Cemex report solid growth in Q1 sales and EBITDA
Company believes first quarter of 2023 marks important inflection point in margin recovery
CEMEX have reported 9% growth in sales and 6% growth in EBITDA in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, attributable to pricing, decelerating input cost inflation, and contributions from the company’s growth investments and the Urbanization Solutions business.
Consolidated net sales increased 9% to US$4,036 million, whilst operating EBITDA increased 6% to US$733 million and operating EBITDA margin was 18.2%, with a strong sequential improvement of 1.9 percentage points (pp) and the lowest year-over-year margin decline in five quarters.
On a geographical basis, net sales in Mexico increased 13% in Q1, to US$1,097 million, whilst operating EBITDA increased 9% to US$344 million and sequential EBITDA margin improved 4.7pp to 31.4%.
Cemex’s first-quarter operations in the US reported record EBITDA with a growth of 15%, despite significant weather challenges impacting most markets. Net sales increased 5% to US$1,255 million and EBITDA margin increased 1.5pp to 18.3% while improving sequentially for the third straight quarter.
In the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia region, net sales increased 14% in Q1, to US$1,234 million, whilst operating EBITDA was US$148 million, 15% higher, and EBITDA margin of 12.0% was down 0.3pp.
Cemex’s operations in South, Central America, and the Caribbean region, reported net sales of US$411 million in Q1, an increase of 4%, whilst operating EBITDA decreased 21% to US$84 million and EBITDA margin declined 5.9pp, to 20.4%. The decreases in EBTIDA and EBITDA margin were mainly attributable to higher energy and maintenance costs and lower cement volumes.
Commenting on the first-quarter results, Fernando A. González, chief executive officer of Cemex, said: ‘I am quite pleased with our first-quarter growth achieved against a backdrop of challenging weather in our footprint in the US and a strong prior year comparison base. I believe this quarter marks an important inflection point in our mission to recover 2021 margins and compensate for the steep cost inflation we’ve experienced over the past two years.’
