Archives: Comunicados de Imprensa

The José de Mello and Têxtil Manuel Gonçalves groups, which together have a 50.8% stake in EFACEC, today announced the launch of a take-over bid for the shares representing the outstanding share capital at a price of €3.15 per share, a premium of about 30% above the average weighted price over the past six month.

The bid has been launched though Tecnoholding, SGPS, SA, a company set up for the purpose held in equal parts by the José de Mello and Têxtil Manuel Gonçalves groups, the operation having been underwritten by Caixa Geral de Depósitos.

The decision to launch this bid resulted from the fact that the two major shareholders share a common vision of EFACEC and believe in the company’s growth and development potential.

To allow full advantage to be taken of the company’s growth potential and to increase its internationalisation, the José de Mello and Têxtil Manuel Gonçalves groups consider that EFACEC and its shareholders will have to accelerate their investment effort.

The José de Mello and Têxtil Manuel Gonçalves groups consider that through this operation and by strengthening EFACEC’s leading role in the national and international energy, transport and services markets they are contributing to the development of the Portuguese economy.

José de Mello, SGPS, SA, saw sustained growth of its business during 2003, with turnover standing at €813 million and cash flow at €89 million, up by 9% and 42% respectively from 2002.

Despite the adverse economic background, the consolidated turnover of the José de Mello Group rose by €65 million, chiefly the result of the positive contribution made by José de Mello Saúde (€25.2M), Soponata (€16.5 million), José de Mello Imobiliária (€15.3 million) and CUF (€11.7 million).

José de Mello, SGPS, SA’s consolidated EBITDA also performed well, increasing by €9 million during 2003, up 17% from the previous year’s figure. A major contribution to this improvement was provided by the growth of turnover, which was greater than the increase of operating costs, which were higher by just €55.9 million

The Group’s consolidated assets fell by €65.6 million compared to the 2002 figure, the result of the sale of two Soponata ships and of the CUF Descobertas Hospital building, acquired by a property fund.

Consolidated net profit amounted to €2.7 million, a decrease of €31 million caused by the impact in 2002 of the application of the accounting standards in respect of deferred taxes.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

CONSOLIDATED BUSINESS	2003	2002
Turnover	813	748
EBITDA	63	54
Cash-Flow	89	63
Net profit	2,7	33,7
Net assets	2.301	2.367
Shareholders’ equity	378	378

Despite the economic slowdown, José de Mello, SGPS, SA, closed the year with an improvement of its main consolidated indicators

The José de Mello Group returned a consolidated net profit of €33.7 million at the end of 2002, an increase of 390% compared to 2001, when the net profit amounted to €6.9 million.

Consolidated assets were up 6% from €2,232 million in 2001 of €2,367 million in 2002. This increase of assets was chiefly caused by the effect of application for the first time of deferred taxation on the shareholders’ equity of Brisa, consolidated in the José de Mello, SGPS, SA, accounts using the equity method.

Consolidated turnover was also about 5% higher than in 2001, at €748 million. The major contributors to this were the CUF and José de Mello Saúde Groups, which, for the first time, consolidated 12 months operating results of two new units: Elnosa, in the Chemical Industry area, and the CUF Descobertas Hospital, in the Health area.

At the end of 2002, consolidated shareholders’ equity totalled €378 million, in increase or around 24%.

The José de Mello Group has just launched its new corporate site on the Internet, where it can be visited at www.josedemello.pt. The site has a new graphic aspect and the contents have been reorganized.

With its sober, appealing presentation, the new www.josedemello.pt site allows to access a vast amount of information about the History, Strategy, Values and principal Business Areas and Companies of the José de Mello Group.

Navigating around the new www.josedemello.pt site has been simplified and is now divided into four main areas (José de Mello Group, Companies, Human Resources and Press Room). There are also three other areas, which include an electronic edition of the Tradition of the Future newsletter, a presentation of the José de Mello Group and the more recent Press releases.

The new José de Mello Group site was created in the wake of a number of opinion polls and market research undertaken in recent months. These allowed the profile of the main users to be established, the best graphic design to be selected from among several suggestions and the best navigation criteria and procedures to be determined.

Implemented on the basis of the best possible compromise between simple navigation, appealing graphics and clear, the new www.josedemello.pt site will meet the needs and expectations of its key users.

The CUF Descobertas Hospital, which opened on June 25th 2001 at Lisbon’s Parque das Nações provided health care services to more than 35,000 patients during its first year in operation.

Considered to be the most modern private hospital in Portugal, up to the very highest technical, medical and housekeeping standards, the CUF Descobertas Hospital has seen growing demand for its health care services during its first year in business.

The total number of patients receiving health care at the CUF Descobertas Hospital includes 29,000 consultations, 26,000 emergency treatments and 2,300 operations, showing that the balance of the first year of activity clearly exceeded initial expectations, particularly since a number of services were introduced on a gradual basis, with emphasis on the emergency services which came into operation only on September 17th 2001.

The CUF Descobertas Hospital has a total of 126 single and ten double rooms, five operating theatres and a seven-bed intensive care unit, as well as two isolation rooms. It is fully prepared to meet the health care needs of the whole family and has agreements with the leading insurance companies and health-care sub-systems.

Providing a wide range of services in the medicine, maternal and child health, surgery, out-patient surgery, cancer, outpatients and diagnostic imaging areas, in addition to the emergency services, the CUF Descobertas Hospital is an example of the ongoing, structured commitment by José de Mello Saúde to the long term in the health area in Portugal.

Despite the economic slowdown that marked 2001, José de Mello, SGPS, SA, improved its main economic indicators during the year.

The José de Mello Group returned a consolidated net profit in the sum of 6.9 million euros at the end of 2001, a 47,9% improvement over 2000, when net profit was restricted by the fact that goodwill was fully written down, an operation that involved about 107 million euros.

Though limiting profits in 2000, the operation did create the conditions for better results in subsequent years, as can be seen in the consolidated profit of 6.9 million euros for 2001.

Consolidated assets were up 28% from 1.741 million euros in 2000 to 2.232 million in 2001. This growth of assets was chiefly the result of the increase of the holding in Brisa, in which the José de Mello Group now has a 20% stake.

Consolidated revenues were also up compared to 2000, to stand at about 854 million euros.

Consolidated shareholders’ equity stood at 305 million euros at the end of 2001, an increase in the order of 4%.

Quimigal and the Spanish corporate group Ence signed an alliance agreement today to develop Electroquímica do Noroeste (Elnosa), under which Quimigal acquires 50% of the Elnosa share capital.

Quimigal is one of the major companies of CUF, the holding company for the interests of the José de Mello Group in the chemical industry chaired by João de Mello. Quimigal focuses on the production of industrial chemicals.

Ence, in turn, is Spain’s biggest pulp manufacturing group, also involved in forestry, timber products and electricity generation using biomass.

Uniteca, a Quimigal subsidiary based in the Estarreja industrial park, operates in the soda and chlorate business, a sub-sector in which Elnosa is also engaged.

Uniteca will therefore be able to grow in this business area through the integration with Elnosa and to introduce other chemical products into the markets of Galicia where the company is established. The potential of the existing commercial activity will therefore be increased even further.

The agreement signed by Quimigal and Ence includes an industrial plan for Elnosa, calling for an investment of about €3.5 million in the medium term. The plan is directed at the conservation and improvement of existing businesses, while technological interchange is provided for under terms and conditions to be established under future legal provisions.

Quimigal reaffirms its commitment to Environmental Management and assumes all the principles of the Ence Group, which were corroborated by the recent audit performed by AENOR to secure ISO 14001 Certification.

The CUF Descobertas Hospital. Located at Lisbon’s Parque das Nações, was officially inaugurated on November 6th during a ceremony presided by Jorge Sampaio, President of the Republic. Also present were António Correia de Campos, Health Minister, and Salvador de Mello, chairman of the board of directors of José de Mello Saúde.

The CUF Descobertas Hospital is the most modern hospital in Portugal, built in a record time of 21 months. Its official inauguration marks the culmination of a gradual process of opening services to the public, begun on June 25th when out-patient consultations, the laboratories, imaging and out-patient hospital services came into operation.

The general, paediatric and obstetric emergency services came into round-the-clock operation on September 17th and the CUF Descobertas Hospital was then ready to meet the health-care requirements of all its patients up to the very best technical, medical and housekeeping standards of excellence.

The CUF Descobertas Hospital has entered into agreements with most insurers and health-care sub-systems, and represents the biggest-ever private investment in the health-care area in Portugal. It is the result of a strategy of growth, innovation and excellence that has been implemented by José de Mello Saúde.

In the words of Salvador de Mello, chairman of the board of directors of José de Mello Saúde, the inauguration of the CUF Descobertas Hospital has strengthened the long-term commitment of the José de Mello Group to the provision of health-care services in keeping with the very highest quality, know-how and efficiency standards.

José de Mello, SGPS, SA, closed 2000 with a remarkable improvement to its main indicators.

Consolidated assets of the José de Mello Group increased by 39% during 2000, up from €1,252 million at the end of 1999 to €1,740.8 million.

This increase was chiefly the result of the agreement involving the merge of the financial area of the José de Mello Group (Banco Mello and Companhia de Seguros Império) with Banco Comercial Português, which provided a holding of about 4.9% in BCP, and of the increase of the holding in Brisa, through José de Mello Investimentos, from 3.2% to about 7%.

Therefore, and also as a result of the increase of the share capital from €69.831 million to €169.591 million, the consolidated shareholders’ equity of the José de Mello Group stood at about €299.279 million at the end of 2000, an increase of about 60%.

Consolidated revenues were also substantially higher than in the previous year, up by about 50% at about €825 million.

Goodwill written down by €106.75 million

The agreement closed with Banco Comercial Português altered the composition of the José de Mello, SGPS, SA, balance sheet and it also allowed the net profit for 2000 to be used almost entirely to write down the goodwill in the sum of €106.7 million. After allowing for this, a net profit was returned in the sum of nearly €1.2 million.

According to Vasco de Mello, chairman of the José de Mello, SGPS, SA, executive committee, the decision to write down goodwill in full during a single year was taken in the light of changes to the accounting policy involving goodwill arising from the consolidation, and it has created the conditions required to generate excellent results in the coming years.

Holding company increases its executive committee

The business during 2000 was also marked by the sale of the ship-repair business carried on by Lisnave and by sustained development of the business in the areas of health-care (José de Mello Saúde), chemical industry (CUF), shipping (Soponata) and energy production (Finertec).

Another outstanding factor in the activity of the José de Mello Group in 2000 was the incorporation of two new holding companies – Adamastor Capital for the new technologies area and José de Mello Residências e Serviços in the retirement home business.

During 2001, the number of members of the José de Mello, SGPS, SA, executive committee was increased from three to five, Vasco de Mello and João de Mello having joined Pedro de Mello, Salvador de Mello e Pedro Rocha e Melo.

This alteration means that Vasco de Mello now chairs the executive committee of the José de Mello holding company alongside his position as director of Brisa.