UNACEM reports improved 4Q but decline in 2020

Peruvian cement producer Unión Andina de Cementos (UNACEM) saw its revenues advance by 16.2 per cent YoY in the 4Q20, driven by a 14.5 per cent increase in dispatches in Peru with improved average prices as well higher cement and ready-mix deliveries in Ecuador. Consolidated operating profit reached PEN202m in the 4Q20, up 10.5 per cent YoY, while consolidated EBITDA increased 6.3 per cent YoY to PEN331.4m, said the company during an earnings call.

Full-year 2020
Full-year consolidated revenues were down by 11.6 per cent compared to 2019, partly as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-related stoppages that lead to a drop in cement sales in Peru and in Ecuador as well as lower ready-mix dispatches in Peru, Ecuador and Chile.

Consolidated operating profit declined 39.8 per cent YoY to PEN450m from PEN748m in 2019. Consolidated EBITDA fell 24.4 per cent YoY to PEN923.2m in 2020 with a EBITDA margin that contracted from 29.8 per cent in 2019 to 25.5 per cent in 2020.

Cement dispatches in Peru fell by 16.1 per cent YoY as operations stopped in the 2Q. In addition, clinker exports fell 25.1 per cent YoY to 521,000t. Ready-mix dispatches were 38.6 per cent lower at 2.3Mm3.

In Ecuador cement sales fell 13.6 per cent YoY to 948,000t in 2020. US subsidiary Skanon closed the year with cement dispatches at 330,000st, up 60.2 per cent YoY, resulting in a rise of EBITDA to US$23.4m in 2020 when compared to US$17.7m in 2019.