The La Caixa Banking Foundation plans to allocate a budget of 515 million euros this year to finance its social, cultural and scientific programs, scholarships and education, and research and health. Of this figure, 360 million will be financed with the dividends generated in 2021 by CriteriaCaixa, the investment holding company that manages all its business assets.
This company, of which it controls 100% of the shares, has assets valued at 23,805 million euros (+22.8% compared to 2020), a figure resulting from adding the value of the stakes it controls in listed companies (81.3%), real estate (10.9%) and other assets such as fixed income or cash. The crown jewels of Criteria are CaixaBank and Naturgy, where it controls 30% and 26.7%, respectively, but the group also holds stakes in other important listed companies, such as Telefónica (1.3%), Cellnex (4.3%) and the French Suez (5.8%). Criteria also owns 15% of Aigües de Barcelona and 99.5% of the parking company Saba, as well as stakes in the Mexican bank Inbursa (9.1%) and the Chinese Bank of East Asia (17.4%).
The company chaired by Isidro Fainé also has a significant real estate portfolio, valued at 2,585 million, and a powerful venture capital division key to the Barcelona entrepreneurial ecosystem, Caixa Capital Risc, which manages eleven investment vehicles with committed funds of 215 million and 89 companies in its portfolio. Last January, Caixa Capital Risc sold the 14.12% it held in Sanifit Therapeutics for 35 million.
If the debt associated with these investments is subtracted from the shareholdings, at the end of 2021 the net asset value of Criteria reached 18,092 million euros, already above pre-covid levels (17,026 million in 2019). The Criteria group's debt now amounts to 5,713 million.
The management of all these assets generated a recurring net profit of 1,187 million euros in 2021, up 65%, thanks to a 44% improvement in the contribution of its banking stakes (mainly CaixaBank), and 96% from the industrial and services portfolio. The real earnings (including extraordinary items), however, amounted to 1,697 million, as Criteria recorded a capital gain of 510 million due to the impact of the merger of CaixaBank and Bankia, among other factors.
In 2021, Criteria invested 407 million in the purchase of an additional 1.92% of Naturgy, reaching 26.71%. Another 502 million euros were invested in expanding the so-called diversification portfolio, which already includes share packages in some 80 listed companies in fifteen countries.
In parallel, the holding company collected dividends from its investees for 525 million euros, 16% less due to the impact of covid-19. Specifically, it received 331 million from Naturgy, 65 million from CaixaBank, 32 million from Bank of East Asia, 24 million from Telefónica, and 24 million from Suez, among others.
Of the profits obtained, Criteria has distributed a dividend of 360 million to its shareholder, La Caixa, to finance its activity. In 2021, the Foundation invested a total of 494 million euros; in social programs (59.6%), culture and science (21.8%), research and health (9.6%), and education and scholarships (9%).