Mexico. Cement company Cemex released its financial report for the third quarter of the year, in which it reported that its consolidated net sales reached US$354 million during the third quarter of 2015, a decrease of 23% compared to the third quarter of 2014.
This drop is mainly explained by exchange rate fluctuations and lower sales in its operations in Colombia and Panama. Adjusting for currency fluctuations, consolidated net sales remained stable, compared to the previous year.
Operating cash flow, also adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations, decreased by 10% during the second quarter of 2015, compared to the same period in 2014. During the third quarter of 2015, consolidated domestic volumes of grey cement, concrete and aggregates decreased by 5%, 8% and 7%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Carlos Jacks, Managing Director of CLH, said, "We are satisfied with the performance of our operations in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Additionally, our gray cement volumes in Colombia continued with an upward trend during the third quarter, increasing by 7% and 18% compared to the second and first quarters of the year respectively."
"We have seen progress with respect to our profitability strategy, which has been adversely affected by the depreciation of the Colombian peso. Despite the current challenging economic environment, we are confident in the fundamentals of our markets and the opportunities they offer our company," Jacks added.
