Earnings: Colombia

Grupo EPM (Empresas Públicas de Medellín), the power, water and gas group owned by the city of Medellín, earned net profit of 3.3 trillion Colombian pesos (COP; about US$1.0 billion) in the nine months to September 2026, up 16%. Its operating profit and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) fell, so the rise came from other items.

What EPM Reported

EPM said on Friday 13 November 2026 that group revenue reached COP 30 trillion (about US$9.1 billion), up 4% on the first nine months of 2025. Net profit was COP 3.3 trillion (about US$1.0 billion), up 16%.

Operating profit of COP 4.8 trillion (about US$1.45 billion) and EBITDA of COP 6.7 trillion (about US$2.0 billion) were both lower than a year earlier, EPM said. We convert pesos at 3,302 per US dollar, the rate on 13 November 2026.

EPM said El Niño, the dry-weather pattern that cut hydropower output in Colombia, raised costs, as did a harmful algal bloom off Chile and heavy rain on the Chilean Altiplano. The company said profit still rose because of financial management and non-operating items, without giving the amounts.

At the parent company, EPM said revenue rose 9%. It had to buy power on the spot market, the short-term power market, at much higher prices than its long-term contracts paid, said general manager John Maya Salazar.

Hidroituango, EPM’s large hydropower dam, on the Cauca River in Antioquia. File photo. photo, 2022. Aerial view of the Hidroituango dam on the Cauca River in Antioquia, Colombia, a project of EPM. Photo: Presidency of Colombia, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.

Where the Money Comes From

Electricity distribution made up 40% of group EBITDA, power generation 33% and water, sewage and waste services 22%. Transmission added 4% and natural gas 1%, EPM said.

Colombia supplied 78% of EBITDA, followed by Guatemala with 9%, Chile 6% and Panama 5%. Transfers to the Medellín district reached COP 2.4 trillion (about US$727 million), EPM said.

Why It Matters for US Investors

EPM sold US$1 billion of dollar bonds on 5 November 2026, its first international bond sale in six years, and said demand was twice the amount offered, with investors from the United States among the buyers (see our earlier report on the bond sale). Debt of 3.57 times EBITDA at the group, as it reported on 13 November, is the leverage those bondholders now hold.

EBITDA is the base of that ratio, so weaker operating earnings matter to lenders. EPM said its debt service coverage, the ability to pay interest and principal from cash flow, was 2.69 for the group and 2.22 for the parent.

What Is Not Known

EPM did not say how large the non-operating gains were or how much of the profit rose from them. We state only the percentage changes it published.

What to Watch Next

EPM has scheduled its results webcast for Wednesday 25 November 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Bogotá and New York time, according to its investor page. No second dated event has been confirmed, and our Colombia coverage follows the group.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much profit did Grupo EPM make in nine months?

EPM said net profit was COP 3.3 trillion (about US$1.0 billion) to September 2026, up 16%. Revenue was COP 30 trillion (about US$9.1 billion), up 4%.

Why did profit rise if EBITDA fell?

EPM said financial management and non-operating items offset weaker operations, without giving amounts. It blamed El Niño, costlier spot power purchases and higher costs in Chile for the weaker operating result.