October 1

MEXICO’S 100 MOST IMPORTANT BUSINESS EXECUTIVES (12-26)
(Expansión pgs. 74-85)
Juan González Moreno of Gruma is ranked 24 in the list of Mexico’s 100 Most Important Business Executives. “I continue visualizing Gruma as a leading company in all the countries in which we operate, increasing our presence with productive plants on all continents,” González Moreno said. “We are only lacking a physical presence in Africa, although we export to that country and believe that we will be operating there soon.”

A STRONG BET
(Expansión pgs. 46-50)
There was a shuffle-up in this edition’s ranking of the top companies in Mexico. Nineteen new companies joined the list, while the top 10 saw new names and jumps in rankings.Gruma ranked 40 on the list.

CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY
(Reforma pg. 3)
Meanwhile, Gruma under the leadership of Juan González Moreno, recently agreed to purchase 2,000 tons of native white corn from Guerrero in a pilot program with the Secretariat of Agriculture, in addition to similar volumes of native blue corn from the states of Oaxaca and Puebla.

October 2

THE CFO, MORE ESSENTIAL THAN EVER
(Mundo Ejecutivo pgs. 84-87)
Every year, Mundo Ejecutivo identifies and awards the best CFOs in Mexico. This tradition allows you to get to know the people behind the financial heart of your company. It’s always a pleasure to recognize the accomplishments of these 23 executives. Among them is Raúl Cavazos, CFO of Gruma, who took over the company’s Finance Department in 2012. Cavazos has worked for 28 years in the company, as Deputy Treasury Director, Finance Manager, and Head of Bank Relations.

October 3

THE FOURTH TRANSFORMATION / By Darío Celis (El Financiero pg. 6)
On the topic of consumer goods companies, the Mexican Food Security agency Segalmex, led by Ignacio Ovalle, finalized deals with the producers and sellers of supplies to the food agency (formed through the merger of Diconsa and Liconsa). The suppliers entered into contracts for around six billion pesos annually. Maseca, led by Juan Antonio González, will supply corn flour, crackers from PepsiCo, presided by Roberto Martínez, instant coffee from Nestlé under the direction of Fausto Costa, bread from Bimbo led by Daniel Servitje, paper towels and toilet paper from Kimberly Clark led by Pablo González Guajardo, toothpaste from Procter & Gamble headed by Marcio Andreazzi, pasta soups from La Moderna led by Luis Miguel Monroy, and soap products from La Corona led by Antonio González, among others.

October 5

GRUMA AMONG FIVE COMPANIES WITH HIGHEST GROWTH AT THE Q3 CLOSE
(Dinero en Imagen Online)
During the third quarter of 2019, Gruma, the company led by Juan González Moreno, saw a 12.1% increase in share price, making it one of the highest performers on the Mexican Stock Exchange IPC index. The share price gain put the company as the third highest performing company out of the 35 corporations listed on Mexico’s main index, which dipped 0.3% during the same period. Only Alsea and Televisa beat returns by Gruma, the world’s leading producer of corn flour, tortillas, and wraps. Gruma results can be explained by the company’s anticyclical nature during volatile periods, in addition to forecasts from analysts on the multinational’s profitability due to its high level of diversification, says Gabriela Siller Pagaza, Chief Economic and Financial Analysis Officer at BancoBase.

October 7

GRUMA GAINS 21% IN TWO MONTHS (El Economista pgs. 1-4) (El Economista Online) (Google News Mexico)
(Article with mention in the Economic Barometer section.)Shares of Gruma, the world’s leading producer of corn flour and tortillas, increased 21.31% on the Mexican Stock Exchange from its lowest price of the year on July 23. On Friday, its shares were selling at MXN 201.46, up from MXN 166.07 at the start of its bullish run. In terms of market capitalization, the Monterrey-based company led by Juan González Moreno has gained MXN 14,781,060,000 to reach a total market cap of MXN 69,361,140,000, based on Friday prices. “It’s a really strong increase,” says Luis Alvarado, capital markets analyst at BancoBase.

October 11

Maseca Continues Innovating for the Benefit of Consumers (https://www.laprensa.hn/economia/marketingempresas/1325532-410/maseca_extra_suave-innovacion-consumidores?amp=1)
Corn flour is an essential ingredient in Honduran family diets. Homemakers agree that tortillas are a staple food and is a must for all three daily meals. A meal without tortillas doesn’t fill you, doesn’t provide nourishment, isn’t enough and complete—not to forget to mention the nutritional value. The new Maseca Extra Smooth corn flour has the features a home cook cares about: smoother texture for kneading and easier to bring the dough together.

October 12

NATIVE CORN, THE ICON OF MEXICAN FOOD
(Milenio Online)
Corn is recognized worldwide as an emblematic agricultural product for Mexican food and culture. This place is held not only because of corn’s cultivation and presence in pre-Hispanic times but also because of the grain’s ubiquity in modern households in Mexico and other nations across the glove. While corn is the main ingredient in many Mexican dishes, the tortilla reigns supreme, which in recent years thanks to companies like Gruma, led by Juan González Moreno, has won over the palates of millions of people worldwide.

October 24

GRUMA’S CASH FLOW UP 9% IN EUROPE AND THE U.S. (ElNorte.com, Oct. 23, 2019)
(El Norte Print Edition) (Reforma pg. 8) (Milenio Dario pg. 25) (La Jornada pg. 21) (Excélsior pg. 2) (El Financiero pg. 24) (El Economista pgs. 1-4) (24 Horas pg. 16) (El Sol De México pg. 24) (El Heraldo De México pg. 34) (Contraréplica pg. 16)
Higher sales volumes in the United States and Europe along with favorable exchange rates helped Grupo Maseca (Gruma) report MXN 3.299 billion in cash flow during the year’s third quarter, a 9% increase compared to the same period in 2018. In its filing to the Mexican Stock Exchange, the world’s largest producer of tortillas and corn flour posted a 3% increase in volume to reach a production of 56 million tons. The company’s growth was led by its performance in Europe, where they posted a 20% increase in volume, along with a 5% increase in the United States. These two regions compensated for dips of 1% in Mexico and 2% in Central America. In Europe, the 20% volume increase was driven primarily by an increase in inventory in the United Kingdom before the potential disruption caused by Brexit, as well as new clients in different supply channels from other regions.

GRUMA REPORTS NET SALES OF MXN 20.53 BILLION IN THE THIRD QUARTER
(Izzi Channel 78 / Business History)  
Erika Flores taking over for Mario Maldonado: CEO Stories. Gruma reported net sales of MXN 20.53 billion during this year’s third quarter, while its operating profit stood at MXN 2.474 billion. Compared to the same period in 2018, consolidated sales volume was up 3%, led by the company’s operations in the United States, Europe, and Mexico.

GRUMA NET SALES UP 8% (Telediario 7 – 9:30 p.m. Mexico City)