Cemex reports net income reached $750 million in 2016, from $75 million in 2015, and was the highest net income generation since 2007.
Cemex consolidated net sales increased by 4% during the fourth quarter of 2016 to 3.2 billion.
Sales increased 4% for the full year 2016 to $13.4 billion versus the comparable periods in 2015.
Operating EBITDA on a like-to-like basis increased by 10% during the fourth quarter of 2016 to $654 million and increased by 15% for the full year to $2.7 billion versus 2015.
Fernando A Gonzalez, chief executive, said, “2016 was a very good year for Cemex. Despite continued volatility and uncertainty in the markets, we were able to deliver strong underlying operational and financial results by remaining focused on the variables that we control.
“As a result of our favorable volume and price performance, sales increased by 4% in 2016, while operating EBITDA grew by 15%, on a like-to-like basis. Our free cash flow after maintenance capex was close to US$1.7 billion, almost double last year’s level. This was driven by higher EBITDA generation as well as our initiatives to reduce interest expense, maintenance Capex and working capital investment.
“In line with our stated objective to reach an investment grade capital structure as soon as possible, we applied the proceeds from our free cash flow generation and asset sales mainly for debt reduction. Our total debt is close to $2.3 billion lower than that at the end of 2015. This represents a 15% reduction from the debt level as of the end of 2015 and a 25% reduction since the end of 2013.
Cemex US operations reported net sales of $880 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, flat on a like-to-like basis from the same period in 2015. Operating EBITDA increased by 16% on a like-to-like basis to US$183 million in the quarter, versus a gain of US$162 million in the same quarter of 2015.
Cemex consolidated fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 financial and operational highlights
- The increase in quarterly consolidated net sales on a like-to-like basis was due to higher prices of our products, in local currency terms, in most of our operations, as well as higher volumes in Mexico, the United Kingdom and Germany
- Operating earnings before other expenses, net, in the fourth quarter increased by 12%, to US$453 million and increased 14%, to US$1.9 billion, for the full-year 2016
- Controlling interest net income during the quarter was almost 50% higher, reaching US$214 million from an income of US$144 million in the same period last year. Also, controlling interest net income for the full year improved to US$750 million from an income of US$75 million in 2015
- Operating EBITDA on a like-to-like basis increased by 10% and 15% during the quarter and the full year, respectively, to $654 million and $2.7 billion versus the comparable periods of 2015
- Operating EBITDA margin during the quarter grew by 1.0 percentage points on a year-over-year basis reaching 20.5%. For the full year, operating EBITDA margin increased to 20.5%, up 1.7 percentage points from 2015
- Free cash flow after maintenance capital expenditures for the quarter increased by 9% to $617 million, compared to the same quarter of 2015. For the full year 2016, free cash flow after maintenance capital expenditures reached $1.7 billion, an increase of 91% versus previous year
- Asset sales reached approximately $2 billion, of which slightly above $1 billion closed during 2016. These assets are being sold at double-digit multiples on average.
