Sales and profits climb for Cemex

Cemex had sales of US$ 4.2 billion in the second quarter of the year, a+4% increase compared to the same period in 2013. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up +1% to US$ 737 million.

The company said the increase in sales was attributable to higher prices in local currency terms, as well as higher volumes in the US, Mediterranean, Latin American, Caribbean and Asian regions.

Cemex CEO Fernando González said, “We are pleased with the year-to-date trends we have seen in volumes for our three core products and the continued success of our value-before-volume strategy. We expect improved performance from our Mexican operations during the second half of the year which should lead to stronger overall EBITDA generation for the full year 2014.”

Mr González’s optimism about the Mexican market comes despite a sales decrease in Cemex’s home country of -4% during the quarter, compared to the same period last year.

However, the company saw sales rise in most other parts of the world over the three month period, including Northern Europe, its largest single region, where revenues were up +5$ to US$ 1.1 billion and EBITDA from the region was up +12% to US$ 121 million.