Votorantim Cimentos ended the 1Q24 with better margins due to higher sales volume and lower costs. The company’s global cement sales totalled 8.1Mt,  up one per cent YoY compared to 1Q23.
 
The company posted global net revenue of BRL5.5bn (US$1.072bn) in the 1Q24, down four per cent in local currency (excluding the effect of exchange rate variation) compared to the same period last year. This resulted primarily from lower volume in North America, which was partially offset by positive results in countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
 
Consolidated adjusted EBITDA slipped one per cent YoY to BRL766m in the 1Q24, reflecting better results abroad and lower costs, which offset the results in Brazil. The higher volumes and lower fuel, electricity and raw material costs led to an EBITDA margin of 14 per cent in the 1Q24, an increase of one percentage point compared to 1Q23.
 
Votorantim Cimentos’ net profit was BRL17m in the 1Q24, compared to BRL78m in the 1Q23, due to the company’s lower operating result, higher net financial result and mark-to-market of future energy contracts.
 
Leverage, measured by the net debt/adjusted EBITDA ratio, ended the quarter at 1.76x, 0.02x lower than the same period in 2023 but still in line with the company’s financial policy and investment grade indicators. At the end of 1Q24, Votorantim Cimentos had strong liquidity, with total cashflow and financial investments worth BRL4.4bn, allowing the company to meet its financial obligations for more than four years.
 
Votorantim Cimentos’ investments in the 1Q24 totalled BRL413m, 23 per cent higher than in the 1Q23. This increase is primarily due to the company’s global strategy to invest in modernisation and structural competitiveness, in addition to projects linked to its decarbonisation commitments. Expansion projects accounted for eight per cent of the total capital invested in the 1Q24. Highlights included projects in new businesses in Brazil, such as a BRL145m investment to increase the capacity of Viter (agricultural solutions) and Verdera (waste management and co-processing) at the Itaperuçu (in the state of Paraná) site, started at the beginning of April.
 
“Our solid and consistent financial results reflect the execution of our strategic mandate, which includes the recently announced BRL5bn investment plan to increase structural competitiveness in Brazil focusing on cost reduction, decarbonisation, capacity expansion, regional diversification and acceleration of new business,” said Osvaldo Ayres Filho, global CEO of Votorantim Cimentos.