The value of Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim's shares in Liga MX sides Pachuca and León "have decreased by around 90%," according to Isaid Mera of CNN EXPANSIÓN. His 30% stake in Pachuca is now worth 33.9M pesos ($2.27M), 89% less than its value of 308.3M pesos in Aug. '12, according to a financial report on Slim-owned telecom América Móvil's fourth quarter of '14. His 30% stake in León is worth 10.8M pesos ($720,000) as of Dec. 31, 92% less than the 137.5M pesos he paid for the stake two-and-a-half years ago. Leon is currently worth a total of 36.1M pesos ($2.4M), while Pachuca is worth 113M pesos ($7.58M). América Móvil "did not specify in the report the reason for the decrease in value," and was not "immediately available for comment." Pachuca and León were also unavailable (CNN EXPANSIÓN, 2/10). In N.Y., Anthony Harrup reported América Móvil reported a "sharp drop in fourth-quarter net profit as exchange losses resulting from a weaker Mexican peso and lower operating profit offset modest revenue growth." The company on Tuesday reported net profit of 3.6B pesos ($240M), compared with 16.3B pesos in the fourth quarter of '13. Revenue in the October-December quarter was 229.3B pesos. The company's EBITDA, "a measure of operating cash flow," slipped 0.7% to 67.7B pesos, while operating profit fell 11% to 33.6B pesos. The company attributed the drop in net profit to a 42% increase in financial costs, "largely from noncash exchange losses" caused by the effects of a "weaker Mexican peso on the company’s debt exposure." The fourth quarter was marked by the "depreciation of a number of currencies in Latin America against the U.S. dollar, including the Brazilian real, the Colombian peso and the Mexican peso" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/10).
