the company had already entered into an agreement to create Odinsa Vías.

Long-term value creation

The consistent positive performance in recent years has allowed Grupo Argos to go from being a local cement company to a multilatina operating in the construction materials, energy, concessions, and real estate rental sectors in 20 countries and territories in the Americas. The benefits of diversification and growth achieved during the last decade provide the company with financial stability and flexibility. Since 2017, on average, almost half of the organization’s revenues have come from sources other than the cement business, demonstrating that diversification has not only been geographical but also in the lines of business.

Consistent with the results of Grupo Argos, during the meeting the Assembly approved a dividend of COP 575 per share, an increase of 15% compared to 2022. This dividend represents more than COP 499 billion that will be distributed among the company’s shareholders. Additionally, a proposition was approved to execute a share buyback program of up to COP 500 billion.

The Shareholders’ Assembly elected the Board of Directors, composed of Rosario Córdoba, Claudia Betancourt, Ana Cristina Arango, Jorge Alberto Uribe, Armando Montenegro, Esteban Piedrahita, and Mauricio Ortega. The latter two are new members. Dr. Esteban Piedrahita is an economist from Harvard University with a Master’s degree with Honors in Philosophy and History of Science from the London School of Economics. He currently serves as rector of the ICESI University. On the other hand, Dr. Mauricio Ortega is a lawyer from the Pontifical Bolivarian University with specializations in Tax Law and Administrative Law from the same university, with extensive experience in legal practice for more than 30 years.