MEXICAN CEMENT maker Cemex – which owns Readymix – says most of its creditors are backing its $15 billion (€17.5 billion) debt refinancing deal, but its shares slid 6 per cent as it forecast no quick recovery in global sales.
Cemex is trying to restructure $14.5 billion with banks and $500 million with its bondholders.
About $4.1 billion of Cemex’s bank debt is due by the end of the year, and the Monterrey-based company has requested extensions on short-term debt payments due this month until it reaches a deal.
But market optimism about a debt deal, building over the past few weeks, was dashed by Cemex’s acknowledgment that its key US and European markets show no sign of improvement and debt talks are still continuing.
Shares of Cemex fell 6.1 per cent to $9 in New York and 5 per cent to 12.02 pesos in Mexico City after the company reported weak quarterly results on Tuesday night and cut its 2009 forecasts yesterday.
“The market was waiting for a more concrete announcement on restructuring, and the company only talked about their progress,” said Carlos Hermosillo, analyst at Vector brokerage in Mexico city.
Cemex, which admits its Australian Rinker purchase in 2007 was badly timed, told analysts it expected 2009 earnings of $3.1 billion before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), down from a previous estimate of $3.3 billion and far below 2008’s $4.3 billion.
On Tuesday, Cemex reported a 58 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit to $187 million, slightly above analysts’ expectations. But Ebitda was lower than many forecast, and sales in the United States fell 43 per cent. – (Reuters)
