Mexico: Elementia’s sales benefitted from its Mexican cement business in 2017. Its net sales rose by 35% year-on-year to US$1.37bn in 2017 from US$1.02bn in 2016. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 24% to US$236m from US$191m.
Highlights of the company’s year included integrating Giant Cement’s assets into the company, the start-up and allocation of additional volume from the cement plant in Tula, Mexico and the expansion of the cement division in Costa Rica through the installation of a grinding plant that is expected to start operations towards the end of the first half of 2018.
Elementia’s Mexican cement division sales rose by 44% to US$236m from US$164m. However, the sales of its US division fell by 7% to US$231m from US$249m. The company blamed this on the year being a ‘transitional’ period where it conducted regular maintenance works that interrupted production.