Banco Popular has had no other option but to take drastic measures to get itself out of a jam. The huge amount of impaired property assets on its balance sheet has forced the bank to make two capital hikes worth 5 billion euros, restructure the organisation, which includes the appointment of a new CEO and announce that it will lay off 3,000 employees and close 300 branches.
First half results from Inditex have once again been record-beating. The company owned by Amancio Ortega, the world’s richest man in 2016 according to Forbes, posted an 8% rise in net profit to 1.256 billion euros in the first half of its 2016-2017 fiscal year (this runs from February 1 to July 31) from a year earlier.
Mari Pinardo / Julia Pastor | At the start of this year, Repsol launched an ambitious Strategic Plan to allow the Company to eliminate its debt and weather the storm of low oil prices. The plan includes: divesting non-core assets for a total of 3.100 billion euros via a series of deals, one of which was the possible sale of its Gas Natural stake. The chance came along and on Monday Repsol announced it has agreed to sell 10% of its stake in the gas company for 1.901 billion euros. The operation has been well received by the markets and by analysts.
Iberdrola’s subsidiary in the UK, Scottish Power, expects to win contracts worth a record 3 billion pounds (3.530 billion euros) in 2016, thanks to an increased interest in investing in renewables, smart meters and electricity networks.
Repsol and La Caixa, via Criteria, have closed the sale of 20% of Gas Natural Fenosa to the US fund Global Infraestructure Partners (GIP) for €3.803 billion. GIP will now become one of the core shareholders of the energy multinational.
The Ferrovial group is a world leader in private transport infrastructure development, not just in terms of the number of projects but also in terms of investment volumes. But with overseas investments of 72 billion euros, and a success story worthy of praise, it has had a setback in the US. This means, in practice, that the Spanish company will have to abandon the SH130 toll highway project (Trans-Texas corridor).
This week Telefonica has been one of the main protagonists of the Spanish stock market. Firstly, it confirmed to bourse regulator CNMV that it will launch an IPO of between 25% and 50% of its infrastructure affiliate Telxius. And secondly, that it is finalising the partial sale of its UK subsidiary O2.
In recent times, hardly anything ever happens in the Spanish stock market. There are practically no IPOs or shareholder squabbles to attract investors’ attention. So when there is even a slight movement, like the possible sale of 20% of Gas Natural by majority shareholders Repsol and La Caixa, it shakes the market up more than normal.
Norbolsa | CaixaBank posted overall solid figures in the first half to 2016, particularly with regard to its net interest margin.
Norbolsa | Bankia’s (BKIA) interest margin fell more than expected in the first half of 2016, but the lender’s ability to lower provisions and costs offset this to some extent.