Cemex


Cemex plans to dispose of around US$1bn of assets between now and the end of 2012 to reduce debt. Lorenzo Zambrano said that about US$180m of these disposals should happen during this year and declared that the company would meet bank covenants for 20011 and 2012 without re-negotiating or sell equity. Cemex expects its operations in the United States to be back in profit in 2012. The company is set to sell non-core assets, mostly real estate assets such as quarries, to raise additional cash. Also, some swapping of assets may be undertaken with competitors.

Cemex Latvia is aiming to sell more than 1Mt of cement this year, compared with just over 0.9Mt in 2010, a year in which exports quadrupled. Approximately 80% of production is currently being exported, with the main markets being Finland, Russia, Belarus and the two fellow Baltic states, Lithuania and Estonia. Cemex Latvia currently has a domestic market share of 70-75%.