Cemex LatAm Holdings (CLH) announced that its consolidated net sales reached $394 million during the second quarter of 2015, a decrease of 11 percent versus the second quarter of 2014. This decline is mainly explained by currency fluctuations and lower sales in operations in Colombia, noted the company. Operating EBITDA, adjusted for the currency fluctuations, increased by 2 percent during the second quarter of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014.
During the second quarter of 2015, consolidated cement volumes decreased by 3 percent, while ready-mix and aggregates volumes increased by 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Carlos Jacks, CEO of CLH, said, “We are pleased with the continued positive volume performance of our operations in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, where we are improving our volume guidance for the year. Additionally, our cement volumes in Colombia increased by 11 percent during the quarter compared with the first quarter of this year.”
In Colombia, during the first six months of the year, cement volumes declined by 11 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Compared with 1Q15, cement volumes increased by 11 percent during 2Q15. In Panama, cement volumes in the second quarter increased by 4 percent compared with the second quarter a year ago. In Costa Rica, volumes for cement, ready-mix and aggregates grew at double-digit rates during both the second quarter and the first half of the year, compared with the same periods of last year.
“This year our priority is to continue working persistently towards improving our profitability, which has been affected by the depreciation of the Colombian peso,” said Jacks. “Additionally, we continue evolving as a company into a more customer-centric organization, offering differentiated construction solutions to our specific customer segments.”
