Cemex generated EUR78.067m turnover in Latvia in 2017, up 34.6 per cent against 2016, selling 970,000t of cement, while the copany's share of export sales grew to 70 per cent.

Growth was recorded in all segments thanks to a robust growth of the Latvian construction sector in 2017.

Growing exports to markets such Sweden and Finland as well as sales in Estonia, Lithuania and Belarus compensated for the sanctions-related drop in exports to Russia.

However, interest and depreciation costs stemming from more than EUR 300m spent on the construction of the Broceni cement plant in western Latvia led to a EUR4.007m loss. Cemex more than doubled the output at its Broceni plant to 1.6Mta.