Repsol : de empresa pública a multinacional del petróleo

El Grupo Repsol se creó en 1987 como resultado final de la reordenación del sector petrolero español, configurándose como sociedad anónima de capital público que integró la práctica totalidad de las empresas públicas del sector. El artículo estudia el proceso de transformación experimentado por Repsol desde su creación, comenzando por analizar el contexto en el que se ha producido, es decir, un sector petrolero mundial sujeto a fuertes cambios a raíz de la crisis de 1973, a la que los actores públicos y privados respondieron con innovaciones de enorme calado en sus políticas y sus estrategias: de un lado, desregulación, privatización, liberalización (pero también, en sentido opuesto, nacionalizaciones), del otro, integración vertical, cambios organizativos, diversificación sectorial y geográfica, acuerdos estratégicos. El artículo analiza sucesivamente: la forma en que se pusieron en práctica esas estrategias en el caso de Repsol, los cambios estructurales que se produjeron como consecuencia en la productividad y la rentabilidad de Repsol, y la medida en que ello ha llevado a la compañía a homologarse, también al nivel de los resultados, con las grandes multinacionales del sector

Efficiency and Sustainability of CSR Projects

The progressive expansion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been accompanied by an increasing interest from regulators and market analysts. Governments and supra-national organisations have issued guidance rules on CSR, while market analysts have created a set of gatekeepers focused on its evaluation, publishing rankings and comparative reports. The UN Global Compact and the sustainability indexes are two relevant examples. The complexity and some of the functions of this CSR infrastructure have common features with the financial system. Information is at the core of both. The distinction between information and noise is central for building up efficient financial markets. The aim of this paper is to analyse how information can be separated from noise in CSR. To this end, we develop a qualitative model that centres on the following variables: the CSR features of the project under consideration, its financial features, its relationship with corporate strategy, the performance metrics for its analysis, the different kinds of risk it involves, and its impact on value creation. This model relies on two common functions that we identify in the CSR infrastructure and the financial system: the defining function and the performance information function. The model is applied to Adidas' CSR policy

Risk analysis through the half-normal distribution

We study the applicability of the half-normal distribution to the probability-severity risk analysis traditionally performed through risk matrices and continuous probability-consequence diagrams (CPCDs). To this end, we develop a model that adapts the financial risk measures Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) to risky scenarios that face only negative impacts. This model leads to three risk indicators: The Hazards Index-at-Risk (HIaR), the Expected Hazards Damage (EHD), and the Conditional HIaR (CHIaR). HIaR measures the expected highest hazards impact under a certain probability, while EHD consists of the expected impact that stems from truncating the half-normal distribution at the HIaR point. CHIaR, in turn, measures the expected damage in the case it exceeds the HIaR. Therefore, the Truncated Risk Model that we develop generates a measure for hazards expectations (EHD) and another measure for hazards surprises (CHIaR). Our analysis includes deduction of the mathematical functions that relate HIaR, EHD, and CHIaR to one another as well as the expected loss estimated by risk matrices. By extending the model to the generalised half-normal distribution, we incorporate a shape parameter into the model that can be interpreted as a hazard aversion coefficient

Sustainability and ethics in the process of price determination in financial markets : A conceptual analysis

This paper explores how financial markets can support the practical applicability of Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) principles and why ethics has a central role in this process. The efficient market hypothesis holds that a financial market is efficient when prices equate value. Extending this assertion to sustainability, it can be said that prices should become equal to sustainable value. Prices can be regarded as the addition of the present value of future expectations and the impact of short-term volatility. This property parallels the existence of two different types of shareholders: long-run shareholders, who are often involved in the management of the corporation, and short-run shareholders, who usually apply speculative strategies to the choice of their investments. The SGDs' principles are logically thought for a long-run horizon. Their impact on corporate value stems mainly from the changes they introduce in environmental and social risk, apart from becoming a potential source of innovation. Nevertheless, their effects on the short-run perspective can be very small unless either market traders assume sustainability as a goal of their own or the sustainability effects are incorporated into prices. We hold that the second issue is safer and preferable. Both involve ethics: the former would require that investors perform any trade from an ethical perspective. The latter needs that the ethical emphasis is placed on the process of price determination. The achievement of this goal demands a wide display of information on sustainability, placed together with financial information, and appropriate regulation. Its analysis considers the principles of behavioral finance

Analysing assets' performance inside a portfolio : From crossed beta to the net risk premium ratio

This paper is focused on enlarging the performance inside a portfolio that provides the Treynor ratio by relating portfolio weights with performance indicators. Intuition suggests that the higher the weight of an asset, the higher should be its expected performance. These weights, and the information that we can obtain from their analysis, are not only relevant for investors but also for corporate managers. Nevertheless, the available performance indicators are not linked to portfolio weights. In order to fulfil this gap we answer three questions: which is the minimum risk premium that justifies holding an asset in long position? How can we analyse if the performance of an asset justifies the budget's weight invested in it? And, how can we apply ex-post optimisation to performance analysis? Methodologically, we centre the analysis on the definition of crossed beta and the net risk premium ratio that stems from it. The latter fulfils the axioms of risk/reward performance measures. The three answers to the questions are related to the net risk premium. The analysis in developed for the Mean-Variance and Mean-Gini models. The empirical illustration, based on DJIA assets, that completes the paper shows how the analysis of portfolio weights provides relevant information about the performance of assets

Trends in the epidemiology of catheter-related bloodstream infections; towards a paradigm shift, Spain, 2007 to 2019

Altres ajuts: Departament de Salut. Generalitat de Catalunya ("Pla estratègic de recerca i innovació en salut (PERIS) 2019-2021"); Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital; Red Española de Investigación en Patología Infecciosa (REIPI).Background: Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) are frequent healthcare-associated infections and an important cause of death. Aim: To analyse changes in CRBSI epidemiology observed by the Infection Control Catalan Programme (VINCat). Methods: A cohort study including all hospital-acquired CRBSI episodes diagnosed at 55 hospitals (2007-2019) in Catalonia, Spain, was prospectively conducted. CRBSI incidence rates were adjusted per 1,000patientdays. To assess the CRBSI rate trend per year, negative binomial models were used, with the number of events as the dependent variable, and the year as the main independent variable. From each model, the annual rate of CRBSI diagnosed per 1,000patientdays and the incidence rate ratio (IRR) with its 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported. Results: During the study, 9,290 CRBSI episodes were diagnosed (mean annual incidence rate:0.20episodes/1,000patientdays). Patients' median age was 64.1years; 36.6% (3,403/9,290) were female. In total, 73.7% (n=6,845) of CRBSI occurred in non-intensive care unit (ICU) wards, 62.7% (n=5,822) were related to central venous catheter (CVC), 24.1% (n=2,236) to peripheral venous catheters (PVC) and 13.3% (n=1,232) to peripherally-inserted central venous catheters (PICVC). Incidence rate fell over the study period (IRR:0.94;95%CI:0.93-0.96), especially in the ICU (IRR:0.88;95%CI:0.87-0.89). As a whole, while episodes of CVC CRBSI fell significantly (IRR:0.88;95%CI:0.87-0.91), peripherally-inserted catheter CRBSI (PVC and PICVC) rose, especially in medical wards (IRR PICVC:1.08;95%CI:1.05-1.11; IRR PVC: 1.03; 95% 1.00-1.05). Conclusions: Over the study, CRBSIs associated with CVC and diagnosed in ICUs decreased while episodes in conventional wards involving peripherally-inserted catheters increased. Hospitals should implement preventive measures in conventional wards

Repsol : de empresa pública a multinacional del petróleo

El Grupo Repsol se creó en 1987 como resultado final de la reordenación del sector petrolero español, configurándose como sociedad anónima de capital público que integró la práctica totalidad de las empresas públicas del sector. El artículo estudia el proceso de transformación experimentado por Repsol desde su creación, comenzando por analizar el contexto en el que se ha producido, es decir, un sector petrolero mundial sujeto a fuertes cambios a raíz de la crisis de 1973, a la que los actores públicos y privados respondieron con innovaciones de enorme calado en sus políticas y sus estrategias: de un lado, desregulación, privatización, liberalización (pero también, en sentido opuesto, nacionalizaciones), del otro, integración vertical, cambios organizativos, diversificación sectorial y geográfica, acuerdos estratégicos. El artículo analiza sucesivamente: la forma en que se pusieron en práctica esas estrategias en el caso de Repsol, los cambios estructurales que se produjeron como consecuencia en la productividad y la rentabilidad de Repsol, y la medida en que ello ha llevado a la compañía a homologarse, también al nivel de los resultados, con las grandes multinacionales del sector

Connecting productivity to return on assets through financial statements: Extending the Dupont method

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the Du Pont method by connecting productivity and profitability through financial statements focusing on the two most common productivity indicators for companies: total factor productivity (TFP) and labour productivity. Design/methodology/approach – The first part of the paper uses a deductive approach to obtain a new productivity rate of return. The second part applies the methodology of financial statements analysis to develop an empirical application of the findings. Findings – The main finding is a functional relationship among the return on operating assets (ROOA), TFP and labour productivity. From it, the paper obtains a productivity rate of return that synthesizes both productivity measures. The ROOA is broken down into the sum of three parts: productivity, price change, and a crossed effect between turnover and price change. Practical implications – The model developed in this paper enables analysts and managers to deepen in the causes of margin and turnover and, thus, in the causes of ROOA. To the extent that the separation between productivity and price change effects adds clarity to the knowledge of the causes of ROOA, it creates, at the same time a basis for making more precise decisions in order to improve corporate performance. Originality/value – This paper differs from other studies by presenting the return of operating assets as a variable that depends on productivity ratios. Financial statement analysis has only occasionally incorporated productivity measures among the variables regarded as the drivers of a companys economic performance.Business performance, Employee productivity, Financial reporting, Productivity rate

Efficiency and Sustainability of CSR Projects

The progressive expansion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been accompanied by an increasing interest from regulators and market analysts. Governments and supra-national organisations have issued guidance rules on CSR, while market analysts have created a set of gatekeepers focused on its evaluation, publishing rankings and comparative reports. The UN Global Compact and the sustainability indexes are two relevant examples. The complexity and some of the functions of this CSR infrastructure have common features with the financial system. Information is at the core of both. The distinction between information and noise is central for building up efficient financial markets. The aim of this paper is to analyse how information can be separated from noise in CSR. To this end, we develop a qualitative model that centres on the following variables: the CSR features of the project under consideration, its financial features, its relationship with corporate strategy, the performance metrics for its analysis, the different kinds of risk it involves, and its impact on value creation. This model relies on two common functions that we identify in the CSR infrastructure and the financial system: the defining function and the performance information function. The model is applied to Adidas’ CSR polic