The open limited company Gralado SA, The concessionaire for the operation and maintenance of the Tres Cruces bus terminal began formal negotiations with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP) for the extension of the concession on Tuesday, December 14, according to a relevant fact reported to the Financial Superintendence. of the Central Bank (BCU). The company is listed on the Montevideo Stock Exchange (BVM).
In dialogue with The Observer, the general manager of Gralado SA, Marcelo Lombardi, commented that the term of the current concession of the bus terminal expires in November 2024. However, it was considered “opportune to start a negotiation” with the Executive Power to agree on the extension of the concession of that business until 2041, the period for which today the concession of the shopping center that operates in the Tres Cruces property is in force.
“The objective is to unify the terms of both concessions. This is a first step and we will communicate it to the market as soon as possible because it is a publicly traded company,” the executive explained. The idea is that this negotiation process can be closed in the course of 2022.
The concession of the Tres Cruces bus terminal was granted by the Executive Power in 1990 and It was inaugurated in 1994. Currently, it has 41 platforms, which allow it to manage 200 buses per hour. Nowadays 43 transport and tourism companies operate and it has 30 commercial and service premises. If the shopping premises are added, there are another 160 commercial premises distributed over two floors.
In 2020, this company had revenues of US $ 13.1 million, a figure that fell to US $ 7.8 million in 2021 due to the effects of the pandemic. During the last fiscal year, it reported a profit of US $ 1.5 million. The company has a market value of US $ 73.7 million. Gralado’s share traded on the Stock Exchange at US $ 5.60 for sale this Tuesday, the 14th, above the US $ 5.15 that it traded in January of this year.
The Chairman of the Board of Tres Cruces is businessman Carlos Lecueder, who has a minority stake (3.9% of the shares). República AFAP (9.9%) and Unión Capital (9.4%) are the main shareholders. The main 13 shareholders had a share of almost 56% of the capital stock of Gralado SA.
