Mexico’s Grupo de Cemento de Chihuahua (GCC) has announced an 11 per cent increase in consolidated net sales to US$181.4m for the first quarter of 2020. EBITDA also advanced 18.4 per cent YoY to US$45.3m from US$38.3m, with the EBITDA margin rising to 25 per cent from 23.4 per cent.

"Both our divisions delivered strong results in the first quarter of the year, as the economic impacts of the pandemic weren't fully realised until late in the quarter. All of our operations are running at a steady pace, but we do expect an impact on our results in the quarters ahead," said Enrique Escalante, GCC's CEO.

US sales increased 15.8 per cent YoY to US$119.7m, compared to US$103.4m in the 1Q19. This was on the back of a 12.5 per cent rise in cement volumes and a 21.2 per cent surge in concrete volumes, as well as a 2.1 per cent and 5.4 per cent price increase, respectively.

Sales in Mexico were up 2.8 per cent YoY to US$61.7m from US$103.4m. Cement volumes dipped 0.5 per cent, while prices saw a 5.9 per cent boost. Concrete volumes and prices rose 1.5 per cent and five per cent, respectively.

"We are entering this crisis from a position of strength; we have built a strong a resilient business over the years, and while we cannot predict the length and severity of this pandemic, nor the impact in the overall macro environment, we have been through downturns before and we are confident that we will successfully navigate today's challenges as we have done in the past," said Mr Escalante.