Operating EBITDA increased by 11% during the quarter to $702 million versus the same period in 2011 (on a like-to-like basis it increased by 22% in the same period).
The company says that the infrastructure and residential sectors were the main drivers of demand in most of our markets.
Free cash flow after maintenance capital expenditures for the quarter was $21 million, compared with negative $40 million in the same quarter of 2011, while operating income in the second quarter increased by 43% to $368 million.
Fernando A. González, executive vice president of finance and administration, said: “We are pleased with our 22% growth in operating EBITDA, on a like-to-like basis, on the back of a 1% growth in consolidated net sales. This is the highest EBITDA generation since the third quarter of 2009 and the fourth consecutive quarter with a year-over-year EBITDA increase.
“Our operating EBITDA margin increased by 3 percentage points and was the highest in almost three years, reflecting an improvement in pricing and volume in several of our regions as well as the continued success of our transformation effort.
“We are particularly pleased with the quarterly performance of our operations in the United States, South, Central America and the Caribbean and Asia regions.
“We remain focused on our transformation process and expect an incremental improvement of $200 million in our steady-state EBITDA during 2012, reaching a run rate of $400 million by the end of this year.
“We also continue to be confident in our ability to meet all of our financial obligations.”
