companies

The Catalan Banc Sabadell finished 2012 with positive results and net benefits of €81.9 million. Banc Sabadell has now reached 5th position among the Spanish financial entities in the last economic exercise due to its assets valued at €175 billion. However, this figure shows a 64.7% drop in benefits in comparison to 2011. The main reason for the decrease is the €2.54 billion for provisions, 142.2% more than 2011. The President of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu, emphasised the company’s solvency and spoke of its capacity to buy additional entities in the international market.

Barcelona-based car manufacturer Seat, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, delivered 8.3% fewer cars in 2012 compared to the previous year. In total, it sold 321,000 vehicles, instead of the 350,000 units of 2011. The decrease is due to the drop in car sales in Spain because of the economic recession. However, Seat sold 22.5% more cars in Germany and 8.2% more vehicles in the UK. The Catalan car manufacturer also increased its sales in Mexico by 16.5%. Overall, the Volkswagen Group sold 9.07 million cars in 2012, an increase of 11.2%. The group obtained positive results in all markets except Southern Europe (-0.3%) and Western Europe – excluding Germany – (-6.5%).

The operation has rocketed CaixaBank shares in the Spanish stock exchange market, which increased by 11.75% in just one day. The Catalan CaixaBank, which is the largest bank in Spain, successfully issued €1 billion in 3-year senior bonds. The operation has attracted more than 300 orders from institutional investors, representing around €5 billion, which has allowed the Barcelona-based bank to sell its bonds at a better price thanks to the significant oversubscription. 80% of the bonds issued were placed among international investors, confirming the positive recognition CaixaBank has in international financial markets. It was the first time their senior bonds have been issued on the international markets since 2010.

IAG, the airlines group formed after the merger of British Airways and Iberia, has announced its plans to acquire 100% of Vueling’s capital. Iberia already has 45.85% of the Catalan airline. Now, IAG intends to buy the remaining 54.15%, equivalent to 16.2 million shares. IAG is offering €7 per share, 28% more than Vueling’s last trading price on the stock exchange market. Vueling is one of the few airlines in Europe making a profit. Catalan politicians are “worried” about the purchase, as Vueling is based in Barcelona El Prat Airport and is committed to its expansion. However, Iberia abandoned its plans to develop El Prat and has prioritised Madrid Barajas. A Catalan MEP has asked the European Commission about the possibility of there being a free competition obstacle.

The production of the new Seat León, the brand’s flagship model, guarantees 1,600 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect ones in the supply industries. The car manufacturing company, owned by Volkswagen, has its only plant in Martorell, Greater Barcelona. The company has great expectations of the new Seat León, which will be distributed worldwide from Catalonia. The new car model is the milestone of Seat’s commercial and strategic plan for this year, with the objective of becoming profitable again. It will be sold in three different versions: a five-door and a three-door model, and a station wagon car.

Pimec, the main SME association in Catalonia, issued a survey taken of its members. Two thirds of the interviewees would support Catalonia’s independence from Spain while remaining in the European Union. 21.1% would prefer a more federal Spain and only 12.1% would back the current situation. In addition, 97.5% of the interviewees support improving Catalonia’s fiscal scheme. Furthermore, 61.2% think a hypothetical boycott of Catalan products by Spain would not or would hardly affect them.

The Catalan company presented its strategic plan for next two years, which fosters its main hub, Barcelona El Prat Airport, by adding 28 new routes from next summer. Vueling plans to transform Barcelona Airport into the main European hub for short and medium distance flights. Currently, it is already the second continental hub in this category. Furthermore Vueling will strengthen its offer to business travellers by unveiling the ‘Excellence’ flying class and direct flights between Barcelona and London-Gatwick or Frankfurt. In addition, the Catalan airline will end 2012 with a profit for the fourth consecutive year.

The Catalan Government approved a simplification of the red tape businesses need to get through by unifying all the public institution windows in a single point of contact and by rationalising procedures and certificates. By 2014 it is expected that 20% of the administrative procedures will be eliminated and 68% will simplified, involving procedures at local, Catalan and Spanish level. The measure will represent a €640 million saving for companies, according to the Catalan Government.

The Mayor of Barcelona welcomed the company’s investments and commitment to efficiency at the Port of Barcelona. The Catalan harbour is significantly increasing its container traffic in the last few years. Barcelona’s Port aims to become the main logistical hub in Southern Europe, using the international standard rail gauge to directly connect to Central Europe and new freight terminals. The Catalan company TCB is expanding its freight railway station and its power substation, as well as enlarging the ship docking space. The improvements will increase the maximum number of shipping containers transported by TCB from 0.9 million to 2.3 million by the end of 2013.

The Catalan multinational company will provide Gail, the largest gas distributor in India, around 3 bcm of liquefied natural gas for three years. This quantity represents 10% of Spain’s annual gas consumption. Gas Natural Fenosa refused to disclose the value of the contract, but sources from the sector estimate it would be worth more than €1 billion. This would be the largest contract in Asia for this Barcelona-based company, which has a significant presence in South America.

The Damm Group, manufacturer of the popular Catalan beer brand Estrella, had a turnover of 421 million in the first six months of 2012, a 8.5% increase in relation to the same period last year. The company is not making any predictions for the second half of the year due to the uncertainty over the VAT increase but has stated that sales over the past weeks have “evolved satisfactorily”.

The expansion to Brazil is part of the company’s international development plan, which aims to start operations in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. The company hopes to replicate its successful European business model overseas and has started with the opening of new offices in São Paulo. Galenicum, a developer of generic medicines, is based in Barcelona and produced a turnover of €77 million in 2011, a 542% increase in just two years.

With 5.13 billion in foreign sales in June, Catalan exports have grown by 6.6% over the same period in 2011. Amongst the Autonomous Communities, Catalonia ranks first for its export economy, in the first six months of this year Catalan companies sold up to €29.1 billion abroad. The increase in foreign exports and the fall in imports have reduced the trade deficit by 31% in the first six months of this year.

The Catalan bank, which leads the Spanish market, increases its share in the Portuguese Investment Bank by 7 percentage points increasing its stake from 39.5% to 46.22%. CaixaBank purchased just over 251 million shares in the capital increase offered by the Portuguese financial entity, at a cost of €125 million. Caixabank had already said it would extend its share in the BPI.

The Director General of the Catalan fashion retailer, Enric Casi, had already warned that the MANGO's profits in 2011 would be lower than usual due to its extensive investments and expansions abroad. In 2012, the company expects a profit of €200 million due to the investments and has already seen positive results for the first months of this year. The successful multinational was founded in Barcelona in 1984 and has over 2,400 outlets in 107 countries and over 11,000 employees.