Colombia’s Cementos Argos ’08 net down 67 per cent

Colombia’s Cementos Argos ’08 net down 67 per cent
02 March 2009


Colombia’s largest cement maker, Cementos Argos, said Friday its net profit for 2008 fell 67% to COP71bn is due to the housing crisis in the US, where the company operates.

That figure was down from COP212bn in 2007.

The company calculated its net profit for the year in dollar terms at US$47m, 55% down from US$104m registered in 2007.

"A difficult year for the cement and concrete industry in the US, a satisfactory performance of our investment in Latin America and a moderate behavior of our businesses in Colombia demonstrate the strategy to decentralise our investment in several regions and currencies was, is and will keep being the right strategy to sustain the organisation in the long-run," the company said in a statement.

Cementos Argos’ operating income in 2008 fell 18% in dollar terms to US$128.7m down from US$157.6m a year earlier.
Published under Cement News