Alfa, Alpek tumble after results as conglomerate plans spin-off

Alfa Laval AB

19/02/2025 18:25

(Updates shares move and adds detail on Alpek's outlook)
    ** Shares in Mexican conglomerate Alfa  ALFAA.MX  sink 8%
after publishing Q4 results and updating on its plans to
spin-off its petrochemical unit Alpek  ALPEKA.MX , whose own
separately-listed shares tumble some 13% 
    ** Together, the losses have wiped nearly $600 million off
the stocks' combined market values. Alpek's nosedive triggered a
trading suspension on Mexico's stock exchange
    ** Alpek said in a call on Wednesday it expects earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA)
to decrease by 11% year-on-year in 2025, citing a challenging
industry environment
    ** Alfa has long sought to spin off Alpek as a way of
shoring up its finances as market swings batter the unit's
market value. Shareholders approved this last October
    ** Alfa late on Tuesday posted a net loss of 6.3 billion
pesos ($309 million), nearly halving the loss it posted a year
earlier, while its revenues jumped 14% to 44 billion pesos
    ** "It is important to mention that the firm presented a
smaller loss than in Q4 2023," say analysts at Ve Por Mas,
adding: "The spin-off process continues, the next step will be
the distribution of shares for Controladora Alpek"
    ** Vector Analisis notes that while food subsidiary Sigma
beat its own estimates for core earnings in 2024, Alfa's overall
results were weaker than expected by a consensus of analysts

($1 = 20.3870 Mexican pesos)

 (Reporting by Sarah Morland and Noe Torres in Mexico City;
Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
 ((Sarah.Morland@thomsonreuters.com))