(Reuters) – Mexican cement producer Cemex’s fourth-quarter net profit rose about 179% to $195 million due to lower financial expenses, a positive variation from financial instruments and foreign exchange results, and lower income tax, the company said on Thursday.
Its quarterly revenue rose to $3.62 billion from $3.5 billion a year earlier as higher local currency prices in all regions contributed to top-line growth, Cemex said in its earnings release.
Operating EBITDA, or Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, for the year rose 18% to $2.86 billion, missing the Refinitiv estimate of $2.94 billion. For the fourth quarter EBITDA rose 3% to $651 million.
Cemex said it expected mid-single digit growth for operating EBITDA in 2022.
The Monterrey-based industrial giant had said in October that supply chain slowdowns and project delays could hit its full-year operating profit.
“Cemex advanced significantly on its investment grade goal, reducing its leverage ratio by 1.4x, to 2.73x in 2021,” said the company, one of the largest concrete suppliers worldwide.
Cemex told Reuters last year that it was investing in renewable energy and alternative fuels to meet its climate goals.
In 2021 its CO2 emissions declined 4.4 percentage points, “our lowest carbon emission level on record and our largest annual year over year decline,” Cemex Chief Executive Fernando A. Gonzalez said.
The company recently announced that it made progress toward using solar energy to produce clinker, a limestone and clay mix, and that it would use a sustainable waste management plant to power some operations in Mexico.
Looking forward, Cemex said it expected 2022 consolidated volume growth to be flat for cement, and forecast a low single digit increase growth for ready mix and low to mid single digit growth for aggregates.
The company added it was “entering 2022 with minimal financial risk” and had no financing needs for the next 3 years, with an average maturity of $800 million per year for the next 10 years.
The performance of companies like Cemex is closely watched as a barometer of the broader economy, as cement is key to the construction industry.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru and Anthony Esposito; editing by Mark Porter and Alexandra Hudson)
