BOGOTA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Cementos Argos will
perform a share buy-back worth around 250 billion pesos ($50.8
million) to help bolster its share price on the Colombian stock
market, it said on Tuesday, as it reported a 59% fall in 2022
net profit.
The Grupo Argos subsidiary reported full-year net
profit of 214.8 billion pesos ($43.7 million), down from 523.9
billion pesos in 2021, citing higher financial costs due to
rising interest rates.
The board of Colombia's central bank has raised borrowing
costs by a total of 1,100 basis points to 12.75%, its highest
rate since 1999, since launching an upward monetary cycle in
September 2021.
Despite the decline in profit, the company finished the year
with a consolidated cash flow of 1.3 trillion pesos, it said in
a statement.
"The solid operating and cash flow performance will allow
the company to increase its distributions to shareholders by
approximately 80% in 2023, compared to the previous year,"
Cementos Argos said.
The company is still in the process of listing its business
in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange, it added.
($1 = 4,918.94 Colombian pesos)
(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Oliver Griffin;
Editing by Jan Harvey)
