MEDELLIN, Colombia,
March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In
2012 GRUPO SURA (BVC: GRUPOSURA; LATIBEX: XGSUR; ADR: GIVSY, GIVPY)
continued to consolidate its position as a multi-Latin financial
holding company, securing a steady and sustainable growth. Its
strength was also reflected in aspects such as the structuring of
its portfolio, a gratifying level of performance on the part of its
core investments, the expansion of both the Organization and its
brand positioning on a regional level; its sound financial position
and robust capital structure all of which contributed to the level
of results recorded at year-end 2012.
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This was one of the main takeaways of its Annual Shareholders
Meeting held today, at which other factors were highlighted such as
how the Company's core investments are performing, having gone from
49% to 62% of its total portfolio in the space of just five years.
These core investments pertain to the financial services,
insurance, pension, savings and investment sectors in a total of 10
countries throughout Latin
America, mainly through its subsidiaries SURA Asset
Management, Suramericana and the Bancolombia Group which together
manage assets totaling almost USD 138,000
million.
At the end of 2012, the Company recorded profits of COP 546,100 million (USD
308.8 million), for a YoY increase of 64.1%, thanks to the
superior performance of its subsidiaries, Suramericana and SURA
Asset Management, the latter reporting to GRUPO SURA for the first time ever. GRUPO SURA's stake in these companies comes to
81.1% and 66.2% respectively. Consequently, the Company recorded,
using the equity method, total revenues of COP 323,097 million (USD
182.7 million) showing a YoY increase of 139.7%.
Furthermore, we have the current economic situation in Latin America which is driving the growth of
GRUPO SURA's core investments, with
the population in the majority of countries in this part of the
world now enjoying greater financial capabilities relative to
savings and financial products.
"It was highly gratifying to see, in 2012, that the steps we
took with regard to our ongoing international expansion were sound
and highly consistent with the Company's ongoing strategy.
Not only did we extend our portfolio of investments but we also saw
how our investments are creating true added-value for the
Organization as a whole, enabling us to further our position as a
financial holding company with a view to the long term," noted
David Bojanini, Chief Executive Officer of GRUPO SURA.
Our share performance was also an important factor in the
results we presented today, thanks to the gains in pesos obtained
last year, that is to say 22.1% in the case of our ordinary stock
and 18.2% for our preferred stock, excluding dividends, these being
much higher than the average gain of 16.6% for the COLCAP Index.
The Company's market capitalization came to COP 22.0 billion (USD 12.3
billion) showing a growth of 18.5%, thereby ranking us as a
large cap company on the Latin American market. Also, the appetite
for GRUPO SURA stock on the part of
international investors continued to grow. The number of foreign
funds who became shareholders rose by 83%, going from 271 to 497 in
the space of just one year. These now hold a total stake of 12.3%
in the Company compared to 9.8% for the previous year.
As a result of the priority deleveraging strategy that
GRUPO SURA put into place early in
2012, liabilities fell by 67.4% to COP
888,318 million (USD 502.4
million) at the end of last year. This produced a debt ratio
of just 4.1%, which was much lower than that recorded for
2011, while assets came to COP 21.7
billion (USD 12.3 billion).
Consequently Shareholders' Equity rose to COP 20.8 billion (USD 11.8
billion).
With respect to the outlook for both the Company and its core
investments, Mr. Bojanini noted: "We shall continue with our growth
plans, both organic and non-organic, this year. We intend to
develop a comprehensive and complementary range of financial
services in each of the countries where we are present, so as to be
able to better assist our clients and fund members in the different
stages of their life cycles." With regard to GRUPO SURA's commitment to sustainable business
management, Mr. Bojanini reminded the shareholders that "Our prime
purpose is to grow while helping the countries where we are present
and their people to share in this growth. Rather than being the
largest, we want to be the best with a truly different value
proposal."
The fact that the Company's listing on the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index was reconfirmed and its International
Investment Grade was renewed by Fitch Ratings and S&P last year
were also mentioned as significant achievements obtained in
2012.
DECISIONS MADE AT THE ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING
At their Annual General Meeting, the Shareholders gave their
approval to the proposed increase in dividends for the Company's
ordinary shares, which was set at COP
339.oo, that is to say 10% higher than that paid out the
previous year. This increase is also 7.62% higher than the year-end
CPI in Colombia. The dividend to
be paid out on the Company's preferred shares was maintained at
COP 975.oo per year per share, this
in keeping with that authorized in the corresponding Issue and
Placement Prospectus drawn up in 2011.
On the other hand, and as part of GRUPO
SURA commitment to upholding best practices in terms of
corporate governance and transparency, in 2012 a change was made to
the Company's Board of Directors with two independent members,
namely Messrs. Armando Montenegro
Trujillo and Hernando Yepes
Arcila being appointed as Chairman and Vice-Chairman,
respectively.
The Shareholders also approved the appointment of a fourth
independent member to the Board of Directors, Mr. Carlos Espinosa Soto, to replace Mr.
Jorge Mario Velasquez. The Company
thanked Mr. Velasquez for the valuable assistance he has provided
since 2006, when first appointed. Mr. Espinosa, holds a degree in
Economics from the University of
Louisiana and attended the Senior Management program at
INALDE Business School along with other programs at the Wharton
School and Harvard Business School. He
was the Chief Executive Officer of Acegrasas S.A. and currently
serves as Chief Executive Officer of Grupo
Espinosa. He also sits on the Boards of Directors of
Teamfoods Colombia S.A. and Leonisa, and is a member of the Board
of Trustees of Fedesarrollo, Fundacion Cardio Infantil and the
Bogota Chamber of Commerce.
About GRUPO SURA
Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana –GRUPO SURA– is a Latin
American company listed on the Colombian Stock Exchange and
registered with the ADR- Level 1 program in the United States. It is also listed with the
Latibex Market for Latin American Stocks in Euros hosted by the
Madrid Stock Exchange. Furthermore, it also one of the three
companies from the Latin American financial service sector to be
admitted to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which covers
companies who have become global benchmarks thanks to the good
practices they have adopted from the economic, environmental and
social standpoints. GRUPO SURA holds
core investments in the financial services, insurance, pension
social security and investment funds sectors and non-core
investments in the processed food, cement, energy, mining and real
estate sectors.
Luis Eduardo Martínez
Director Relación con Inversionistas
lemartinez@gruposura.com.co
(574) 4355628
Monica Guarín Montoya
Gerente Comunicaciones
mguarin@gruposura.com.co
(574) 4355935
SOURCE GRUPO SURA