CriteriaCaixa, the investment arm of CaixaBank and the company that manages the business assets of the La Caixa Foundation, obtained a consolidated net profit of 1,199 million euros in 2022, 29% less than in the previous year, mainly as a result of the positive extraordinary results registered in 2021 after the merger between CaixaBank and Bankia.
At the end of 2022, CriteriaCaixa’s gross asset value (GAV) reached 24,585 million euros, 3.3% more than in 2021. Of the total, 83% corresponds to listed equities and 11% to business real estate. This composition shows the liquidity of the portfolio, since listed assets and cash and cash equivalents together represent 85% of the total.
On the other hand, CriteriaCaixa obtained a recurring consolidated net result of 1,599 million euros, 35% more than in 2021. The recurring result attributed to the banking portfolio reached 1,109 million euros in 2022, representing an increase of 213 million euros (24%) compared to the close of the previous year. The improvement in results is mainly due to the good performance of the results of CaixaBank and Grupo Financiero Inbursa (GFI), which contributed €904 million and €107 million to CriteriaCaixa’s result, respectively. For its part, the result of the industrial and services portfolio – which includes the attribution of the result of the stakes in Naturgy and Saba Infraestructuras, among others, as well as dividends from the rest of the portfolio – amounted to 549 million, with an increase 40% compared to 2021. Naturgy’s net result attributed to CriteriaCaixa was 440 million, 41% more than the previous year.
The net asset value (NAV) amounted to 19,663 million, 8.7% more than the previous year, mainly due to the improvement in the price of CaixaBank, which revalued 52% in 2022. Of the total of dividends received during 2022 (834 million euros compared to 525 million the previous year), 354 million corresponded to CaixaBank, 311 million to Naturgy and 62 million to The Bank of East Asia, among others. CriteriaCaixa distributed 375 million euros to its sole shareholder, Fundación la Caixa, which in 2022 has continued to invest in vulnerable groups in society.
CriteriaCaixa’s strategic portfolio is made up of its holdings in CaixaBank (32.24%), Naturgy (26.71%), The Bank of East Asia (18.97%), Grupo Financiero Inbursa (9.10%), Cellnex (4.36%) and Telefónica (2.17%). Its market value in 2022 amounted to 18,088 million euros, with a positive value variation of 9.2%. During the year, 258 million euros were invested in this portfolio, of which 202 million euros were allocated to Telefónica and 56 million to Cellnex.
