GCC posts 9% advance in 2Q earnings

Mexico-based GCC SAB de CV reported consolidated net sales down by one per cent to US$360.3m in the second quarter of 2024 from US$364.1m in the 2Q23.

US cement and concrete prices increased by 5.3 and 8.1 per cent, respectively while in Mexico cement and concrete prices were up by 2.5 and 6.4 per cent, respectively. However, these increases were not able to offset falls in volumes. Cement volumes were down by 7.1 per cent both in the US and Mexico while concrete volumes saw a 14.3 per cent drop in the US and a 12.4 per cent fall in Mexico when compared to the previous year. As a result, sales in the US declined by 0.2 per cent to US$252.8m, representing 70 per cent of GCC consolidated net sales while in Mexico sales slipped by 2.8 per cent YoY to US$107.6m.

EBITDA saw a 0.9 per cent YoY uptick to US$133.9m from US$132.7m in the 2Q23. The EBITDA margin improved to 37.1 per cent from 36.4 per cent when compared with the year-ago period.

Net income advanced nine per cent to US$89.6m in the 2Q24 from US$82.2m in the 2Q23.

Enrique Escalante, GCC’s CEO, commented: “GCC achieved steady bottom-line growth, margin expansion and free cash flow generation during the second quarter of 2024, despite challenging market conditions. This reflects our cost efficiencies and successful strategy execution.” He added: “We remain vigilant to market demand, focusing on operational excellence while leveraging our sustainability strategy to effectively achieve our CO₂ emissions reduction targets.

1H24 results
Net sales in the first half of 2024 increased 4.1 per cent YoY to US$633.2m from US$608m in the 1H23. Sales in the US were up by 6.1 per cent YoY to US$426.2m in the 1H24 from US$401.7m while in Mexico sales growth was considerably more muted at 0.3 per cent to US$207m from US$206.3m.

EBITDA improved by 10.8 per cent to US$216.8m from US$195.7m, said the company in a statement.