Displaying items by tag: Mexico

Mexico: A fire at Cruz Azul’s Tula cement plant in Hidalgo has been reported as being started intentionally by sources quoted by the Excélsior newspaper. A fire on a 500m conveyor belt at the unit was reported in the early morning on 28 November 2021. Production at the plant will not be affected. Repair work on the conveyor is expected to take up to 20 days. An official cause for the fire has yet to be disclosed.

Mexico: Corporación Moctezuma has appointed Juan Mozo Gómez as its chief financial officer with effect from the start of 2022. He succeeds Luis Rauch, who has decided to leave the post after four years for personal reasons. Mozo has experience in the financial sector and held positions in companies in the cement and concrete industry. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Pompeau Fabra University in Spain.

Mexico: Cemex's Cemex Go online shopping platform has won the Best Internationalisation Strategy award at the Mexican eCommerce Awards 2021. Marketing company Marketing4eCommerce hosted the awards, which compared Mexico's ecommerce platforms across 10 categories. Cemex Go also received nomination in the Best Mobile Transactional App category.

Cemex said "With this distinction, Cemex Go increases its positioning as a reliable app, in addition to offering merchants an alternative to solve their business needs from a mobile phone."

Mexico: Cemex has successfully closed a US$3.25bn syndicated credit agreement. The group said that it used the proceeds to repay its previous US$2.65bn facilities agreement. The new agreement will require repayment in November 2026. As the facility is worth 23% more than its previous one, the company said that it will have a stronger liquidity position than previously, resulting in a favourable company risk and credit rating situation.

CEO Fernando Gonzalez said "This new credit agreement represents a major milestone in our path to investment grade as it is our first major syndicated unsecured bank agreement since 2009. It showcases Cemex’s continued access to diversified funding sources while further aligning our financing strategy to our leadership in addressing climate change.” He added “We are starting a new chapter for the company where we shift our strategic balance a bit more towards growth and the advancement of our Climate Action goals.”

Switzerland: Holcim’s consolidated sales rose by 16% year-on-year to Euro18.7bn in the first nine months of 2021 from Euro16.1bn in the first nine months of 2020. The company’s recurring earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 33% to Euro3.3bn from Euro2.48bn. Its operating profit rose by 38% to Euro3.11bn from Euro2.26bn.

The group increased its cement sales by 7.8% to 150Mt from 139Mt. Volumes in Asia Pacific were 51.7Mt, up by 17% from 44.2Mt; volumes in Europe were 35Mt, up by 4.1% from 33.7Mt; volumes in Middle East Africa were 27.2Mt, up by 11% from 24.5Mt; volumes in Latin America were 20.5Mt, up by 18% from 17.3Mt and volumes in North America were 15.1Mt, up by 1.5% from 14.9Mt.

CEO Jan Jenisch said “I’m pleased that we have achieved a record quarter of profitable growth once again. I congratulate my teams for their exceptional resilience as they continue to successfully navigate the challenges posed by the pandemic in a dynamic business environment. On the back of their performance we have revised our recurring EBIT growth guidance from 18% to at least 22% on a like-for-like basis.” He continued “Most importantly, our colleagues have kept their focus on our key long-term value creation drivers to become the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions. We are picking up momentum in our strategic portfolio transformation, with the divestment of our business in Brazil, the announcement of nine bolt-on acquisitions so far this year and the expansion of our Firestone GacoFlex range from Mexico to Colombia and Ecuador.”

Mexico: Cemex’s consolidated sales in the first nine months of 2021 were US$11bn, up by 5% year-on-year from US$9.4bn in the corresponding period of 2020. Its cement sales rose by 10% to 51.1Mt from 46.2Mt, while its ready-mix concrete volumes increased by 7% to 36.8Mm3 from 34Mm3. Its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled US$2.24bn, up by 24% from US$1.81bn. Its gross profit was US$3.63bn, up by 18% from US$3.07bn. During the period, the group reduced its debt by 33% to US$8.98bn from US$13.3bn.

Cement volumes grew in all regions in every quarter of the year except the third, when they fell by 3% in Mexico and remained level year-on-year in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The quarter brought an end to five consecutive quarters of double-digit year-on-year growth in bagged cement sales in Mexico. Mexican bulk cement sales meanwhile ‘accelerated in line with the formal sector recovery.’ The sharpest nine-month cement volumes growth was in South, Central America and the Caribbean, where sales rose by 19% year-on-year, followed by Mexico, with a rise of 12%.

CEO Fernando González said “We are pleased to report strong top-line growth, reflecting continued growth in demand for our products, coupled with an acceleration in pricing momentum. We are confident that our pricing strategy will more than compensate for the sudden runup in input cost inflation we have experienced.” He added “We remain optimistic regarding outlook, as most of our markets are operating at high capacity utilisation and sustainable midcycle levels that will be supported by monetary and fiscal stimulus, while others are just beginning an upcycle. Regarding our Future in Action initiative, we continue to advance on our climate action goals. During the quarter, we received validation from SBTi of our 2030 decarbonisation roadmap and joined the Race to Zero initiative. Our climate action agenda is a fundamental element of our medium-term strategy not only because it creates value for stakeholders, but because it is the right thing to do for future generations.”

Mexico: Cemex has announced the release of the collateral on its debt under its main bank agreement and senior secured notes. The release follows Cemex’s reporting of two consecutive quarters with a consolidated leverage ratio of 3.75x or less.

CFO Maher A-Haffar said “We are very pleased with this momentous milestone, which is a culmination of the substantial strengthening of our capital structure and paves the way towards an investment grade rating. This will simplify our debt structure and reduce the cost of managing our debt stack.”

Mexico: Cemex CEO Fernando Gonzalez has estimated that the impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak will cost the group US$100m in 2021. Gonzalez attributed the anticipated negative effect on full-year earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to supply chain disruptions and currency effects, especially on the Mexican Peso, as well as delays to projects globally.

Mexico: Cemex has received validation from the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for its 2030 global CO₂ emissions reduction targets. The validation attests that the targets conform with the Paris Agreement’s well-below 2°C global warming limit. Under its Future in Action programme, Cemex aims to reduce its cement’s carbon footprint to 40% compared to 1990 levels and achieve 55% renewable energy use by 2030. The company says that it has the global cement industry’s most ambitious 2030 targets.

CEO Fernando Gonzalez said “Climate action is the biggest challenge of our times. Cemex is taking decisive action to address it by defining ambitious emissions reduction targets in line with the SBTi, and executing against those targets.” He added “We commit to continue leading the industry in climate action not only because it creates value, but more importantly because it is the right thing to do. Cemex is building a better future, and that future must be sustainable.”

Mexico: Cemex has partnered with Sweden-based Volvo to develop a zero-emissions cement fleet. The implementation will extend to mobile construction equipment, trucks, productivity solutions, and uptime services. A Cemex European site will host trials of the technologies.

Head of global sustainability Vicente Saiso said “Working together with a leading global company in electromobility construction equipment and trucks such as Volvo will strengthen our efforts to address climate change and reduce our carbon footprint to reach net zero by 2050. We are excited to collaborate and develop a roadmap to introduce electric trucks and equipment throughout our operations.”