MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's Cemex beat estimates to post a 19% jump in third-quarter core earnings as it boosted prices and benefited from cost-cutting measures.
The cement maker said on Tuesday that it had logged $882 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for July-September, comfortably above an LSEG consensus estimate of $858 million.
Increased prices helped revenue tick 5% higher, despite cement sales volumes being flat while volumes for ready-mix concrete and aggregates such as sand and gravel slipped slightly.
Cost-cutting measures including headcount reductions resulted in around $90 million in savings. Cemex's workforce dropped to just over 40,200 employees in the quarter, a 9% decline from the same period a year earlier.
Net income tumbled 35% to $264 million, mainly due to one-off gains the previous year from the sale of operations in Guatemala. Without that factor, net profit climbed 8%, Cemex said.
Under CEO Jaime Muguiro, who took the helm in April after his predecessor retired, Cemex has sought to shed non-core assets and focus more on its aggregates business in the United States. In July, he flagged that more divestitures were in the works.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Cemex SAB de CV is a Mexico-based operating and holding company primarily engaged, directly or indirectly, through subsidiaries, in the production, distribution, marketing and sale of cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, clinker and other globally provided construction materials. The construction-related services supply customers and communities in over 50 countries throughout the world. The Company operates in various locations, including Mexico, the United States, Europe, South America, Central America, Caribbean, Asia, Middle East and Africa. The cement production facilities are located in Mexico, the United States, Spain, Egypt, Germany, Colombia, Poland, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Panama, Puerto Rico, Thailand and Nicaragua. The Company is a supplier of aggregates, primarily the crushed stone, sand and gravel, used in various forms of construction.
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