Cemex‘s sales totaled US$8.602 billion in the first half of 2023, with cement sales in Mexico standing out.

On a year-over-year basis, this amount grew 11%, according to Cemex, a global building materials company.

On the one hand, the results implied for Mexico its first increase in cement volumes in two years.

In that nation, Cemex achieved low-single-digit growth in cement volumes driven by formal construction, with market share recovery in bagged cement.

It also achieved mid-single to double-digit growth in ready-mix and aggregates volumes, respectively, driven by the industrial, infrastructure and tourism sectors.

The pricing strategy continues to show progress in recovering the significant cost inflation of the last two years.

However, EBITDA margin was affected by product mix and higher electricity, labor and freight costs.

Finally, Cemex achieved a record alternative fuels substitution rate of 44 percent in Mexico, with four plants above the 50 percent level.

Cemex’s sales

In the United States, the company posted record quarterly sales and EBITDA growth, driven by its pricing strategy and slowing input cost inflation.

Sales were US$2.675 billion in the first half of the year, an increase of 7% over the same period of 2022.

For the fourth consecutive quarter, Cemex recorded a sequential improvement in EBITDA margin.

There, the increase in construction was related to manufacturing and infrastructure, supported by incentives derived from three pieces of legislation: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS Act.

The U.S. residential sector continues to stabilize, while low inventories in the existing housing market support demand for new housing.

In the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa), the company’s sales increased 9% to US$1,588 million.

Sales growth occurred despite a challenging demand environment, primarily driven by a disciplined pricing strategy.