Cementos Argos 3Q14 net profit jumps 69%

Cementos Argos, Colombia’s leading cement producer, posted a 69 per cent jump in net earnings for the first nine months of the year to COP217.5bn (US$111m), boosted by higher US sales.

The company reported EBITDA of COP805bn (US$415m) between January and September, an eight per cent increase over the same period in 2013. Revenue was up 16 per cent to COP4.25trn.

"The performance in the United States maintains a healthy growth dynamic," the statement said. "Volumes of cement and concrete shipped showed growth of 59 per cent and 27 per cent respectively," a statement by the company said.

In its home market of Colombia, 3Q cement volumes increased by five per cent YoY to 1.5Mt. In the first nine months of the year dispatches rose by 3.4 per cent YoY to 4Mt. The company said that competition in the northern coast of Colombia “temporarily” affected volume growth in the cement segment. Improvements were seen from mid-July onwardsthanks to the "implementation of a successful commercial strategy" which led to a recovery in dispatches

The USA regional division raw a 60 per cent increase in cement dispatches during the 3Q14 to 806,00t. Over the first three quarters of the year, volumes reached 2.1Mt, up 59 per cent YoY.

The Caribbean and Central America division dispatched close to 788,000t of cement in the third quarter of this year, a decline of five per cent YoY. However, an annual increase was noted over the first nine months of the year of eight per cent to 2.5Mt.

Argos’ cement and clinker exports reached 254,000t in the third quarter, down 24 per cent YoY. Over the Jan-Sept 2014 period, 737,000t were dispatched as exports, down 31 per cent compared to 9M13. The decline was mainly attributed to a decrease in clinker volumes dispatched to the company’s operations that serve the Panama Canal project.