Cemex has reported strong results in the opening quarter of 2023 with sales expanding by nine per cent YoY to US$4036m and EBITDA seeing six per cent growth to US$733m, driven by pricing, decelerating input cost inflation, and contributions from the company’s growth investments and urbanisation solutions business. According to the company, the EBITDA margin came in at 18.2 per cent with a significant sequential improvement of 1.9 percentage points. The Urbanisation Solutions business reported 34 per cent YoY growth in EBITDA. Free cash flow after maintenance capital expenditures was -US$55m, a YoY improvement of US$120m.
Net sales in Mexico advanced 13 per cent YoY in the 1Q23 to US$1097m, while operating EBITDA expanded by nine per cent to US$344m. The sequential EBITDA margin was up 4.7 percentage points to 31.4 per cent. Cemex’s operations in the US reported record EBITDA in the 1Q23 with growth of 15 per cent, despite significant weather challenges impacting most markets. Net sales were up five per cent YoY to US$1255m, with the EBITDA margin expanding by 1.5 percentage points to 18.3 per cent, while improving sequentially for the third straight quarter.
In the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia sales region, net sales increased 14 per cent YoY in the 1Q23 to US$1234m. Operating EBITDA came in at US$148m, marking 15 per cent growth YoY, while the EBITDA margin was down 0.3 percentage points at 12 per cent. Meanwhile, Cemex’s operations in South, Central America, and the Caribbean region saw net sales of US$411m in the opening three months of 2023, up four per cent YoY. Operating EBITDA fell 21 per cent to US$84 million, while the EBITDA margin was down 5.9 percentage points to 20.4 per cent. Contractions in EBTIDA and the EBITDA margin were mainly attributed to higher energy and maintenance costs and lower cement volumes.
