Overview of CriteriaCaixa 2023 Performance and Dividend Activity
Criteria, the investment arm of the La Caixa Foundation, reported a consolidated net profit of 1.910 billion euros for 2023, marking a 59% rise from the previous year. The recurring net result reached 2.190 billion euros, up 37% thanks to strong contributions from the group’s holdings, which include CaixaBank, Naturgy, Cellnex, and Telefónica. These holdings paid record dividends totaling 1.114 billion euros, funds that support the foundation’s social work, which this year reaches an unprecedented 600 million euros in social initiatives.
As of December 31, the gross asset value of Criteria stood at 26.528 billion euros, an 8% increase from 2022. Of this total, 84% corresponds to listed equities, 10% to real estate, and 6% to non-listed companies, cash and equivalents, fixed income, and other assets. The holding notes that this composition reflects high liquidity in the portfolio, with listed assets and cash/equivalents together representing 86% of the total.
During the past year, the net asset value rose by 12.4% to 22.095 billion euros, reaching historical highs driven by strong performance in both the strategic portfolio and the diversification portfolio. Notable gains included Group Inbursa stock at +42.2%, Cellnex at +15.3%, Naturgy at +11.1%, and CaixaBank at +1.5%.
Historical dividends
The holding, which recently appointed Àngel Simón as chief executive while he remains non-executive president of Aigües de Barcelona, generated a robust operating cash flow of 966 million euros in 2023, up from 725 million in 2022. This rise is driven by dividend income from its holdings during 2023, totaling 1.114 billion euros and up 33.6% to a record level. This dividend stream funds the foundation’s social program. Highlights include CaixaBank shareholder remuneration of 558 million euros, Naturgy at 388 million euros, Telefónica at 42 million euros, The Bank of East Asia at 32 million euros, and 94 million euros from the diversification portfolio.
Isidro Fainé, who recently extended his four-year term as CriteriaCaixa’s president and who also leads the La Caixa Foundation, emphasized that the strong performance of key holdings has boosted dividends. This will enable the foundation to allocate a 2024 budget of 600 million euros to social action, the largest in its history.
The CriteriaCaixa board has tasked its new chief executive with drafting a strategic plan for 2025-2030. The plan aims to anchor long-term value creation and safeguard the foundation’s patrimony while expanding its social program.
The recurring result attributed to the banking portfolio reached 1.756 billion euros in 2023, a 58% increase from the prior year. The improvement stems mainly from CaixaBank and Grupo Financiero Inbursa, which contributed 1.509 and 154 million euros respectively to the CriteriaCaixa group’s earnings. The industrial and services portfolio posted 608 million euros in net income, up 11% from 2022. Within this portfolio, the Naturgy net result attributed to CriteriaCaixa reached 530 million euros, up 20% year over year.
The strategic portfolio of CriteriaCaixa includes significant stakes in leading companies where active management is practiced. As of December 31, 2023, it comprised CaixaBank (31.92%), Grupo Financiero Inbursa (9.10%), The Bank of East Asia (19.19%), Naturgy (26.71%), Cellnex (4.36%), and Telefónica (2.55%). The market value of this portfolio stood at 19.613 billion euros, delivering a 14.3% return in 2023 when dividends are included. In 2023, CriteriaCaixa invested 81 million euros in Telefónica and divested 100 million euros from CaixaBank.
75 companies across 13 countries form the diversification portfolio, consisting mainly of publicly listed entities in OECD markets, with a focus on Europe and the United States. This portfolio presently covers about 75 companies across 13 countries, most of them large-cap leaders. The market value at year-end 2023 reached 2.515 billion euros, with sectoral distribution including Discretionary Consumption (28%), Health (15%), Non-Discretionary Consumption (14%), Materials and Other (13%), Technology (12%), Infrastructure and Communications Services (7%), Industry (6%), Energy (3%), and Other (2%). At year-end 2023, the non-listed equity portion stood at 837 million euros. The portfolio includes a 99.5% stake in Saba Infraestructuras, 15% in Aigües de Barcelona, and venture capital activities.
The Group’s real estate portfolio, managed through InmoCaixa, reached a value of 2.694 billion euros in 2023. InmoCaixa invested 90 million euros during the year, mainly in new residential developments such as the Infinitum high-end resort phase and office properties, including the Visionary Building in Madrid and an office building in Alcobendas. Real estate sales totaled 135 million euros in 2023 while rental income from residential and office space reached 52 million euros. Throughout 2023, CriteriaCaixa continued reducing debt to 4.433 billion euros, down 489 million euros in the year. Seventy-eight percent of gross debt is long-term, with an average cost of 2.7%.