Brazil’s largest steelmaker Gerdau said first-quarter net income rose 90% to $399 million. The company is Latin America’s largest long-steel producer. Gerdau said it fully incorporated new US steelmaking capacity in the quarter.
Category: Paywall
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Itau’s Profit Up
Banco Itaú, Brazil’s biggest bank by market value, said first-quarter profit rose 30% to $455 million. Net assets totaled $5.8 billion at the end of the quarter, up 17% year-on-year. In a separate filing, Itaú said it planned to buy back up to 4.13 million shares over the next year, including up to 679,000 ordinary shares and 3.45 million preferred, or non-voting shares. The company currently has 61.35 million outstanding ordinary and preferred shares.
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Trade Ministers at Impasse
Trade ministers from the European Union, the US, Brazil, India and Australia said Tuesday they were unable to agree on how to standardize tariffs on agricultural products worth $600 billion, a prerequisite for progress in World Trade Organization talks. After three months of talks, the EU remains the key holdout, arguing that the 25-nation bloc would suffer disproportionately large tariff cuts. The disagreement is holding up progress on a broader accord to open markets to industrial products and commercial services.
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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.
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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”.
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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.
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Azteca to Delist
Mexican tycoon Ricardo Salinas Pliego plans to delist the stocks of three companies he controls from the New York Stock Exchange. TV Azteca, Mexico’s second television network, Grupo Elektra, the country’s main home appliance retailer, and cellphone company Grupo Iusacell plan shareholder meetings to approve delisting from the NYSE. Salinas Pliego cited “over- regulation” for the decision. However, the US SEC is suing him for fraud and last week Mexican regulators fined TV Azteca, Salinas Pliego and a director $2.3 million for violating local securities law. Finance Minister Francisco Gil Díaz also demanded prosecutors bring criminal charges against Salinas Pliego for insider trading.
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Brazil: Trade Surplus Widens
Brazil posted its biggest traded surplus ever last month after imports suffered their biggest decline in a year. Aggressive Central Bank’s aggressive monetary policy slowed demand, driving imports down 10% from the previous month to $5.33 billion. Exports dropped 1% to $9.21 billion, pushing the trade surplus to $3.88 billion. Last month, the country posted a $3.35 billion surplus. The Central Bank has increased its benchmark lending rate 350 basis points since September, and the real has increased 46% in value against the dollar since February 2003.
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Lan Profits Steady
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.
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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.