With Historic Results and Innovations such as 40-Year Bond Placements, Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana Closes a Successful 2009
-- Soundness reflected in the 68.9% increase in shares and a 71% increase in shareholder equity, projected by the 2009 GRUPOSURA management.
-- The Company has reached 65 years on the Colombian Stock Exchange with significant milestones in the capital market.
-- Focus on strategic investments, simplification of the corporate structure and an increased dividend of 6.35%; some of the main decisions of the Assembly.
MEDELLIN, Colombia, March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a year marked by uncertainty and international crisis, Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana (OTC Bulletin Board: GIVSY) achieved some of the greatest successes in their history, not only for the economic and financial results presented at their Assembly, but also for having achieved a new milestone in the country's capital market.
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As President of Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana David Bojanini Garcia affirmed, "One of the projects of major importance in 2009, not only for the Company, but also for the country's stock exchange, was the successful issue and placement of USD 122.3 million in ordinary bonds, with placements of up to 40 years, which received bids of 5.3 times the amount offered."
In fact, it was the first time that such long-term stocks and shares were offered on the Colombian market, as in the case of the 40-year bonds, constituting an excellent alternative for institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies, seeking long-term investments with issuers that provide soundness and backing.
For the president of the Colombian Stock Exchange, Juan Pablo Cordoba, "The placement of ordinary bonds by Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana broke away from all prior history regarding the length of an issue on the Colombian capital market. No issuer, public nor private, had placed bonds for a term greater than 20 years. We are certain," added Cordoba, "That this new path Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana opened will be an example and a benchmark for the medium-term for other companies. Likewise, this deal positions the Colombian market as one of the most dynamic and deep in the region."
This placement of 40-year bonds is just one of the milestones the Company has marked since being listed on the Stock Exchange 65 years ago, distinguishing itself by, among other things, in 2008, becoming the first Colombian holding company to be registered, in the Level 1 ADR program, under the new regulation of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC - regulation 12(g)3-2b).
Furthermore, in 2007 it became the first holding company in Colombia to sell options from their own investment portfolio. During that same year, they became the first national company to create structured notes for the acquisition of non-liquid stocks.
Strategic Investments
Moreover, the Company continues to advance in the process of focusing its investment portfolio in the financial services, insurance and social security industries. In this regard, Company President David Bojanini recalled that this process required performing some divestitures such as the recent sale of the shareholding interest held in Almacenes Exito, which represented 5.8% of the retail chain.
Starting several years ago, added Bojanini, "We began to decrease stockholding in other industries. It's worth mentioning that non-strategic investments currently represent only 0.7% of the total value of the portfolio."
It is also important to emphasize the process of simplifying the corporate structure of the Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana, to make it clearer and more understandable in the eyes of the shareholders and the market in general. To this end, at today's Assembly, dissolution of part of the portfolio of the subholding called Portafolio de Inversiones Suramericana was passed, on the grounds that the strategic investments that are still at the top of that company will go to Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana.
Assembly decisions
At the Shareholders Assembly held yesterday, the following decisions were made, among others:
An annual dividend of COP$268 per share was passed, which will be paid in four installments of COP$67 each, in the months of April, June and October of 2010; and January of 2011. The increase in the dividend is 6.35%, that is, 4.35% above 2009 inflation, which was 2%.
Additionally, a change occurred in the Company's Board of Directors with the retirement of Antonio de Roux Rengifo, who was an independent member for three periods and who moreover received appreciation from the GRUPOSURA shareholders and directors.
Armando Montenegro Trujillo was elected as his replacement, who joins Hernando Jose Gomez as one of the two independent members included in the Board, as determined by the Organization's Code of Good Corporate Governance.
With a global vision
Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana, which already has a presence in several countries in companies in which it has focused its investments, will continue its strategy of internationalization in 2010, seeking new opportunities for the creation, growth and expansion of business.
Furthermore, its objective is to continue working to generate synergy between the companies in its portfolio, always looking to add value.
The 2009 economic results demonstrate the soundness of the Company. At the close of the year, profits registered at USD 218.2 million, with an increase of 63.4% compared to 2008. Its revenue totaled USD 252.7 million, of which USD 163.2 million is based on the profit sharing method; that is, from good results brought by the Company's controlled investments.
The soundness of Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana is also reflected in the value of its assets, which climbed to USD 7.2 billion with an increase of 68.9% compared to 2008; and in shareholder equity, which was USD 7.0 billion, with an increase of 71% during the same period.
Corporate social responsibility
As a fundamental part of managing what lies ahead in terms of corporate responsibility and citizenship, last October the Company officially joined the network of organizations that compose the Global Compact Initiative in Colombia.
"This is a way to reiterate our commitment to the ten universal principles that must guide business activity with regard to human rights, labor rights, the environment and the fight against corruption," said President of Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana David Bojanini Garcia.
In keeping with that same intention of being a socially responsible company, the Fundacion Suramericana, an entity through which the holding company participates in social development projects that contribute to quality of life in vulnerable populations, invested more than USD 2.2 million in 14 of the country's departments in 2009, which is a growth in contributions of nearly 15%.
ABOUT GRUPO DE INVERSIONES SURAMERICANA
Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana is a holding company listed on the Colombian Stock Exchange and registered in a Level 1 ADR program in the United States. It has an investment portfolio grouped in two major segments: the first, Strategic Investments, integrates the financial services, insurance and social security industries, as well as related services. The second segment, Portfolio Investments, is mainly composed of the food and cement industries.
GRUPOSURA management is focused on the Strategic Investment segment, playing a major, dynamic role in monitoring the companies in which it invests, creating synergy among them, as well as seeking new opportunities for the creation, growth and expansion of business.
Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana Communications
Phone: +011-574-4355935
[email protected]
Investor Relations
Luis Eduardo Martinez
Phone: +011-574-4355628
[email protected]
SOURCE Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana
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