In 2020, Grupo Nutresa boasted ten consecutive years in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and was praised as the most sustainable company in the food sector. This year, the firm was ranked second in Merco Talento ranking 2021, a ranking that seeks to recognize the ability of companies to attract and retain talent in Colombia.
Grupo Nutresa reported its results this semester and confirmed why it’s one of the best companies in Colombia.
At the end of June, Grupo Nutresa reported an increase in its consolidated sales of 8.5% in comparison to the same period last year, reaching a total of 5.8 trillion Colombian Pesos (COP). This general improvement is due to the increase of sales in Colombia, rising 11.2% to COP 3.5 trillion, and the growth in international sales. International sales rose 6.6% compared to those of last year’s first half. Innovation-driven sales also played an important role, representing 16.9% of Grupo Nutresa’s total revenues.
In the first six months of the year, Grupo Nutresa decreased 58% of its net post-operative expenses, which amounted to COP 34,42 million. This was mainly explained by the significant reduction in financial expenses. Financial expenses passed from COP 155.031 mm to COP 113.201 mm, representing a decrease of 27%.
These improvements are reflected in the firm’s operating profit, also called EBIT. The EBIT grew by 0.8% to COP 541 million compared to the first half of 2020.
The consolidated EBITDA of the first half of 2021 amounted to COP 749,186 million, representing an increase of 0.4% over the same period in 2020. In addition, EBITDA margin was 13.0%.
The results of the EBITDA consider a 7.7% increase in operating expenses, which include expenses associated with biosecurity and cleaning measures.
Consolidated net profit reached COP 366,709 million, which represents an improvement of 11.5% compared to the previous year. As a percentage of the net sales, it represents 6.3%.
The Separate Financial Statements of Grupo Nutresa S.A presented COP 371,515 million in operating revenues, of which 81.7 % correspond to the profit obtained through the equity method of the investments in food companies and 67,746 million Colombian pesos correspond to dividends from the investment portfolio. Net profit was COP 370,6 million.
May was an important month for Grupo Nutresa. At the beginning of the month, Fitch Ratings reaffirmed the “AAA(col)” rating, which is the highest rating on the scale for each country. It is assigned to issuers with the lowest expectation of default risk compared to all other issuers around the world. To determine this rating, the rating agency specially observes the operating performance of the company, which includes cost and expense controls, competition position, product diversification, its strategic geography, and its solid credit metrics.
A few days later Grupo Nutresa announced the acquisition of Belina, a pet food producer. Carlos Ignacio Gallego, president of Grupo Nutresa stated, “Our intention with this acquisition is to gain significant knowledge about this segment and build new capabilities across our Organization”. Grupo Nutresa believes that with the purchase of Belina it could gain more of a presence in Central America.
And last but not least, Grupo Nutresa was included for the first time in the top five companies with the best Private Social Investment Index in Colombia (IISP), ranking in fourth place.
Regarding Covid Pandemic, the firm recently joined the National Business Association of Colombia vaccination program, which supports the National Vaccination Program. With this initiative, the firm seeks to immunize all of its direct employees and apprentices for free. As of July 30th, 65.9% of Grupo Nutresas’s Colombian employees had already initiated the vaccination process.
This is excellent news, as the faster employees are vaccinated, the faster utilization there will be of the firm’s full capacity.
