Argentina’s Loma Negra, part of InterCement, reported a 3.6 per cent YoY increase in net revenue to ARS7.428m (US$183m) in the first quarter of 2019 on the back of expanding concrete sales in Argentina and growth in cement revenues in Paraguay.
Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was 17.9 per cent higher YoY to ARS2.136m in the 1Q19, mainly due to cement, masonry and lime business in the domestic market but also as a result of expansion in the main other segments. In addition, it was partially offset by non-recurrent structure adequacy costs of around ARS135m. The figure also resulted in a larger corresponding EBITDA margin, up 347 basis points YoY from 25.3 per cent in the 1Q18 to 28.7 per cent in the 1Q19.
Sergio Faifman, Loma Negra’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We concluded the first quarter with another solid set of results, despite the macro-economy environment in Argentina. Our core Argentine Cement business, delivered both Adjusted EBITDA growth and margin expansion, even with weaker volume demand in the country. We are also pleased to see that our concrete operations continued to deliver strong results, together with good performance in Paraguay and in the Railroad segment.
"Throughout the first quarter cement demand in Argentina declined around 10.6 per cent YoY, although in seasonally-adjusted terms volumes presented an increase compared to the previous quarter. We expect this trend to remain in the following quarters.
"The L’Amalí expansion project continues on track, start-up date is expected to be in the second quarter of next year. We have also adequated some of our administrative and commercial processes, that will drive Loma Negra to be a more efficient and agile company preparing ourselves for the challenges to come.”
