MONTERREY COMPANIES ENJOY AN EXCELLENT YEAR CLOSE ON THE MEXICAN STOCK EXCHANGE (EL HORIZONTE ONLINE 0)

On account of their growth achieved on the Mexican Stock Exchange, Alfa, (Axtel and Alpek), Gruma, Vitro and Lamosa were crowned the best of 2015... The five listed Monterrey companies that closed the year with the highest growth figures in the country were Axtel, Gruma, Vitro, Lamosa, and Alpek, largely driven by mergers, the sale of assets and organic growth strategies.

MONTERREY COMPANIES RISE BY 8.4% IN 2015 (EL NORTE 0)

Amid the heavy turbulence that hit the stock markets last year, the capitalization value of the 16 Monterrey companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange rose by 8.4% in nominal terms compared to the close of 2014. Gerardo Copca, director of MetAnalisis, maintained that one of the reasons for this growth in capitalization value of companies from the region was the greater encouragement of investors to purchase shares in companies that had made key expansions or purchases throughout the year, such is the case of Femsa. “Some companies, for instance, did very well with the dollar because they don’t have significant debt issues, and they export or generate a lot of revenue in the United States, as is the case of Gruma, which was without question the big winner in 2015”.

ROBERTO AGUILAR/CORPORATE TIME (CAPITAL DE MÉXICO 7)

Gruma, yet again. Shares in the company led by Juan Antonio González Moreno were once again the biggest earner on the Mexican Stock Exchange, which is directed by José Oriol Bosch, with a profit of 53.7% last year alone. In the past five years, this share price has returned an accumulated profit of 942%, largely reflecting the international expansion embarked upon by the world’s largest corn flour and tortilla producer, and due to its iron grip on costs. 

ABOUT THE BOSSES (EL FINANCIERO 15)

Profits in Monterrey. The market doesn’t close. You might have thought there was no good news for the Mexican Stock Exchange in 2015, but then perhaps you haven’t heard of the “Regio Index” compiled by Monex. This list of 20 listed companies from the city of Monterrey returned a 12.5% profit in 2015... Axtel, the telephone company led by Tomás Milmo Santos, spearheaded these financial gains by yielding a return of 157%, which was followed by Gruma with 54%, and Vitro with gains of 53%. The state of Nuevo León accounts for approximately eight percent of the country’s GDP. Combined, the 20 companies included in the Index represent 35.7% of the Mexican Stock Exchange’s IPC Index. A heavyweight from the north.

COMPANIES LOSE ALMOST 280 BILLION PESOS DUE TO VOLATILITY. (EL UNIVERSAL PRIMERA PLANA CARTERA) (EL FINANCIERO 18)

The first week of 2016 won’t be remembered as one of the best starts to a year ever, at least not in terms of the international or Mexican financial markets. The financial turbulence that originated in China and sent shockwaves that resonating around the world impacted the vast majority of companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. Last week, the IPC Index closed at 40,265 points, its worst total since December 16, 2014, more than a year ago... The only issuers that returned a profit were Bimbo and Gruma, whose share prices rose by MXN 2.869 billion and MXN 1.999 billion respectively.

ALICIA SALGADO/CHECKING ACCOUNT (EXCÉLSIOR 5)

The LatinFinance Annual Gala Dinner and “Deals of the Year” Award Ceremony was held yesterday in Gotham Hall, New York, where the first two awards, the Latin American sovereign bond issuer of the year and sovereign issuer of the year, were both collected by the Mexican Minister of Finance, Luis Videgaray, on behalf of his country’s government… LatinFinance also announced Gruma, led by Juan González, as the winner of the award for the best-performing bond in the High-Grade category, following the company’s successful USD 400 million structured bond issue... 

MONTERREY FIRMS HIT BY DIFFICULT START TO 2016. (EL NORTE 0)

The 16 companies from the city of Monterrey that are listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange have had a difficult start to the year, with their share price falling by an average of 4.15% in just nine business days... Only two companies from the northern city have started 2016 with positive growth figures: These are Gruma, which has experienced a 3.84% rise, and Pasa, whose share price has climbed 1.99%.

SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY (REFORMA-32)

The yardstick by which Archbishop Antonio Chedraoui measures his 50 years of pastoral care is his work. “As individuals we are ephemeral, but our work lives on”, the leading prelate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church for Mexico, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean has said. Branded as an undesirable by the Mexican State, which for a period of time denied him a visa because of his status on entry as a clergyman, he has managed to become a respected religious leader who is capable of calling upon and bringing together various governing parties and politicians from varying points of the political spectrum. Of a number of projects that he has run, the one he is most proud of is the Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which he had built on a plot of land that was donated to him in Bosque Real, in the state of Mexico, and which was consecrated in 2011. “People said, ‘This bishop is crazy; he’ll never get it finished’. And I did, building the basilica in just four years and breaking the all-time record for such a project in the process”, he said. He recalls the day when he was invited to dinner at the home of the late Roberto González Barrera, a close friend of his who had also been the founder of Gruma and president for life of Banorte Financial Group. “Don Roberto asked me, ‘Do you need money?’ So I answered, ‘Who doesn’t need money when you’re undergoing a building project?’ ‘How much do you need?’ he said. ‘A beggar doesn’t make conditions’, I answered. Then he asked, ‘Will 10 million pesos do?’ ‘That’ll do nicely’, I said”. 

TOP 100 GLOBAL COMPANIES (EXPANSIÓN 84-85)

The ranking of the “Top 100 Global Companies” is out in Expansion magazine, indexing those Mexican companies that are considered the most “global” in terms of their overseas revenue, and the plants, offices and employees they have abroad. Gruma features in the “Consumer Goods” category, ranked in 10th place in both 2015 and 2016. 

CHEDRAOUI CALLS FOR WORLD PEACE (EL UNIVERSAL 2) (EXCÉLSIOR 24)

To celebrate his 84th birthday, and the 50th anniversary of his being ordained a bishop, Antonio Chedraoui Tannous, archbishop of the Orthodox Church of Mexico, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean, called for world peace and goodwill because, in his words, “We are living in difficult times”. The leader of the Orthodox Church in Mexico called on citizens to open their hearts to peace and to be more peaceful as individuals. He stated his belief that Mexico has the capability to go forward. “Let us use peace, compassion and the teachings of Christ”, he pleaded of the worshippers and guests in attendance. At the mass, he awarded the Cross of Saint Peter and Paul to some of the men who had helped in the building of the cathedral, which was consecrated in 2011, and the senior citizens’ home that is under construction and soon to be inaugurated. This distinction was awarded to Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, Chairman and President of El Universal; Olegario Vázquez Raña, President of Grupo Ángeles, and Juan González Moreno, President of Gruma and son of the late business leader Roberto González Barrera, who had helped in the building of the cathedral. The architects of the temple were also honored.

TRENDS (EL ECONOMISTA p.7) GRUMA.

The company’s share price reached a peak of MXN 260 during the past 52 weeks, while its year low was MXN 152. At the close of 2015, its share price was up 54.9% on the previous year. So far in 2016, it has risen by 3.8%. 

GRUMA, LEAD BY JUAN GONZÁLEZ MORENO, WINNER AT THE 2015 LATINFINANCE AWARDS. (EL SOL DE MÉXICO ON LINE 0)

Gruma, led by Juan González Moreno, was one of the companies honored by LatinFinance magazine at the “Deals of the Year” Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner. The USD 400 million structured bond issued by the company on the securities market in late 2014 earned it first prize in the High-Grade Bond category. Raúl Cavazos, Financial Director of Gruma, said, “Our bond issue allowed us to adequately balance our debt portfolio between fixed and variable rates. We feel comfortable with it…”

FIRMS DEALING IN AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES TAKE A HIT. (EL ECONOMISTA 10)

Rather than benefitting from a commodity price reduction, large companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange that deal in agricultural raw materials will this year be seriously hurt by the depreciation of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar, according to financial analysts. The peso is depreciating against the dollar at approximately 25.02% per annum... Gerardo Copca, Market Analysis Director at MetAnálisis, maintained that the company that will be hurt least by the devaluation of the Mexican peso and increase in commodity prices is Gruma, since 50% of its sales are in the United States, and it has a low dollar debt...

LOURDES MENDOZA / BUSINESS AND PLEASURE (REFORMA 33)

The dinner of Archbishop Chedraoui… The Archbishop honored Ealy Ortiz, Pérez Fayad, Olegario Vázquez Raña, Ricardo Salinas Pliego and Roberto González Barrera Q.E.P.D. Receiving the award on behalf of Roberto González Barrera were his son, Juan, and his daughter, Graciela, accompanied by their respective spouses, Lorena Marcos and Carlos Hank Rhon.

MEXICANS AROUND THE WORLD / IRREGULAR BALANCE (EXPANSIÓN 26-27)

For Gruma, 2015 as a year of international contrasts, with important gains in the United States and Europe. whereas it pulled out of Venezuela and encountered difficulties in Central America. As of September 2015, its profits in Europe and the United States had increased in value by 20%, and in volume by five per cent—a trend which Fitch Ratings expects to continue into 2016.