At the end of September, Cementos Argos combined saw a double-digit growth in terms of its revenues, EBITDA and net profit – all figures that were driven, once again, by recovery in the United States, improvements in market dynamics in Colombia and the implementation of its operational efficiency programs across all of its regional divisions.
During the year’s third quarter, consolidated cement shipments saw an increase of 15 percent, reaching 3.8 million metric tons (Mt), a record result for Cementos Argos. The 10.7 Mt sold this year so far are up 14 percent compared with the first nine months of 2014.
“Cementos Argos is a company that has based its strategy on geographic diversification, a strong business model and the efficient use of its assets – all factors that have been crucial in obtaining these results. We also foresee positive performance in our industry towards the end of this year,” said Jorge Mario Velásquez, CEO of Cementos Argos.
In Colombia, its value promise and proximity to customers have allowed the company to continue growing in the market, being able to increase its shipped cement and concrete volumes for the quarter, with improvements of 14 percent and 18 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Despite the harsh weather seen during the quarter in the United States, market recovery continues to show positive trends. In this regional division, Argos managed to obtain a year-to-date EBITDA of more than $86 million, a result never seen before, representing an increase of 65 percent. At the end of September, the company had dispatched 2.5 Mt of cement for an increase of 21 percent compared to last year.
In the Caribbean and Central American regional division, Cementos Argos dispatched a year-to-date total of 3 Mt of cement, showing an improvement of 19 percent compared to 2014, mainly driven by good performance in Honduras, infrastructure projects in Panama and the consolidation of its operation in Puerto Rico.
