(Reuters) – North America’s top cement producer Cemex SAB de CV reported a 10% rise in quarterly sales on Thursday, helped by strong demand in the United States and Mexico, even as it faced supply chain disruptions and a spike in energy and transportation costs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled companies’ ability to send and receive product parts and supplies across the world. Cemex warned earlier this month that those snags coupled with inflation and foreign exchange effects could hit its full-year earnings by about $100 million.
In the United States, Cemex’s biggest market, net sales rose 10% to $1.12 billion in the third quarter, while Mexico sales rose 20% to $868 million.
Cemex said it had implemented a second round of price increases in the reported quarter for its cement and ready-mix businesses in the United States, with prices up 2% from the prior three months.
“We are confident that our pricing strategy will more than compensate for the sudden runup in input cost inflation we have experienced,” said Chief Executive Fernando González.
Cemex posted a net loss of $376 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of $1.54 billion a year earlier.
(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
