Context: How Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos (BYMA) works, and what it makes issuers disclose · Argentina on the LatAm Power Map
Argentina’s oldest ceramic sanitary ware maker has been fitting out the country’s bathrooms and kitchens since 1911. After a bruising two years of peso inflation and a sharp construction slowdown, Ferrum is fighting to stay in the black.
| Full name | Ferrum S.A. de Cerámica y Metalurgia |
| Ticker / exchange | FERR — Bolsa y Mercados Argentinos (BYMA), Buenos Aires |
| Headquarters | Avellaneda / Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Sector | Industrials — Building Products & Equipment |
| Employees | ~1,391 (2024) |
| Market value (market cap) | ARS 96.3bn (~USD 65.9m) (our calculation) |
| Yearly sales (revenue, TTM) | ARS 98.3bn (~USD 67.3m) |
| Net profit (TTM) | ARS –16.4bn (–~USD 11.2m) — loss |
| Net margin (TTM) | –16.7% |
| Return on equity (TTM) | –9.5% |
| Price-to-earnings (P/E) | n/a (loss-making on TTM basis) |
| Dividend yield | None declared |
| Net cash | ARS 16.1bn (~USD 11.0m), no reported debt (our calculation) |
| Website | www.ferrum.com |
What it is
Ferrum is Argentina’s largest producer of ceramic sanitary ware, selling mostly toilets, sinks, stands, bidets and urinals produced at two plants in Avellaneda and Pilar, in Buenos Aires Province.
The company runs three divisions: a Plastics Division making whirlpool bathtubs and shower trays; the Guillermina Fiberboard Division producing medium-density fibreboard panels for furniture; and a Ceramics Division making porcelain sanitary ware and glazed metalware.
It was founded in 1911 and has traded on the Buenos Aires stock exchange for decades, making it one of the country’s oldest listed manufacturers.
Who owns it
Structured data shows institutional investors hold roughly 2.4% of shares; named controlling shareholders and their exact ownership percentages are not disclosed in available public sources despite searches of exchange and regulatory filings.
The group’s subsidiaries have historically included Piedra Grande SAMICA y F, PG La Toma SA and Canal de Distribución SA. The free float appears thin, consistent with a tightly held Argentine industrial company, but precise figures require review of CNV filings directly.
Who runs it
The name of the current chief executive is not disclosed in available public sources. Alexis Ravnik has served as CFO, with offices at España 496, Avellaneda, Buenos Aires.
No sell-side analysts currently cover the stock, which limits the flow of management commentary into the public domain and makes governance information harder to track from outside Argentina.
The money, in plain words
Revenue in the fiscal year to March 2025 came to ARS 103.2bn (~USD 70.6m), down roughly 32% from ARS 152.8bn (US$105 mn) the year before (our calculation) — a steep nominal fall that reflects both Argentina’s deep construction recession and the peso’s ongoing devaluation rather than a purely operational collapse.
The company swung to a small net loss of ARS 1.24bn (~USD 0.85m) in FY2025, a net margin of –1.2% (our calculation), reversing a profit of ARS 6.4bn (~USD 4.4m) and a +4.2% net margin in FY2024 (our calculation). The trailing-twelve-month net margin, which smooths across periods, stands at –16.7%, and the return on equity — what owners earn on their invested capital — is –9.5%, signalling that the business is currently consuming value rather than creating it.
The balance sheet offers some cushion: equity of ARS 159bn (~USD 108.8m) well exceeds total liabilities of ARS 59.9bn (~USD 41.0m), and the company carries ARS 16.1bn (~USD 11.0m) in net cash with no reported financial debt (our calculation), giving it time to wait out Argentina’s cycle without an imminent refinancing crisis.
What it is doing now
Ferrum continues to invest in technology and sustainable practices to enhance operations and product offerings. Earlier, the company secured IFC financing for plant upgrades at its two main factories, covering new equipment and upgrades at the Avellaneda and Pilar sites.
The most pressing current reality is demand: Argentina’s residential construction sector contracted sharply in 2024–25 under the Milei government’s fiscal adjustment, directly hitting sales of bathroom and kitchen fittings. Any recovery in building permits or mortgage credit is therefore the single most important external variable for Ferrum’s revenues.
What to watch
- Construction recovery: Ferrum’s fortunes move almost in lockstep with Argentine housing starts and renovation activity; any rebound in mortgage credit under the current stabilisation programme would lift sales volume quickly.
- Real peso pricing: With no reported financial debt, the company’s main risk is not a debt crisis but the ability to raise prices fast enough to cover peso-denominated costs — a test every Argentine manufacturer faces continuously.
- Ownership transparency: The identity and exact stake of the controlling shareholder remain opaque in freely available sources; a CNV filing search would clarify whether any change-of-control risk exists.
- Analyst coverage: Zero sell-side analysts cover the stock, so price discovery is weak and any institutional re-rating would be a significant catalyst.
- Debt-free buffer vs. cash burn: Net cash of ~USD 11m is comfortable today, but sustaining losses at the TTM rate while investing in plant upgrades would erode that buffer within a few years.
Sources
- IFC / Rights in Development — Ferrum I project record (plant, employees, CFO contact)
- MarketScreener — Ferrum S.A. de Cerámica y Metalurgia company profile (divisions, subsidiaries)
- EMIS — Ferrum S.A. company profile (founding date, employee count)
- Simply Wall St — Ferrum analyst coverage data
- CNV Argentina — Ferrum S.A. regulatory filing page
- Market data: EODHD.
This is news, not investment advice.
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