The new CEO of CriteriaCaixa, Ángel Simón, already has on his desk in the black towers of Diagonal the formal commission from the board of directors to draw up a new strategic plan for the period 2025-2030 that will allow "to shield the social work" of La Caixa. According to the investment holding company chaired by Isidro Fainé, this plan must "lay the foundations" for a new stage whose main objective will be "to promote long-term value creation to preserve and grow the assets" of the La Caixa Banking Foundation, owner of 100% of its shares.
Simón, who replaced Marcelino Armenter at the head of Criteria on February 1, takes on the challenge at a sweet moment for the company, as its profits grew by 59% last year and its assets revalued by 12%, reaching a net value of 22,095 million euros. Thanks to this patrimony, in 2023 the holding paid La Caixa a dividend of 400 million euros, a figure that allows financing the social, cultural, scientific and educational programs promoted by the foundation, considered the first in Spain, the second largest in Europe and one of the most important in the world.
Specifically, in 2023 La Caixa allocated a total of 537 million to its multiple programs, of which 59% correspond to the social area. In 2024, however, its budget will increase by 12% and will reach, for the first time, 600 million euros. Of this figure, the foundation will invest 350 million (59%) in the development of its social programs, which include, among others, projects to combat child poverty, labor integration and care for sick people.
"The good performance of CriteriaCaixa's main investees has boosted dividends, which will allow La Caixa to have a budget of 600 million for social action in 2024, the largest in its history," Fainé highlighted.
According to the accounts published this Friday, Criteria closed 2023 with a consolidated net profit of 1,910 million, a figure that represents an increase of 59%. This important advance is a consequence of the increase in the volume of dividends that the holding has collected from its investee companies and, especially, from its banking business, which has benefited from the rise in interest rates. Specifically, Criteria has collected dividends of 1,114 million, 34% more than in the previous year, a figure that is "at historical highs," as stated.
The 558 million euros received from CaixaBank, where Criteria controls 31.9% of the capital, stand out. In parallel, the company has collected dividends of 388 million from its other great crown jewel, Naturgy, where it owns 26.71% of the shares. The investees that make up the banking portfolio have contributed 1,756 million to Criteria's profit, compared to the 608 million reaped by the industrial and services portfolio.
Strategic and diversification portfolio
Both CaixaBank ---which has contributed 67% more to the holding's result--- and Naturgy (+20%) are part of Criteria's so-called strategic portfolio, which includes other companies such as Cellnex(4.36% of the shares),Telefónica(2.55%) and two international banks: the Chinese Bank of East Asia (19.19%) and the Mexican Inbursa (9.1%). The market value of this portfolio amounts to 19,613 million and its profitability last year reached 14.3%, a figure that includes dividends collected.On the other hand, a few years ago Criteria decided to also invest in multiple listed companies around the world and from different sectors, which has allowed it to build the so-called diversification portfolio, now made up of 75 companies from 13 countries. The sum of all these share packages has a market value of 2,515 million and thanks to a rotation strategy, a return of 17.1% has been achieved in the last year. This same week Criteria has informed the CNMV that it has acquired 3% of Colonial's capital, a stake valued at more than 80 million and which represents the return of La Caixa to the real estate company's capital ten years later.
Criteria has a third group of unlisted investees that total 837 million and is made up of Aigües de Barcelona (15%), the parking company Saba (99.5%) and all venture capital investments made by CaixaCapital Risc. Finally, the holding company owns an extensive real estate portfolio managed through InmoCaixa, whose value amounts to 2,694 million.
In total, the gross value of Criteria's assets amounted to 26,528 million at the close of 2023, an 8% increase. As of December 31, the company had a debt of 4,433 million and liquidity close to one billion.
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