Chilean cement producer Cementos Bío-Bío reported a 3.3 per cent rise in profits to CLP221.5bn (US$329m) in the January-September 2016 period from CLP214.5bn in 10M15.

However, a rise in the cost of sales and financing as well as a foreign exchange loss saw the company with sharply reduced profits. Net profits reached CLP13.847m in the 10-month period, down 8.6 per cent when compared with CLP15.156m with the first 10 months of 2015.