Sales slump for Cemex

Cemex's sales for the first quarter of 2009 were down -32% to US$ 3.7 billion, compared to US$ 5.4 billion for the same period last year. Operating profit fell -29% to US$ 326 million, down from US$ 461 million in the first quarter of 2008.

Adjusted results allowing for the exclusion of Venezuelan operations (following the nationalisation of the cement industry last summer by President Hugo Chavez and the on-going dispute regarding compensation), the sale of assets in the Canary Islands and currency fluctuations show a more modest decrease in sales of -15% with operating income up +1%.

Despite a decrease in overall sales, Cemex in Africa and the Middle East stood up well in the first quarter with a +22% increase in sales to US$ 265 million, up from US$ 216 million 12 months earlier.

Elsewhere all regions reported decreased sales with Spain slumping -61% to US$ 199 million, down from US$ 516 million in the first quarter of 2008. Sales in the UK dropped -43%, down from US$ 466 million to US$ 266 million, while in the US sales fell from US$ 1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2008 to US$ 726 million in 2009, a -39% fall.

South and Central America and the Caribbean also reported a drop of -39%, down from US$ 544 million to US$ 333 million.

Hector Medina, executive vice president of planning and finance said, "Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment and the continued decline in construction activity in our markets, we remain confident in our strong global franchise and the underlying fundamentals of our business.

"Our ongoing efforts to reduce costs and optimise the efficiency of our operations are progressing well and we are continuing refinancing talks with our key lenders to attain financial flexibility," said Mr Medina.