Colombia's Grupo Aval forecasts double-digit profitability in 2025

Colombian financial conglomerate Grupo Aval GRUPOAVAL expects to reach double-digit growth in profitability in 2025, CEO Maria Lorena Gutierrez said on Wednesday during a call to present their results.

Specifically, Aval expects loans to grow about 10% in 2025, as commercial loans and retail loans would increase 9% and 11% respectively in the year, its financial officer Diego Solano explained.

Income ratio will come in around 20%, and "we expect 2025 return on average equity (ROAE) to be in the 11% area", he added.

On Tuesday afternoon Aval, controlled by business tycoon Luis Carlos Sarmiento, posted a net income increase by 37.4% year-on-year in 2024 to 1 trillion pesos ($246.9 million).

The conglomerate also recorded a more than three-fold increase on its net profit in the fourth quarter, compared with the same period in 2023, reaching 281.4 billion Colombian pesos.

($1 = 4,100.5000 Colombian pesos)