[R-P] Los dueños de LAN

[Nestor Gorojovsky]

Según nos informan,  "LAN cotiza acciones en la bolsa de Nueva York. 
En 1994, LAN fue privatizada y pasó a ser controlada por cuatro 
frugales familias: Cueto, Hirmas, Pinera y Eblen."

Hay quien sospecha que detrás de estos cuatro apellidos hay algo 
llamado American Airlines.  Quién puede ayudarnos?

Puede alguien en Chile darnos una manito?

Un par de comentarios:  en la página de informción corporativa se 
dice que la empresa se formó en Chile en 1989.  Esto es 
flagrantemente falso.  Lo que sí es verdad es que la sociedad anónima 
con participación privada (es un decir:  tomó parte de LAN la SAS -
¿recuerdan a Terragno?- que es un sistema _estatal_) se formó en 1989 
y lo que era la compañía de aviación de los chilenos pasó a ser una 
prostituta más en la feria de las mercancías.  1989 no es el año de 
nacimiento de LAN, sino el de su degradación al lupanar.

LAN, así, perdió su significado original.  Así como YPF (que 
significaba "Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales", es decir "el 
petróleo de los argentinos") se ha transformado en una mera fantasía 
sin nombre a manos de Repsol, LAN (que significaba "Líneas Aérea 
Nacional") pasó a ser una marca, como quien dice "Criollitas" o 
"Supermercados Manolito".  

O sea: esto ya empieza mal.  Apenas el verdadero dueño de una empresa 
se empieza a ocultar en los entramados turbios del mundo de las 
finanzas, es porque hay cosas que se supone que el común de los 
mortales no tenemos porqué saber, especialmente si alguna vez fuimos 
los propietarios de esa misma empresa.  Ruego a los amigos chilenos 
que nos ayuden en esto.

Me han enviado la descripción corporativa de LAN.  Quizás alguien 
pueda saber qué se esconde detrás de tan misteriosos nombres.  Va en 
inglés.]

COMPANY DESCRIPTION 

Page 1
LAN CHILE S.A.
CAPITALIZATION (December 31, 2003)
LONG TERM DEBT: $615,943,000.
CORPORATE BACKGROUND

Lan Chile S.A. is the main provider of domestic and inter-national
passenger and cargo air services in Chile and is a
major airline in Latin America. As of Apr. 30, 2004, the com-pany
serviced 15 destinations in Chile (plus two seasonal
destinations), seven destinations in Peru (six serviced only by
the company's subsidiary Lan Peru S.A.), 17 destinations
(plus two seasonal destinations) in other Latin American
countries and the Caribbean, three destinations in the U.S.,
two destinations in Europe and four destinations in the South
Pacific. In addition, as of Apr. 30, 2004, through the com-pany's
various code-share agreements it offered service to
33 additional international destinations. It provides cargo ser-vice
to all its passenger destinations and to 15 additional
freighter destinations.

The company offers handling services and courier ser-vices
through some of its subsidiaries and also offers logis-tics,
small package and express door-to-door services in
certain Latin American countries. It has also purchased
majority and minority stakes in several regional affiliates in
order to further strengthen its passenger and cargo networks.
The company's operations are carried out principally by
LanChile and also by a number of different subsidiaries. In
the passenger business it operates five main airlines: Lan-Chile,
Transporte Aereo S.A., or LanExpress, LanPeru, Aero-lane
Lmneas Aereas Nacionales del Ecuador S.A., or
LanEcuador, and Linea Aerea de Navegacion Dominicana
S.A., or LanDominicana.

In the passenger business the company markets its sales
primarily under the LAN brand. LanChile holds a 100% stake
in LanExpress through direct and indirect interests, a 70.0%
stake in LanPeru through direct and indirect interests, a
45.0% indirect stake in LanEcuador and a 49.0% indirect
stake in LanDominicana.

The company's cargo operations are carried out by a num-ber
of companies, including LanChile and LanChile Cargo
and are complemented by the operations of certain subsidiar-ies,
such as Aero Transportes Mas de Carga S.A. de C.V., or
MasAir, in Mexico and Aerolinhas Brasileiras S.A., or Absa, in
Brazil. In the cargo business, the company is marketed pri-marily
under the LanCargo brand.

In addition to its main transportation activities, the com-pany
provides a series of ancillary services through various
subsidiaries.

SUBSIDIARIES

Aircraft International Leasing Limited
Bluebird Leasing LLC
Condor Leasing LLC
Eagle Leasing LLC
Inmobiliaria Aeronautica S.A.
Inversiones Lan S.A.
Lan Cargo Overseas Services Limited
Lan Peru S.A.
LanChile Cargo S.A.
Lanlogistics Corp.
Seagull Leasing LLC
Southflorida Air Cargo
Trasnporte Aereo S.A.

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES—Thou. $
2003 ................................ 64,756
2002 .............................. 192,627
2001 .............................. 341,271

GENERAL INFORMATION

EMPLOYEES: April 30, 2004, 11,851.

FORMED in Chile in 1989, upon the acquisition by Icarosan
S.A. and Scandinavian Airline System of a 8.9% and
42.1% equity interest in the company, respectively, and the
subsequent privatization of the company by the Chilean
government. In 1994, members of the Cueto, Hirmas, Pin-era
and Eblen Families and associates (Controlling Stock-
holders) acquired substantially all the stock of the
company.

June 27, 1997, acquired a 99.4% interest in Ladeco, S.A. for
apx. $38,400,000.

OFFICERS: CHAIRMAN, Jorge Awad Mehech; 
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, Enrique Cueto Plaza; PRESIDENT,
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, Luis Ernesto V. Berguccio; 
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, Alejandro de la Fuente; 
SR  VP: Ignacio Cueto Plaza, Armando Valdivieso
Montes, Susana Tondra Mitri, Carlos Prado Canepa,
Marco Jofre Marin

DIRECTORS: Jorge Awad Mahech; Dario Calderon Gonzalez;
Jose Cox Donoso; Juan Jose Cueto Plaza; Juan Cueto Sierra; Ramon 
Elben Kadis; Ignacio Guerrero Guti-errez; Boris Hirmas Said; 
Sebastian Pinera Echenique 

HEADQUARTERS: Avenida Americo Vespucio Sur 901,
Comuna de Renca, Santiago de Chile, Chile
TELEPHONE: 562-687-2525
FAX: 562-565-2817
WEBSITE: http://www.lanchile.com

AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS

AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS (ADRs) are issued by
Citibank, N.A., Depositary. ADRs evidence American
Depositary Shares, each of which represents five Com-mon
shares.

DIVIDENDS: Before Chilean tax to U.S. residents: 1998,
$0.2991802 init. to public; 1999, $0.202665; 2000,
$0.162486; 2001, $0.2282379; 2002, $0.0219641; 2003,
$0.7688.

EARNINGS AND FINANCES
Auditors: PricewaterhouseCoopers
Consolidated Earnings: Y-E Dec 31: Thou. $
Annual Report—Consolidated Inc. Acct. Yrs. End Dec 31:
Thou. $
Consolidated Balance Sheet—Dec 31: Thou. $

STOCK— Auth. Shs. Outstg. Shs.
Common no par 318,909,090 318,909,090

PRIMARY EXCHANGE Year High Low
New York Stock Exchange
(Symbol LFL) 2003 17.8000 5.1500
2002 7.6500 2.6000
2001 10.2000 5.2500
2000 10.3750 6.0630
1999 8.6870 3.5000
1998 14.6870 2.5000
1 1997 14.1250 12.0000
1 Listed Nov. 7.
Net Sales/ Inc. Net -Sh. Earns-Revs.
Taxes Inc. Basic Diluted
2003 1,638,800 (18,342) 83,555 0.26 0.26
2002 1,452,430 7,006 30,808 0.10 ---
2001 1,428,340 (552) 10,842 0.03 ---
2000 1,425,150 116 48,386 0.15 ---
1999 1,236,670 136 47,582 0.15 ---
1998 1,083,370 52 30,989 0.10 ---
2003 2002 2001
Revenues 1,638,800 1,452,434 1,428,341
Wages and benefits 240,924 215,278 203,021
Aircraft fuel 259,566 205,524 222,402
Commissions to agents 223,974 192,686 200,533
Depreciation and amortiza-tion
72,631 67,817 51,936
Passenger services
expenses 36,206 32,308 35,867
Aircraft rentals 139,138 159,793 146,438
Aircraft maintenance 97,862 95,144 105,209
Other rentals and landing
fees 258,495 228,736 244,865
Other operating expenses 198,287 193,085 167,818
Interest income 6,277 3,757 5,476
Interest expense 39,350 40,758 35,463
Other income 24,123 13,186 (8,382)
Income before minority
interest 102,767 38,248 11,883
Minority interest 870 434 1,593
Income before income
taxes 101,897 37,814 10,290
Income taxes (18,342) (7,006) 552
NET INCOME 83,555 30,808 10,842
Share earns. basic $0.26 $0.10 $0.03
Average shares (Thou.) 318,909 318,909 318,909
Share earns. diluted $0.26 $0.10 $0.03
Operating Income As Cal-culated
184,348 129,880 102,188
2003 2002
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash ........................................ 4,988 3,326
Time deposits ............................. 128,950 125,476
Marketable securities ................... 85,025 30,619
Trade accounts receivable ............. 168,245 160,349
Notes and accounts receivable from
related companies................... 417 4,665
Inventories ................................. 33,391 35,385
Prepaid and recoverable taxes ....... 15,317 8,674
Prepaid expenses........................ 24,080 28,338
Deferred income tax assets ........... 8,038 5,215
Other current assets..................... 18,261 13,792
Total current assets...................... 486,712 415,839
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT...... 1,009,507 1,026,434
OTHER ASSETS
Investments in related companies ... 1,621 2,419
Goodwill .................................... 45,071 47,870
Notes and accounts receivable from
related companies................... 262 281
Long-term accounts receivable ....... 7,912 9,438
Advances for purchases of aircraft
and other deposits................... 41,778 40,693
Other assets............................... 35,651 42,466
Total other assets ........................ 132,295 143,167
Total assets................................ 1,628,514 1,585,440
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS
EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Current portion of long-term loans
from financial institutions........... 63,155 61,373
Current portion of long-term leasing
obligations............................. 3,995 3,909
Securitization obligation ................ 12,064 11,275
Dividends payable ....................... 83 8,958
Accounts payable ........................ 172,488 158,294
Notes payable............................. --- 81
Notes and accounts payable to
related companies................... 363 235
Air traffic liability .......................... 145,691 113,784
Other current liabilities .................. 108,573 101,287
Total current liabilities ................... 506,412 459,196
Loans from financial institutions ...... 559,669 612,730
Securitization obligation ................ 56,274 68,338
Other creditors............................ 24,420 35,693
Notes and accounts payable to
related companies................... 1,025 1,269
Provisions.................................. 74,939 62,173
Obligations under capital leases...... 7,084 10,854
Long term deferred income tax ....... 42,018 22,399
Total long-term debt ..................... 615,943 681,068
MINORITY INTEREST.................. 4,109 3,926
SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY
Common stock............................ 134,303 134,303
Reserves ................................... 2,620 2,620
Retained earnings ....................... 215,641 171,939
Total shareholders equity............... 352,564 308,862
Total liabilities and shareholders
equity ................................... 1,628,514 1,585,440
Capital Expenditures .................... 64,756 192,627
Equity per Share ......................... $0.96 $0.82
Depr. and Amort. Reserve ............. 320,070 262,044
Common Shares (Thou.) ............... 318,909 318,909

Néstor Miguel Gorojovsky
nestorgoro en fibertel.com.ar

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
"Sí, una sola debe ser la patria de los sudamericanos".
Simón Bolívar al gobierno secesionista y disgregador de 
Buenos Aires, 1822
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _