Capex S.A

What it is

Capex S.A. is an integrated energy company that explores for and produces oil and gas in Argentina, and then uses that gas to feed a 672 MW combined-cycle power plant — one of the largest privately operated thermal stations in the country. Its hydrocarbon fields span the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro and Chubut.

The company started operations in 1988, listed on the Buenos Aires stock exchange in 1995, and has since added wind parks, a solar farm, and a hydrogen production unit — making it a small but genuinely diversified energy group.

Who owns it

Capex is controlled by Compañías Asociadas Petroleras S.A. (CAPSA), which holds 74.8% of the shares; behind CAPSA sits the Götz family, who hold an additional 11.7% directly — giving them effective control of the overwhelming majority of the company.

The remaining shares are held by Argentina’s state pension fund ANSES and minority investors in the local market, leaving a thin public free-float of roughly 25% (our calculation).

Who runs it

Alejandro Götz chairs both Capex and its parent CAPSA, making this a family-run group where ownership and boardroom authority are firmly united. Other Götz family members — Pablo Alfredo, Rafael Andrés, Miguel Fernando and Sebastián Götz — also appear on the company’s board and management body as disclosed in the company’s own financial filings.

No separate CEO or CFO title is publicly disclosed in available sources; the governance structure follows an Argentine directorio (board-run) model in which Alejandro Götz acts as president and effective executive head.

The money, in plain words

Sales rose 38% in the year to April 2024 (ARS 488bn, ~US$334m), then fell back 17% in the year to April 2025 (ARS 407bn, ~US$279m) — both swings driven largely by Argentina’s violent peso depreciation rather than by volumes alone (our calculations). What matters more is the profit swing: the company lost ARS 52bn (~US$36m) in FY2024, then returned to a ARS 26bn (~US$18m) profit in FY2025 — a full reversal in one year.

The trailing net margin of −14.6% and return on equity of −11.1% shown in the key-facts box still carry the weight of that FY2024 loss; the FY2025 year-alone net margin of 6.4% is a more honest guide to current performance (our calculations). The balance sheet is clean: no debt is reported and the company holds ARS 9.2bn (~US$6.3m) in cash — net cash positive (our calculation).

What it is doing now

Capex has brought in two global partners at its flagship Agua del Cajón block in the Vaca Muerta shale: commodity trader Trafigura Argentina (30%) and oilfield-services giant SLB/Schlumberger (19%), with Capex retaining 51% and the operating role; SLB will fund 19% of drilling costs in exchange for 19% of production for 12 years.

In 2025 the company also commissioned its first solar park, “La Salvación” in San Luis province, with 20 MW of installed capacity. In March 2025 the province of Río Negro awarded Capex an exploration permit for the Cinco Saltos Norte unconventional area, with a committed investment of US$6.85m targeting the Vaca Muerta formation.

What to watch

• Concession clock. The original Agua del Cajón concession expires January 2026. The unconventional portion of the same block runs to 2052, but securing the conventional extension on favourable terms is the single most consequential near-term event for revenues.
• Vaca Muerta ramp-up. A second horizontal drilling pad — four wells targeting Vaca Muerta — was completed in 2024. How quickly those wells plateau will determine whether FY2026 production grows or stalls.
• Currency & regulation risk. Argentina’s energy prices are set by government resolution, and peso volatility makes any peso-denominated revenue figure misleading in isolation; watch the dollar-equivalent revenue trend and any changes to power tariff schedules.
• Ownership concentration. With the Götz family controlling ~87% of the economics (direct plus CAPSA), minority shareholders have limited ability to influence strategy; governance risk is real.

This is news, not investment advice.