Minalba, Nacional Gas, Esmaltec. Brands that Brazilians have certainly heard of, consumed or that are integrated into everyday life. Whether at home, in the office or in the industry. Nationally known brands that are part of the Edson Queiroz Group’s portfolio, one of the largest conglomerates in the Northeast, with gross revenue of R$ 12 billion in 2021, but which seeks recognition in the rest of the country. “We are best known for our brands, which are strong in Brazil”, said Carlos Rotella, from São Paulo, who assumed the presidency on January 1 of last year as part of the process of transforming the company’s management model, currently with 70 years of history and around 10,000 employees.
In addition to products in the food and beverage, energy and home appliances sectors, the holding company has companies in the communication, real estate and agro sectors, such as Sistema Verdes Mares, Quepar Incorporações and Esperança Agro, respectively. “In all, there are six companies and six different worlds,” said the executive, who sees portfolio diversification as a strength for the group, especially in times of volatility in Brazil. And the scope of action may increase in the not-so-distant future. A study revealed the possible segments for investment by the holding company. “They can be businesses adjacent to what we have today or new ones. It’s very much a matter of us structuring ourselves,” he said.
The multi-sector portfolio has proved to be a good deal. At least that’s what the numbers indicate. In addition to the record gross revenue of R$12 billion, which represented an increase of 30% compared to 2020, Ebitda, which includes depreciation and amortization, was R$819 million. “We grew 65% in operating income (R$642 million according to the Ebit criterion, earnings before interest and taxes) compared to 2020, which had already been an excellent year.” And all companies contributed to the result. “The group is financially very solid.”
Despite the conglomerate’s good performance, in the last quarter of 2021, attention was focused mainly on Esmaltec, which operates in the home appliances segment. The company is the market leader in stoves, in addition to producing water drinkers and cylinders. The white goods sector went through a crisis in the last quarter, after nine months of good performance. “The result of the loss of consumer purchasing power. But it closed with a positive number.” But the retraction continued in the first three months of 2022. This does not scare Rotella, who sees a recovery. Little by little. “And that will come as our consumer purchasing power improves and confidence in purchasing non-durable consumer goods returns.”
STAR The energy sector is the flagship of the group, responsible for 70% of revenue – the rest is spread over other businesses. Nacional Gás is responsible for supplying Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), or cooking gas, to 8 million families and 17,000 companies per month. “This in a Brazil of continental dimensions, with access difficulties”, said the president. The effort has been reflected in the results, since the company occupies the leadership in the home segment. “We focus on operations to make the product reach homes in the most efficient way and at the lowest possible cost.”
The importance of Nacional Gás is evident in the recent movement carried out by the group with the purchase of part (20%) of Liquigás, in a consortium with Itaúsa and Copagaz. The transaction contributed to a gain of 4 to 5 percentage points in the market for the company, which also operates the Brasilgás and Paragás brands. This year, the segment has shown a drop in growth due to the increase in the dollar and the impact of the international oil price. “This has internal impacts.”
In the food and beverage sector, the Edson Queiroz Group is the leader with Minalba Brasil water. The business grew in the Northeast and North and expanded to the Southeast and South. Since the 1980s, the brand has been part of the group, the largest water conglomerate in the country, with a portfolio that includes brands such as Indaiá, Petrópolis and São Lourenço, as well as foreign premium brands that have national distribution under the care of the company – the French company Perrier and the Italians Panna and San Pellegrino. “With the cooling of the pandemic, a resumption of the service sector, of hospitality, is already observed. People start leaving the house again. That ends up helping that division.”
In media, the group owns Sistema Verdes Mares, which has affiliated TV Globo stations, in addition to the Diário do Nordeste newspaper, only in digital format, and radio stations. In Rotella’s view, the media sector should perform well. “With consumer confidence returning little by little, retailers end up encouraging themselves to advertise their products and this in one way or another reflects on our business.”
INVESTMENT The executive avoids making an estimate of growth for the group in 2022. “In this volatile world this is not so simple.” What is defined, however, is the investment of R$ 1.2 billion in a new area of port infrastructure. The Edson Queiroz Group formed a joint venture with Copagaz and Oiltanking, a German operator, for the construction of an LPG tank terminal at the Porto de Suape, in Pernambuco, with a capacity to hold 1.5 million tons of gas per year. The initiative is not related to Nacional Gás. “It is the first diversification of the group in relation to its previous businesses.” The expectation is that the project will cover the entire Northeast as early as 2025. And that, in a shorter future, the group’s name can echo throughout all regions of the country.
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