Chilean airline group Lan reported $46 million in first quarter net profits, down only slightly from $48 million in the March 2004 quarter. The company said increased oil prices added $37 million to its fuel bill, cutting into profits. Operating revenues were up almost a quarter at $608 million and operating expenses rose nearly 30% to $551 million. Lan expects its latest venture, Lan Argentina, to begin flights in the second quarter.
Category: Paywall
Posted inDaily Brief
Mexico: Growth Slows
GDP growth in Mexico slowed in the first quarter as US manufacturing industry, the biggest buyers of Mexican exports, expanded at a slower pace than a year earlier. Mexico’s economy expanded about 4% year-on-year, compared with a 4.9% expansion in the fourth quarter. Finance Minister Francisco Gil Díaz forecast that rising consumer spending and domestic investment will help make up for part of the decline in export growth. The government expects overall growth of 3.8% this year.
Posted inDaily Brief
OAS Picks Insulza
The Organization of American States elected Chilean Interior Minister José Miguel Insulza as its next secretary general following the withdrawal of Mexican Foreign Minister Ernesto Derbez from the race. The vote of 31 in favor, with abstentions from Chile’s historic enemies Bolivia and Peru, and one ballot left blank, came three weeks after Insulza and Derbez, the US-backed candidate, received 17 votes each in five separate secret ballots. This was the most competitive battle to lead the OAS since its foundation. Insulza’s election is a setback for the US which had failed to win enough support for Derbez. Insulza, a pro-market Socialist, is a tough and determined politician nicknamed “the Panzer”.
Posted inDaily Brief
Telemar’s Net Falls
TeleNorteLeste Participações , Brazil’s largest phone company, said first-quarter profit fell 12% to $76 million as operations costs and taxes rose. Financial expenses rose 14% in the quarter to $253 million, while taxes and social-security contributions almost tripled to $77 million. Locally-owned Telemar has about $4.8 billion in debt, more than two-thirds of which is denominated in reais.
Posted inDaily Brief
Celulosa Arauco’s Net Rises
Forestry group Celulosa Arauco, a unit of Chilean conglomerate Empresas Copec, posted a net profit of $127 million for the first quarter of 2005, up 15 percent year-on-year. The unit’s revenue grew to $557 million, up 26 percent. Celulosa Arauco recently announced plans for a $300 million bond issue.
Posted inDaily Brief
Codelco’s Profit Jumps
Chile’s state-owned copper giant Corporacion Nacional del Cobre (Codelco) posted a net profit of $389 million for the first quarter of 2005, up 87 percent year-on-year. The company’s revenues rose $396 million to $2.26 billion, boosted by high copper prices. Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange stood at $1.48 per pound on March 31, 2005, up from $1.24 per pound in the same period a year earlier.
Posted inDaily Brief
Colombia: IMF Approves Loan
Colombia has received a $613 million loan from the International Monetary Fund as part of an agreement that commits the government to limiting growth in spending. The IMF agreed to let the government increase this year’s budget deficit target to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product from 2.3 percent. Colombia will stick to a budget deficit target of 2 percent of GDP for 2006.
Posted inDaily Brief
Salinas Pliego Could be Charged
Mexican Finance Minister Francisco Gil Diaz has asked prosecutors to bring criminal charges against TV Azteca Chairman Ricardo Salinas Pliego on allegations he used privileged information to trade shares. Mexican regulators separately fined Azteca, its chairman and board member Pedro Padilla $2.3 million for securities law violations.
Posted inDaily Brief
Santander Serfin’s Net Falls
Mexican financial group Santander Serfin, owned by Spanish largest financial holding Grupo Santander, posted a net profit of $142 million for the first quarter 2005, down 5.5 percent year-on-year. Santander Serfin’s credit portfolio expanded 20 percent and its market share stood at 17 percent at the end of March.
Posted inDaily Brief
Banorte’s Profit Rises
Mexican financial group Banorte posted a net profit of $98 million for the first quarter, up 78 percent year-on-year. The firrm’s profit from its core banking business totaled $81 million, up 99 percent. The Banorte group includes a bank, a brokerage house, a pension fund and an asset management fund.