Unacem seeks loans of up to US$490m

Union Andina de Cementos SAA (UNACEM) plans to start talks with banks for up to US$490m in loans to refinance existing US$-denominated debt and other corporate purposes.

The company is seeking US$50m from Citibank, US$45m from Banco Santander and local currency credit facilities for up to US$100m from Banco de Credito del Peru and Scotia Bank Peru, the Peruvian cement producer said in a recent stock exchange announcement.

UNACEM posted a YoY flat consolidated EBITDA of PEN290m (US$87.5m) for 2Q18, as a rise in revenues was offset by increasing costs. Net debt stood at PEN4.2bn (US$1.27bn) at the end of 2Q18, with a net-debt/EBITDA ratio of 3.6x, lower than the 3.8x reported at the end of 2017.